Rejecting My Unworthy MateChapter 1: Forgotten Mate (Ariana's POV)
The full moon bathed everything in silver light, and I stood there, dressed in shimmering satin that clung to my every curve, feeling like the goddess of the evening. My heart raced with anticipation, waiting for Scott Stone, my Alpha and the man I thought would complete me.
The night of my mating ritual was supposed to be perfect—a moment I had envisioned for years but as the hours ticked by, anticipation turned into humiliation.
The pack members who are invited to witness the mating ritual started murmuring, their pity and judgment suffocating. I reached out to Scott through our mind link again and again, but all I met was silence. My mother, frail and barely clinging to life, was seated at the edge of the crowd, her face pale but hopeful. She had held on for this day, for so long. She won't give up and missed to see my happiest moment.
When it became clear Scott wasn’t coming, I felt the world cave in. By the time the first rays of dawn broke the darkness, my mother was gone. Her fragile heart had given out, unable to bear the shame and heartbreak. The pack whispered about the cursed bond, and I stood there, now an orphan, and gossips about being a rejected Luna.
Later that day, my phone buzzed. A social media post from Winona Lei, Scott’s first love, showed the two of them together. “You’re always there for me,” the caption read, her face nestled against his.
I sent Scott the screenshot, my hands trembling with anger. “Is this why you missed our ceremony?” Hours passed before he replied, long after I’d laid my mother’s ashes to rest.
“We can get married any day, but Winona needs me. She can't live without me.”
The message broke something in me I didn’t even know could break. I felt my wolf howl in anguish, but there was no fight left in me. I severed the bond with one final message through the mind link: “I'm breaking up with you. I, Ariana Gold, reject you as my mate.”
Then, with trembling fingers, I blocked him in all communication tool he can use to reach me.