Second Chance Luna: His Rejected Mate is the Golden Wolf

Paris´POV Dave had been following me all morning, breathing down my neck as if I were some misplaced belonging he was entitled to reclaim. I didn’t have a wolf. I’d never had one. And that absence—the thing that set me apart—made it even more revolting that Dave walked around acting as if I were tied to him in any way. He only knew we were “mates” because he said so, with the superiority of someone who believes his word is a blessing dropped from the heavens. “The ceremony is tonight,” he repeated for the hundredth time, puffing out his chest like an Alpha peacock. “Alpha Albert will announce his choice—me—as the next Alpha of Moon’s Bright. And I’ll have no choice but to take your stepsister as my Luna… unless you…” I stopped walking—not because I cared what he was saying, but because I was tired of hearing that pathetic rehearsed monologue. “That’s enough, Dave,” I said in the same tone someone uses to shoo away a persistent fly. “I won’t be your mate. I don’t feel anything for you. I don’t want anything with you. Get that through your head.” Dave frowned, unable to process the idea that someone could reject him. That was one of the many reasons why the idea of him becoming Alpha disgusted me: arrogant, impulsive, painfully mediocre. I told my father that hundreds of times, but as always, he ignored me. Said Dave had “good lineage,” as if that were enough to lead a pack. “In that case, Paris,” Dave huffed, “you leave me no choice but to reject you.” “Then do it,” I answered, emotionless. “I’ve already wasted enough time listening to you.” He expected tears, hysteria, begging… something. My indifference threw him off balance. “I don’t get you,” he spat. “How can you not see what I’m offering you? I’m going to be the Alpha! You should think this through. Once I reject you, there’s no going back.” I snorted quietly. I couldn’t believe his level of delusion. He lifted his hand with theatrical drama. “I, Dave Harrison… reject you, Paris Porter, as my mate. From this moment on, you and I are nothing.” As if we ever were anything, I thought. I turned to leave, but his hand clamped around my arm. “You’re just going to walk away after what I’ve just done?” “What did you expect, Dave?” He smiled, the kind of smile street vendors use when trying to sell garbage wrapped in shiny paper. “You could still be my lover. Even if I have to make your stepsister my Luna, you and I could keep seeing each other…” I smacked his hand away. “Never. Not even dead. That’s disgusting.” “Oh, come on, doll, think about it. We could—” “You already rejected me. Leave me alone,” I snapped. “Save your bedroom heroism for Doris. She’ll probably love it.” Dave stepped in front of me again, blocking my path. “I can protect you, Paris. You know your Alpha lineage is weak. No wolf, no real power… Any Alpha could tear you apart. Even Doris.” His words were meant to scare me. All they did was deepen my disgust. “I don’t need your protection or your body as payment. I train harder than any wolf in this house. I don’t need an incompetent man like you.” His Alpha aura pulsed around him. He grabbed my arm again, harder this time, anger flaring at my continued rejection. “You know Doris becomes Luna tomorrow. You’ll have to obey her. She could make your life miserable, Paris. It would be smart for you to be on my side.” “I’m not getting between you two,” I replied. “Doris will be your Luna. Period. I don’t need anything from you.” This time, I didn’t give him the chance to grab me again. But when I reached for the front door, a rough grip clamped around my hips and yanked me backwards. His lips were already descending toward mine. “How dare you!” My hand cracked across his cheek, echoing through the hallway. He growled, eyes burning with his Alpha aura. “I won’t forgive you for that.” “Touch me again… and I’ll rip your hand off your body. I’m not being metaphorical, Dave. Try it and you’ll find out.” That, finally, made him take a step back. “As soon as Alpha Albert confirms my rank,” he snarled, “I’ll expel you from the pack. It’ll be the first thing I do.” “Do whatever you want, Dave. But don’t you ever try to kiss me again,” I said, grabbing my bag. “And if you ever bring your mouth near mine again—even by accident—I swear I’ll give you a scar your grandchildren will talk about.” Still seething, I turned and opened the door. But before I could step outside, I lifted my gaze — and saw Doris at the top of the stairs, watching me with thinly veiled satisfaction. Of course she was enjoying this. It was just another victory to add to her long list of humiliations against me. I still remember my stersister´s big, bright eyes — how she looked at me as if I were an angel fallen from heaven, all sweetness and innocence. But it was just a façade. The moment my father turned his back, the big-eyed girl pinched my arm. “My mom already told me about you,” she whispered. “She says your bloodline is weak. So even if I’m younger, you’ll have to obey me.” From that day on, Doris played the role of the sweet, obedient child whenever my father was around — but the moment he wasn’t, she showed her true face: a cunning little viper. I tried to fight back, taking advantage of my age and size, but as the years passed, that edge disappeared. Doris’s stronger lineage began to show — until the day she received her wolf and tried to kill me. “That’s not true!” Doris had cried when I accused her of shifting into her small wolf form and trying to tear out my throat. “How can you believe her, Dad? I’ve only ever been good to her.” Her innocent eyes widened with practiced charm, the same that always melted my father — and when she had him smiling, she turned those same eyes toward my dog, a two-year-old Siberian husky who’d been with me since he was a pup. “It was Puppo who attacked my sister. She’s blaming me so her dog won’t be punished.” My father’s and stepmother’s eyes turned on the innocent pup, and I knew right then that nothing I said would save him. Puppo was already condemned. “The dog’s dangerous, Albert,” Dora, my stepmother, had said. “He must be put down. If he’s attacked his owner once, I won’t risk him attacking my daughter next.” No matter how much I begged my father, the decision was final. Puppo died that same afternoon. Now, meeting Doris’s eyes again, I couldn’t help wondering if I’d made the right choice — rejecting Dave’s “protection” and refusing to be his lover. But before regret could even form, I stepped outside the pack house. What I didn’t know was that, the moment I crossed that door, my life would change forever.