Winning Over His Rejected Mate

Chapter 2

Ava

6 months later

It has been six months since I escaped from my birth pack, SilverMoon, thanks to Dad and the guys. We didn't know where to go once we crossed the borders. Eventually, we decided to become rogues since that was the only option until we arrived at the Vampiria Kingdom, where the contest for the Alpha was going on.

The Alphas of the ClawRidge pack have organised an open contest for the king of the Vampiria Kingdom. The moment I saw the announcement, I knew it was for me. We decided to stay there and participate in the contest. It had three rounds, all of which were no joke, but they were exactly what I needed.

In the end, I emerged victorious, and now I am the new Alpha of the Vampiria Kingdom. The guys decided to fill in the rest of the positions, gladly. Camilla and Olivia decided to become warriors. Michael became my gamma, and while Jack wanted to become my beta, another aspirant, also the runner-up of the contest, Vincent Wright, begged me for the position.

As a result, I had to announce a duel between the two of them in which Jack lost, and that sly Vincent got the position, not that I disliked it, and Jack was fine with it too. Having him as my beta comes with many advantages, since the Vampiria Kingdom has more vampires than wolves, and Vincent is a vampire.

Although there isn't much of a difference between vampires and wolves despite their innate structures, since they can no longer use magic because of the destroyed magic core in the kingdom, according to the stories.

Oh well, I was looking forward to seeing how it is, but it's not bad either way. It took two and a half months to wrap up the contest. Since then, I have been busy with my new position and territory. Due to this, we also had to postpone the compulsory kind of ball, more like a party for the other alphas, on the occasion of my being a new alpha in the area.

It will also be a sort of introduction to others.

The ball is tomorrow night. I was a bit tense about it initially, but as Camilla said, we also need to have some fun and loosen up.

"Vincent, how is the construction work coming along?" I ask him, who is busy with some papers as always.

Well, we have all been, since understanding and taking care of the current situation of the kingdom came first.

"Just three more days, and the inauguration of your new office will be your number one task in your schedule." He answers, and I feel pleased.

I didn't like the late king's office, so my only option was this small palace-like building until my new office was built to handle the ruling matters, but now I am glad I will be able to move to a place of mine. Sitting on the throne felt nice, but it wasn't comfortable to work like that. With this getting off the list, the next pressing matter is the ball.

However, before I can ask about it, he beats me to it.

"Is that the only thing you want to inquire about? How about the hot rumour on the streets?" He says, his tone sweet and playful.

Here comes his vampire charm.

"What is it, Vincent?" I ask, playing along with his new nonsense.

He stands up from his desk, and within a second, comes closer to me, "People are whispering about how the new Alpha is enamoured with her handsome beta. They are also saying that you are using me for your special night service." His sweet voice tickles me as he tries to seduce me with his beautiful heterochromatic eyes, one silver and the other gold.

It's truly fascinating every time I see it. They are just so pretty, and not just them, but him whole. He has a lean but muscular build with a 6-foot-2-inch height. He is strong, with handsome features, and a sly tongue.

"Then, you should have corrected the rumour by clarifying that it's not me but Jack who calls you for the special nightly service. It's not us, but you two people should ship," I say, and burst out laughing when his face crumples.

But it's true, for the past two weeks, both Jack and he have been going on patrol together.

"But, don't you think, Ava, that we should fulfil people's wishes? They ship us together a lot, shouldn't we listen to them? After all, a good ruler's duty is to fulfil their people's wishes, no?" He says, trying to bring the topic back to his nonsense again.

But before I can drop more work on him for having too much time on his hands, Camilla bursts inside an already open door, dripping with energy, grinning like a little demon. She only looks like this when she has done something mischievous.

"What is it, Cami?" I ask, looking forward to what she has done this time.

"Hey, Ava darling. Did you miss me?" She chirps.

My smile deepens, and I nod. "A lot, that I am afraid, I will be suffering from separation anxiety soon," I say, matching her rhythm, and she awws.

"Oh my, come here, you poor thing." She pulls me into a hug, and I squeeze her back.

Vincent would probably be rolling his eyes at our usual drama.

"Now, will you tell me what happened? Why are you looking like you are coming from your biggest heist?" I ask, and she chuckles.

"It's even bigger than a heist! The infamous Alpha of the East has accepted our invitation!" She squeals excitedly, and my lips incline in a straight line.

Camilla and her little crush.

"Good for you."

"I know! Oh my god, Ava, what if we are mates!?" Her squealing intensifies.

My office doesn't look like an office all of a sudden.

The word 'mates' lends me to a bitter twist, making me remember the night from six months ago.

Silas Arnold.

That bastard.

I am glad I rejected him. I have no regrets; however, strangely enough, I didn't feel any pain after the initial one after rejection, nor did my body deteriorate after that day. Harper also didn't say anything about that, and I am glad it didn't hold me back.

"So, how are the preparations for the party coming along? I guess, now they would be extraordinary since someone special is coming," I say, and she blushes.

She blushes! Oh my god, this is a sight that needs to be recorded because Cami, our tough girl, rarely blushes, and whenever she does, it's thanks to her Alpha of the East.

"They are already done, and the list of attendees has also arrived. Everything is set for tomorrow," She says, and I am about to say how unbelievable it is about how far we have come, when suddenly, Olivia's and Michael's agitated voices echo down the hall.

'STOP RIGHT NOW, YOU CAN'T GO INSIDE.'

'HOW DARE YOU BREACH THE ETIQUETTE, ALPHA-'

Cami's face distorts as she grows alert. "That's Ol and Mike, right? What's happening?" She says, and as soon as she turns around, someone—the reason—the intruder, arrives at the door, accompanied by both Mike and Ol.

My heart stops before beating like a f*****g thunder in my chest when my eyes land on the person standing at the door.

Silas Arnold.

He is here before me in the flesh.

My body begins to feel strange, my insides become lukewarm as I come across his intense grey eyes, but most of all, anger fills my head at the sight of him.

I step down from the dais, passing Camilla and Vincent, until I am standing a few steps away from him.

Come to think of it, Vincent doesn't know who he is, right?

"Why are you here?" My voice comes out thick with anger and authority.

"I have come here to attend the ball." He answers, his voice familiar and annoyingly deep.

My eyes narrow, and I glare at him, "I didn't invite you. I didn't invite anybody from that damned pack."

"You did." He says, his voice confident and without any tremor, unlike who he is—a bastard.

"Stop spewing bullshit in my kingdom, Silas Arnold, and get the f**k out of here if you want to live." I snap, but he doesn't move; instead, he steps closer, until his woody scent infused with mint overwhelms me.

"You invited all the Alphas, Ava, and I am the current Alpha of the SilverMoon pack. So, unless you want to start a war by disrespecting me, an Alpha, thus also angering the other alphas, then I will gladly leave." He says, and I pin him with a death stare.

However, what he said isn't wrong. Initially, we did decide to invite all the alphas individually, but we were having a problem with inviting the new alphas since we didn't have much information on them, and thus, we decided to post the group invitation, intending to invite them all.

Amidst all this, we didn't exclude SilverMoon because we weren't aware of Silas taking the position, which was due for two more years. We sent invitations to the other alphas individually, except one, but it wasn't enough. We should have checked thoroughly.

Damn it!

I clench my teeth, refusing to take his s**t lying down.

"But, it still doesn't mean you were invited, Silas, and you know that. Just show your f*****g face at tomorrow's party, and leave if you don't want any problems coming your way." I grit, planning to have him escorted to where the other guests will stay until his obnoxious mouth runs off again.

"But, I was planning to stay until the end, and even after that." His voice comes out low, shocking me.

I look at him incredulously, "Did you not understand what I just said? Don't--

"I am not here to fight you, Ava. I am here to claim you back." He says, cutting me off in the middle, and I stop.

I stare at him, stunned for a moment before I scoff and mock him loudly, "Are you here to mess with me, Silas? Because if that's what you want, then I will gladly accept your invitation to a duel." I bite, flashing my wolf at him.

He smirks, "As much as I would love to have a duel with you in the place of my choice, I would also like to have you back. I am not joking, Ava. The rejection from six months ago was not done. We are still mates. You are mine." He says, and his words brand me like a seal—I see myself fighting endlessly.