A MATE'S BETRAYAL

Rowan

Rowan

Rowan had never been one for believing in fate. All he wanted, as the future Alpha, was to rule, be the most revered Alpha. Basically to live his life to the fullest and, if possible snag the hottest Luna out there. But no. Most of that wouldn't be happening, especially the last part.For some reason, He felt like fate was trying to f**k him over, First he was paired with a broken wolf. How electrifying it had felt to have his mate in his vicinity. How her scent called out to him? His wolf had howled with pleasure knowing soon, they would be marking their mate. All he had to do was find her. So he had shifted there and then to find her. His wolf had sniffed the air and . It hadn't taken long for him to find her.

His wolf wanted to run over to his mate but there was a problem. She stood there, confused and in tears, frantically looking for ... him. Something was wrong with her. His wolf was too excited to notice that the girl before them hadn't shifted. People around them, both in human and wolf form stared at her as she fell to her knees and begged for her wolf to wake up. Rowan wouldn't, couldn't stand it anymore, this would not be- could not be- his mate. He willed his wolf to run the other way. He simply refused to accept that she- without a wolf- would be his mate. He ran, ignoring the pull to go back and what… comfort the wolf ?

He had done it again, ignored that pull - on the day he went over to reject his broken mate. His mother had been furious, and he could understand. Her son, future Alpha would not be paired with some idea of a wolf. He remembered the words he spoke and how each syllable was like a stab in his chest but he had to do it.

He remembered her shaky voice as she too recited the famous words of rejection. He waited for the pull to finally disappear, and it seemed to have.

Wrong, it hadn't.

The first few weeks had been somewhat… bearable. The immense pull he had felt in the beginning had been reduced to nothing but a dull ache that he could ignore. That was until first migraine hit him in the middle of training. He felt like his skull was being crushed by two giant hands. Some days it got so bad he could swear his skull cracked. He just didn't understand why the migraines persisted and even after taking the strongest concoctions, which often left him feeling like s**t, they would go a few days, never completely.

The Migraines meant that his physique and whole element as a future Alpha was affected. He couldn't train, eat or even sleep well and often ended with him smoking a mixture of herbs and drugs - end goal? To get knocked out just so he could sleep for a day and if he was lucky, two.

It was one of those days where the migraine had all but knocked him out and he had woken up in a healer's stuffy room, his eyes covered, a combination calming herb burning next to him. His parents stood to the side, speaking in hushed tones .

"His mating bond. Is there- trouble?" The old healer man had asked in fear of getting his head snapped off.

"What does his mating bond have to do with any of it?" His mother snapped and this time, thanks to the miracle of the burning herbs, Rowan sat up- slowly.

"I- It's possible the pain is from a mating bond. Typically, these levels of pain are a result of an interrupted or severed true bonds -” the healer never finished.

“Cut the crap and give us a better diagnosis. His mating bond can't be the reason, not when his so-called mate was defective” Rowan’s mother retorted.

“I- I believe that would be a determining fa- factor, ” Healer stuttered and despite how unreal it seemed, Rowan couldn't shake the possibility away.

"f**k! This can’t -" He barely managed to speak, fighting off a bout of nausea.

" Y-you could test that by - by being close to her? If it doesn't work then.., "the healer did not need to finish his words.

"It better be right, healer." Luna snapped again.

Soon enough, they were driving out of the pack territory and headed over to his saving grace, literally. Maybe it was wishful thinking or just the overdose of sage and myrrh, but the debilitating migraine was slowly easing back. From the back seat, Rowan listened as his mother made calls and snapped at the unlucky person on the other side of the phone. He tuned out the angry one-sided conversation and focused on his breathing. There was no way the healer was right. He couldn't be.

It hadn't taken long to find out that indeed the healer had been right because as soon as the car rolled into the compound, the migraine had been reduced to nothing but a dull ache. It was also then that Rowan noticed even his senses were clear. Clear enough for him to feel the pull he had broken, or so he thought.

Rowan did not let these new changes show, the healer could not be right because that would mean… No, he had to prove the healer wrong somehow. So Rowan did what he knew best and pretended to still be sick.

“Let us get this over with, Rowan. I can't stand the stench of this place.” Rowan’s mother sneered, nose scrunched in disgust as they waltzed into the building and straight to the director's office .

The wait in the director's office was occupied with his mother asking questions and him silently grateful that the pressure in his head was almost gone. He almost thanked the moon deity but the remembered to keep the pained look on. He did not need to fake it much longer because soon, he felt it.

His heart began flutter, slowing down and picking up . He refused to reach for his chest, as that small gesture would mean defeat. A second later he heard the footsteps ushered in by a scent he couldn't place.

Nyx, she was here, and the worst part of it all was that he felt as good as new, but he would be damned n before he let his relief show.

'Fuck.' He mentally cursed when their eyes met for the first time since he rejected her. He couldn't believe it. After all he went through for months, all it took was her presence for all to go away?

True to himself, Rowan refused to accept reality and instead chose to glare at her while the director and his mother took turns speaking. He mentally screamed at Nyx, wanting nothing more than to have his hands on her. He hated that he couldn't decide if he wanted to fight her or do something stupid like move closer to her. He fought the mental war, refusing with all his might to acknowledge how she had changed.

His glare intensified. She was not his mate, that wasn't going to change.