Mates by Fate and Hate, Ruined by Family

“Can’t wait to give Alpha James my virginity at last, he will finally mark me!!”, Mikayla thought. Mikayla Rowan always thought heartbreak would come quietly- like the soft cracking sound of her heart, barely noticeable until everything inside her finally crumbled. But heartbreak; she learned, was loud. It ripped her. It tore her open like she was nothing but a thin paper. The full moon hung heavy and silver above the DeLuna Pack grounds, being a silent witness to the moment her whole world shattered. She could still hear the laughter, the kind she once thought beautiful- echoing from the Alpha Chambers as she approached. But a different scent reached her first, sweet and sharp: vanilla mixed with lavender. A scent she hated, one she could never forget…Courtney Hale. Mikayla’s steps haltered. Her heart began to pound, though her wolf whined with a warning she couldn’t resist finding out. She pushed the door open, her breath trembling, mind racing a thousand miles a minute- she froze. Courtney was pressed against the long brown oak desk, head thrown back, lips open in a gasp. Alpha James- her supposed mate, her destined partner, the boy she had grown up trusting- had his hands gripping Courtney’s waist, his mouth trailing down her neck like she was his. The sight hit her like a dagger stabbing her ribs. Courtney’s eyes opened first. They made eye contact. And Courtney smirked. “Oops,” she blurted out, not bothering to move an inch. “Didn’t notice you there.” She said mockingly. But James saw her. James knew her scent. James felt her presence the moment she stepped in. He just didn’t care to stop or hide or even lie. Mikayla’s breath hitched. “James…?” He didn’t look ashamed. He didn’t even look like he was caught. He looked irritated as if bothered by an insect. “Mikayla,” he said flatly, pushing away from Courtney. “You shouldn’t be here.” “Shouldn’t-?” Her voice broke. “This is your office, James. I… You called me here. You said you needed to talk.” He shrugged, like she was lying for attention. “Well, change of plans.” Courtney came off the desk, adjusting her tight top which clearly showed her cleavage, with a satisfied grin. “Don’t be so surprised, Mikayla. You were never good enough or THE Alpha.” Something inside Mikayla snapped. “You…” James raised a hand. “That’s enough. What’s the point lying to you anymore.” His eyes changed, glowing with the silver-blue colour of his wolf’s. He narrowed them at her. Cold. Distant. Final. “I, Alpha James DeLuna,” he said, voice echoing like a death sentence, “reject you, Mikayla Rowan, as my mate.” The words pierced through her soul, as if almost physical…pain exploding in her chest, her wolf whimpering inside her mind as the bond shattered. She fell to her knees, hands gripping the carpet as if it were her saviour from the earth swallowing her up, gasping for air that felt too far, too thin. Courtney laughed lightly. James just turned away like she meant absolutely nothing. Just like that… she really was nothing. Mikayla didn’t remember standing. She didn’t remember running. Only the cold breeze hitting her face, the flow of tears she couldn’t stop, and the echoes of whispers as pack members watched her run past them. Rejected. Publicly. Cruelly. Unforgivably. She didn’t stop until the pack houses were long behind her and the dark woods consumed her completely. Her chest burned. Her wolf whimpered, wounded beyond recognition. Every step felt like agony, but she didn’t dare to stop. Not when the humiliation was still chasing her. Not when the pain was still fresh in her heart. Not when his scent, his betrayal- still suffocated her. She moved deeper into the woods, pushing through low branches, tripping over roots. She could barely think. Barely catch a breath. Barely exist. Her breath came in shaken gasps. Her vision blurred. Her heart ached with each sting of agony. “This can’t be…,” she whispered into the night. “Not like this. Not after everything-” A howl cut through the air behind her. Not a mournful cry. A hunting one. Mikayla’s blood froze. “No…no, he wouldn’t.” But the ground trembled with multiple footsteps- fast, heavy, determined. James had sent his warriors after her. Not to help. Not out of guilt. But to bring her back so he wouldn’t be known as the Alpha who abandoned his mate and let her out of the pack. Panic went through her veins like electricity. She pushed herself harder, quicker, avoiding trees, paying no attention to the sharp scratches of branches on her arms. Leaves slapped against her face. Her wolf whimpered, still weak, still hurting. “Mikayla!” one of the warriors shouted behind her. “Stop running!” Like hell!. Her legs burned. Her breath tore from her lungs. But she kept going- because anything, absolutely anything was better than being taken back to that monster who had once been her everything. Her mind raced through memories she tried to ignore and hide: Her parents vanishing without a trace. Growing up all alone in a pack that looked at her like she was unworthy. James pretending to protect her. James pretending to even choose her. Her heart hurt all over again. She didn’t see the drop until it was too late. The ground vanished from beneath her. She fell- tumbling, rolling, crashing down a steep slope. Pain shot through her limbs, as she forced her hands into the dirt to slow herself down from the fall. A sharp rock slammed into her ribs. “Ow-!” she gasped, choking on the impact. She finally stopped at the bottom, face pressed into the earth. Her body trembled, her breath unsteady. But she forced herself up. She always forced herself up. Her legs wobbled but she pushed forward- She slammed into something hard. Something massive. At first, she thought it was another tree. Then it growled. Her head snapped up as if she met a talking tree. The moonlight revealed him like a scene ripped from a nightmare- or a prophecy. Broad shoulders. Dark hair. Eyes glowing like molten silver. A presence heavier than the forest itself. Alpha Killian of the Stonemoon Pack. Her breath hitched. His scent- wild pine and storm winds, hit her nose. His aura pressed against her body like an invisible wall of dominance. “What the hell…,” he snarled, “are you doing on MY land?” Mikayla took a step back. “I…I’m sorry, I didn’t mean…please, just…let me go.” She tried to run past him, but his hand went out just as fast, gripping her arm with a firm, unyielding strength. “Answer me!,” Killian demanded, voice low and dangerous. “I can’t,” she whispered, panic filling her throat. “I don’t…I don’t have the time-” She successfully yanked her arm away from his grip, adrenaline fueling her, and she took off. Killian followed behind her, but he didn’t chase…he didn’t have to. Fate was chasing her enough. She made it ten steps before something blocked her path; a DeLuna warrior. Then another. And another. They surrounded her in an enclosing circle. “This ends now, Mikayla,” the leader growled. “Come quietly, or this would have to get ugly, rejected mate!.” He mocked. Her pulse thundered. Her wolf trembled. She fought. She really did. But she was outnumbered. Outpowered. Out of time. Out of strength. A hand gripped her from behind- Then the forest shook. A wolf’s growl: deep, thunderous, claiming; sounded through the trees. Every warrior stiffened. They knew that growl. Only one wolf in the region sounded like that. Alpha Killian. Mikayla turned just as he emerged from the shadows, eyes beaming with anger, power radiating off him like fire. “Take one more step towards her,” Killian growled, “and you won’t ever try take another.” The warriors hesitated. Then they fled- terrified. Silence fell. Mikayla slipped, her vision swimming. Killian stepped closer, expression unreadable. She tried to speak, but only one unsteady whisper broke out: “H-help… me… plea-” Her knees gave way as she fell. Darkness consumed her vision. And the last thing she remembered was a set of strong arms catching her before the ground could. Alpha Killian did the one thing he swore he’d never do; he took a stranger back to his pack.