The Girl I Shouldn’t Want
678 Words
– Stephan –
I didn’t sleep.
The bed might as well have been made of stone. I’d laid in it for hours, eyes on the ceiling, the moon’s pale light slicing across the walls like judgment.
My wolf had gone quiet—too quiet. No growling, no pacing, not even a whisper. That silence said more than words ever could. He was angry. Ashamed.
So was I.
Because I met my mate last night.
And I left her standing in the dark.
---
The morning came gray and cold, filtering in through the guest room window. I sat up slowly, body aching like I’d fought all night. Maybe I had—just not with fists.
My reflection in the mirror looked like a stranger. Shadowed eyes, tight jaw, guilt drawn into every line of my face. I couldn’t stop thinking about her. That girl in the woods. Her scent. Her eyes. The broken way she’d looked at me when I walked away.
Tashay.
Even her name scraped against something raw inside me.
She was young—I could tell by the softness of her features—but there was strength in her too. The kind of strength that comes from pain.
And I had only added to it.
---
Kellan knocked once and let himself in. “You’re dressed. Good.”
“Didn’t sleep,” I muttered.
“I figured. The bond’s not exactly subtle.” He eyed me. “We’re due at breakfast. The Luna will meet us after to review the treaty terms.”
Right. The Luna.
Since her mate—Tashay’s father—died, she’d taken over as acting Alpha. I hadn’t met her yet, but her reputation preceded her. Cold. Controlling. Some said even her late husband feared her ambition.
And the girl I met in the woods? Her stepdaughter.
An orphaned Alpha’s heir… treated like a servant.
I hadn’t seen it then. But now? Everything made sense.
---
The dining hall was already full when we arrived. Long tables stretched across the room, filled with pack members eating and chatting.
I barely heard them.
Because I smelled her.
Even through all the food, the chatter, the clatter of cutlery—her scent pulled me in.
Sweet. Soft. Undeniable.
I turned, heart pounding. And there she was.
Carrying a tray of cups. Dressed in a plain gray shift, her curls tied back loosely, eyes cast downward like she didn’t exist.
She didn’t sit. Didn’t smile.
She served.
And no one even looked her way.
Except me.
---
My wolf stirred, growling low in my chest. He didn’t need words. I felt his anger—his need to go to her, protect her.
But I sat still.
Paralyzed.
Because how do you approach someone you already failed?
How do you face your mate when she’s being treated like an omega in the very home her father once ruled—and you let her believe you didn’t want her?
“Eyes up, Alpha,” Kellan muttered beside me as we made our way to the front table. “You’re shaking.”
I hadn’t noticed. My fists were clenched so tight my knuckles were white.
“Sit,” he added. “Breathe. Don’t make this worse.”
I dropped into my seat, barely noticing the plate in front of me.
Tashay didn’t look at me once. Not even in passing. She served tea, bread, and disappeared into the kitchen without so much as a glance.
But I felt her.
Every step.
Every breath.
And I knew she felt me too.
---
She was my mate.
The moon chose her.
And I walked away because I was afraid.
Of what? Her youth? Her pain? The way she saw straight through me with those tired, quiet eyes?
Or maybe I was afraid that once I acknowledged her—I’d never be able to let her go.
And now, after everything, she was slipping through my fingers before I even learned who she really was.
The Alpha’s daughter.
The Luna’s discarded stepchild.
My mate.
And I’d treated her like nothing.
- Writer
