Rejected by The Alpha, Claimed by Faith

Chapter 3

Lily’s POV

I wake up in the pack hospital. The sharp smell of antiseptic fills my nose, and fluorescent lights burn my eyes when I try to open them. Every part of my body aches like I've been hit by a truck.

"Lily? Lily, can you hear me?"

Dr. Helen Frost's kind face swims into view. She's the pack's lead doctor and one of the few people here who has ever treated me with genuine kindness. Her short silver hair is slightly messy, like she's been running her hands through it.

"What..." My voice comes out as a croak.

"Don't try to talk yet. You've been out for six hours." Dr. Frost checks the monitors beside my bed, her brow furrowed. "Your rejection bond is severing faster than it should. It's causing your body significant distress."

Six hours. The memorial ceremony must be long over by now.

"Where's..." I can't finish the question. Where's my family? But I already know the answer. They're not here. They wouldn't be. Dr. Frost's expression softens with pity. "Your brother stopped by earlier. He had to return to his duties, but he left this." She hands me a folded note.

I don't open it yet.

"What about—" I can't bring myself to say his name. "Marcus?" Dr. Frost sits in the chair beside my bed. "He left right after you collapsed. Alpha Richard is handling the aftermath. The pack is...confused."

Confused is probably an understatement. I just publicly rejected the future alpha during a memorial ceremony for my dead sister. It's probably the most dramatic thing that's ever happened during Elena's remembrances.

"I need to leave," I say, trying to sit up. Pain shoots through me, and Dr. Frost gently pushes me back down. "You're not going anywhere for at least twenty-four hours. Your body is going through rejection sickness. It's dangerous to move you right now." She gives me a stern look.

"I'm serious, Lily. Rejection bonds can kill if they sever too quickly. Especially a bond that was as strong as yours apparently was."

As strong as mine was. The irony would be funny if it didn't hurt so much. The Moon Goddess paired me with Marcus Cole, of all people. The one man in this entire pack guaranteed to wish I was someone else.

"Why did you do it?" Dr. Frost asks gently. "Reject him, I mean. I know Marcus hasn't been...himself...since Elena disappeared. But he's not a bad man, Lily."

How do I explain that I've spent five years being invisible, being blamed, being wished dead? How do I tell her that I saw the look on Marcus's face when the bond snapped into place—that flash of horror, of disappointment? That I knew he was going to reject me, so I beat him to it?

"I won't be anyone's second choice," I say finally. "I won't spend my life being compared to Elena. Being found wanting."

Dr. Frost sighs. "I understand. More than you might think." She stands, checking my IV. "Rest now. We'll monitor you through the night. If the bond continues severing at this rate, you should be stable enough to discharge tomorrow."

After she leaves, I finally open Nathan's note.

Lily,

I'm sorry. For everything. Mom and Dad are furious, but this is bigger than their anger. You stood up for yourself. I'm proud of you for that.

Stay safe. Call me when you're released.

—Nathan

It's not much, but it's more than I expected. At least someone in my family doesn't completely hate me. I try to sleep, but the pain makes it difficult. The rejection bond is like a living thing inside me, tearing itself apart piece by piece. Every time a thread severs, agony rips through my chest.

"I'm sorry," Rose whispers. "I should have warned you better."

"You tried," I say. "I just didn't understand."

"The Moon Goddess has plans we cannot always see. Perhaps—"

"Don't." I cut her off. "Don't tell me this happened for a reason. The Moon Goddess paired me with someone who blames me for his first love's death. Someone who looked at me with disgust. That's not a gift, Rose. That's cruel."

Rose doesn't argue, but I can feel her disagreement like a gentle pressure in my mind.

The night passes slowly. Nurses come and go, checking my vitals, adjusting my medication. None of them speak to me beyond the necessary medical questions. I can see the judgment in their eyes. I ruined Elena's memorial. I rejected their future alpha. I'm causing problems again, just like I always do.

Around three in the morning, the door to my room opens quietly. I assume it's another nurse, but then I hear a familiar voice.

"Is she sleeping?"

Marcus. What is he doing here?

I keep my eyes closed, my breathing steady. Let him think I'm asleep.

"The rejection is killing her," he continues, speaking to someone else. Dr. Frost, maybe? "The bond is severing too fast. What if..."

"What if what?" Dr. Frost asks gently. "What if I made a mistake?" Marcus's voice cracks. "What if the Moon Goddess is punishing me?"

"The Moon Goddess doesn't punish, Marcus. She guides."

"Then why would she pair me with Lily? Elena's sister? The girl who..."

He doesn't finish the sentence, but I know what he was going to say. The girl who caused Elena's death.

"Maybe," Dr. Frost says carefully, "the Moon Goddess knows something you don't."

Marcus is quiet for a long moment. "It doesn't matter now. She rejected me. I accepted. It's done."

"Is it?"

"It has to be."

I hear footsteps, and then the door closes again. They're gone.

I open my eyes, staring at the ceiling. Tears leak from the corners of my eyes, trailing into my hair. He called it a mistake.

My mate thinks I'm a mistake.

"He's confused," Rose says. "Grieving. He doesn't understand—"

"Stop defending him," I snap. "He made his choice. He accepted the rejection without hesitation. That tells me everything I need to know."

But even as I say it, I can't shake the memory of that c***k in his voice. "What if I made a mistake?"

No. I won't do this. I won't let myself hope that he might care, might regret. That path leads nowhere good. By the time the sun rises, the worst of the pain has dulled to a manageable ache.

Dr. Frost checks on me again around eight. "The bond is nearly severed," she reports. "Another few hours and it should be complete. You're lucky, most rejection bonds take at least a week to fully break. Yours will be done in less than twenty-four hours."

Lucky. Right.

"When can I leave?"

"This afternoon, if the final severance goes smoothly. But Lily..." She hesitates. "You need to be careful. The pack is unsettled. People don't understand what happened yesterday. There are...rumors."

"What kind of rumors?"

"That you rejected Marcus because you blame him for Elena's death. That you did it to hurt him.

That you're..." She winces. "That you're bitter and jealous of Elena's memory."

Of course that's what they think. No one would ever consider that maybe Marcus didn't want me. That maybe I was protecting myself from inevitable rejection and humiliation.

"Let them think what they want," I say tiredly. "They always have."

Dr. Frost looks like she wants to say more, but she doesn't. She just squeezes my hand gently and leaves me alone again.

The final severance happens around noon. One moment there's still a faint thread connecting me to Marcus, and the next it's gone completely. The sudden absence is almost worse than the pain. Where the bond used to be is now just...nothing. An empty space.

"It's done," Rose says quietly. "We're free."

Free. The word should make me happy. Instead, I just feel hollow.

Dr. Frost discharges me at two in the afternoon with instructions to rest and drink plenty of water. She offers to have someone drive me back to university, but I decline. I need to get out of here on my own terms.

My car is still in the parking lot where I left it yesterday. As I walk across the compound grounds, I'm hyperaware of the stares, the whispers. People stop what they're doing to watch me pass. I keep my head down and walk faster. I'm almost to my car when I hear footsteps behind me.

"Lily. Wait."

I turn to find Nathan jogging toward me, his face flushed. "I'm glad I caught you. I wanted to make sure you were okay before you left."

"I'm fine," I say automatically.

"You're not fine. You just went through a rejection bond. And Mom and Dad..." He runs a hand through his brown hair, frustrated. "They're not handling this well."

"When do they ever handle anything involving me well?"

Nathan flinches. "Fair point. But Lily, this is different. They're talking about—" He stops, like he's not sure he should continue.

"Talking about what?"

"Cutting you off. Completely. No more financial support for university. No more family ties. They want you gone from the pack permanently."

I should be hurt. I should be devastated. But instead, all I feel is relief.

"Good," I say simply.

Nathan blinks. "Good?"

"I've been planning to leave anyway, Nathan. After graduation, I was going to find a position as a pack doctor somewhere far from here. This just makes it easier. I don't have to pretend anymore."

"But they're family—"

"No." I cut him off. "They stopped being my family five years ago. You're the only one who even tried, and I love you for that. But I can't stay connected to people who wish I was dead."

Nathan looks stricken. "They don't wish you were dead."

"Don't they?" I meet his eyes. "Be honest, Nathan. If they could trade me for Elena right now, would they do it?"

He opens his mouth to argue, then closes it again. We both know the answer.

"I'm sorry," he says finally. "I wish things were different. I wish—"

"Don't." I touch his arm briefly. "You have your own life, your own mate. You can't fix this, Nathan. No one can."

I get in my car before he can respond. As I drive away from the pack grounds, I watch the compound disappear in my rearview mirror. I should feel sad. Instead, I just feel tired.

My phone rings as I'm merging onto the highway. Zara's name flashes on the screen.

"Hey," I answer, trying to keep my voice normal.

"Oh my God, Lily! I've been calling you for hours! Where have you been? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Just...had a rough night."

"Did you find your mate?"

I grip the steering wheel tighter. "Yeah. And rejected him immediately."

There's a long pause.

"You...what?"

"It's a long story. I'll tell you when I get back."

"Lily—"

"I'm fine, Zara. I promise. I just need to get back to campus and forget this whole nightmare happened."

But even as I say it, I know forgetting isn't going to be that easy. Because as I drive away from Riverside Pack, away from Marcus and my parents and Elena's shadow, I can't shake the

feeling that this isn't over. That somehow, some way, yesterday was just the beginning.