A Second Chance Mate

As the teacher talked, I sat in class, waiting for the ball to ring. I couldn't bring myself to listen to what she was saying. I'm Lexi Davis, the daughter of the lead warrior of our pack, which means that I have been training to fight since I could walk, and today is my eighteenth birthday. When the bell finally rings, I walk to my locker. "Lexi!" I hear someone calling my name, and as I look up, I see my best friend, Erika Brown, walking toward me. Erika is the daughter of the bata, and we have been best friends since we were kids. She was an attractive girl with blond wavy hair, hazel eyes, and a chest that made all the males look at her. However, she was always reading, so guys tended to stay clear of her. "Hey, Erika," I said as she approached me. "Happy birthday," Erika said. "Thanks," I replied to her. "The big one is one eight today. Are you excited?" she asks with a big smile. When wolves turn eighteen, they can find their fated mate, the one the moon Goddess has chosen for them. Most girls like Erika dreamed of this day, but not me; I have dreaded finding out who the moon Goddess has chosen. My father wants my mate to be Alpha's son, Aaron Adams, but he has always been a jerk to me and Erika. We weren't popular in any way, outcasts among our peers, which didn't bother us. "Erika, you know I'm not," I replied. "Oh, how can you not be excited to find out who your fated mate is?" she asks. I rolled my eyes at her. "You know the reason," I responded, annoyed because she knew my reasons. "But it won't be as bad as you think. Your mate will love you unconditionally." She tries to convince me. "Erika, you know how my dad is, and there is no way in hell that I want it to be Aaron," I told her. "Lex, even if it turns out Aaron is your fated mate, it won't be a bad thing because he will love you unconditionally, just as all fated mates do." "Not all fated mates accept their mates. Some reject them," I respond as I slam my locker shut and head for the exit. Erika followed me, still working on the conversation we were having. "Come on, Lex. I know there are rare occasions when mates are rejected, but that won't happen to you; you are the daughter of the lead warrior who wouldn't want to be your mate, "she said as we walked to my car. "You're funny, smart, strong, and not to mention beautiful," she continues to say, and she is not wrong; I always get good grades in school. As for my looks, I have long light-brown hair with crystal blue eyes, an athletic body with all the right curves that I hide with my baggy T-shirts, and my hair is always thrown up into a messy bun. "Erika, you and I know that, but no one else does," I said, laughing, as I knew that if I wore clothes like all the other she-wolves, I would be hounded by all the horny boys in this pack. "You know now that we are eighteen, we will go into heat, and it will be hell if you haven't found someone to help you." Erika looks at me with concern on her face. The heat is something all she-wolves go through once they turn eighteen, and any unmated she-wolves will find an unmated male to go through the heat with. Finding an unmated she-wolf who has gone through the heat is rare. Male wolves can scent when an unmarked female is in heat, and the scent will drive the wolf crazy with lust. It can sometimes lead men to take the she-wolf without her consent. This is why no she-wolf lives alone. They usually live with their family until they find their mate who will mark them. "I'm not scared of the heat, and I won't be like the rest of the she-wolves and screw any male just to avoid some discomfort," I say, looking at my friend with determination." I'm stronger than people think I am." I continue to tell her. "Hopefully, I want to find my mate before the heat." She tells me. "Yeah, I know you do, Erika, and you can. If I find my mate, I hope he isn't part of this pack so that I can escape from here. As we reached my car, I felt something strange. I turned to see Aaron staring at me with hatred from his vehicle. "Mate," I heard my wolf Athena say while jumping around. "Goddess, no, Athena, this can't be true," I replied. "He is our mate, Lexi, and will love us." "He has done nothing but hurt us while we were young." I saw Aaron approaching me with his girlfriend, Becca Brown. Becca is the daughter of the bata and Erika's twin sister, but unlike us, Becca was the most popular girl in the school, so naturally, all the guys wanted her as their mate, but she had yet to find hers. She and Erika looked alike all because Becca dyes her hair blond, and she is a total b***h to anyone she deems less than her. "Lexi," Aaron said to me when they finally reached me. "Aaron," I responded, not wanting this conversation to occur in front of the whole school. "This is who the Moon Goddess chose for my fated mate," Aaron says to me loud enough for everyone to hear. "It must be a trick. Why would she be your mate?" Becca spits out, clearly not pleased with this. "Aaron has asked me to be his chosen mate," She continued. "And I accepted, so I will be the next Luna, not some warrior's daughter who dresses like she is homeless." "Like I would want to be with someone like her," Aaron says to Becca. "I, Aaron Adames, Alpha heir of the Blue Moon pack, reject you, Lexi Davis of the Blue Moon pack, as my mate." He said, venom laced in every word he spoke. I instantly felt the stabbing pain in my chest as the mate bond broke, but I wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of seeing me in pain. "She must be in pain." I heard someone say while others laughed. "How could he not reject her? Aaron already chose me," Becca says to her friend. "There, you rejected me. Are you finished now?" I say, and without waiting for his reply, I got into my car and drove off. On my way back home, I knew that news of my rejection would spread like wildfire, so I decided to tell him what happened and deal with his anger and punishment head-on once my father got home. So, when I got home, I went to my room to put my things away since today was the end of the school year. This was my senior year, so I would soon begin working at the town diner. I wished I could leave this pack altogether, but that only happened if your mate was from another pack. When it is four o'clock, I go downstairs to start dinner. As I finished dinner, I heard the front door open. "Lexi," I heard my father call for me. "In the kitchen, Dad," I quickly responded. I heard his footsteps approach the kitchen just as I set his plate on the table. I step away to avoid the beating I would get for what happened after school. "So, Dad, I'm sure you heard, but I found my mate today," I said, trying to get it all out at once, but I wasn't quick enough. "And you were rejected by the Alpha's son," he said, and I could hear the anger in his voice. "It wasn't my fault. You know he has never liked me," I explained. "You should have tried harder. Maybe if you had not worn clothes that were too big for you, he would have accepted you," he told me. "It shouldn't matter what I wear, and if Mom were still alive, she would agree with me." I shot back at him and instantly regretted it when his hand hit my face. "Don't you ever bring your mother up again because you know you're the reason she is dead," he shot at me as he grabbed my hair and pulled my head back. He always blamed me for her death because my mother died protecting me from a rogue attack when I was ten years old. "I'm sorry, please, Dad, let me go," I begged as tears started to stream down my face. He laughed "You're weak, and you always have been, even with my training," he said as he threw me to the floor and started to kick me in my stomach. "I should have kicked your weak ass out when you got your mother killed," he said while kicking. Then he grabbed the whip he would always use on my back when he was angry, and then he began to whip me with it all over my body. Finally, when he was done, he left the house, leaving me lying on the floor bleeding. "I'm sorry," Athena said with a weak voice. "What's wrong? Why are we not healing?" I asked my wolf. "He must have used wolfsbane on the whip he was using, so I am weak and cannot heal you," she said to me, her voice just above a whisper. "Don't leave me, Athena," I begged her, not wanting to be alone, but she didn't respond, and I knew she wouldn't be there until the wolfsbane was gone. Then, I passed out due to my injuries. The next few days, I stayed home to let the bruises on my face heal. However, the places hit with the whip will leave more scars on my body. I have started my job at the diner, which gets me out of the house most days. Since today was my day off, I heard a knock on the door as I walked to the door to answer it, already knowing who it was. I saw Erika standing there with a smile on her face. "Hey, Erika," I greeted her. "Hey Lex, guess what I just heard?" she asks me. "Well, since I have only been to the diner lately, and today is my day off, I have no idea," I responded as she walked into my house. "This year, the annual winter ball will be hosted by our pack!" she excitedly shouts. The annual winter ball is a tradition that has been around for centuries. It brings all the wolves in the surrounding packs together. Last year, it was hosted at the Crimson Pack. "Oh great," I say, not thrilled. I am not one for public events. "Oh, come on, why aren't you excited? We are finally able to attend," she says to me. "Erika, you know I don't like to go to events like this," I told my friend. "You could find someone to go through the heat with," Erika retorted. "I have told you already I won't be like all the other she-wolves," I said, "I get it, but will you still go so I don't have to go alone?" she asks, her eyes pleading. Erika had been dreaming of this for so long, hoping to find her mate at the winter ball. "Fine, but just because you asked me to," I said, giving in to my best friend. "Thank you, thank you, thank you," she gleefully says as she hugs me. "Just know that once you find your mate, I'm out of there," I smiled. "We have to find something to wear," Erika said when she released me from her hug. "You know we have two months before the ball?" I asked her. "Yeah, that means we can't waste time. If we wait, all the good dresses will be gone," she replied, grabbing my hand and pulling me out the door.