The Alpha's Stubborn Rejected Mate

Chapter 6 - Sasha

My ex-mate had been in the pack for the last few days, but so far, I had managed to evade him. It helped that I knew he would be following Jasper and Liz around, so I could alter my work hours to stay away from all of them.

It stung a little bit that he had come here to claim another woman as his mate, especially given that our bond was still partially there. But the pain I felt was tiny compared to the pain of his original rejection, and I was sure that was at least partially down to having Dante in my life now.

I hadn’t been able to get away for long enough to see him since our first date, but we had been messaging each other constantly, and we talked on the phone every night. I was sure that it wouldn’t be long until we would be together again. I was overdue for some time off, and after a stressful couple of days, I was hoping I would be able to sneak out and meet him for a few hours that evening.

“Sasha, there you are. I have been looking all over for you.” Eve whispered as she came running towards me. She had a backpack in her hand that I was pretty sure wasn’t hers, mostly because it smelled so strongly of Alpha musk and Eve was petrified of Alphas.

She was one of the only Omegas with whom I actually got along. We had bonded over our mutual discomfort around Alphas. Eve was more uncomfortable around them than I was, but I didn’t want to bring up any past trauma by asking why. It just made me happy to be around someone else who didn’t seem to worship the ground that Alpha Hartford and his obnoxious son walked on.

“Alpha Hartford wants this brought out to his car, but I can’t do it. He is standing out there with his Luna.” She visibly shuddered at the thought of approaching them.

Why she hadn’t been moved on to a job that didn’t involve interacting with Alphas regularly was beyond me. Working in the Alpha’s house clearly wasn’t the right job for her. Anyone with half a brain cell should have been able to see that. It didn’t make sense to keep her here unless they took pleasure in her discomfort.

“Is Alpha Graves son with them?” I asked.

“I don’t think so,” Eve replied. She looked at me suspiciously, but thankfully, she didn’t ask me why I was so interested in Michael’s whereabouts.

Just as she hadn’t told me about her trauma, I hadn’t told her about mine, and I had no intention of starting now. Instead, I took the bag from her and made my way outside, hopeful that if I could get this task over and done with quickly enough, then I might not run into the source of my trauma.

That optimism lasted for as long as it took me to reach the door, because the moment I opened that door, I saw Michael Graves standing with the Alpha family in front of their car. He looked just as attractive as he had on the day he rejected me, except this time I wasn’t going to be fooled by his beautiful exterior.

So far, I had been using a combination of avoiding the places I knew he was going to be and strong perfume to confuse my ex-mate. It had been working well enough, and as far as I knew, he hadn’t even tried looking for me, but this was going to undo all my hard work. If he didn’t recognise who I was on sight, then my scent was going to betray me, and in such close quarters, there would be no amount of perfume that could hide me from him.

I kept my head down as I approached them, but I was still able to see the exact moment that my ex-mate recognised who I was. His eyes went wide with shock before sweeping over towards where Jasper and his father were standing, his expression quickly morphing to one of anger and hatred.

I couldn’t be sure if he was really angry about seeing me or just embarrassed that somebody might work out that I was still partially bonded to him. Not that I cared what he thought of me anymore.

“What the f**k are you doing here?” Michael growled.

His words and the venom behind them hit me straight in the heart. I hadn’t realised that the bond between us was still so powerful, but now that he was right in front of me, rejecting me once again, I knew I was wrong. The pain was so intense that I had to drop the bag to the floor and wrap my arms around myself so that I didn’t whimper or fall to the floor myself. Even so, I wasn’t strong enough to stop the tears from forming in my eyes and falling down my cheeks.

“This is my pack, I work here,” I whispered. I wasn’t sure why I felt the need to justify myself to him, but maybe it had something to do with the very clear instructions that he had given me when I had left his pack. Instructions that I had always intended to keep.

“I told you to stay away from me, didn’t I?” He said.

He didn’t sound angry anymore. There was a soft edge to his voice, which made my wolf’s ears prick up with interest. I wasn’t so gullible, though. He was an Alpha, and he was playing some kind of game with my feelings. He was probably only luring me in so that he could hurt me more in the long run, and I wasn’t going to fall for it.

“I never planned on seeing you again. I have spent the last few days trying to avoid you.” As I spoke, I took a step backwards, trying to put some distance between us.

“What?” He shouted, causing me to jump backwards in fear. In the scramble to get away from him, my shoes got caught on the grass, and I started falling backwards. Luckily, Jasper’s brother, Lawrence, was standing nearby, and he took hold of my arm to steady me.

A loud growl tore out of Michael’s mouth as he looked at Lawrence touching me. I instinctively backed away from the two of them. It was an Omega instinct to avoid confrontation where possible, but I hated how weak it made me look. I was annoyed that Michael would apparently rather I fell to the floor than see anyone else help me, but I was more annoyed that I would do anything to make him feel better.

After the way he rejected me, it would serve him right if he had to watch Dante and me f*****g each other. He had no right to tell me who could touch me, and he had no right to be involved in any aspect of my life.

“You dare to touch my mate. Are you trying to challenge me, pup?” He growled aggressively at Lawrence.

My wolf purred in appreciation of his possessive gesture, but for me, this was far too little and much too late. I started taking slow, deliberate steps backwards. I needed to get out of here before Michael could catch up with me. Maybe I could flee the pack and live in Dante’s spare room until I could get a job and a place of my own.

In the distance, I could hear Michael telling everyone to stay away from me, then he turned around, scanning the area until his eyes met mine, and I knew I was out of time. I turned on my heel and started running. I knew he wouldn’t be far behind me, but I knew my way around the house and the pack much better than him. If I could get inside, then maybe I could lose him in one of the hallways.

In the end, I only just made it through the door before Michael caught up to me. His arms wrapped around me, and we both tumbled to the floor. I tried to shuffle away, but he pinned my arms over my head, with his body hovering over mine. His canines had already extended, and he looked as though his wolf was close to the surface, getting ready to bite me.

Maybe I shouldn’t have run from him, as an Alpha, he was bound to find the chase arousing. But it wasn’t as though he had left me much of a choice. It was either run or let him humiliate me again. But now that I was lying on the floor beneath him with his c**k pressing against my leg, I knew that I had chosen the wrong option.

“Please let me go, you don’t want me. Please don’t mark me.” I screamed, tears filling my eyes.

“Of course I want you, baby, I have always wanted you.”

Hold on just a moment, what the f**k?!

“I should have never rejected you. So what if you slept with Jasper? I should have just let it go and made you forget all about him. If I had done that, then I wouldn’t have wasted the last year missing you.” He told me before lowering his face to my neck. He inhaled deeply while peppering soft kisses against my skin.

If this was his attempt at a romantic apology, then he sucked at it.

Maybe I would have accepted it a year ago when I was a naive Omega looking for validation and desperately wishing for my mate. But I was a different woman now. I was a lot stronger than I used to be, and I was no longer willing to settle for a life as someone’s mate. I wanted a future of my own choosing, on my terms, and I was willing to fight to get it.

“You should have spoken to me rather than making assumptions about me. If you had, then you might have learned that I had never slept with Jasper or anyone else. But instead, you rejected me and ended our relationship before it could even begin.”I tried to pull my hands free from his grip, but he was much too strong.

“Our relationship is not over, baby. I’m going to do whatever it takes to make you forgive me, but until then, you will have to make do with this. I, Alpha Michael Graves, rescind my rejection and accept you as my mate.” He told me, causing our bond to strengthen instantly.