You're Not My Mate

Rejected

Aurelia POV

The next few weeks pass quickly. I take over more of my role as Luna, helping Liam to run the pack. One of my favourite duties is just being able to help look after everyone, and be a mother figure to them. Which sounds crazy, considering I’m younger than most of them. But, everyone seems to like me, and respect me. Which is good. And definitely not something I’m used to.

After the Marcus and Talula saga, I had a panic that something would happen to me and Liam, and we wouldn’t be real. And how I would have to go back to my old home. But, those feelings - and fears - are gone for now. When we’re together, we have the most wonderful times, whether it’s shopping, sunbathing, or having s*x all around our floor of the house. And when we’re apart, we’re constantly mind linking. Just thinking about him now gives me goosebumps. 

One of my duties, chosen by myself, is to be more involved with the pack hospital. The doctors and nurses work tirelessly there. So, twice a week I go in and help organise their paperwork, upload any documents to the computer, and take them some fresh cooked food, courtesy of Jordan. This seems to go down well. Today I’m sat in the office, trying to work my way through a pile of old papers to put onto the computer to start building ancestry folders. Apparently this will go a long way for medical research for the future, so I’m trying to take it seriously.

“Sweet baby, where are you?”

“At the hospital. Do you need me?”

“I always need you. I’ll fetch you some lunch.”

“Mmmm. Sounds good. See you soon.”

“Love you, baby.”

“Love you more.”

“Impossible.”

And he cuts the mind link before I can argue. I chuckle, this is our usual to and fro. Just as I finish a stack of papers, I can smell him approaching. I sit back in my chair, grinning to myself and waiting for him to come into the office. He walks in, looking as Godly as ever.

His face is chiseled to perfection, his short, sandy blonde hair is ruffled, probably because he’s let it dry naturally again. His melted chocolate brown eyes look directly at mine, making my stomach do somersaults. How is this God mine? I trail my eyes down his body, starting with my mark on his neck. Showing everyone that he’s mine. He’s in the tight black t-shirt that he knows I love on him, brown chinos and grey sneakers. Don’t ask me how he pulls it off.. But he looks amazing and I can feel myself lick my lips.

“You like what you see, baby?” He asks. I smile up at him, innocently. I hadn’t even greeted him, I’d just stared at him, up and down, taking him all in. I can feel myself blushing. “Always.” He chuckles, closes the office door and puts a bag on the table. He pulls down the blinds in the office and I narrow my eyes, glaring at him. “What are you up to?” I ask. Knowing he must be after something.

He shakes his head, comes over to me and does his signature move, sweeping me up in his arms, to sit down and pull me onto his lap. “Can’t I come and see my girl when I’m missing her?” His words melt me. I rub my nose against his chest, breathing in his scent. Another reason why I like this black t-shirt, it clings so tight to him, I can see the outline of his very well grafted body. I smile to myself, as the smell of hot cross buns fill my nostrils. Why does he smell so delicious?

“So, I’ve come as a favour, for Marcus.” He says, while I’m sat munching my way through the most delicious baguette ever that he brought with him. He knows I have a soft spot for fresh baked baguettes. This time he’s brought turkey with melted cheese, and it’s heavenly. I raise my eyebrows surprised. “Marcus needs a favour from me?” He bites his lip and nods. Oh no. “What is it?” I ask groaning. Dreading the answer.

“He needs a wing woman.” “I beg your pardon?” “A wing woman.” “And.. You’re cool with this?” He shakes his head, chuckling. “Not at all. But he’s driving us all crazy trying to find his mate in this village, when obviously she isn’t here. He is USELESS out in the open. So, he asked if you could take him shopping. And I’ll be in the car outside. Wherever you are baby, I’ll be there within 2 minutes if you need me.” He strokes my face gently, treating me as if I’m a piece of fine china.

I sigh. I suck at being a wing woman. Well, that’s not entirely true. I’ve never been a wing woman so I actually don’t know. “Fine.” I mutter, letting out a sigh. We both know I’m only agreeing because it’s for Marcus. I pull out another tub from the bag to find strawberries and try to stifle a giggle. “I knew you had an ulterior motive!” He plays the innocent, looking at me with his beautiful eyes. “Sweet baby girl, I have no idea what you mean.” I narrow my eyes at him and purse my lips. He’s still as obsessed with strawberries now, as he was when we first met. Secretly, eating strawberries together is one of my favourite things to do.

I pull out the biggest strawberry first and put it into my mouth, turning to face him and sucking it. Then, I pull out it out my mouth and push it into his. His eyes dance, and he nibbles my fingers playfully as he pulls the strawberry off my fingers and swallows. I pick up another one, but he grabs my wrist, taking the strawberry off me before I can put it in my mouth. He kisses the strawberry and then pushes it against my lips and into my mouth. I bite down on it, letting the juices run down his fingers. His eyes darken as Crimson smirks at me. He pulls his fingers out, licking all the juices off them. 

This time, I pick up the tub of strawberries, and turn in his lap to straddle him. I feed him strawberry after strawberry, revelling in the feel of him nibbling, biting, licking and sucking my fingers. It’s heavenly.  Thankfully, we both have a little bit more self-control these days. Because I definitely don’t want someone walking in on us having s*x in my office. 

When all the strawberries are finished, I swivel back sideways, leaning against his chest. “What time are you coming home today? I have something for you.” I look around me. I had gotten a lot done today and my eyes were aching from the computer screen. “I can wrap things up in 10 minutes?” He grins at me. “OK. I’ll sit here and wait.” I raise an eyebrow at him. “No funny business, mister.” His eyes sparkle as he pretends to look all innocent. As I stand up he slaps my left ass cheek. I smirk, trying to ignore him and avoid scalding him. We all know how that will end.

The weather was beautiful here, so I was wearing a cream dress with some floral patterns on, that was low cut enough to show off my cleavage and went just above my knee. But I know, if I bend over so far, it’ll rise up enough for him to see me with no underwear on again. I smirk to myself. If he slaps me once more, I will do it. I scurry around my office. It’s only a small room and its just got piles of paper everywhere for me to upload. There’s no rush for it, but I’m trying to get one stack of papers done everyday, which seems to be working well. 

I go to my desk to tidy up a few last bits and he slaps my ass again. That’s it. I lean forward, stretching all the way across my desk for a pen, and I know he can see everything. He grabs my hips and pulls me straight onto his lap. “Do not tease me like that. Or I will f**k you on this desk.” I turn towards him sweetly. “I don’t know what you mean.” He closes his eyes, shaking his head, but when he opens them they’re still black with lust. I run my tongue across my upper lip and turn around again to finish tidying, smirking to myself. Aurelia 1. Liam 0.

Liam passes me my bag and I take his hand. “Come on, let’s go home.” I say. He purses his lips at me, trying to hold back his smile. I know full well what’s on his mind. And it’s on mine too. Theres no denying it.

“Where to, sweet baby?”

“Hmm. Maybe your office desk?”

“Just the desk, baby?”

“And the chair.. The wall..”

“Even the floor?”

I look up at him, I know my eyes are black with lust now. He sniffs and looks at me, smirking.

“Oh baby, I can already smell your arousal. Office. Now.”

I can hear the command in his voice and as we go to walk upstairs, Cruz interrupts us. “Hey guys.”

Liam POV

“Hi Cruz, bye Cruz.” “Ahh, Liam, don’t hurt my feelings.” What the f**k does he want? My d**k is begging for my girl. It’s twitching and trying to get out and he wants to chat?

“Do NOT be a c**k block Cruz.”

“Sorry Alpha. It’s important.”

“Give me an hour.”

“Sorry Alpha. I can’t. It’s her parents.”

I look at him, eyes bulging and look down at her sweet face. “Someone just tell me what’s going on so we can get going.” And she pulls at my hand. Cruz coughs, “Luna, can we head to the office?” She glares at him. “That’s where we were going anyway. Can it wait?” “I’m afraid not, Luna.” She looks surprised. She’s pretty used to getting her way around here now. So she nods at him, but sticks out her bottom lip to me.

Cruz leads the way up to our floor and into the office. “Luna, take a seat.” She gulps and sits on my desk chair. I walk behind the chair and start to give her a shoulder massage. “So. Your father has phoned. Demanding you return home.” “I am home.” She replies, almost instantly. My eyes are bulging. Return home? Who the f**k does he think he is?

“I know that. But, he believes the Moon Goddess has made a mistake and he wants you to go home.” “The Moon Goddess doesn’t make mistakes. I’m staying here.” She doesn’t blink or skip a beat. She’s obviously used to his s**t. “He’s asked to speak with you on the phone.” “OK, call him. Put him on speaker.” I blink at Cruz as he pushes the dial button and puts the phone on the table on speaker and we watch it ring.

“What the f**k is this, man?”

“I don’t know. He said something along the lines of how she isn’t married so he still has official power over her.”

“Does he f**k. I’ll rip his head off.”

We both stop when we hear Alpha Regulus answer the phone. “Hello?” “Hello, Alpha Regulus.” She replies coldly. I’m surprised. This isn’t like my sweet baby, but then they’ve never had the most loving of relationships. It’s only around her father that I’ve ever seen her cold side. She’s always so kind and caring. “Ah, Aurelia. I’m so glad to hear from you again. I’m sorry the way our last conversation ended..” I blink and start to zone out. What last conversation? She hadn’t told me they’d spoken. Or that it had ended badly? I look at Cruz who’s looking at my face to figure out what is going on.

“Yes. Alpha Regulus, I only have 5 minutes, as you know, Luna of a pack this size is very demanding. So what can I help you with today?” I try and get a sense of how she’s feeling, but all I get is calm. I’m surprised at how businesslike and formal she’s being. I try and count in my head to get a hold of my emotions. I don’t want her picking up on my anger.

“Well, Aurelia, like I said. The Elders and I have been consulting. We believe that the Moon Goddess has made a mistake. As your father, and Alpha, I command you to return the Emerald Moon Pack immediately, mate and marry Junus Avitus Claude.” 

“And have you spoken to Junus about this?” “Junus has been made aware.” “Yes, and me and Junus have spoken as well. Me and Junus are very good friends. Brother and sister in fact. But we are not mates. I will not return, and you have no power to order me, as you well know. I am with Alpha Kustoff now. We are planned to be married. Liam is my mate. He is my Alpha and I am his Luna. If you ever phone and disrespect me again, I will allow Alpha Kustoff the full extent of werewolf law to attack your pack, and kill you. Do you understand?” I blink. Holy s**t. I look at Cruz and his eyes are bulging.

“Man, she is f*****g awesome!”

“Cruz. What the f**k is going on?”

“No idea man. Apparently the Junus kid has been going a little stir crazy. The Elders believe it’s because you stole his mate.”

“What do you think?”

“Honestly, I think he’s just a brother, missing his sister. If they were mates, he’d have been here weeks ago. Nobody could last without their mate that long.”

“Hmm.”

“Alpha Kustoff, do you have anything to say?” I blink as I hear her father say my name. s**t I wasn’t listening. 

“He’s asked you why you didn’t ask for my hand in marriage. Tell him you asked Caesar’s permission.”

“Good day, Alpha Regulus. With all due respect, I asked Caesar’s permission for Aurelia’s hand in marriage. He has my utmost respect, and has always had Aurelia’s best interests at heart.” “He is NOT her father. If she hadn’t been such a w***e, we wouldn’t be in this mess.” That’s it. A growl rips through the entire room, and I see Cruz run forward to stand by Aurelia. 

“Alpha Regulus, if you ever talk about my mate with any vulgar words, tone or in any disrespect again, I will come to your pack, rip your f*****g head off, and take over your pack as Alpha. Aurelia is my mate. She is to be my wife. And if you’ve got a problem with that, you come here and say it to my f*****g face instead of being a whiny b***h and phoning my Beta. You are NEVER to come here again. And until Aurelia says otherwise. Do NOT contact her.” The phone line is quiet. “Good riddance, Aurelia. But this isn’t over. Not by a long shot.” He mutters.

Cruz grabs the phone, hangs up and rushes back to Aurelia. “Luna, I’m so sorry. I’ll kill him for you, honestly. Just say the word.” She places a hand on his chest. “Thank you for thinking of me, Cruz. But I’m OK.” He pulls her into a hug and mouthes apologies to me. I wave them away. It’s hardly his fault. I give him a look and gesture to the door with my eyes and he nods. “Luna, I’ll give you both some time. If you need anything, please call.” He smiles sadly at her, then glares at me. I know exactly what’s running through his mind. Alpha Regulus’s head rolling on the floor. Cruz plays the hard man, but he was one of the most sensitive men in this pack, and he has a huge soft spot for Aurelia. We all do.

Aurelia leans against the table taking deep breaths. I can feel sadness, anger, and exhaustion. I lift her up and move to sit on the chair behind her and turn her around to face me. I expect to see her eyes full of tears, but I just see rage. “Oh, sweet baby, come here.” I open my arms and she climbs onto my lap like a little pup, and pushes herself as close as possible to me. I wrap my arms around her, and kiss her head, praying she’ll fall asleep. Her breathing is ragged, and I can feel the anger radiating off her now.

After a short while her breathing starts to calm. I try and hum to her and rock her back and fore. I don’t know how good I job I do, but the smile on her face is enough to keep me going. Eventually, she takes a deep breath and sits up. “I need to show you.. Some.. Some things. And you’re going to hate me. But... I love you. I can’t lie to you, or hide things from you. If you want me to go after it.. I’ll leave. Please.. Just.. I hope you forgive me.” She whispers, hiding her face from me. I cup her face and pull it up to look at me. “Baby, whatever you’ve done, I will never hate you or want you to go.” She nods, tears in her eyes and leans her forehead against mine.

She flashes back years. Her disappointment on her 18th, at not being Junus’s mate. Her first kiss.. With Junus. Her first orgasm.. With Junus. I have to fight Theodore to calm down, reminding him that this was before us. Her disappointment on his 18th, at not being his mate. All of her memories never show s*x which we both hope means that it never went that far. I’d always assumed she was a virgin. No. I know she was a virgin before me. She flashes through memories of times she’d thought about killing herself. How Junus was always there, stopping her, helping her. She shows me the argument she had with her father the day before I met her. Her packing her bags, writing notes to say goodbye. 

And then the memories of meeting me. Her memories of Junus get fewer and far between after this point. Which makes me feel happier. She replays phone conversations between them. And then she shows me a FaceTime from a few days ago. Junus was shaking violently and kept shifting between wolf and human form. The Elders rushed in and took him away. I feel instantly guilty, this was when I had extended training for the day and she was left on her own. Why hadn’t she mentioned this to me?

She flashes forward to FaceTime with Lucia a couple of hours later where she shows Junus in the background fine, and smiling. Then forward again a couple of hours and a FaceTime where they both talk. “I’m sorry, Boo. Looks like someone poisoned me with something. I’m all good. The Elders tried to say it was because I was having withdrawal symptoms from my mate.. But honestly, I’m so happy for you. You know that. Liam’s a good guy. You two are the perfect mates.” She gushes and starts talking all about us, making my heart feel warm. And then. “Boo, I have to warn you. Your father has been... Strange. Well.. Stranger. The Elders had a meeting last week, and since then, he’s been talking to me everyday, trying to find out more about you. Be careful, please.” 

Then she flashes forward to a phone call yesterday. I was at training, again. She shows me her watching me through the window before she takes a FaceTime from her father. “You need to come home. There’s been a few changes, and it looks like we need Junus to become Gamma. So you’ll need to come home and be his wife.” “Not a chance. Why do I have to be his wife? Why can’t you let him find his mate?” “NO! It needs to be you.” They argue back and fore for ages until the truth finally comes out. 

“Dominik REFUSES to do as I ask. So I need my blood to remain throughout. You WILL come home. You WILL marry Junus. Or I’ll make you watch him die.” “If you harm him, Alpha Regulus, I will bring the entire fleet of fighters from my pack to your home. I will have them kill you, and anyone who stands in our way. I suggest you hand over the title of Alpha to Caesar immediately. Before you get you and your pack killed. Never contact me again.” 

And then she pulls away, sobbing. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you that me and Junus used to mess around. It was only messing around. I always saved myself for my mate. I was a virgin when I met you, I promise. I’m not a whore.” Seeing her like this kills me. I pull her close to me, holding her hard against my chest. “Baby, I’m so proud of you.” She lifts her head to look at me confused. “Why? Why would you be proud of someone like me? Why would you want someone like me?” She manages to wobble out between sobs.

“Because, you are a kick-ass Luna, who just put the biggest jerk Alpha in his place. And yet, you’re worried about my feelings.” I hold her close against my chest, rocking her on my lap as she sobs her heart out. And it f*****g kills me. Every. Single. Sob. It kills me. As if someone is driving a little sharpened pencil into my heart, chipping away at it. I hate seeing her like this. After what feels like hours, her breathing starts to change. I look down and she’s fallen asleep. Her eyebrows are still furrowed, so I gently rub them with my fingers, trying to smooth them out to help her relax. When I know she’s fast asleep, I get to work. My first mind link is Cruz.

Aurelia POV

I wake up with a banging headache, and sore eyes. Ugh. I keep my eyes closed as I think back to everything that happened. Does my father seriously want me to be on my own for the rest of my life with no mate? Does he never want to see me happy? “Are you awake, baby?” I open my eyes slightly, blinking. They ache even more open. I can see Liam’s face right in front of mine. He looks exhausted, panicked and sad. I reach up to stroke all the creases out of his face, and my touch helps him start to relax.

“Are you going to send me back?” I ask, my throat croaking. Most probably from dehydration. I felt awful having to tell him - and show him everything. All about Junus. I know how much that would have hurt him, and it killed me. But I couldn’t lie to him anymore. I couldn’t keep secrets. I had to tell him everything. If I didn’t, I’m sure my father would take great delight in doing so. He closes his eyes and shakes his head, and leans around me to get a bottle of water. “No, never. Have a drink, baby.” I sigh and try to sit up. He slides one arm further under me and helps lift me up as I down the entire bottle. Wow. I was dehydrated. I look around and see we’re still in his office.

“What time is it?” I ask, looking around, confused. He smiles sadly at me. “It’s the next day baby, 6AM.” I nod, and then my inner Luna comes out. “Why didn’t you go to bed? Why did you stay here? And why are you not at training?” I demand. His eyebrows lift up in surprise and then he chuckles. “Oh, I missed you. You’re the most important thing in my whole life, baby. I’d never leave you here alone to do anything while you’re so upset.” A lump forms in my throat and I snuggle into his chest more.

I try to put my thoughts and feelings into words, but before I can, Cruz and Marcus come strolling in. Marcus hands me a blueberry muffin and kisses the top of my head. Cruz fetches me an orange juice and kisses my head too, surprising me. “How are you feeling?” Marcus asks, the concern on his face. Of course he already knows. I shrug. “I don’t know. I guess he was always my Alpha, never my father. And I think, deep down, I always knew that. But, I’m surprised at the lengths he’s willing to go.” They both nod. “Well, I have a surprise downstairs for you, that I think will cheer you up. Coming down?” Cruz asks. 

I groan. I don’t mean to be ungrateful. But really, a surprise? And having to go downstairs. I throw my head into Liam’s chest and shake my head. “Not right now, Cruz. I don’t have the energy.” Liam places his hand under my chin and lifts my head to look at him. “I promise, you’ll love this one. Cruz has worked his butt off all night.” I groan and grumble, but nod. Cruz grins at me across the room, and Marcus ruffles my hair before they leave. “Come on, I’ll help you get dressed, baby.” I wrap my arms around his neck as he carries me to our bedroom.

40 minutes later and Liam has washed me, brushed my teeth, brushed my hair, dressed me and kissed me somewhere on my body every 30 seconds. I was happy with him, of course I was. But, deep down. I had this dull ache. Of finally being fully rejected by my father. Of having him ruin my life again. And I knew part of me wouldn’t be the same again. He’d turned part of my heart and soul black. His blackmail attempts to tell Liam everything, and telling me how Liam would reject me and send me back if he ever knew the truth.. Liam slides my fluffy slippers on and then leans down to carry me. I shake my head. “I can walk, thank you.” His eyes look full of concern but I grab his hand and wrap it around me so we can walk together. His concerned smile makes me feel even worse. I snuggle into him and start the walk downstairs.