My Rejected Mate

SERENA’S POV I slammed the door behind me so hard the entire house probably heard it. Good. Let them hear it. If one more person told me to calm down, I was going to give them something worth being dramatic about. I marched down the front steps, my heels hitting the stone harder than necessary. The cold night air hit my face, but it did nothing to cool the anger burning through me. I could still hear the laughter, the whispers, the stupid question that had somehow managed to ruin the entire night. Have you shifted yet? As if I had somehow forgotten. As if every birthday didn't come with the same awkward silence, the same hopeful looks from the elders, and the same disappointment when nothing happened. Tonight had just been worse. I pulled my coat tighter around myself and kept walking. Everyone in the Sterling Pack shifted before they turned eighteen. Some shifted even earlier. It was as normal as breathing. Children grew up waiting for the day they would finally meet their wolves, and when it happened, their families celebrated like they had won a war. Me? Nothing. No wolf. No shift. Apparently, being the Alpha's daughter came with a few benefits and respect wasn't one of them. Not when you were the only twenty-one year old in the pack who couldn't shift. I could still hear the laughter from the party behind me. Not everyone laughed. Some had tried to hide it and somehow, that was worse. I'd rather someone laugh in my face than give me that look. That poor girl look. That maybe next time look. I'd had enough of next time. My twin sister had shifted at fourteen. Sienna had been surrounded by cheers that night. Dad had looked so proud, I had never seen him smile that way before. I was proud too. I still am. Sienna had never made me feel I was less than her. If anything, she had spent years trying to convince everyone else of the same thing. But tonight, when someone asked whether I planned to surprise everyone with my wolf eventually, even she had gone quiet, not because she was ashamed of me but because she knew I was already humiliated. And Dad... That was the part I didn't want to think about. He hadn't said anything cruel. Disappointment didn't need words. One disappointed look from Alpha Marcus Sterling could ruin my entire evening and it did. Apparently, I was talented enough to embarrass him without even trying. I kicked a loose stone off the path. "Fantastic," I muttered. "Another successful family gathering." I should have gone back inside. I should have changed into pajamas, climbed into bed, and pretended none of it mattered. Instead, I kept walking. I needed air. Distance. Anything that didn't smell like the Sterling estate and disappointment. Ashville wasn't far from the pack territory. It was the closest town, and unlike our territory, nobody there cared who my father was. And tonight, I desperately needed a place where nobody knew me. I pulled out my phone. There were already three missed calls from Sienna. I stared at her name for a moment before putting the phone back into my pocket. I'd call her later. All I needed now was a drink. Okay, maybe six. Tonight, I wanted to forget. Twenty minutes later, I pushed open the door of a small pub in Ashville and immediately got hit by the smell of alcohol, old wood, and whatever had been fried in the kitchen. Much better. I found an empty stool at the bar and sat down. The bartender glanced at me. "What can I get you?" "Something strong enough to erase the last three hours." He raised an eyebrow. "I know just the drink." He poured something amber into a glass, slid it toward me and I took a sip. My eyes watered. "Wow." The bartender laughed. "Too strong?" "No. Just emotionally moving." He shook his head and walked away. Maybe this was exactly what I needed. I took another sip, slower this time. The music was loud enough to drown out my thoughts and for the first time all night, I felt my shoulders loosen. Then someone sat beside me. I ignored him. He didn't say anything. I took another drink. Then he said, "Rough night?" I turned my head. He was looking at me with an amused expression. He had dark hair, broad shoulders, and a face that was annoyingly attractive. Of course. Because apparently my night hadn't suffered enough. I looked back at my drink. "Perfect actually. I always look this miserable when I'm having a good time." He laughed. A real laugh, not the polite kind. I glanced at him again. "You find that funny?" "A little." "Glad my suffering is entertaining." "I only asked if you were having a rough night." "And I gave you a perfectly reasonable answer." He smiled. There was something easy about him. Something that made me want to keep talking even though I had spent the entire evening wishing everyone would leave me alone. “I'm Damon,” he said. “Serena.” Just Serena. No Sterling. No Alpha's daughter. No expectations. He looked at me for a moment. “Nice to meet you, Serena.” Something about the way he said my name made my stomach tighten. "You're avoiding something?" he asked. I raised my glass. "Maybe I'm just avoiding people." "Same thing." I studied him. "Do you always interrogate strangers?" "Only the ones who look like they're planning to drown their problems in whiskey." I smiled and looked down at my glass. "I don’t think it’s working." "Then maybe you need another." He signaled the bartender before I could. I watched him for a second. "You're buying?" "Apparently." "Bold move." "You're welcome." I laughed quietly. It felt strange. An hour ago, I had been standing in a room full of people who knew everything about me and still somehow made me feel like I didn't belong. Now I was sitting beside a stranger who knew absolutely nothing about me and somehow, that felt easier. We talked. Not about anything important at first. Music, the town, the terrible drink I'd ordered. He told me he'd been to Ashville before but didn't live there. I told him I hadn't planned on staying long. Neither of us gave away too much and maybe that was why it worked. I didn't have to explain myself or talk about shifting or my father. I didn't have to talk about how tired I was of being the daughter everyone felt sorry for. For once, I could just be a girl sitting at a bar with a stranger. And when he looked at me, I didn't see pity, I saw interest. When I mentioned that sometimes people had a way of making you feel like you weren't enough, his expression changed. He leaned closer. “Then maybe they're the problem.” I looked at him. “You don't even know me.” “No.” His eyes stayed on mine. “But I know you shouldn't have to convince people you're worth something.” And for a second, I forgot how to answer. That was exactly what I needed to hear. Not another reminder that I needed to try harder. Just that. Maybe I wasn't the problem. I looked down at my glass for maybe the twentieth time. “You're dangerously good at this.” “At what?” “Making strangers feel better.” He smiled. “Maybe you're just easy to talk to.” I laughed softly. Hours seemed to disappear without either of us noticing. By the time we stepped outside, the night air had turned colder. I wrapped my arms around myself. He looked at me. "You sure you're okay?" I smiled. "Still avoiding my problems." "And is it working?" I looked at him. Maybe not. But for the first time all night, I didn't care. He held my gaze for a moment. Neither of us moved. Then I smiled. “I don't want to go home yet." His expression changed. It was softer, warmer. "I don't either." That should have been my warning. Instead, I stepped closer. His hand settled around my waist. Firm. Warm. The kind of touch that made my breath catch before I could stop it. He looked at me like he was giving me one last chance to change my mind. I didn't. His mouth found mine. For a moment, everything disappeared. The party, the laughter, my father's disappointment, the questions about my wolf, all of it. His fingers tightened around my waist as he pulled me closer, and I felt something inside me loosen. I hadn't realized how badly I needed to forget. Five minutes later, all I knew was that we were somewhere quiet, somewhere far enough from the lights and noise of the pub that I could finally hear myself breathe. I barely noticed the room around me. All I noticed was him. His hand closed around my waist, pulling me against him. His lips found mine again, slower this time, and a shiver ran through me. When he pulled back, his forehead rested against mine. “You sure?” I nodded. He brushed a strand of hair off my face. “You don't have to prove anything to me,” he said softly. My chest tightened. I closed my eyes. Maybe that was why I wanted him. Because for once, I didn't have to prove anything. His lips moved to my cheek, then lower, and a shiver ran through me. I caught his shirt in my fists as he kissed me deeper. His fingers slipped beneath the edge of my shirt, and my breath caught. I felt every inch of the tension I'd been carrying all night begin to disappear. He leaned toward my ear and whispered, “You can forget about everything tonight.” My eyes closed. That was exactly what I needed to hear. I turned my face toward his, pulling him back to me before he could say anything else. His hands tightened around me as his lips moved from mine to my neck. I shivered when he whispered my name again. “Serena.” I had never heard my name sound like that. I tangled my fingers in his hair and pulled him closer. I knew it was probably a bad idea, but tonight I didn't care.