Trial & Rejection
1279 Words
MAE – POV
Sitting in the suffocating silence of a prison cell, I waited. Not for redemption—that was a dream long lost—but for my fate.
“Walk,” the guard barked, dragging me roughly to my feet. Shackled in wolfsbane chains, I stumbled, the weight of the metal as heavy as the hatred in the eyes of the Orion Pack wolves. “Villainess,” they cursed me, their whispers sharp enough to cut. And I couldn’t disagree.
As I stepped onto the death podium, the full weight of their disdain crushed me. My second-chance mate, Alpha Oscar Lockwood, glared at me from his place of power, his eyes blazing with hatred. It was a look I deserved.
Why wouldn’t he hate me? I had manipulated him, used his strength, his power—made him fall in love with me under false pretenses. I had driven away every she-wolf who dared to get close, even my cousin, Faye. She had a crush on Oscar once, but I forced him to reject her. I told her to find someone else, and she did—her true fated mate, Alpha Atlas.
Now, Oscar wanted justice. He wanted blood. My blood.
From the corner of my eye, I saw Faye approaching, a doctor following close behind. She whispered something to Oscar, her voice too low for me to hear.
“Alpha Oscar, kill this b***h!” a voice from the crowd roared.
“She tried to harm us!”
“She betrayed the Pack!”
“She hurt you, Alpha!”
The cries rose like a wave, drowning me in their hatred.
“Enough!” Oscar’s voice cut through the noise. His glare landed on me like a blade. “Mae Cooper is spared,” he declared, his voice as cold as ice, “under certain circumstances that I will not disclose. However, she is exiled from the Orion Pack and will never return.”
The crowd fell into shocked murmurs. My heart pounded as I stared at him, then at Faye. Why? Why would she intervene? She had every reason to want me dead.
The guards grabbed me, dragging me away. My legs felt like lead as they hauled me to Oscar’s office. I could barely stand after a week of starvation. When he entered the room, his presence filled the space, but he didn’t bring Faye or the doctor with him.
“Why are you—” My voice cracked. “Why are you keeping me alive?”
“Eat,” he commanded, gesturing to the food and water waiting for me. My body moved on instinct, hunger clawing at me as I devoured the meal. He didn’t look at me, his attention fixed on his phone.
“Go bathe and get dressed,” he said after a moment. A maid entered to escort me.
“Why are you being kind to me?” I asked weakly, my voice barely above a whisper.
“Follow my orders,” he snapped, his tone sharp enough to silence me.
The maid grabbed my arm, her fingers digging into my skin as she dragged me down the hall. Her eyes, once full of respect when I was Oscar’s fiancée, now brimmed with hatred.
“You deserve worse,” she hissed, shoving me hard. I stumbled, landing on my knees. Pain shot through my arm as I caught myself, but I said nothing. I had no strength to fight back.
“Wear this,” the maid sneered, throwing a set of clothes on the floor and stomping on them. Another maid yanked my hair, her slap stinging my cheek.
“She’s vile,” one of them muttered. “I don’t know why the Alpha lets her live.”
I swallowed my pride, changing into the clothes they tossed at me, ignoring their taunts. Once dressed, I combed my hair and returned to Oscar’s office, their scornful gazes burning into my back.Oscar’s eyes scanned me with disgust. He dismissed the others, leaving only me and his Beta, Daniel.
Daniel. My ex-mate. The one I had rejected so coldly in my bid to chase power. His hatred for me was a storm brewing in the room.
“Before you leave,” Oscar said, his voice venomous, “I want to reject you. You will feel the pain you made Faye endure when I rejected Faye and the humiliated her broke in front of the entire Pack.”
He grabbed my face roughly, forcing me to meet his glare. His touch was cold, his eyes colder. “It’s your turn to suffer.”
“Don’t reject me,” I whispered, my voice cracking. “Kill me instead…”
He laughed, the sound hollow and sharp. “I promised someone I wouldn’t kill you.”
“Faye?” I asked, though I already knew the answer.
“Don’t say her name,” he spat. “You made her suffer enough. If it were up to me, I’d kill you with my bare hands.”
“Why are you letting me go?” I pressed, my voice trembling.
“To make you live with the weight of your sins,” he said coldly.
“You’ll lose your wolf if you reject me,” I reminded him.
“I don’t care,” he replied. “I’d rather lose my wolf than keep you as my mate.”
The words hit me harder than any physical blow.
“I, Alpha Oscar Lockwood of the Orion Pack, reject you, Mae Cooper, as my mate,” he said, his voice steady and unrelenting.
Pain erupted through my body, white-hot and unbearable. It was as though my soul had been ripped apart. I collapsed, clutching my
chest as a sob tore from my lips.
“Accept the rejection,” he demanded.
“No,” I gasped. “I won’t let you lose your wolf because of me.”
“You don’t get to make that choice,” he snapped. “I deserve this. I deserve to lose everything for what I did to Faye.”
“It was my fault!” I shouted through the pain. “Not yours. Let me bear it!”
But he had already turned away, his hatred a wall I couldn’t break through. He got fed up waiting for my rejection. He signaled his guards.The guards escorted me to the edge of the territory. Every step was agony, my leg throbbing from a fresh sprain, my chest aching from the rejection.
When I crossed the border, I mind-linked my friend Nancy, who managed what little remained of my family’s crumbling business.
She arrived quickly, her eyes widening in shock at the sight of me.
“You’re not dead,” she said, her tone disbelieving.
“Not yet,” I muttered, climbing into the car.
Nancy took me to a doctor, who treated my wounds. But no amount of medicine could dull the ache in my chest.
“Why isn’t the pain subsiding?” Nancy asked later, watching as I writhed in bed, drenched in sweat.
“Because Oscar is with another woman,” I hissed, the words tasting like poison.
“Where are you going?” Nancy asked as I stumbled out of bed.
“To see Faye,” I said. “I need to know why she spared me.”
AUTHOR NOTE
Hello, lovely readers! This is the second book in the Rejection series. The first book, “Rejected Luna Faye,” sets the stage for this story. While you can enjoy this as a standalone, reading the first book will give you a richer experience. Please leave your thoughts, comments, and votes. Thank you!
- Writer
