A TAINTED MATE

Ria's POV I stood frozen, my heart pounding in my chest, as words echoed through the room. "I reject you!" he shouted, his voice thundering through the small space. My heart raced extremely fast as my eyes welled up in tears at the heavy weight of his words. It felt like I had been slapped in the face, I felt a certain sting from the force of his rejection. Asides the ultimate fact that it was too sudden, Ryder and I had shared a passionate one night together, our bodies entwined in a way that felt like we were meant to be together. I had felt the connection, it was nothing like the ordinary. I had an unexplainable attraction towards him. One that could be tagged as a mate bond. That same night, he had told me the same thing as well. Now, he was rejecting me? My wolf howled in agony as his harsh voice replayed in my head. "I reject you!" Ryder's eyes blazed with fury as he took a step back, his chest heaving with anger. I saw the hurt and pain in his eyes, but it was overshadowed by a deep-seated rage. "Why?" I whispered, my voice shaking. "What did I do?" My breathing became hitched, I could no longer hide the tears that threatened to fall from my eyes. I let them flow. Ryder's laughter was cold and mirthless. "You are the daughter of Victor Green," he spat, his voice venomous. "How long were you going to keep that from me? For eternity?" I felt like I had been punched in the gut. The air was knocked out of me, and I could not breathe. I never expected Ryder to find about my family. My father was a werewolf hunter, a famous one known for his ruthlessness and merciless behaviour towards werewolf. I was ashamed of that truth so I chose to keep it from Ryder who happened to be a powerful Alpha. I was afraid Ryder would reject me if he found out about my family. That was why I went as far as lying to him that my name was Ria Carter when my name was actually Ria Green. I sighed heavy and flashed him pleading eyes. "I swear on my mother's grave that my father is not against my relationship with you, neither will he hunt you nor your pack. Things can still work between us. Please let us give this a chance. Let us fight for our love." Ryder choked out another bitter laughter, it scared me. The hairs on my skin rose in fear. I gulped a lump down my throat and watched Ryder spit at bitterly. "Your father was the one who burnt down my entire family! He killed my entire family!" He yelled. His words caused me to stagger backward. I almost tripped to the floor but I hastily held onto the wall for support. My father's past was a mystery I knew he had done some bad things. I just did not know how bad, to the extent of burning down an entire werewolf family. A prestigious one at that. Ryder's eyes seemed to bore into my soul, searching for something. But I did not know what he was looking for exactly. Was he by any chance waiting for me to admit it? How could I admit something I had no clue about. Ryder clenched his fist, I knew he deserved an answer, an explanation from me at least so I proceeded to apologize. "I did not know," I whispered at first. I felt ears prick at the corners of my eyes. "I swear, I did not know about that at all. I am so sorry that had to happen to you but I swear on my mother's grave that I had no clue about it." Ryder's face twisted in disgust. He looked like he was not buying anything I said. Instead, he spoke with disdain "You are just like him," he snarled. "A Green, through and through." I felt a surge of anger at his words, but it was quickly replaced by a deep sadness. I realized that Ryder would never see me for who I truly was. He would always see me as the daughter of the man who killed his family. The anger I felt was now for my father. He always had his way of entirely ruining my life. I never liked the idea of him hunting down werewolves. That was the reason why I never followed the family business of hunting werewolves. Rather, I believed that both werewolves and humans could co-exist. As I looked at Ryder, I saw the pain and hurt in his eyes. I tried to plead but Ryder raised his hand at me. He looked like he was not interested in hearing a single thing from me. As if everything I spoke were lies to him. Ryder now saw me as a lair, even after everything we had shared. He pointed to the door of his room and gestured me to leave. Everything seemed to be happening so fast for me. I wanted to protest. I wanted to fall flat to the floor and plead for his forgiveness but Ryder shot dagger glares at me, glares that looked like they could kill. With a heavy heart, I turned and slowly walked towards the door. With my back turned against Ryder, I hoped in my heart that he would call me back and plead. I hoped that he would suggest that we fight for our love but Ryder remained rather silent. I left Ryder and his rejection behind. But as I reached the door, I felt a hand on my shoulder, spinning me back around. I suddenly felt hope again, I knew he was not going to let me go not even just like that . Surprisingly for me, my expectations were broken when Ryder growled, his eyes blazing with fury. "Do not think this is over, This is just the beginning."you just started.