The Rejected Plump Mate, Now Wanted

5: So Cold

Aurora

Time itself seemed to freeze, as though even it was stunned into stillness, just like me. My body locked in place, my heart racing in uneven, fragile beats, while my mind spiraled with thousands of conflicting thoughts.

He was calm. Too calm.

Dressed in a creamy casual shirt and plain dark trousers, he looked effortlessly composed, untouchable. A few buttons of his shirt were left undone, revealing a glimpse of the hard, sculpted muscles beneath. Everything about him screamed power, control, authority, without a warning.

He didn't say a word, just stared at me. Or rather, glared at me with that unreadable gaze, but beneath that cold exterior, I could feel the way his heart beat, only for a fraction before it settled, like he was still trying to wrap his head around it.

He was aware I was his mate. The way he had looked at me yesterday when the SUV had parked. The way his gaze had hardened instantly. The irritation. The disappointment. The unmistakable coldness in his eyes. Those couldn't have come from someone who didn't recognize me as his mate. They were too true, too realistic.

It was the reaction of someone who knew… and didn't want it.

A shiver ran through me as something warm brushed against my skin, pulling me out of my thoughts. His breath. It was warm, steady, and distractingly close, wrapping around me in a way that felt strangely soothing and dangerously alluring.

My chest tightened as I became painfully aware of my position, my face inches from his broad chest, my arms still resting against him, the only thing that had stopped me from falling when I accidentally collided with him.

Slowly, hesitantly, I pulled my arms away and took two steps backwards. Heat rushed to my face as another thought followed closely behind. The rejection that would come after this moment.

His eyes were still on me. He didn't say a word, didn't flinch, he just dragged his eyes over my features until they lingered on the curve of my waist.

That obvious bump that stood rounded, too big, out of ideal shape. It pressed against the fabric of my uniform, which hung a little too tightly, outlining every part of me I suddenly wished I could hide. I had never felt how tightly the fabric curved onto my frame until now, and it felt so embarrassing that my fingers curled slightly at my sides. I swallowed hard, lowering my head in shame.

I wasn't the ideal shape any man would want to cherish, and I had never felt such heat creeping up my spine, unfamiliar and suffocating.

Then I saw his lips twitch to the side, like he wanted to spill those words I had dreaded. Those words that would mark the end of my wolf, because I knew Keira wouldn't survive another rejection in her current state.

I was about to speak, to plead, but my words hung low in my throat as his gaze lingered only briefly. He swallowed hard, his Adam's apple gulping, before he altered whatever he meant to say.

"You should probably be more careful next time."

And then he slipped away into the hall.

I stood there, stilled, his words echoing in the air long after he had gone. I even forgot I was on assignment until the loud music buzzed into my ears, pulling me back to reality.

As I turned and ran back into the packhouse, my heart pounded with a series of unanswered questions. Why had Alpha Damian followed through the back entrance instead of the main one? Why was he so cold and distant? Was he only pulling through the ceremony before he could finally reject me?

Keira stirred violently in my head.

*****

Damian

It had been a long afternoon of exhaustion, clearing off final details at the training facilities, handling what needed to be handled myself, then an eight-hour flight followed by another two hours by land. By the time I arrived at the packhouse, I was totally drained.

It had been four, maybe five years since I left Darkshades. And this was different. This was a return. To the same pack I had walked away from. To the same place that still echoed with everything that happened four years ago. And I hated it. But duty called, destiny called, and I wouldn't say no.

What snapped at me, unexpected, unsettling, was meeting her. My second chance mate.

How was that even possible? After everything that had happened. After the betrayals, after my strong resolve.

That was certainly the cruelest joke of the century, and the moon goddess could have been a comedian to think I was distracted one bit by whatever game she was playing.

And yet…

The moment I caught her scent, everything shifted. It wrapped around me subtly at first, then settled, sharp, unmistakable. My eyes dropped on her.

Something inside me stilled. Cold. Displeased. Unsettled.

It can't be. This chubby, fragile-looking omega. One that appeared too tender, one that would shatter under the slightest pressure. Too soft, too breakable.

My jaw tightened.

I schooled myself to focus on the welcome event, but constantly my eyes drifted toward her. I noticed the timidity, the nervousness, the visible trembling she didn't even try to hide. Every time our eyes met, she flinched. And somehow it got under my skin in a way that pissed me off.

The moon was surely at it again. And this time I was going to decide how it played out.

I didn't return to get distracted. The last thing I needed was something to make me feel vulnerable.

That was when Dad announced the main ceremony for today. I already knew what he wanted to announce, but my mind kept drifting to this plus-sized omega, and I couldn't explain the pull that fueled it. Maybe it was the bond, or whatever it was.

Aaron had gone quiet after sensing our mate, which was unusual. I knew this reminded him of the torrent of pain from before, but he wasn't a wolf to stay silent. I didn't dwell on it, because it didn't matter, at least, that was what I told myself.

Until I left my room this morning, only to be hit by her scent again.

Spiced nutmeg… laced with honey. Soft, warm, and dangerous, wrapping around me like a veil and pulling me in before I could stop it. Aaron stirred and howled that one word that unsettled me each time.

“Mate."

Without another thought, I followed her scent to the back entrance. I saw her turning away from the door hurriedly, too absent-minded to notice where she was going until she bumped straight into me, her arms landing on my chest.

I felt the heat curl up in her face, the jolt, the nervousness, the panic, and worst, the fear written all over her as her eyelids fluttered uncontrollably, arms still pressing against my chest.

I felt the slight jolt of electricity at that contact.

I didn't react. I didn't move. I just watched her, trailing my eyes down her soft features, then back into hers. My mouth parted to spill the words I had already concluded upon, the ones that had lined the wall of my lips from the moment Aaron announced her presence.

But as I opened my mouth, something else snapped at me. I looked away for only a fraction before turning back to her.

I saw the way her chest rose and fell erratically. And somehow… I wanted to set her free from that terror. The words suddenly felt too heavy on my lips. I was not one for long talks, I liked hitting the nail directly on the head, but this…

"You should be more careful next time," I said instead.

I moved into the hall and left her behind. Something inside me pulled, cold, insistent, urging me to turn back. To end it. To face it.

But I continued into the hall. The interior sparkled in a blend of blue and red, my color blends, shimmering across the vast space through towering chandeliers that cast golden light across every surface. The decorations glowed, the atmosphere alive with movement and voices, everything blending into a spectacle that should have grounded me.

Then I felt it.

His stare. Somewhere across the hall.

Liam.

My jaw tightened instantly, and just like that, that familiar feeling from four years ago, came slamming back into me.