Rejected by my Given Alpha

"It's time to get up, Hayley!" I was awakened from what I can only describe as the best sleep of my life by the voice of who would soon become my archenemy. Why would they soon be my archenemy? Because they were waking me up. "I'll get up when I want to get up!" I yelled back, my voice muffled from the pillow currently pretending to be my face. "We're going to be late for school if you don't get your ass up!" That's the voice of my second new archenemy. And to think, we were the best of friends just five minutes ago. "I don't care, I'm not leaving this bed." "If you don't get out of your bed, Brooke and I are going to come get you out of it!" Cute. Liam thought he could actually get me out of bed, even with Brooke's help. My eyes suddenly shot open as I heard footsteps coming up the stairs and memories flooded back to me. They really could get me out of bed, and they would do it with a bucket of ice-cold water that would give even a werewolf frostbite. I leapt out of bed and ran to my bathroom, immediately starting to get ready. "I'm up!" I yelled as I heard my door fly open, walking out to demonstrate I was brushing my teeth and out of bed. Liam narrowed his eyes on me, carrying a bucket that I could see was nearly overflowing with ice. Brooke had the water bucket in her hands, and I was devastated my best friend took part in this would-be heinous crime against me. All because they wanted me to go to school today. "I don't know," Liam said, studying me. "Think she's playing us, Brooke?" "Not this time," Brooke said, eyeing me as well. "She never gets back in bed after she brushes her teeth." "Could be pretending," Liam suggested. I opened my mouth filled with toothpaste in retort to that. "Ew, gross. Close your mouth, Hayley." "You doubted me," I said, walking back from spitting out the toothpaste. "Now get out of my room so I can get ready." "I think you deserve an ice bath for not listening to us in the first place." Liam smiled devilishly. "Do it, and you're going to be missing kneecaps." "Jesus, I was only teasing," Liam held up one hand in surrender, the other still holding the torture bucket. Brooke just laughed and shook her head. "C'mon Li, our mission is accomplished. We better get ready too." "I hate you both. I want you to know that," I said as I walked back into my bathroom to start getting ready. They laughed and left my room to get ready for school. I debated if I wanted to shower or not, but one look at my greasy mess of hair that not even dry shampoo could fix told me a shower was definitely in order. I was lucky enough to have a bathroom someone would want to spend time in. A king-sized bathtub was tucked perfectly into a corner, right across from a huge shower containing different levels of water jets. I also had a huge vanity filled with make-up, lotion, and hair styling products while my skincare and other bathroom supplies were organized neatly on the bathroom counter by the sink. And to top it all off, the lighting was the best available, so it made for perfect make-up application. Don't even get me started on my walk-in closet. My grand bathroom isn't the only one like this in the house. Brooke and Liam have just as nice of bathrooms, each with features that they adore. Liam's has a built-in Bluetooth speaker in his shower and Brooke's vanity is even bigger than mine. Their showers don't have jets, though, so that's my perk. I turned on my shower, adjusting the temperature a bit so it would cool off my naturally warm body before stripping down and hopping in. The cool water soothed my skin and jets of water hit me from different sides, which was an oddly pleasant experience one would not expect. It was very relaxing, and it was the few times I had during the day where I didn't have to stress over anything. I couldn't help but wonder what my bathroom would be like if I lived in the packhouse like everyone else. As a daughter of the Alpha, one would expect me to live on the Alpha floor of the packhouse with my father, mother, and sister, but my father and I have what one would call a strained relationship. I firmly believe that if it were up to my father, I would be denounced as his daughter and be forced to live as a rouge. Luckily, my mother loves me too much to allow my father to do such a thing to me. I always felt bad for her sticking up for me to him, as I was a handful growing up, but my father was the one who often caused our fights, the other person causing them being my sister. Brooke and Liam have been my best friends since birth, as Brooke is the Beta's daughter and Liam the Gamma's son. One day, after one of my many arguments with my father turning physical, my mother finally came up with a solution of sorts. Instead of banishing me from the pack, I was permitted to live in a small house a bit away from the packhouse with Brooke and Liam. It had all the best appliances and was rather grand on the inside, but my father thought of it to be a simple house where he wouldn't have to see his disappointment of a daughter. In a way, it was a win-win situation. Now, Kelly is the so-called "princess" of Crescent Moon pack. She is my older sister, spoiled rotten, and is my father's choice as his successor. She naturally would be his successor, as she is the eldest, but there is one problem with that: she is a total b***h. Ever since I was born, she has made it her duty to make my life a living hell. Whether it be destroying my toys or pushing me downstairs for breathing in her direction, Kelly made sure that my life there was miserable. Even after I moved into the house, anytime I ran into her at school or on the pack grounds for a walk she made sure to insult and demean me. Not only does her personality make her the last person who should run a pack, she also rarely shifts into a wolf, thus making her a weak one. While we don't have a wolf of sorts living inside of us, we are still wolves. We shift into wolves and have their enhanced senses and everything, we just don't have what one would consider another person in our heads. Shifting is necessary for us not to turn feral once we do eventually shift, so it's concerning that Kelly doesn't shift as often as she should. It increases the chance of her not being able to shift back into a human, as the wolf in her won't let her after being caged for so long. Of course, she doesn't realize that. I, on the other hand, shift daily. I go on runs after school to keep my stamina up and to let my wolf urges appease themself. I also attend every training session, making me one of the best warriors in the pack. Brooke and Liam train along with me, but everyone knows that I could take them in a fight if needed. Perks of being an Alpha by blood and not ever missing a single training session. Pulling myself out of my thoughts, I quickly washed my hair and body, wrinkling my nose slightly at the strong scent of shampoo. While it's easy to find unscented body wash, it's harder to find unscented shampoo. The smell can be overwhelming for a werewolf, but luckily the water dilutes it. Otherwise I'd probably shave my head to avoid having to smell it. Turning off the water and wrapping a towel around me, I finally exited the shower. I sprayed some leave-in conditioner throughout my long brown hair before untangling it with a comb, wanting it to at least look tamed. It might be naturally straight, but damn does it get frizzy. After finishing my morning skincare routine (not every werewolf has perfect skin—we still have hormones that cause acne and other skin issues) and blow drying my hair, I walked into my closet to pick out an outfit. I grabbed a pair of ripped high waisted skinny jeans and a cute light blue crop top. I paired it with some converse and decided it was a good enough outfit. I took a deep breath, enjoying the cinnamon and nutmeg smelling laundry detergent Brooke buys. I can never find the exact scent she does when I look for it, but it smells divine. Liam loves the smell too, so it became a mutual decision for Brooke to be the one to buy the laundry detergent. She likes to shop anyway, so she didn't hate us too much for our request. Throwing on my usual makeup of foundation, concealer, brow gel, eyeshadow, and mascara, I did a quick once over in the mirror to make sure I looked okay. My long brown hair fell past my shoulder blades, and the eyeshadow I chose enhanced the flecks of gold in my green eyes. I was also lucky enough to have a foundation that perfectly matches my lightly tanned skin without having to be mixed with another foundation, saving me the cost. I ran my fingers through my hair, trying to give it a little bit of texture, before deciding I looked good enough to be seen in public. I grabbed my backpack and walked downstairs, sliding onto the stool at the kitchen counter next to Brooke as I saw Liam was cooking. "Good morning, Brookie," I greeted, smiling brightly at her. She made a face at the nickname I gave her oh so long ago. She disliked the nickname, as it made her feel like a baby, but it stuck. She's learned to live with it, but that doesn't mean she accepts it fully. I'll tell you right now, Brooke is the absolute sweetest person you will ever meet. Not only is she stunning with dark brown hair and green eyes, her cheerful and bright personality tends to draw everyone in. You can't help but adore Brooke, but you are also highly aware she can and will kick your ass at a moment's notice if she must. She is a werewolf, after all. "Hey hey, birthday girl!" Liam said, winking at me over his shoulder. I rolled my eyes. "It's just another day, Li. Please don't make it a huge deal like you did last year. I nearly died of mortification at the surprise party." "But this day is even bigger!" Liam exclaimed, wiggling his eyebrows at me. "You are finally eligible to find your mate." I groaned and buried my face in my hands. "Don't remind me. Every werewolf who knows of my status as an Alpha's daughter is going to be flirting with me today in hopes I'm their mate. I don't need another person in my life that needs even more attention than you do." "Haha, very funny." Liam swatted me playfully with a wooden spoon. Brooke raised a questioning eyebrow. "What about when Liam and I find our mates? You'll have to give them your attention as well." "Correction: I'll have to put up with them. Never said I must give them my attention. Besides, Liam would die if I gave my attention to someone else. Who else would tell him when he puts too much gel in his hair? Oh, by the way, you put too much gel in your hair today, Li." "Shut up," he said, swatting me again. I laughed as I dodged the wooden spoon. "Love you!" These interactions were a usual thing between us all. Liam would make a comment, I'd respond with a sarcastic insult, and Brooke would just play mother when our arguments went on for too long. As long as we didn't too any serious physical harm to one another, she didn't care about our playful verbal abuse to one another. Though, if we ever broke one of her things during our play fights, we would be running for our lives. "Say what you want, but I will still force you to be friends with my mate," Brooke said, laughing. "Hm, I don't know," I said. "First, I must deem them worthy of my love and acceptance in order to be friends with them. They already lose points by being your mate and therefore taking your attention away from me." Brooke rolled her eyes and shoved me playfully. "You're an ass, you know that right?" "You just pointed out my best physical feature, if I do say so myself." I grinned and stuck my tongue out at her. A smell like heaven washed over me, and I felt drool instantly form at the scent. "Please tell me you're cooking what I think you're cooking, Li." "Breakfast for the birthday girl." Liam smiled over his shoulder at me. "Bacon, eggs with cheese melted over them, chocolate chip pancakes with maple syrup and powdered sugar, spam, and to top it all off, my famous chocolate milk." "You're a saint," I praised. Liam laughed. "I know. You'll love me even more when you see what I made you for lunch." "Can I have it now?" I asked excitedly. "You can when it's lunch time," Liam said, moving the brown paper bag out of my reach. "No snooping." I crossed my arms and pouted. "You suck." "You'll get over it." Liam went back to slaving away over the stove. Now, most people think spam is disgusting. Half of them have never tried it, and the other half haven't had it the way Liam cooks it. Cook it in a little butter and add some brown sugar to it, it's pretty much ambrosia. And for those who haven't had Liam's chocolate milk, it's pretty much heaven in liquid form to put it mildly. Liam, to describe him briefly, is the perfect package a girl could want. He's got messy blonde hair, gorgeous blue-green eyes, and tanned skin. His jeans clung to his thighs, showing off the muscles there, and the see-through blue t-shirt he wore showed off his biceps and left no room for debate if he had a six pack of abs or not (he does). Besides his mouthwatering physical perfection, he's nice, funny, charming, sweet, smart, and he plays guitar. And he cooks. Need I say more? I never really thought about dating Liam at all, mostly because we have mates. It never crossed my mind to think about him like that due to us growing up together and him being my best friend. It would be weird to think about. That being said, if we were mates, I don't think I'd mind too much. But judging by the fact seeing him hasn't made me want to jump his bones, it's safe to say we are not mates. Liam set my plate of food in front of me, and I immediately dug in. I savored every bite I took and swished around the chocolate milk, coating all my tastebuds in the god-like taste. For the ten minutes I ate, I was in heaven. "I think I've died, and this is heaven," I moaned as I finished the last bite of my food. Brooke nodded in agreement, eating the same meal as I. "Same. IF this is what heaven tastes like, I don't mind being dead one bit." I looked down at my plate and pouted when I saw it was all gone. "Can't you make us some more? For my birthday?" Liam chuckled and put away the plates and glasses. "Now who's using their birthday for their advantage. I would make more, but we've got to get to school." "But I'm dead," I said. "I can't go to school unless I have more of that heavenly food and drink." "And dead people can't learn or go to school," Brooke put in. "Or breathe," I added after a moment of thought. Liam smiled and shook his head. "I think you two will survive. Besides, I've packed all our lunches with my food, and I stopped by S*******s this morning and got the birthday girl her favorite salted caramel mocha latte." He handed me an iced coffee that I snatched up greedily. Brooke got a chai tea latte and Liam himself got an iced mocha. He likes to drink chocolate things, mostly because I think he wants to make the most out of it that he can have it while dogs can't. I've never quite understood his reasoning behind it. We got into Brooke's red corvette (a gift courtesy of her dad) and drove to school in style. We laughed and joked all the way to school, and I lifted up my black sunglasses as we parked in the school parking lot. "Welcome to Hell," I said as I glared at the school sign that said Welcome to Wolf Hills High. "Agreed," Brooke said. "This place is a death chamber." "Come on ladies," Liam said, putting his arms around our shoulders. "Only a few more months until we graduate." Brooke and I groaned, and we walked into the school. We put our books in our lockers (which were right next to each other) and walked to first hour, which just happened to be study hall. "Kill me now," Brooke said. "I will if you kill me as well," I said. "It's a deal," Brooke said. "Drink your coffee, ladies, drink your coffee," Liam chastised. We all three took large drinks of our coffees, and with that, we started our school day. --- Lunch finally came around, and I all but ran to my locker to get to my lunch. I was halfway to my locker with Brooke and Liam trying to catch up to me when I heard a growl. "Mate!" I froze mid stride. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, trying to pinpoint the scent. The most overpowering smell was the laundry detergent, not that I minded, but I was able to pick up hints of pine and apple. I slowly turned around and was met with the gaze of Tyler Wood, which immediately filled me with disbelief and annoyance. Tyler Wood was the son of Mark Wood, Alpha of the neighboring Midnight Moon pack. We had an uneasy truce, but we were rivals for territory and for pack strength and numbers. The school and town was on neutral territory, so we all went to school there to "strengthen the truce" as our fathers said. I call bullshit and they just wanted their kids to scope out the other. He strode towards me and enveloped me in his arms. The wolf in me did acknowledge him as my mate, but my mind had another idea. And that involved using my colorful vocabulary to tell him off for hugging me without permission. But when I opened my mouth to use said vocab, I heard a growl in response. "f**k," I said, looking at Liam and Brooke for help. Brooke just shrugged and made a helpless gesture, knowing better than to get between an Alpha and his mate. Liam was glaring at Tyler, which made sense since he knew the most about our rivalry. Being the only high-ranking son in the pack, he attended all important meetings. It was good drama, but not so good now that I was in the middle of it. Tyler buried his nose in my neck and took a deep breath. I heard another growl, and then he was shoving me away from him. "What the f**k?" "I was about to ask you the same question." I folded my arms across my chest, glaring at him. He glared back at me. "How the hell did I get you as a mate? Not even a ranked wolf? This must be some sort of sick joke from Joel." I raised an eyebrow and hid a smirk. I didn't attend pack meetings a lot, as my father didn't like to publicly acknowledge me as his daughter, so people outside of the pack didn't recognize me as an Alpha's daughter. I also tend to mask my aura, as I don't like flaunting it like Kelly. It turned out to be useful now, as I was curious as to what Tyler was going to say next. "Please, do share your theories about our mate bond," I said, waving my hand and smiling. Tyler's nostrils flared in anger. "Shut up. There's an easy way to fix this." He puffed out his chest proudly. "I, Tyler Wood, future Alpha of Midnight Moon pack, reject you, Hayley Evans, as my mate." I smiled brightly, letting my Alpha aura slip out. "I was thinking the exact same thing." His eyes widened as he felt my aura. He was stunned, too busy processing what my aura was telling him. He had just rejected a mate of Alpha blood, one that would have brought him high-ranked pups. Too bad he'll never have that now. I skipped to my locker and grabbed my lunch. I looked over at Brooke and Liam, gesturing them to follow me. I may be excited to eat my lunch, but I don't like eating alone. "Well, that was something," Brooke said as we sat down. "I especially enjoyed the Alpha aura reveal." "I do love my dramatic moments." I smiled and hugged Liam as I saw my lunch. "You're the best!" Liam laughed and hugged me back. "Thought you'd enjoy my famous mac and cheese. I also brought you some sweet tea." He handed me a cup filled with the best sweet tea you'd ever have. I smiled brightly and hugged him again, kissing his cheek as well. "You got even better!" He laughed again and opened his own lunch. We are our lunches in happiness, nearly drooling over the mac and cheese. I ignored the looks Tyler was giving me, and I decided I was enjoying my birthday for once. School finally ended, and we drove back home. By the time we finished our homework and ate dinner, it was about six o'clock, so we decided to watch some movies. Ooh, let's watch Disney movies!" Brooke said excitedly. I laughed. "Alright, Disney it is. Liam, you pick the movies." "Sweet!" he said and picked every Disney movie we owned. Brooke fell asleep around midnight, but Liam and I were totally into the movie. Liam carried Brooke to her room, and then came back. "Well, today has been unique," Liam said as we watched Lilo & Stitch. "Tell me about it," I said as I dug into my carton of chocolate ice cream. "Well, you found your mate," Liam said and gave me a sideways look. I rolled my eyes. "Don't even talk about it. I'm just glad I'm not tied down anymore. Well, at least not tied down with him." Liam grinned. "That's a relief. I was worried it had actually hurt when he rejected you." "What? Me, hurt? Never!" I scoffed and fed Liam some of my ice cream as I saw him looking at the ice cream enviously. He let me feed him, and we continued watching our movies. Around three in the morning, we fell asleep watching Aladdin. Surprisingly, I was a lot more comfortable sleeping in Liam's arms than I was in my own bed.