Rejected by my Given Alpha

Brooke's Mate

As it turned out, I didn't get much of a punishment for my altercation with Tyler. I got called to the principal's office where I got a stern don't-cause-any-more-trouble lecture and got sent on my merry way. No one wanted to be the one to punish an Alpha's child. Tristan might not consider me his daughter, but it is still known in the pack I am his offspring. Therefore, no matter how much he hates me, it is considered an insult to him if someone were to punish me besides himself. It's pretty much the only good thing that comes out of me having 50% of his DNA.

Much to my annoyance, the new werewolves were in a decent number of my classes. Not that new werewolves bothered me; it was the fact I had to behave more now in order to keep the reputation of our pack. It looks bad on us if we act up in front of new members of another's pack, causing us to lose some respect. And Tristan needs all the respect he can get as an Alpha.

It also didn't help that the new werewolf boys were eyeing me shamelessly. I was so used to hiding my alpha aura that by not emitting it, they thought I was fair game. That, and the fact it is known I'm mateless after Tyler's rejection. It's causing me more of a headache than Tyler's futile attempts to make conversation with me.

"Can I help you?" I snapped, getting tired of being undressed mentally by a new werewolf boy. "If you're going to undress me with your eyes, buy me dinner first. Then you can explain to your Alpha why you're attempting to hit on his ex-mate."

The boy paled and turned away quickly, averting his gaze. No werewolf was stupid enough to go after their alpha's mate, even if they were rejected. It was seen as disrespect; like you were going after their "sloppy seconds" so to say. Not that I was sloppy seconds, of course. That's evident by the fact Tyler is seemingly trying to win me back. I like to consider myself "the one that got away". Makes for a much better story.

After what felt like hours but was only forty minutes, class finally ended. I rushed out of the class, needing to find Brooke and Liam before I snapped and slapped someone. They would at least be able to calm me down enough to ignore the stares. I was starting to consider letting off my aura just to be left alone by them. But then it would ruin what I had going on here of being mostly unknown as an Alpha's daughter. It was a lose-lose situation.

"Brooke!" I yelled as I saw her and rushed to her side, eager for a friendly face.

"Hey, how were your classes?" Brooke asked, adjusting her backpack.

"Horrible," I groaned. "New werewolves everywhere. The guys wouldn't stop staring at me, and the girls kept giving me nasty looks like it's my life's goal to steal their man."

Brooke laughed. "Looks like your attractive, Hales. Your milkshake brings all the boys to the yard."

"I don't want all the boys in the yard," I grumbled. "At least, not the ones that smell like day-old Mexican food after it's been digested and released back into the ecosystem."

"Sure you don't," Brooke said teasingly.

I smacked her arm playfully, causing Brooke to laugh. We walked down the hallway and saw Liam talking to a blonde werewolf girl. I froze, trying to push down the feeling of rage inside me. What the hell is going on with me lately? It's not like I ever cared Liam had friends outside of Brooke and me. He is a friendly guy, so he makes lots of friends easily. I'm not territorial, so why was I so angry when he was talking to someone?

Brooke noticed this and grabbed my arm. "Let's go get something to drink."

"But I'm not thirsty," I protested.

"Oh yes, you are," she said and dragged me away.

I stumbled after her, trying to match her pace and regain my balance, which was rather difficult when I was being dragged by my arm at an awkward angle. I was lucky enough to be double jointed so I could rotate my arm into a more comfortable position so I could regain my footing without falling on my ass.

Once we were far enough and in our next class, Brooke let go of my arm.

"Jeez women, you need to cut your nails. I think you left scars from those talons you call nails," I said, inspecting the red nail marks she left on my arm.

Brooke rolled her eyes. "Whatever, and they're supposed to be claws. I'm a werewolf, not a bird. I don't have talons."

"Tell that to the indents in my arm," I said. "I think they might bruise."

We sat down at our desks and waited for class to start. Liam walked into class, covered in a scent that made my nose wrinkle. I sighed and folded my arms on my desk, laying my head on them. I took a deep breath, inhaling the calming scent of the laundry detergent. Or rather, I tried to, but it was mixed with the atrocious aforementioned scent. This was gonna be a long day.

- - -

I sat down at our usual lunch table in a very pissed off mood. Not only was that horrible scent ingrained in my nostrils after having to smell it for an hour, but the small smile stuck on Liam's face from talking to her annoyed the hell out of me. He couldn't possibly like her enough to be smiling all throughout class after one conversation.

"Well, aren't you just a ray of sunshine," Brooke commented, raising an eyebrow at my face.

"The brightest," I grumbled. "Please, tell me something so I don't throw something."

"Like what?" Brooke inquired. "Wanna know how my classes went?"

I perked up at an idea. "I'd rather know what it is you've been so secretive about these past few days. Especially with how you reacted the other day."

Brooke wrinkled her nose in protest, but gave in. "Fine, but you have to promise not to overreact or be dramatic about it."

"When have I ever overreacted or was dramatic?" I questioned.

"Literally last night when I ate the last Dorito and you threatened to lie in a bathtub with a toaster plugged in because 'what is the point of living if you can't have the last Dorito?'."

"I see your point," I admitted. "Fine, I promise I won't overreact or be dramatic."

"Mhm," Brooke said, obviously not believing me. "Don't go all Alpha female on me, but I found my mate."

My eyes widened in surprise. "That's great! Why would I overreact or be dramatic about that? It's a good thing you found your mate, and I'm happy for you!"

Brooke chewed on her lip nervously. "Well, you might overreact because it's Brent Stormson."

A low growl escaped me before I could stop it. "Tyler's best friend and future Beta?"

Brooke shrank back slightly. "Are you mad? Please don't be mad. I didn't want to tell you because of everything going on between you and Tyler."

I took a deep breath, calming the wolf inside me. It wasn't Brooke's fault who she was mated with, even if it was the best friend of a total asshole. Under any other circumstances, it would have been perfect. Best friends mated to best friends. Who wouldn't want that? So, I did my best to treat the situation like Brooke just finding her mate.

"I'm not mad," I promised. "Just surprised is all. I'm happy you have your mate, B. Really, I am."

"That's a relief." She perked up and smiled, so I knew he was standing close enough that she could see him. "Come on, I wanna introduce you."

"Do I have to?" I grumbled, knowing he'd be around Tyler. I'd rather avoid that interaction.

"It's either that, or sit here with Liam." She nodded towards Liam, who was walking over to our table.

I got up instantly. "Let's go! I love meeting new people!"

"Hey, what's going on-" Liam started before being cut off.

"Come one, we're meeting Brooke's mate!" I said loudly, not wanting to talk much to Liam at the moment. "He's Tyler's BFF!"

Liam raised his eyebrows in alarm and looked at Brooke, obviously asking if I was okay.

"She's fine," Brooke told him quietly. "There he is. Follow me!"

She led us toward a guy surrounded by girls who were giggling around him. He was tall and muscular, his hair a dirty blonde color with icy blue eyes. I eyed him suspiciously, not trusting him being surrounded by a bunch of girls. I also didn't like the fact he barely glanced at Brooke as she approached. Weren't mates supposed to be completely absorbed with one another?

"Hey, Brent," Brooke called, smiling happily. "Come meet my friends!"

"In a minute, babe," Brent said. "I'm getting Chelsea's number right now."

A girl -Chelsea- giggled as she wrote down a series of numbers on a napkin.

Brooke frowned. "Why are you getting her number?"

Brent rolled his eyes. "Because we're meeting up later tonight. Is that a problem?"

Brooke inhaled sharply, her eyes flashing with hurt. It took everything in me to suppress the threatening growl that wanted to emerge at my friend being treated like that.

"Why are you meeting up with another girl?" Brooke asked. "We're mates."

"Yeah, and?" Brent asked. "You can't expect just one girl to satisfy me."

"I literally have your mark on my neck," Brooke pointed out, showing Brent's mark to the world.

"This isn't going to end well," Liam muttered, and I nodded in agreement. Everything in my body screamed something bad was about to happen.

"A mark is just a mark," Brent responded. "It means nothing."

"It means everything!" Brooke yelled. "We're bonded for life!"

Brent rolled his eyes. "Jeez, if I knew you were gonna be this clingy I wouldn't have marked you. This was supposed to be fun."

Tears filled Brooke's eyes. "You don't mean that. I know you don't."

Brent sighed dramatically. "You were just a good lay. Really, the best I've had. But this is getting a little too serious and clingy for me."

Brooke gasped, and I immediately knew what was going to happen. Before I could do anything-such as, shift and tear his throat out so he couldn't say anything else to hurt Brooke-he said the words I never wished for Brooke to hear: "I, Brent Stormson, son of Gamma Michael Stormson of Midnight Moon pack, reject you, Brooke Davis, as my mate."

Brooke's face crumbled, and tears filled her eyes. She ran out of the cafeteria before the tears could spill, and I could almost hear the sound of her heart breaking. Followed by her scream of pain as she felt their bond break.

I growled and something snapped in me when I saw the pain in Brooke's face and heard her scream. My nails extended into claws, and I knew my eyes were glowing gold. What I did next was completely under the influence of my wolf.

I snarled as I lunged at Joel, knocking him to the ground. I clawed and tore my extended canines into him, causing him to cry out in pain, before Liam pulled me off him. I thrashed around in his grip, ready to kill Brent for what he did to Brooke. I was seeing red, and that wasn't because some of Brent's blood splashed onto my face.

"Hayley, calm down," Liam said, though I could feel his anger at Brent.

"Let me go!" I ordered, using my Alpha voice for once. I knew Liam's wolf would recognize me as their alpha, so he'd obey me. It wasn't something I did often, but I was too angry and out for blood to suppress my aura.

"Fine, but remember Brooke needs you right now," he said, and let me go.

That comment stopped me from killing him-at the moment. Instead, I settled for mustering all the strength I had in my right arm and punched Brent as hard as I could in the face. He fell down, blood covering his face.

I turned on my heel, glaring at Tyler to stop him from coming towards me, and said in my Alpha voice, "If anyone helps this bastard, I swear to god I will kill them."

I then ran out after Brooke. I used my werewolf speed and followed Brooke's scent, now slightly tainted with the smell of tears and Brent's burnt scent. How I didn't notice Brent's scent mixed with hers when he marked her, I don't know. But now that their bond was broken, his scent turned burnt on her. Evidence of his betrayal. Liam ran with me, and we followed her scent back to the house.

I burst inside the door and ran into Brooke's room. I saw her curled up on her bed, sobbing and clutching the claim on her neck that was no doubt causing her immense pain. If I could cut it off without hurting her, I would in a heartbeat.

"Brooke," I said sadly, and sat next to her. I wrapped my arms around her and held her as she cried.

"W-why w-would he d-do that t-to me?" Brooke asked through her heartbroken sobs.

"Because he's a jackass," Liam said, sitting next to us. "Don't worry, we'll kill him for this. Or seriously maim him."

"Don't hurt him," Brooke said sadly.

"Too late for that," I said. "Might've wolfed out a bit on him."

"Nothing too serious," Liam added. "Just a few scrapes. That chunk Hayley took out will be back in a week or two."

Brooke smiled at me sadly. Liam and I plotted ways to hurt Brent for the rest of the time until Brooke fell asleep.

We carefully crept downstairs and sat down on the couch, both of us hurting for Brooke.

"She's hurting," I said sadly, feeling Brooke's pain through the pack bond. Since the three of us were our own little pack, our bonds with each other were even stronger. We could feel the intense emotions of one another like we were feeling them ourselves. And this amount of pain was the type I should have felt when Tyler rejected me. I guess karma has a way of making sure you feel the pain of rejection.

"I know. I wish she was like you and was perfectly okay with this," Liam said.

I sighed. I actually wasn't completely okay with being rejected right off the bat. It did hurt slightly, but I didn't care about Tyler and didn't want him as a mate. For whatever reason, our bond wasn't strong to begin with. I did feel attraction towards him, but it was nowhere near what I thought a mate bond would feel like.

"He also led her on and claimed her before he rejected her," I said. "That hurts way more than what Tyler did to me. At least Tyler had the decency to reject me before he claimed me or did anything with me. I'll give him that much."

"True," Liam agreed. "I suppose I have to like him a little better now since he didn't do that to you. I still hate him, though."

"You don't have to like him," I said. "I hate his guts. But I still have to give him credit for not claiming me, then rejecting me. It was a decent thing to do, even though he keeps trying to act like he didn't reject me. It's really starting to get on my nerves."

"He deserves it. It was his choice; he should've waited to get to know you before he rejected you. It's common sense."

I laughed. We talked some more and eventually fell asleep. I snuggled closer to Liam, and everything was perfect...

Suddenly, a loud, piercing scream filled the house, making Liam and I sit up quickly. We exchanged looks and I knew we were thinking the same thing: Brooke.