'The Alpha and His Fox (18+) *Complete

Chapter 3: Theo's Rejection

"I, Theo Josiah, Future Alpha of the Grey Dusk Pack, reject you, Novah Hale as my mate and future Luna."

The other students around them stared on, waiting for the redhead's response. They expected anger, tears, desperate begging, even fainting.

But none of them expected the hard stare she gave Theo, the utter confusion on the girl's face as she looked at Theo as if he, the future leader of their pack, had the audacity to speak to her.

She pushed past him, continuing on her way as if they hadn't bumped into each other as she muttered to herself. "...the hell is this guy on? And they call me a weirdo.''

Everyone stared in shock at the redhead as she walked on, oblivious to the turmoil she put the curly-haired Alpha in.

He could feel shocked and uncertainty as the redhead gave him a look before brushing past him, as if they hadn't bumped into each other. He heard her muttering under her breath and he felt ire as she called him a weirdo.

Him!

Not that he was arrogant or thinking he was above any, but he was not weird when she was the one who talks to herself, when she was the loner. The confusion on her face when he rejected her was a bit annoying too. Regardless if she was human or not, she should have known about mates, it was taught in middle school before everyone turned 15.

She didn't even seem to care.

He shook his head as the whispers and looks were starting up and he marched over to his table where his close friends and pack members were. He was so lost in thought that he hadn't noticed that no one spoke a word. He jerked when a hand clasped his shoulder. He looked up and despite the teasing smile on his best friend's face, his brown eyes were filled with worry.

“Well, congrats on finding your mate dude!” Theo glared at him and he quickly spoke again, “At least she didn’t give you any problems?’’

Theo heard a scoff and turned to his carbon copy cousin. Megan threw the fries in her hands down as she scowled at them. “Good for you Theo, she would have been a shitty Luna and this pack is better off without her in it.’’

The others at the table could see the two’s words were not helping as Theo seemed to get angrier and a bit frantic.

"Sorry I'm late!" a tiny brunette came bouncing towards the table. Miles, being her mate, immediately started to give her loved-filled eyes and Theo felt a bit bitter. Joni kissed miles in greeting before sitting on his lap, noting the atmosphere immediately.

"Novah is Theo's mate." Carla, a tall wood nymph with flowy green hair said.

Joni smiled and turned to her closest friend to congratulate him when she saw his face. "What's wrong?"

"I rejected her." Theo stated, staring at the scratches on the metal table from years of abuse from the newly shifted.

The mocha-skinned she-wolf stared in shock. "And why did you do that?"

"Because she's human." Theo's fists clenched, his face voided of any emotion, knowing what was coming next.

Joni's leaned back in shock. "Theodore Cyrus Josiah! You rejected your mate, the one who was hand-picked by our Goddess, and all you can say is because she's human?!"

Before anyone could say anything, the she-wolf leaned from Miles's lap and pointed at Theo. Had it been anyone else, he probably would have fought them but before Miles, it was Joni who had been there so Theo knew she only had his best interest, even if it was being lectured in a cafeteria.

"I am appalled! Novah is a good person and didn't deserve that, and I know there's something else to this because you wouldn't have rejected her just because she's human! HUMAN! Well just so you know, that thing about her being-"

The bell rang, cutting her off and Theo stood up and stalked to the exit, leaving them in awkward silence as Joni called out to him.

The thing about meeting your mate and rejecting them is that now they’re more noticeable and Theo hated that. He couldn’t leave school otherwise he would have to explain to his parents and he did not want to open up that topic again.

He glared holes into the back of Novah's wild red hair throughout their shared class. He hated that the principal decided to double up the class for the rest of the year.

Now he can’t get her scent out of his senses.

His wolf, Jahsen whines in distress at their mate. His chest ached at the pain that ran through their bond as well as the anger in it. His wolf didn’t understand why he rejected her.

Joni was right in a way, he wouldn't have just rejected her because she's human, but at the same time, he didn't expect a human to be his mate and now he was second-guessing his original ideology.

She can't protect herself. She could easily be taken down if he wasn't there to protect her. She'd have a constant target on her back just by being his mate.

He frowned as he continued to stare at the small figure. In his heart, he knew he would never be able to mate with another. He didn't want to, Novah was his just as much as he was hers, even if she couldn't feel the bond. The moon Goddess gave her to him and he wouldn't do any with that, even if he would be alone for the rest of his life.

He couldn't bear the thought of her getting hurt because of him.

He was so lost in thought that he almost missed what their coach had said but the word 'conjoin' brought him back.

"As you may have known from the recent pack meeting that our neighboring pack, Oakland, will be merging with our pack due to the recent attack, and with that happening, I think we should have a little surprise for them!"

Everyone stared at the grinning coach in curiosity.

"Coach Mox and I thought it would be a great idea to hold a tournament! With a bunch of hormonal, angry teens being couped up, we figured a little stress reliever would be a great way to break the ice with our temporary merge."

The class burst into excited murmuring as the coach went on in detail. Theo looked at Novah and saw her staring at the treeline. He noted the small smile and felt himself smile as well before looking to where she stared and saw two small foxes zipping around.

His eyebrows furrowed, knowing there weren't any foxes in their area, and was a bit curious. He turned back to Novah and froze when Honey gold eyes bore into his.

They didn't hold the same coldness from earlier, in fact, they held a bit of thoughtfulness as they examined him.

He looked away as his heart started to beat a bit faster, rubbing his eyes with the heels of his hand as he groaned inwardly.

He ignored her for the rest of the school day.