Twice Rejected, So What?

Tracy’s POV “You're so going to make half of your guests jealous, and leave the other half completely speechless, Princess,” I said proudly as I added a few finishing touches to the makeup of Princess Sierra of Goldencrest Pack. This is the biggest make-up project I've gotten so far, and I'm sure as hell not going to mess it up. I didn't get invited from Mystichollow Pack just to not deliver, hell no! I'm going to deliver on this job like an Hebrew woman. “You sure?” Princess Sierra muttered, a tiny bit of doubt in her voice. “I know so!” I said, dabbing the tiniest bit of highlighter onto her cheekbones. I stepped back a few steps and took a minute to admire the beautiful work of my hands. “How do I look?” “See for yourself,” I boasted with a satisfactory smile, as I handed her a mirror. It was a rule of mine not to let me clients see the magic I'm making when I do their makeup, and that's because the look on their faces when they get blown away by how gorgeous I made them look gives me loads of satisfaction, and that's one of the few times I don't feel like a ‘waste of space' like my step father always calls me, simply because I choose not to do ‘my one true calling; protect the Alpha, as a member of the Beta's family’. “Oh. My. Freaking. goddess,,” Princess Sierra whispered, her mouth slightly agape as she stared at her reflection. “Tracy–,” she began, then paused, still taking a few seconds to stare at herself. “Oh, no, no, no,” I quickly grabbed a tissue as I noticed her bottom lips trembling and her eyes shimmering with unshed tears. “Your makeup will not survive tears of joy right now, and I'll have to start over.” Not that I mind though, but her wedding was starting very soon, and I'm definitely not ready to have my face all over the news simply because I made the bride of one of the biggest weddings in werewolves world late. It's not going to look good, and it would be bad for my business as well. “I’m sorry,” she apologized in a trembling voice. “It's just that–,” she paused, then looked back into the mirror, and her lips began to quiver. “I’m not plain Jane anymore,” she muttered under her breath, that if it wasn’t for our hearing abilities as wolves i would have missed it. “Who told you such bullshit?” I asked sharply, setting the brush in my hands aside. One thing I hate to see or even hear is when a woman feels insecure about her looks. We're all beautifully made, and some measley mortal who hadn't the slightest idea how to create a life would feel they can tear someone else down simply because they had a tongue! She looked at me and gave me a smile, one that clearly didn’t reach her eyes. “You wouldn’t understand,” she said bitterly. “As the princess of Goldencrest pack, my life is far from perfect. Not when everyone around you constantly reminds you how ugly you are because your eyes are ... .too big,” she touched her cheeks absentmindedly, as if recalling every painful word she’s been told. “No one wants to play with the weird looking princess.” “Well they need to get their eyes checked,” I blurted out, not able to contain my anger. “Your eyes are gorgeous, princess,” I said as I crouched down to her eye level, and placed my hands on her shoulders then looked deeply into those gorgeous blue eyes of hers. “They remind me of the sea, deep, vibrant, and impossible to look away.” She chuckled softly, giving me a small hesitant smile. “That’s what my fiance always says.” “Well, your fiance clearly has excellent taste,” I said with a bright smile, standing up to my feet. “He must have an eye for the finer things.” “He does. That’s why I’m keeping him a secret until after the wedding,” she blushed. “I don’t want anyone stealing him.” I smiled in return, totally understanding how she felt. Earlier this year, news of her rejection spread out like wildfire, and even though her father Alpha Knight tried controlling the media, he couldn't control the side gossip. I for one couldn't understand why any sane person would reject their fated. For f***s sake this person is the bone of your bone and flesh of your flesh! They literally complete your soul. So why hurt them and hurt yourself as well?! A knock came on the door, interrupting the moment. “Princess Sierra,” a voice called softly from the other end. “It's time.” “Give me a minute,” she answered, then held my hand, “Thank you, for everything.” “No need to thank me princess,” I said dismissively. “I’m just doing the job I was paid for.” “You boosted my confidence. That’s more than just doing what you were paid for,” she said, and I just smiled in response. “Why don’t I do something special for you.” “Special?” “Yea. But you’ll have to attend my wedding,” she said. “Your wedding?” I was taken aback. Today was surely my lucky day! I not only get to make the Princess of Goldencrest more beautiful, I also get to attend her wedding? I'm literally screaming my lungs out in my mind right now! If I tell Stephanie about it when I get back, she wouldn't stop yapping about it to her friends. Her big sister attended the wedding of Princess Sierra of Goldencrest! “So?” Princess Sierra asked, pulling me out of my thoughts. “I– I’d love to. But I’m not dressed for such an occasion,,” I said, looking down at my clothes that had streaks of makeup on it. “That can be settled,” she said dismissively. “My room is just at the end of the hallway. Feel free to pick any outfit of your choice from my wardrobe.” There was a knock on the door, making us realize that the person that knocked was still waiting. “I’ll be expecting you,” Princess Sierra said, as she brought down her veil and walked out the door. I spent the next two to three minutes gathering my things before heading to Princess Sierra’s room which was just down the hallway like she said. I didn’t spend time going through her wardrobe because it felt like I was invading her privacy even though she gave me approval, so I just picked out the first decent outfit I could find which was a brown floral print flare gown. As I stepped out of the room, and omega was waiting outside. She handed me an invitation and directed me to where the ceremony was held, which was the Alpha’s private lounge. As I approached Alpha Knight's private launch, a familiar scent wafted into my nose, stirring Amaris, my wolf as her ears perked in recognition. The scent was faint, but unmistakable. I brushed it off with the thought that he might have come this way. He once mentioned that he was good friends with the Alpha prince of Goldencrest Pack. I handed my invitation to the guard at the lounge entrance, and after going through it he nodded in approval and opened the door for me. But just two steps into the lounge I froze. “Maxwell?” I said in disbelief, drawing a few curious glances, but I paid them no mind, and just stared at my Mate, standing at the podium in a well tailored suit with Princess Sierra. “Tracy, what are you doing here?” He asked, clearly nervous. "Is that what you're supposed to be asking?" I retorted. "Don't you have something else to say? An explanation, maybe. “Babe, you know each other?” Princess Sierra asked, looking utterly confused. Babe? It took a lot of restraint for Amaris not to come forward and attempt to tear the words out of her lips. But I knew better, Princess Sierra didn't have anything to do with this. Maxwell does. I'm not someone who goes fighting the other woman when her man(mate in this scenario) cheats, that energy should be reserved for the he-goat who doesn't have an ounce of dignity for himself or me. So, I shut off Amaris, so as to be able to think rationally. “Baby, I–” “Yea we do,” I cut him off, and made my way towards the podium. At this point all the attention was on me. “ You want to tell her or should I, Max?” “Shut the f**k up, Tracy!” Maxwell growled at me, and turned to Princess Sierra, cupping her face in his hands, and looked at her eyes as if the whole world was in them. I'm not gonna lie, seeing the way he looks at her tore at my heartstrings, but I'm not going to give him the satisfaction of seeing him hurt. “What's this about?” Alpha Knight who has been quietly observing demanded. “Maxwell, care to explain? Who's she?” “She's my mate,” Maxwell muttered, making the guests gasp and shake their heads in disbelief. “How dare you make a fool of my daughter?!” Alpha Knight was seething with anger, and in the blink of an eye Maxwell was flying to the other end of the room. “Dad!” Princess Sierra screamed in terror, her eyes brimming with unshed tears. “Not now, Princess!” Alpha Knight snapped. “I'm going to have his head! He told us his mate was dead!” “But Dad–” “Yes she is,” Maxwell said, as he slowly got on his feet, wincing in pain. “Tracy is dead to me, Sierra.” My mouth fell open. “Dead?” my voice echoed through the room. “Yes, Tracy, you're dead to me,” Maxwell glared at me. “You disrespected our bond, and I can't stay tied to a shameless cheat because of a mate bond.” “A shameless cheat?” I laughed out bitterly, as I could see what he was doing right now. He's making me look like the horrible person who didn't honor her mate bond, but I'll be damned if I just let him off easily. “The shameless cheat is you Maxwell. You not only lied and deceived Princess Sierra, but You're also lying to yourself.” “Your innocent face can't fool me anymore Tracy,” Maxwell spat. “You're the Pack's w***e, and everyone knows it.” “You can stand here and lie all you want. But one thing I wouldn't do is be at the mercy of a cheating man,” I told him boredly, as this was already dragging out too much. “So let's make it official,” I took a deep breath, and held my head up high. “I, Tracy Cabrera, rejects you, Maxwell McNeal as my mate.” I clenched my teeth and my fist as the words left my lips. My heart felt like it was being ripped piece by piece out of my chest, and Amaris howling only intensified my pains. It felt like she chose not to heal me and left me to bear the pain in full. “You can't be serious!” Maxwell growled lowly, tugging at his heart as his eyes changed color revealing his wolf. “Babe!” Princess Sierra ran over to Maxwell's side, and I was literally ashamed on her behalf. Was she so desperate to get married that she's willing to stay with a man that deceived her? “Tracy, stop this, please!” She looked at me pleadingly. “This has nothing to do with me Princess,” I said amidst gritted teeth. My legs were about giving way but I held myself. I can't let them know this rejection was affecting me as much as it did Maxwell. “Accept the rejection, Max. You can't eat your cake and have it,” I continued, trying to keep my mind anywhere but on the pain I'm feeling. “I, Michael McNeal, accept your rejection,” Max grunted out. “Good riddance,” I muttered before turning around and leaving the lounge. “What have you done, Tracy?!” Amaris growled in my head. “It's for the best,” I replied, a stray tear running down my cheeks, as the pain from the bond severing was more intense than when I said the rejection words. I didn't want anyone to see me crying, so I made my way towards where my car was parked. My car was parked on the other side of the road, and just the mere sight of it made the tears I've been trying to keep at bay pour out like a dam, luckily no one was around. My vision became blurry, and as I ran to cross to the other side of the road, I heard the screeching sound of a car before everything turned dark.