Rejected once, Accepted By His Rival

Chapter one

/-Ariana-/

“Please help me, Luna, I don't want to die, please…” The young wolf sobbed, clinging to my hands. I smiled softly, despite my exhaustion.

“Do not worry, little one. The herbs I applied to your wounds are going to heal you faster. You are not going to die, okay? Maybe wolves have been exposed to wolfsbane but they still pull through. You are a strong boy, this is just a piece of cake for you.”

He calmed down a little after that. I slowly retrieved my hand from his grip. I was running late again. My little boy was going to be disappointed again.

I turned to the other doctors, “Look after him and make sure to change his bandages every six hours.”

“Yes Luna,” they bowed.

With that said, I immediately gathered my things and hurried to the palace. I informed my husband, the Alpha, that I might run late so he already has someone pick him up. Still, that was no excuse. I shouldn't be too busy got my own son.

On arrival at the palace, I picked up a sickening scent of daisies. For a scent that sweet, something about it just irked me. As I hurried in, the sound of laughter and childish giggles filled the air.

Who is Jason with?

As soon as I stepped into the room, Jason immediately picked up my presence and came sprinting to me.

“Mommy!”

However, my eyes were still on her. The woman with the scent of daisies. Benita Jones. My husband's childhood friend. The very woman who made my teenage years a nightmare.

“Mommy, we had so much fun today,” Jason exclaimed, momentarily distracting me. I took a squat to his level to give him a proper hug since I was a little too exhausted to carry him.

It didn't stop his chatter.

“She took me to the children's park, and we had lots of ice cream. I went on the rollercoaster, and then I had a big bowl of chocolate candy, and then I had this really big cup of milkshake and more ice cream…”

“You had that much sugar?” I cut him short, shooting Benita a hard stare. “You know what happened the last time you got a sugar rush. You were sick for weeks!”

Jason's expression turned sullen, and it hurt my heart to see him that, but it was for his own good.

I held him protectively as I took a step forward. Benita just stood there with a plastic smile on her face. She didn't even acknowledge my presence or greet me. In her eyes, I was probably still the weak omega from years ago.

My body stiffened as those tears flashed before my eyes. The torture, the laughter, the insults. All with this woman at the centre. What was she even doing here? With my son!

“I appreciate your kindness, Benita but it will be best if you no longer feed my son. He has his mother here to provide everything he needs,” I said.

Benita let out a small chuckle. “Don't be so stiff, Ari. He is just a kid, let him have a little fun.”

My eyes darkened, but she simply picked up her bag.

“I guess I'll see you later, Jay. Your mommy is really a party pooper,” she said sweetly before walking away.

My fists clenched by my side. Party pooper? Became I didn't want her stuffing my son with sugar?

I forced my mind away from her and turned to Jason, whose sullen expression remained the same.

“Come with me, baby. You need to take your medicine,” I said and he paled out.

“What? Medicine? Please don't make me take it, Mommy. It's so bitter,” Jason whined. “I promise I won't eat anything sweet anymore. Please don't make me take that awful medicine.”

“I'm sorry, baby but you have to take it. If you don't, you are going to get really sick and take even more medicines,” I tried to reason with him but he was already so upset.

“Why am I being punished for just eating sweets, mommy? All my friends eat as much sugar as they like!” He whined.

“That is because their parents know the quantity of sugar that is safe for them. They didn't take it from strangers,” I stated a little sternly.

“But Daddy sent her to pick me up. She's not a stranger if Daddy knows her,” he pouted and that made me freeze.

Raymond had Benita picked up my son?

My fists clenched even harder. Since when did they become so close again? It made me even more uneasy because I knew how close she used to be to Raymond. They were so close that it was even rumoured back then that they were dating.

While I wasn't entirely sure about that, I knew for a fact that many wolves wanted her to be Luna. No one wanted a weak image who couldn't even stand up for herself as Luna. Benita did a good job of showing everyone that she was better and stronger than me in every way, and it got worse when Raymond and I were mated.

I was sure that he was going to reject me but Raymond never once looked down on me. He was so supportive and loving and I knew I had to work hard. To prove myself worthy to stand by his side. Even then, it took many years to win the hearts of the pack.

Benita eventually went away, and I finally had peace, but now she was back, and Raymond was in contact with her already.

That night when he returned, I brought it up after dinner. We were curled up on the bed and he was just about to go to sleep.

“Baby,” I started slowly, “Why did you have Benita pick up our son today? I thought you were supposed to get him.”

His tired blue eyes rested on me. He pulled me closer to himself.

“I was caught up with so many meetings, and I knew you were busy as well, so I told her to get someone to pick him up. I didn't know she would go herself, but trust me, it's nothing to worry about.”

Nothing to worry about? Why was she so handy that he could just ask her to get someone to pick up our son?

“But you haven't spoken to her in years. She just came back a week ago,” I said quietly.

“Oh that, she's my secretary now,” he said so casually while I felt like I had been slapped across the face.

“Your secretary? When did that happen?” I asked. “Why wasn't I informed about this?”

Raymond cupped my cheeks gently. “Stop overthinking, baby. I only employed her as a favour to her father. Remember he sacrificed his life to save our pack. It's the least I can do for him.”

I bit my lip. I didn't have a problem with him honouring the old gamma. I just wished he could include me more in his decisions.

“Baby…” he whispered gently. “You know you're the only one in my heart, right?”

My cheeks heated up. He always knew how to make me feel fluffy inside.

“Yes…”

Then he claimed my lips gently like I was the most delicate thing in the world.