Reclaiming My Broken Mate

Chapter 1

Celeste's pov:

Seven Years Later, I stood at the edge of the bar, trying to hide my unease even as Franny flashed me one of her brightest, carefree, and purest grins.

“You think this is wise?” I asked, my voice hesitant as my gaze swept over the dimly lit room packed with sweaty humans.

“No, none of this is wise,” Franny replied with a mischievous laugh, tugging me closer to the counter where the bartender stood, watching us. “But come on, you’ve got to admit it’s fun.”

The music boomed through the bar, so loud that the floor seemed to pulse beneath my feet. But even with the noise, my wolf hearing caught every word she said; loud and clear. Around us, the rest of our packmates blended into the crowd—some dancing, others ordering drinks. Franny thrived in chaos like this, but I hated these outings into the human town. They always left me feeling exposed, and very vulnerable.

Our new alpha had strict rules about keeping a low profile. No human was ever to catch wind of what we were or our existence. The stories of past hunts, when humans had discovered and chased wolves, haunted us all. They were enough to make even the boldest of us cautious.

It had been years since any such hunt, but I wasn’t about to tempt fate and find out. Being banished from another pack wasn’t something I could survive again. I’d already endured that once, and no one here had pried into the painful details of the past. They simply knew I’d been exiled.

The memory of Zayden Fox tightened my chest, a familiar surge of anger and grief threatened to surface once again. My wolf stirred restlessly, a low growl of discontent rippling through me. I pushed the feelings down, forcing myself to focus on the present, not the painful past.

At eighteen, I’d been thrust out of the only home I’d ever known, cast aside by the alpha who was supposed to be my mate. The rejection had stung me in ways words couldn’t describe. My wolf had mourned every single night, and even though I hadn’t been much better, over time, the pain dulled and was replaced by a simmering resentment. Now, when Zayden crossed my mind, my wolf reacted with indifference. He’d rejected us, and we’d survived.

Several men had shown interest in me over the years, but it just never felt right. The bond with Zayden, though fractured, still painfully existed. My wolf wished it could be different, that we could simply move on and forget all about him. But Zayden wasn’t dead, and that fragile link between us remained, no matter how much I wanted to break it.

The bartender approached us, his attention immediately snagged by Franny’s effortless charm. I smirked, watching as he practically melted under her flirtatious smile. Franny had that effect on people. Her father, though, was a notable exception. He seemed immune to all her antics and unimpressed by her rebellious streak.

Franny was the first friend I’d made here, the one who hadn’t hesitated to approach me when I’d first joined the pack. Others had kept their distance, wary of the banished newcomer.

But not Franny.

“Hey, I’m Franny,” she’d said when we first met, her tone light and friendly. “I know a lot of people around here are losers, but do you want to tell me why you got banished from your former pack? You look like a total goody-two-shoes who wouldn’t break a single rule.”

Her bluntness had startled me, but it had also marked the beginning of our friendship. Franny was unapologetically herself, and I found it a breath of fresh air. Over the years, we’d become inseparable, a mismatched duo who stuck together while the rest of the pack kept their distance.

Franny brought fun and freedom into my life, charming me to take risks I’d never consider on my own. In turn, I occasionally urged her to toe the line just enough to avoid serious trouble.

Tonight was one of those dangerous outings. I already knew I’d regret stepping foot in this human bar, but I couldn’t bring myself to say no to her. With a beer in hand, I scanned the room, my nerves on high.

Franny’s usual group was scattered around the bar, laughing and chatting. I stuck close to her, though. The others were friendly enough, but she was the only one I trusted.

We wouldn’t get drunk, of course. Our wolves’ enhanced metabolism made it nearly impossible to. Still, I nursed my drink carefully, my mind already calculating how to avoid drawing the alpha’s anger from this little adventure.

I’d managed to carve out a little space for myself in the pack, mostly thanks to my friendship with Franny, the alpha’s daughter. That connection had saved both of us from getting into real trouble more than once when our antics crossed the line.

“This is fun,” Franny said, grinning as she sipped her drink. “What do you think about me picking up a guy tonight?”

I nearly choked on my drink. “What?”

“Come on,” Franny said, her eyes gleaming with mischief. “We could make it interesting. You and I find a couple of human guys and, you know, show them a thing or two.”

I froze, the suggestion not sitting well with me at all. There were things I hadn’t shared with Franny—not because I was hiding anything, but because some truths were just too raw to be disclosed.

Franny knew about Zayden, my supposed mate, but she didn’t know the details. I’d never told her the little things that had actually transpired between us. I figured she assumed something physical had happened. But nothing had. Nothing but rejection and pain.

The night Zayden cast me out of the pack was burned into my memory, an unhealed wound. He hadn’t just dismissed me as his mate—he’d exiled me, leaving me to fend for myself. My father had been powerless to stop it, and only through his connections with Franny’s pack had I found a place to survive.

“Ugh, no,” I said, shaking my head firmly. “I don’t think that’s wise. Your dad might let us get away with coming to a bar, but bringing outsiders into the pack? That’s a whole different level of trouble.” My voice dropped to a whisper, and I glanced around the room, packed with oblivious humans.

Franny’s expression changed, her rebellious self bubbling to the surface, and I braced myself for an argument, but before she could respond, her attention shifted.

“Well, well, well,” she said, her tone dripping with curiosity. “Those are definitely not humans.”

I didn’t need to look. I’d felt him the moment he walked through the door. Still, I turned my head, as if pulled by an invisible force. My gaze locked onto the man standing across the bar, and his presence slammed into me like a speeding train.

Zayden.

The years hadn’t dulled the bond—or the betrayal. My wolf stirred angrily, the pain and rejection bubbling up as if no time had passed. I forced myself to turn away, trying to maintain my composure, while gripping my fists tightly, as my insides churned.

“Celeste, girl, are you okay?” Franny asked, her voice laced with concern.

I drained my beer, steeling myself. “Can we go?”

Franny’s eyes narrowed. “Okay, now you’re worrying me. You’ve gone all pale. Who is that guy? Big, black hair, looks mean?”

“Yeah, him.” My voice came out tight like it physically hurt to say the words. “That’s the man who banished me from my pack seven years ago.”

Franny blinked, her face a mix of shock and disbelief. “Wait. What?”

I nodded, my throat tight. “He’s also my mate. And now he’s here, and I’m trying not to lose it. Can we please just leave?”

My knuckles whitened as I gripped the counter. Every fiber of my being screamed to run, but the bond glued me in place, trapping me between fury and heartbreak.

“You know what? No,” Franny said, her tone suddenly resolute.

I stared at her, disbelief mingling with panic. Before I could protest, she grabbed my wrist. “You’re not going anywhere. No one’s forcing you to leave. We came here to have fun, and that’s exactly what we’re going to do.”

Franny dragged me onto the dance floor, ignoring my attempts to resist. With a sharp whistle, she called the rest of our group over, surrounding me in a protective circle. I stood frozen at first, my emotions swirling too chaotically to move.

“He’s not going to hurt you,” Franny said softly but firmly. “We’re here. All of us.”

She took my hand and spun me in a playful circle, gesturing to our packmates. Their warm, reassuring smiles broke through the storm inside me, and for the first time that night, a sense of gratitude stirred in my chest.

These weren’t just packmates—they were my friends. After years of struggling to trust, and connect with them, this meant everything. Despite the chaos raging within me, I knew one thing for certain: I wasn’t alone anymore.