MATES: REGRETS AND REDEMPTION

-Sianna's POV-

“I, Sianna Stone, of the Dark Wolverson Royal Pack, reject you as my mate.”

As I spoke out the words, his hands balled into a fist while staring at me with his piercing green eyes. He was a breath-stealing, heart-stopping, reality-defying hotness.

Of all the males in the world, why him?

Goddammit.

I inhaled deeply and quickly huffed out his intoxicated scent.

I can do this.

Thank heavens the café was empty. Therefore, no one was around to witness this horrific moment. Besides, we’d be closing up soon.

The air was charred with his hefty aura as he sat at the table by the glass window to the parking lot. I knew he was angry. Who would expect to be rejected when you finally found your mate?

Without a mate, we were crescents; only becoming a full moon when we were together, fusing in the mating process.

But I didn't want that.

So, I had to do this.

See, I have been in a relationship with my boyfriend Curtis since high school. We never thought about mating with others. So we both decided to reject our mates when we met them, and then we could choose each other as mates to spend the rest of our lives together. Yes, we desired our very own magnificently carved ever after.

We had it all mapped out, and I wasn’t going to give that up. Not for this guy.

Dressed in an expensive black suit tailored to fit his towering, muscle-bound flesh that captured all the she-wolves fawning adoration, he extended a burly hand.

"Don't think about touching me," I firmly reprimanded with my chin raised, back straight and shoulders squared.

His hand froze in the air before he curled it into a fist and retracted it. Lowering it to rest it on the table. "Fire." He breathed out. "That's what you are. Now, have a seat with me, mate."

The power he carried was indescribable. Untouchable unless he allowed you that kind of closeness and, by the fates, that belonged to me, but I refused to yield.

"Leave." I maintained my cold facade, steeling my resolve. In reality, his stare weakened my knees. My heart was beating faster, skipping beats.

He was silent for a while, but held his intense gaze on me. Disappointed and bewildered, his lips pinched as he was now feeling the surge of pain as the bond was being severed.

I knew how much it hurt. I staggered, suffering the same effect.

But I knew it would pass.

Uh-huh. It was time to leave me now.

Feeling a little anxious, I brushed my black wavy strands behind my ears and hummed the 'So long, Farewell' tune in my head, timing the moment he would walk out the glass doors.

My eyes darted to the ceiling—to the cash register—to the bakery display glass case—to the ice cream machine—to the back of the café and finally rotating my icy-blue orbs to him.

Why was he still sitting there?

Seconds later, his brows furrowed, and he opened his mouth to speak. But his words died in his throat, just like our bond.

With a shake of his head, he declared in a robust, resonant timbre, "No."

"What?" The word from my lips was barely a whisper.

“Why?” He finally growled as worry and anger flashed through his green eyes.

Should I ask how, where and when to end this question cycle? Sheesh. I sighed in exasperation and folded my arms.

“I am in love with someone else and I am not leaving him for someone that I don’t care about.” I sounded heartless, but I needed to be sincere so that he understood where I stood with the mate bond. “I am not going to date you or get to know you.”

I scanned his face to notice his flawless chiseled chin and prominent cheekbones. He had thick lashes protecting his eyes and the most kissable pouty lips. His long, jet-black hair fell over his forehead and eyes while the rest fell past the back of his head.

'Our mate is perfect! Why did you reject him?!' My wolf growled inside my head. She was rattled by my action, disliking my decision.

'We met Curtis first. We love him, and you agreed to it too.' I reminded her, inwardly.

‘Because I thought we’d never meet out mate.’ she groused, dropping her head between her legs on the dark floor of my mind. “He’s hot and sexy. I want him.”

"Sianna," The breathless way he uttered my name almost made me shatter. The man smirked and got up from the table in the café. “Your wolf disagrees.”

His powerful aura radiated in the building. Mixed with that was his enticing scent of pumpkin mixed with pine trees that was driving my wolf crazy and making her attempt to propel me into his arms.

“I will let you think about it some more and if within three months you still feel the same, I will let you go,” he proposed.

“This is not debatable.” I expressed with irritation, determined to show that I would never change my mind. Heck no!

Despite my hostility, his voice was calming. "Indeed, it is not." He winked at me before walking away leaving his warm coffee and bagel untouched. "See you around, Sianna."

I watched him through the large glass window as he got in his expensive car and drove away.

“Mine!” My wolf stirred inside me, sending a pulse of energy that made my nails dig into my palms. She was demanding to shift. She wanted to be released and wreak chaos under the sun unless I chased after him.

I swallowed thickly, feeling terrible and guilty.

After my high school graduation, I left my pack to head off to college but decided that I missed Curtis too much. So I transferred to doing online classes. This way I could still be home with Mom and Dad while I got to hang around my handsome sweetheart.

Therefore, my rejection would still be the same even after three months. So I hoped that my ex-mate wasn’t getting his hopes up.

My wolf has been quiet and restless ever since the attempted rejection of our mate. She was upset with me, but I thought she already knew I wouldn’t accept him. I mean, she liked Curtis, so what was her problem?

We will heal from this and live our happy ending with Curtis Black. I was optimistic, and I truly believed in our love.

Curtis didn’t know that I had met my mate and I didn’t want to mention it until the mate bond was fully severed. I didn’t want to make him worry or feel insecure that my mate might steal me away from him.

That's because the mate bond was a powerful magnetic pull that made two souls fall in love. It was irresistible and so strong that it threatened to throttle my will. It was risky to be around that man.

I am currently working at the café in our town so that I can have time for my classes and training. Everyone in this pack is required to have some form of self-defense training for when rogues attack, or in the event of a war.

After I got home, I showered and went online to the college portal to check on my courses and assignments. My phone lit up with a beep and I saw a message from an unknown number.

Unknown:- I am glad that you got home safely. It was a pleasure meeting you today. I promise not to bother you too much, but being able to send a message once in a while might actually help.

An assumption formed in my head immediately that this had to be my ex-mate.

I decided not to reply as I didn’t want the bond to grow stronger. Less contact with him would keep me grounded.

He might think that he was slick, but I knew a man can be persistent when he wants a woman. I rolled my eyes and blocked his number.

I won’t allow him to get close to me or even be friends for the sake of my boyfriend and our relationship.

I sent Curtis a goodnight message before I went to bed. However, I spotted two red eyes in my backyard staring up at me when I was closing the window.

“Shit!” I muttered as I saw a large, black wolf lying down with his focus on me.

I could guess who it was.

Shaking my head and gritting my teeth, I pulled down the window while ignoring him.

He would not make me change my decision. Never!

Dream on, wolf boy.