Page 3 of Rejected and Regretted

As we got comfortable on our seats, I realized they were both smiling at me. With a huff, I averted my gaze, staring out the window. “Why do you say that?”

Despite feigning ignorance, I knew very well they had been able to sense a change in my demeanor upon seeing my people. I liked to believe that I was impeccable at masking my emotions,but I would be stupid to think for a second that I could fool these two. Theo and Elijah were so close to me, they could easily tell the subtlest difference between my types of frowns. Still, that didn’t mean I would admit it.

For the sake of my pride, they played along, evident in how Theo simply replied “No reason,” before dropping the subject, while I pretended not to see the smile adorning the corner of his lips.

During our almost four-hour ride, I mentally revised the steps of our mission one last time to the sound of my friends chatting in the background. I was eventually able to tune them out completely, engrossed in thought. I couldn’t say I was focused, though; at least not on the mission. Rather, the unpleasant thought I had been trying to dismiss had grown too loud to ignore.

As much as I hated to acknowledge it, what made me the most uncomfortable about returning to Whispering Hills was having to see my former mate again. I was scared of how my wolf would react to being near him.

Although the resentment I felt toward Koen had only grown in the years we’d been apart, serving as my fuel toward becoming stronger, our souls had once been divinely tied together. Even if our bond was broken, who was to say I wouldn’t feel the pull again? It was evident our connection hadn’t been entirely destroyed, else I wouldn’t have recurring dreams about him.

Back when I had just assumed the leadership of Azure Smoke, I would dream about him almost every night, which wasn’t absurd; it was probably my mind trying to grasp onto the last string of familiarity I had when everything I knew was changing. As time passed, those dreams became less frequent, yet I would still meet him in my sleep once a year, always on my birthday.

At first, I blamed it on the trauma and grief, but I was starting to consider it could be the mate pull trying to lead me back to him. Either way, I was certain of one thing - magically attracted to him or not, I would never take him back. And, considering the way he so casually rejected me, I hoped the feeling would be mutual.

Suddenly, the car came to an abrupt stop, interrupting my train of thought. I immediately looked up to find four wolves blocking our path. They were accompanied by men in uniform - guards. We had reached Whispering Hills borders.

“They don’t look happy to see us,” Theo observed, turning to me afterward. “Maybe they’ll be friendlier once they see you.”

“Ha!” I laughed sarcastically. “I highly doubt that.”

“You are in Whispering Hills territory!” One of the guards shouted from behind one of the beasts. “Identify yourselves and state your business!”

“Here we go,” I huffed, climbing out of the car with my hands raised to show them we meant no harm. It didn’t take them long to recognize me, and they promptly assumed an attacking stanced. As expected, my presence made them even less thrilled.

“What are you doing here, omega?” the guard growled. “This is not your home anymore. There’s nothing here for you. Leave before we chase you out!”

“Don’t worry, I have a pack of my own now,” I spat, not in the least scared of his threat. The shock in his face was palpable. “I’m a representative of Azure Smoke Pack. I came here with an offer for your alpha.”

“Alpha Koen is busy. He won’t deal with the likes of you!” the man insisted.

Another sigh broke through my lips, this time as a result of my waning patience. “Look, if you can just take me and my fellow pack mates to him-”

“Are you deaf? Our alpha has more important things to do, and so do we. Leave!” he roared, and the guards in wolf form stepped closer to me, baring their fangs.

In the blink of an eye, Theo and Elijah were both standing protectively in front of me. Although they knew I could take these guards down by myself, they didn’t appreciate the disrespect toward their alpha. I couldn’t let Whispering Hills know what I had become, but if things continued to escalate, the truth would inevitably come out.

Oh, shit.How could I avoid our mission blowing up before it even began? Diplomacy was always the one thing I struggled the most with as a leader, and it proved indispensable in our current situation.Damn it, Avril!

Thankfully, before chaos was installed, a powerful howl caught the guards’ attention. The wolves backed down, while the humans stood in formation with their heads low. In the distance, I saw a pure white wolf with eyes of green, deep as a forest. I immediately recognized him - it was the mate who rejected me, the alpha of Whispering Hills.

My breath caught as I watched him approach us, confusion written all over his expression. Once he was beside his guards, he shifted back into his human form, putting on a pair of shorts he had brought with him. Only then did his eyes land on me. As if he had seen a ghost, his face turned white; judging by my drumming heart, I probably looked just as astonished.

Then, the voice I hadn’t heard in five years vibrated in my ears. “Avril?”

3

____________________

A V R I L

For a moment,my mind went blank as I was held prisoner by Koen’s intense gaze. I hadn’t expected to see him so soon, under these circumstances, and it caught me off guard. Mixed feelings, which I fought to keep hidden behind an emotionless expression, awakened inside me.

A hint of joy surfaced at the sight of him. Shivers ran through me as my mind inevitably tried to picture how our life could have been had he accepted me. For a brief second, I could have sworn I felt the urge to touch him, as if the mate pull I barely had the chance to experience had been set alight again, but that’s all it lasted - one second.

While it was true that his face reminded me of the love I used to dream about when I was younger, it also reminded me of who I was back then. Weak. Helpless. Submissive. I hated that version of myself, and I dreaded what I would have become if I had stayed with him, the cruel alpha who left an untrained omega to fend for herself. That’s when anger hit, reminding me of how I truly felt about him, overshadowing whatever positive emotion I initially felt.

Koen was despicable; as of now, he was merely a means to an end.

---