Page 11 of Rejected Bullied Mate

Kiera froze, but slowly forced herself to smile at him and let her hand relax in mine. She even went so far as to squeeze my fingers back, a little pressure to tell me that she would go along with what I wanted, but when she looked up at me, there was something dark and angry in her gaze. She didn't have to tell me. I already knew. This was not how she thought her homecoming would go; I could tell she wasn't happy about it.

Not that I could blame her, but I didn't really give a shit what she thought. The important thing was that she was my mate, my Omega, and I would be damned before I let her get away again.

Waylon spoke up, "Samson, are you ready for me to perform the ceremony?"

“Yes. Let's get on with it." I didn't like standing out here on the grass any longer than necessary. There was still the chance of one of the other nearby packs taking a run at Kiera or Kit while they were unbonded to me.

Kiera was breathing harder by the second, and while she didn't try to pull away again, I could feel that she was shaking through her hand in mine. I couldn't care less about her feelings in the matter right now. There was a child involved. Kit needed to be safe, and as much as she wanted to run away, I was sure that Kiera was smart enough to realize the benefits of this arrangement.

Waylon went back and forth, speaking about duty and honor, and all of that nonsense that the old generations liked to throw around, but the one part that made Kiera jump was when he told her, "You will now take your true place at your Alpha's side, as his Omega, his mate, and his wife. For life."

She had known what the ceremony entailed, but now, it was hitting home just how final all of this was.

Kiera glanced at me, then her gaze shifted down to Kit, who was looking up at us, trying to figure out what was going on. She must have been able to tell that I wasn't budging, because she swallowed hard and nodded her head. I looked up at my Beta, who seemed satisfied, "It's your time now, Alpha. You may seal the bond."

I took Kiera's beautiful, defiant face in my hands and felt pack magic swirl around us like a gentle storm. It lifted her hair, surrounding me with her scent as her lips parted. Centuries ago, an Alpha would seal his Omega to him with a mating bite, but the practice had fallen out of favor long ago. Still, the urge to sink my teeth into her skin right above her scent gland had my mouth watering.

Instead, I controlled myself, tilting her head to the side and slanting my mouth over hers. It was supposed to be a quick kiss, uneventful and chaste, but as soon as our lips touched, that idea went out the window. The pack magic surged as I sealed my Omega to me, Kiera's hands grabbing my shoulders as she held on for dear life while I kissed her.

It was supposed to be quick, dammit. I told myself that I didn't feel that little spark that ran over my tongue when our lips first touched. The way she gasped as our mouths molded together didn't matter, nor did the way my hands ran up into her hair, and I angled her head to get even more of her. She let out a breathy sigh that made my blood pump hard when my tongue flicked out to lick her lower lip. None of it should have fucking mattered, but my God, it rocked me to my core.

I broke the kiss with a curse. Kiera looked at me like she was in a daze, but when her eyes focused on my face and her brain caught up, her cheeks turned pink, and she turned her back on me. I was right, and the bond had never faded at all. It had just been hidden under the surface of her skin all this time, waiting to rise.

It should have been a triumphant moment for me, feeling our bond coming to life, knowing that Kiera could never escape me again. Instead, I was furious—not because it was clear that she still wanted me after all this time...

No, I was furious with myself because I thought any traces of feelings I had for Kiera were long gone. Instead, my entire being had lit up at the contact of our lips, and I was standing there, in front of my entire council and my son, wondering how long it would take me to get her alone.

I'd never wanted anything more in my entire life than I wanted Kiera Langley, and something told me that I wouldn’t be able to have her anytime soon.

Chapter 5 - Kiera

After the forced mating ceremony, I'd been ready to crawl out of my skin.

The Alpha's kiss had felt like it burned my mouth, but in the most delicious way, like warm cinnamon. His touch was wonderfully addictive and made me forget to breathe. I'd told myself it was just the bond between us, that it was just instinct, but something dark and treacherous whispered to me that maybe it was more than just my biology.

After all, Samson hadn't been wrong. The night we'd spent together in my room had been one of the most beautiful, perfect things I'd ever experienced. There were parts of my memory that were blurred from the heat of the moment, but the one thing I would always remember clearly was the way his blue eyes had looked in the darkness of my bedroom that night. They had burned hot, but there had been a softness there as well, as if he had looked at me and seen me as someone he had known forever and never wanted to look away from again.

He was different now, of course. When Alpha Zeke had fallen unexpectedly ill, and Samson had to take his place sooner than planned, he had overcorrected with how harsh and borderline cruel he was with his pack. The dynamics in all packs were similar—the men ruled with one Alpha at the head of the pack, and the women were beneath them in the hierarchy unless they were married, in which case they'd rank the same as their husbands. Omegas like me could manifest at any time, and they could be mated to Alphas, but it was ultimately the Alpha's choice.

For his part, Kit didn't seem to mind much of anything. The boy was oblivious to how much of my freedom I was losing, or how dangerous pack dynamics could be, and I would do everything I could to protect him. Even if I was mated to a man that I both feared and felt an unwanted pull toward, the fact still remained that Kit and I would always be a team.

There had been a small celebration after the mating ceremony, mostly just grilled meats and beer, but I had little stomach for it. Samson showed me my room, which was directly across from Kit's, and as soon as the Alpha and his council had started their little get-together, I'd fled there to be alone.

Kit had wanted to stay with his newly-found father, mesmerized by all the new things happening, and as much as I wanted to tell him no, I couldn't exactly force him to sit in his room all day. I could see the backyard from my window to keep an eye on him, and that was enough.

My sweet son brought me a burger as the sun set, and I forced it down while Kit showered for bed. He'd had a million things to say about his new room, but once he finally wound down and climbed under the covers, my son became more solemn.

I tucked the blankets around his small frame, smoothing his hair back from his face. His eyes, so much like his father's, were thoughtful and sleepy as they looked up at me. He was exhausted from the strange day, spending time with Samson and the other pack members, but it was clear to me that he still had a lot of questions about what was going on.

"Mama?" he murmured, voice slurred from sleepiness, "Are we gonna stay here forever?"

My heart clenched even as I forced a smile, "For now, sweetheart. We'll see how things go."

Kit yawned, face scrunching up before he nestled deeper into the pillows. The bed was bigger than the one at home, made of heavy wood that had been carved ages ago. The rest of the room reflected the rustic tone of Samson's home—lots of deer antler decor, woodland art, and warm green colors.

"I like this house, but I liked our old house, too. Will we ever go back?"

The lump immediately appeared in my throat, and it was a struggle to swallow it. "Maybe one day," I lied, unsure if Samson would ever let us go. "For now, this is our home."

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