Rejected by My Mate, Chosen by the Alpha

Scarlet ~

I've always wondered what being eighteen would feel like, and now that it was here, a wave of uncertainty churned inside me. Would it mean freedom or something far more intoxicating, like finally answering to the wolf within? I didn’t know. But one thing was certain. Today, I will find my mate.

“Make a wish, Scarlett,” my mother said, her voice bright with excitement as she entered my room holding a small cake lit with a single candle.

The flame flickered, dancing across her ginger hair tied neatly in a bun. She still had her apron on, smelling faintly of vanilla and home.

“Mother, you really didn’t have to do all this. I’m an adult now,” I whined softly, even though my chest warmed at the sight.

“Eighteen or eighty, I’ll always bake your cake,” she teased, her lips curving into that mischievous grin of hers.

I smiled, leaned forward, and whispered my wish before blowing the candle out.

“Happy eighteenth birthday, Scarlett.” She set the cake on the table beside me and waggled her eyebrows. “So… what did you wish for? True love, perhaps?”

I groaned. “Mum!”

But she wasn’t wrong. It was almost scary how often she guessed right.

“I already have Leonard,” I said, smiling from ear to ear. Just saying his name made my heart flutter. “And he’s definitely my true love.”

Her face changed instantly, joy replaced by quiet worry. She sighed, setting the knife down.

“Scarlett…”

“I know what you’re going to say,” I cut in quickly. “You want me to confirm if Leo’s really my mate before doing anything with him. I get it.”

I walked to her and hugged her tight. She always repeated that line like it was her personal mantra. But I understood. No one wanted their daughter to repeat their heartbreak. Losing her love—my father—had nearly destroyed her. We weren't up there even now but we had each other at least.

“You promise to confirm before you…” She paused, narrowing her eyes. “....sleep with him?”

“Mum!” I gasped, pulling back in disbelief. “Can you not be so blunt?”

She shrugged unapologetically. “You’re an adult now. No need for sugarcoating.”

I rolled my eyes but smiled anyway. That was my mum, brutally honest to a fault and endlessly protective. My father and mother wrapped up in one stubborn, ginger-haired woman. We were the family that was looked down on the most in Tailbone Pack but for what it's worth, I would never choose to have anything any differently. My mother was the sun in which my life orbited.

“I’m going to be late for school at this rate,” I said, grabbing my backpack. “And if I am, my teachers will skin me alive. They don’t care if it’s my birthday.”

I kissed her forehead and started toward the door.

“Don’t you dare give my cake to Mrs. Marge’s children!” I called as I dashed out.

Her laugh followed me out the door.

*****

The sun was warm on my face as I walked down the familiar path to school. Howling High wasn’t too far, just a few miles from our home but my heart beat faster with every step.

I couldn’t wait to see Leo. To kiss those soft lips, run my fingers through his dark hair, and finally, finally, see if he was my mate. Today was the day. Eighteen meant connection. Recognition. Destiny. And realizing Leo was my mate was a need at this point.

And I had no doubt it was him. My intuition has always been freakishly accurate.

When the gates of Howling High came into view, a grin tugged at my lips. The courtyard was buzzing with students laughing in clusters, couples clinging to each other, a few loners pretending not to stare. And then there was me, walking through it all with whispers trailing behind.

I’d gotten used to the looks. Some stared with admiration, some were envious, others pure venom. Being in the school’s music club came with its fair share of attention. It didn't help that I was an outcast too.

I slipped into my classroom, just in time to hear the teacher droning about communication techniques. I tried to listen, really, but my mind was elsewhere. On him.

The bell finally rang, and I bolted up from my chair before the sound even died. My friends called after me, but I barely heard them. I was already halfway to Leo’s class.

The second I stepped through the door, my world shifted.

“Mate.”

The voice echoed in my head, soft and certain. My wolf stirred awake, her presence pulsing with excitement. My senses sharpened. I could smell him, it was damning. It wasn't his cologne but something deeper and refreshing. Musk and my favorite tulips. I wanted to inhale him all day. I wanted to wrap myself around him and never disengage. I wanted to….

Oh, goddess. It was true. Leo was my mate.

A smile broke across my face before I could stop it. I started toward him, arms already outstretched. But instead of warmth, I met cold.

Literal, physical cold.

He shoved me.

The breath rushed out of me as I hit the floor hard. The class fell silent. My heart stuttered, confusion flooding in. What the hell was happening?

“Leo?” I whispered, pain lacing my voice. I couldn't fathom what that was for?

He stood there, staring down at me with a face I didn’t recognize. His eyes were downturned, blank, cruel and unreadable. Nothing similar to the loving look I was used to. The same lips that once smiled at me now pressed into a line of disdain.

“I, Leonard, reject you, Scarlett… as my mate.”

This was a freakish joke.

“Leo..” I tried to speak but words failed me.

“I, Leonard, reject you, Scarlett… as my mate.” He repeated it again and this time his words sliced through the room like a blade, sobering me from whatever spell that got my tongue.

For a second, I couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t move. Couldn’t even feel.

And then the pain hit—sharp, raw, burning through my chest like fire.

My mate…. rejected me?

On my birthday? On the day I realized he was my mate?

What comedic prank was this? Someone pinch me..