*Summer’s POV:

 

He rejected me… he rejected me… it was over.

 

Alexandria howled in pain in the back of my mind, but it was nothing compared to how I felt. There were just no words. Like someone opened my chest and pulled out my still-beating heart. I have to accept the rejection, I thought.

 

“DON’T! FIGHT FOR OUR MATE!”

 

“No, Alexandria. I am the daughter of an Alpha. I will not beg anyone for their affection. You saw him too, with that girl!”

 

“But the mate bond is sacred! He needs to explain himself. Let me talk to his wolf.”

 

“No.”

 

I swallowed my pain and looked him right in the eyes before answering:

 

“And I, Summer Storm, daughter of Alpha Richard Storm, accept your rejection.”

 

That was it. His eyes lingered for a second on my face, and I could have sworn I saw… a tear? He transformed right there and then, leaping out of the garden and into the woods.

 

My mate, my crush, had rejected me. And he was gone.

 

It was almost dark. The sun had set a long time ago, and the orange skies slowly turned red, then purple, then dark blue. After leaving the garden, we had shifted for the first time. Typically, we have to wait for the birthday ceremony to shift in front of the whole pack. But after facing Marcus’ rejection, all I wanted to do was run away.

 

Alexandria pleaded with me to let her take over, and I did. We ran and ran, and ran, avoiding the direction he went. Finally, we stopped at the edge of the forest, and I shifted back. Alexandria wanted to hunt, but I didn’t let her. Enough pain for one day.

 

Alexandria was hurt, like me, but we would get through this together. It was like she said, I’d never have to go through anything alone anymore. I had my family, but this was different.

 

“Summer? Summer? SUMMER?”

 

I heard a voice calling out for me. Before I could answer, Rose came out of nowhere and hugged me tightly. Chris was close behind.

 

“Oh my goddess, Summer, we’ve been looking for you!” she said, still hugging me. “We tried to talk to you through the pack link but we couldn’t.”

 

Chris didn’t say a word. He looked angry, and somehow sad. Why?

 

“Why were you looking for me? I just came out here for a run and put up a mental block so that no one would disturb me…”

 

She pulled back and I was able to get a good look at her face. She’d been crying.

 

“What happened, Rose? Why were you looking for me? Why are you crying?”

 

A horrible thought crossed my mind.

 

“Did something happen to mom and dad?”

 

She nodded no.

 

“It’s Marcus”, Chris said with a harsh voice, “he came by the pack house a few hours ago and…”

 

Oh, no. My stomach turned.

 

“He told us what happened, Summer. Are you okay? Why didn’t you come looking for us right away?”

 

I avoided Rose’s pitiful look. This is exactly why I tried to avoid everyone.

 

“I’m fine, I just wanted to be alone.”

 

“Well, he won’t be fine once I get my hands on him”, Chris barked. “If your parents and Rose hadn’t stopped me, I would’ve shown him exactly what you get when you insult the alpha’s daughter, my best friend AND my sister-in-law.” His eyes pooled with black as his wolf tried to take over. He was literally shaking in rage. I reached out for his hand and tried to get him to calm down.

 

“It’s fine, Chris, really. I accepted his rejection. It’s over, he was right to reject me. He doesn’t deserve me, nor our family.”

 

Rose was also pissed.

 

“Why did he tell you guys anyway?”

 

They shared a weird look before Chris finally spoke.

 

“Marcus tried to resign as beta and leave the pack.”

 

“WHAT?” I couldn’t believe my ears. He tried to permanently leave the pack? Was he so disgusted to find out that we were mates that he didn’t even want to stay in the same pack? Like rejecting me wasn’t enough…

 

“Yeah”, Rose continued, “dad was super mad. He refused his request and gave him a few days off.”

 

“Days off? Since when do wolves get days off?”

 

“That’s what I’d like to understand, too.” Chris said, “anyway, your dad named me interim-beta while that a**hole is away. I hope he never comes back.”

 

I ignored the urge to ask them where he’d gone and tried to change subjects.

 

“Chris, that’s so great! I wish you’d become beta once and for all, no one deserves it more than you. But then again, after marrying Rose, you’re bound to become Alpha. So maybe don’t get too excited for your new title and wait for the next one” I joked.

 

Chris grinned and pulled me into a hug too. I was finally laughing again.

 

“Soooo, tell me, you two…”

 

Rose and Chris looked at each other, confused, then back at me.

 

“Tell you what?” they asked, simultaneously.

 

“DID YOU DO IT?”

 

They immediately blushed, which could only mean they did the deed. I started laughing hysterically.

 

“Wooooow! You guys really couldn’t wait, huh? Did you tell dad yet?”

 

“We need to get back to the pack house and get ready for the party. Guests have already started to arrive and you look like you haven’t showered in weeks”, Rose did her best to ignore my question.

 

The party! My birthday party! As much as I was dreading it this morning, I was now very excited. Even though I had found my mate and got a rejection, this was still going to be one of the highlights of my life. For a werewolf, turning 18 is a really big deal and the parties were an excuse for all the packs to get together.

 

This mainly allowed for other pack members to meet their mates: since pack territories were vast and every pack lived almost in isolation from the other, every party, meeting, training seminar, was an opportunity for young unmated wolves to look for their mates in other packs.

 

We made our way back to the main house. It was noisy and busy, omegas were putting the finishing touches on everything. The decoration was incredible: the three-story house was fully lit, candles and balloons were everywhere with the initials “S&R”. Rose was right, some guests had already arrived, which meant mom would try to kill me for not being ready. I braced myself as I entered the kitchen.

 

“OH THANK THE MOON GODDESS!” my mom screamed in relief.

 

She hugged me so tight, I could barely breathe.

 

“Mom, I’m…choking.”

 

She finally let go. Her golden eyes were full of tears. Dad was standing right behind her, but unlike her, he didn’t look one bit sad. Even though it had probably been a couple of hours, I could tell he was still angry. He smiled at me.

 

“We thought you were going to miss your own party. Heard you got your wolf… Can’t wait to meet her…”

 

Poor dad, he was trying his best not to mention Marcus and the rejection. I smiled back at him before answering.

 

“Her name is Alexandria. You’re going to love her…”

 

This blissful family moment was cut short when an omega came looking for my parents.

 

“Alpha Richard, Luna Morgan, the Prince has arrived. I’ve taken the liberty to invite him and his pack members in and show them to the meeting room.”

 

Prince? Did she say Prince? Surely, it couldn’t be the elder son of the Alpha King. It would be… I gasped! The famous Prince Lucian Stone, one of the most powerful werewolves on the planet. His wolf was called Bloodghost, a fiery scarlet beast. We had heard rumors that any enemies of the crown were immediately attacked and destroyed by him: he had murdered entire packs, almost overnight. What was he doing at my birthday party?

 

“Thank you, Miley. Chris, we have to go greet Prince Lucian. As acting beta, you will come with. He is here on official business, so let’s not make him wait.”

 

“Dad, did you seriously organize a business meeting on our birthday?” Rose seemed furious, but dad ignored her as he walked towards the meeting room.

 

“Don’t worry, babe, we won’t miss the party. Plus, it’ll give Summer some time to clean off the mud and leaves…” Chris joked before kissing her on the forehead and following our dad. Rose was blushing. Ughhh, these two were seriously cute.

 

Mom was still staring at me. Before I could say anything, she pushed me towards the stairs.

 

“GO! Get ready, and don’t be late.”

 

I honestly couldn’t wait to get to my room, a shower was exactly what I needed after today’s events. I closed the door to my room, then started to take my dirty clothes off. Something wasn’t right, I felt like I was being watched, which was impossible because no pack member, not even the omegas working in cleaning, had the right to enter my room without my permission… I was shivering, both with fear and anticipation. Was I…excited?

 

“Alexandria, can you feel this?”

 

“I CAN! IT’S OUR MATE!”

 

Mate? Did she mean Marcus? It couldn’t be…