As we approached that office door, his scent was growing stronger. I had never been inside of the pack house before and now I was going to the Alpha's office to present myself as his mate. Not that I expected anything good to come out of this. The only reason that I am doing it now is because he sent out that damn mindlink. When Alessa told me that he was gathering all the unmated females together, I knew that I could not wait any longer. If I did not want him to reject me in front of a crowd, then I would have to address him in private, now.
My stomach was tied in knots and my heart was beating so fast that I thought it may explode out of chest. My nerves were fried, and I was fighting back the sensation of tears that were beginning to sting at my eyes. I truly did not want to do this, but I knew that there was no way out of it. All I could do now was pray that he did not banish me. I knew that I would never survive on my own as a rogue.
When we were standing right outside of the office door. I could hear footsteps and the sound of muffled voices inside. There was more than one person in there. We were already going to have a larger audience than I planned. I clutched at my chest, trying to steady my labored breathing.
"It's going to be alright." Alessa promised, sensing my rising anxiety. "It is just him and Beta Deene in there."
It made me feel a bit better knowing that it was only Alessa's mate. Though it upset me as well. As soon as she introduced me as her friend, I was certain that Beta Deene would end our friendship immediately. It was going to break my heart to lose Alessa at the same moment that I was being rejected by my mate.
"I will go in first, alright." Alessa suggested.
"Sure." I nodded.
There was going to be no turning back now. Alessa opened the door and slide inside the office, leaning it shut behind her. I waited a few moments, fidgeting with my fingers and chewing on my lip. I wondered if I could run fast enough to get out of there before the door opened again. I weighed my options, but instead of taking my chances, the door swung open and Alessa's face smiled back at me. I took in a deep breath and let it out slowly before entering the room to face my fate.
When I walked into the office, I noticed that Beta Deene was standing to the right and Alessa had gone to join him. His arm was wrapped protectively around her waist. He gave me a sad smile when he noticed that I was looking in their direction. I knew exactly what he was thinking when he saw me.
"Poor, little mutt about to be rejected by her mate."
Well, I suppose that, at least, he felt bad about what he was about to witness.
I continued to step forward. I could sense that Alpha Farris was right in front of me. Not wanting to get too close or be too disrespectful, I kept my head down. I dropped to my knees after a few more steps forward. The air in the room grew thick with tension as Alpha Farris looked on at me, disapprovingly.
"Alpha." I offered with a bow.
I heard him take several heavy footsteps in my direction. I closed my eyes and held them tight. I did not know what was to come but I was going to brace for any and all of it.
Alpha Farris reached down and grabbed my face, roughly. His calloused hands sending pleasurable sparks throughout my body, I had to bite my lip to fight back the moan that threatened to escape. I was certain that it would only disgust him further if I were to respond such a way to his touch. He forced my face upwards and ran his thumb across my bottom lip, causing me to gasp.
"Open your eyes." He commanded, his gruff tone sounding like music to my ears.
I opened them at his command. His gorgeous golden orbs, beckoning to me like two welcoming pools of light, stare directly into my lifeless grey ones. I try not to get caught up in the intensity of his stare. I do my best to fight against the pull that calls to me through our destined bond. I know that it will only be a moment longer and my heart cannot afford for me to give in.
"Aren't you the mutt?" He growls out at me.
"Hey! Don't call her that!" Alessa calls out from the side before being immediately shushed by Beta Deene.
"Yes, sir." I respond, my gaze dropping back to the floor.
"I am mated to a mutt." As he said this, his hand dropped from my face, leaving a bitter cold where his warmth had been.
"Yes, sir."
"What in the hell am I supposed to do about that?!" He scowled, running his hands through his hair.
"R-reject m-me." My voice sounded small and weak as I said it, making me cringe. It was bad enough that I had to say it, the least that the universe could have offered me was the strength the get through the next few moments.
Alpha Farris stopped in his tracks. He looked thoughtfully towards the wall for a moment. It was clear that it had not occurred to him that he could simply rid himself of the problem with a rejection.
"You can't do that!" Alessa spoke up again, causing us both to look her direction.
"Alessa, please stop!" Beta Deene warned.
"Please, Alpha, please don't reject her! You don't know what she has been through! Please!" Alessa begged before Beta Deene successfully covered her mouth with his hand.
"Alessa, please don't make this any worse." I whispered at her.
She nodded her head at my plea, a single tear rolling down her cheek. I know that she did not want to see me hurt, but this is the way of the world. He is an Alpha and I am a mutt. This would never work. Not in a million years. An Alpha with a mutt for a Luna, their pack would be the laughing-stock of their allies.
Alpha Farris stood quiet for a moment as he stared down at me. I could feel his eyes boring into the top of my head. I did not dare look in his direction. I did not want to see the anger that I'm certain was held within his gaze.
"You may leave." He finally stated, after what felt like an eternity.
"You aren't going to reject me?"
"Not right now."
My heart instantly broke. I wanted him to reject me now when there were very few onlookers. If he were to wait, then he may choose to make this a public affair. Hold a pack meeting just to shame me. I knew that there would be a line out the door of unmated she-wolves who would kill to be Luna. He would have me replaced with just a snap of his fingers.
"Yes, Alpha." I stated as I rose to my feet and turned to exit the room.
I walked directly out of the pack house and then jogged the rest of the way to my cabin. I threw myself into bed and started to cry again. Why did this have to happen to me? Had I not suffered through enough? The Moon Goddess must truly hate me. Everyone had always made the claim before but I had dismissed them. How could the Moon Goddess hate me, I thought, she had paired my parents as mates, surely she had made that choice for a reason. However, now that I had met my fated mate, I realize that she must have a vendetta against me. I was punished, but I could not, for the life of me, imagine why.