"I, Liam Parker, son of Alpha James Parker and Luna Grace Parker, reject you, Elizabeth Donovan as my mate."

Liam Parker, my mate and childhood friend, stood before me and everyone else in the Crimson Pack. The hushed whispers from the people who came to listen and witness the first rejection that has ever happened in our pack reached my ears. They couldn't believe what they just heard, but then again, they already expected this to happen ever since Liam decided to be in a relationship with a human.

"You can't do this, Liam! I am your mate!" Before I could stop my mouth, the words I wanted to force to swallow were already out and heard by everyone.

I always thought that Liam and I were meant to be even before we knew we were mated to each other. We were always together, did things together, and adored each other. No one in the pack could understand him better than me, and it was the same for him towards me.

It was two years ago when everything changed. He had to go to the Edge, the place where non-magic and every non-supernatural being lived. He was ordered by Alpha James, his father to investigate the rogue that was once a member of the pack who killed his parents and ran away to the human world. The story after that… I had no idea.

When I finally met him again after two years, he did not only bring the rogue all beaten and tied up back to the pack, he also brought a human girl with him.

At first, I hadn't really thought much about it. After all, what kind of magic would a human girl possess to enchant my mate into liking her and bound him to her forever? I was mated to him and not her.

But never would I have ever thought that this would happen to me. Having my own mate reject me in front of everyone, it was like a public execution without the gore and blood splattering everywhere. No executioner to slice off my head nor a sweeper who will carry my lifeless body from the public's curious gazes.

Instead, I stood there as if I was naked, watched by everyone as Liam humiliated me and rejected me.

''You can't do this to me… You can't reject me..." I said in between a whisper and a desperate plea for him to revoke his words and tell me this was just a prank.

"I can, actually." I heard him say without any remorse or concern of what I and my wolf would feel. His words were difficult for me to swallow and was like a slap to my face. "I was supposed to say this to you privately, but you didn't listen to me. Let me go, Lizzie. You and your wolf can't hold me forever."

I listen to his every word and images of our younger self immediately pass by my vision. I could see him running around with that cheeky smile and dimples I fell in love with, the way he would hold my hand gently as we took a walk in the middle of the woods, and when he almost kissed me on the lips before my father called me for dinner.

It hurt that he could show that handsome face in front of everyone else without shame. But it was painful to see him speaking as if I was at fault here.

"Anyway… even if you tie me up and force me to be with you, I can no longer mark you as my mate." I raised my head in shock at his words, I gasped for air and shook my head as he continued to say, "I already marked someone else as my mate."

A sharp gasp came out of already parted lips when I heard him say he already took someone else as his mate. It didn't matter to me who it was, what mattered was that he was willing to give me up and make someone else his mate.

My body felt light, but at the same time, my throat felt like I was swallowing lead. The shame and betrayal was hard for me to swallow.

Liam bowed his head to his father and mother, the Alpha and Luna of our pack, and turned on his heels to walk away. They didn't stop him. No one did. I also didn't as I watched him stretch his arm out towards a beautiful girl standing amongst the crowd.

"Let's go home, Avery."

Hearing him say another woman's name, my heart shattered into tiny pieces of shards underneath my feet.

When Liam and Avery left, the watchers also left with them. They had enough of the show we displayed before their eyes. No one even stayed behind to know if I was alright and didn't even pretend to be angry at what my ex-mate did to me.

Alpha James walked up to me and patted my shoulder. I had expected him to give a few words of comfort, but I only heard my heart falling to my stomach. "Child, I'm sorry for what my son did. But you must understand him. He is my son and future Alpha of the Crimson Pack, having a latent wolf as his mate, I don't think he can accept that."

After saying that, he left with his wife, leaving me behind, alone and scarred, to hold myself together.

Of course. How could I ever forget who and what I was?

I am the daughter of a drunkard in the pack, a girl who was born to be a latent wolf, someone who can't transform into her wolf form. On the other hand, the human girl named Avery was more suited to their son. She may not be able to transform herself into a wolf, but she could inject herself with a Lyc-v and turn herself into one.

Besides that, her human family were quite influential in the mortal world, making the trade between the Crimson Pack and the humans go easily.

After everything had dawned on me, I felt my feet starting to move. It brought me back home, to the small barn where I lived together with my sister and father. I kept walking and I saw the familiar back of my sister, Isabelle, and father, Brandon.

When they saw me walking over to them, I couldn't even start to speak or evade when my father's thick and rough palm landed on my right cheek.

"You useless brat! Didn't I tell you to just give him up? Now, what happened? Not only did you get rejected, you even humiliated me and your sister in front of everyone in the pack!" My father shook my shoulders as he hollered at me.

I was too tired and broken to answer him that I didn't even feel the pain when he slapped me in the face. I only stared blankly at him as tears fell from eyes to my cheeks non-stop.