Daphne's POV
"You can say goodbye to your lover now, we are leaving." His booming voice startled us and I dreaded turning to face him. I had been laying my head comfortably on my best friend's shoulder, whining about my misfortunes to him. Sammy nudged me lightly when I attempted to ignore my mate, pulling me with him on our feet. We turned to face my mate. An impatient glare was etched on his face, and I didn't want his ugly side to show yet. Not in front of my family and friends. I wouldn't want them to worry more than I am sure they are already. I briefly hugged Sammy, promising to visit soon, and took my mate's offered hand. My fingers looked like toothpicks in comparison to his.
Without a word, he led us towards his black SUV. I hesitated when he opened the back seat for me and asked about my luggage. He curtly informed me that he had already put everything in the trunk. I craned my neck and caught a final glimpse of my family before getting into his car. He followed after me, and that's when I realized there was a chauffeur behind the wheel already.
"Take us home, Mark," Kieran muttered once he had clamped his seatbelt in place. The chauffeur didn't wait to be told twice. He stepped on the gas and in no time, my home looked like a tiny dot far away. I stopped staring through the window once we passed the roundabout.
I hadn't known how much it would hurt to leave my home. Seated in the back seat with the arrogant stranger I called my mate made the feeling sink in. That I was alone. Far from my family and everyone that I love. I swallowed hard and ended up sniffing instead. I raised my hand to trace my cheek, and there was wetness there. I didn't even know I was crying. Beside me, Kieran mocked. "So you can cry,"
"Not because of you." I snapped. "Better savor the moment," I growled, wiping the tears away with the back of my palm.
"I need to teach you how to address me properly," he barked dispassionately. "I can't have you thinking, just because I am tired to you by some dumb mate stuff, that you can speak to me anyhow."
"I was beginning to wonder when you will lay your cards on the table." I shot back. The chauffeur gaped at me in the rearview mirror. I guess nobody talks back to their esteemed Alpha.
"Speaking of laying, I think you should know that I already have a lover." I didn't even blink. I held his gaze, seeming unfazed, but deep down my wolf was howling painfully at the news. "You will have your own room and under no circumstance should you step into mine."
"Anything else?" I asked with a blank face, detached emotionally. He seemed taken aback. Like that wasn't the reaction he had expected of me.
"As a matter of fact there is," he added after a brief silence. "I don't want anyone knowing you are my mate." Another blow.
"First of all, I am not ecstatic to be your mate either. And I am glad I will not be bedding you." I clarified, mumbling good riddance under my breath. I saw his face contort before he schooled his features hastily. "Second, I will not go around lying. So if anyone asks who I am to you, I will say my mate. But that is just in words. And in case you have forgotten, I am the rightful Luna of your pack. A position I will not share with your whores. They can warm your bed, and bear your pups, but I didn't leave my family behind, to become a nobody in your pack." I finished calmly, laying back on the leather seat, my eyes forward. I heard his sharp intake of breath and smiled internally. He jerked my hand, making me flinch.
"It is my pack and what I say goes." He bellowed, narrowing his eyes on me. "And if I say no one should know you are mate, that is precisely what is going to happen." He held my hand too tightly. I am sure it will leave a bruising.
"I, Daphne Roberts, reject you, Alpha Kieran Robinson, as my mate." The chauffeur swiveled off the road, almost hitting a tree, probably shocked by my haste decision.
"Watch the damn road!" Kieran growled breathlessly. I had a feeling it had nothing to do with the near accident, but rather the rejection. I, too, felt a physical pain the minute I finished severing the bond, but stomached the pain.
"There, I am no longer your mate." I threw casually. "You can stop the car and let me out."
"Like hell, I will!" He roared, clutching to his chest. "You will regret that." His eyes flickered gold, meaning his wolf was on the surface. Mine spared no insult, blaming me for rejecting our garbage of a mate.
"Not as much as you will regret taking me from my home."
"Who do you think you are talking to?" He grabbed me by the neck, strangling me. I clenched my fist and aimed it for his crotch. He cursed, loosening his hold on my neck.
"I think you are forgetting that I am a daughter of an Alpha, a nephew to an Alpha, and a cousin to an Alpha," I growled, challenging him to manhandle me again. "Your pack might be stronger than my father's but don't forget there are two more packs that would rally behind his if need be." He swallowed nervously. Justifiably so. Like I said in the beginning, I am from a long line of Alphas. The largest pack to ever exist was split into three so that triplets born Alpha's could all rule. One of them was my grandfather. And despite the split, we are as close as families can get.
Indeed, my father couldn't have stopped my mate from claiming me, but in case of domestic abuse, I am sure he would fight like hell to avenge me.
"Bitch!" He growled, knowing what I said was true.
"I have been called worse, darling," I smirked at my very first win against him. I closed my eyes and decided to nap. I knew we were a few hours from his pack.