James

I looked around the classroom, but I couldn't find my mate anywhere. I untangled my arm which was wrapped around Hailey and got up from my seat.

"Where are you going?" She asked.

"I need to go and check something," I said looking at the door.

My mate must have rushed out of the classroom as soon as the bell rang.

"I'll be back," I mumbled to Hailey and made my way out of the classroom in search of my mate.

I sniffed the air and groaned when I realised I couldn't sense my mate's scent anywhere.

There were tones of werewolves on the premises, but the one I was looking for was clearly out of my reach.

"What are you doing?" Drake asked.

He threw a side glance at me as I sniffed the air once again.

"Is everything alright?"

"I'll be back in a bit," I replied. I was about head to the cafeteria when the familiar scent I was in search of, caught my attention.

I sprinted towards the direction from where that smell came from. I couldn't help but feel somewhat nervous. I hadn't expected I would come across my mate so soon.

Fuck.

I stopped in my tracks as a familiar figure came into view. I waited for a second as I stood there looking at my mate. She was wearing a white tee-shirt along with jeans and vans. I noticed her long blond hair was tied in a ponytail as fiddled with the key of her locker.
The thought of leaving Hailey made my stomach churn.

You are going to bring trouble upon us. — My wolf commented.

No, I won't.

Do you think you are going to get away with all this? — He asked.

I will.

I love Hailey and all but she is our mate.

I ignored him.

An instant growl left my throat as I walked towards my mate. I inhaled her scent one last time. My wolf purred in excitement as I headed towards her.

She turned around and her blue eyes locked with my brown ones. There was a sudden change of emotion in her eyes which made my wolf flinch deep inside.

Pure shock turned into hatred and disgust as soon as our eyes intertwined.

Don't do it. — My wolf begged.

"I, James Wellington, Alpha of the Dark Moon Pack reject you as -"

"I, Alina Brynn reject, you James Wellington, the Alpha of the Dark Moon Pack as my mate." She interrupted me and completed the sentence before I could break the bond.

I stood there gaping at her when suddenly something inside of me clenched. It felt like I got shot by a bullet. My heart which never belonged to her shattered as stared at her.

She walked past me, leaving me standing there with my palms balled into fists. My wolf howled as I watched my mate walk away from me.

She had rejected me.

Let's see how this plays out. — My wolf snapped. It's all your fault our mate is sad.

■■■

I walked out of the school premises along with Drake, impatiently searching for Alina. I have checked every single class in the building, but she wasn't there. I had to see her and clear out the air. I didn't want her to hate me for what I did. I needed to apologise and tell her why I couldn't possibly be with her. Even though she was my mate, I didn't love her. It was not fair on her if I decided to be with her even though my heart belonged to someone else.

I hadn't seen her the entire day after the rejection.

Wow at first you rejected her and now you are thinking about her? — My wolf mocked me.

I don't love her.

"Are we ever going back to the packhouse?" Drake asked impatiently. "Or are you planning to stay the night here?"

I followed behind him.

"What happened?" Drake asked.

"Nothing."

"You look upset." He stated looking at me.

"Do you know anyone named Alina?" I asked not being able to hold the curiosity building inside me.

"Alina Brynn?" He gasped.

"Yeah. Do you know who she is?" I asked.

"You don't know her?" He frowned.

"No?" I raised an eyebrow.

"She is the daughter of Alpha Brynn." He informed me.

"And who is this Alpha Brynn exactly?" I asked raising an eyebrow.

"The Alpha of the Shadow Light Pack." He said looking at me with a frown. "They are our neighbours for fucks sake. We share the school with them."

What!?

I fucked things up pretty bad this time. I hoped Alpha Brynn would not declare war upon us. I already had enough shit to deal with and a war on top of it was surely not the right option. I possibly couldn't go around explaining the rejection either.

"Shit!" I muttered under my breath, thinking of all the possibilities that could go wrong.

"What happened?" Drake asked looking concerned.

"I don't know how to explain it." I sighed.

"Go ahead." He ushered me to go on.

"I found my mate."

"Really? That's great. Who is she?" He grinned.

"Uh... It's A-Alina Brynn" I mumbled. For a second I couldn't even recognise my voice.

"Wow...Congrats." He congratulated patting my shoulder.

"Uh well..she rejected me."

"Wait— What!?" He shouted.

"What? It's not my fault. I didn't know she was the daughter of Alpha Brynn. Well, I was going to reject her. I love Hailey you know, right?" I sighed and continued, "But she took the lead and rejected me before I could."

I explained the whole event.

"Are you stupid?" He screeched.

I flinched at his sudden outburst but didn't reply.

"Don't forget to apologise to her tomorrow." He stated calmly a few minutes later. "The love you have for Hailey won't take you too far. You'll become the Alpha soon, you need your mate to help you guide the pack."

"No, I won't," I replied without a single bit of humour.

It hurt me inside. My wolf was in pain. He wanted his mate back, while I, on the other hand, didn't. It was a battle inside my body. Half of me wanted her while the other half didn't.

What the fuck was wrong with me?

Why was I even thinking about her?

There was no point in wasting my time thinking about Alina.

As soon as we reached the packhouse I decided to call Hailey to get my mind off of Alina.

"Hi." She squealed picking the phone up within a ring or two.

"Hey, want to come over?" I offered. "I miss you."

"Sure. I'll be there in a few minutes." She said and hung up.

I sat on my bed and thought about Hailey. Her long hair, slender body, long legs, and that killer smile. She was a beauty and at the same time had a personality I could kill for. There were so many reasons why I loved her so fucking much. She was perfect.  Good looks, smart and passionate, what else could I possibly need in life?

She was the one for me.

I waited patiently for Hailey to arrive. While eagerly anticipating her arrival, my thoughts drifted back to Alina. The feeling of letting her down engulfed me and I couldn't hear the knock on my door.

"What's wrong with you?" Hailey gripped my forearm.

I jerked away.

"James, it's me. What's wrong with you? You've been acting weird." She asked raising her eyebrow.

"I was just thinking about something," I said and wrapped my arm around her waist.

She looked at me and smiled. In the blink of an eye, I was pushed to my bed as she got on top of me. She straddled me and attacked me with her mouth. I moaned as I gripped her hips with both my hands and pulled her towards me.

Suddenly Alina's face popped up inside my head.

I pushed her away quickly to only hear her complain. I felt guilty. I felt like I was using her. I thought she would be able to distract me from thinking about Alina but it was not working at all.

"What's wrong?" She looked concerned.

"Nothing." I took a deep breath and pulled her on top of me again.

Hailey kissed my lips once again. Her hands traced further down my neck as she started undoing the buttons of my shirt one at a time.

It was not working for me. Even though a half-naked Hailey was offering me hot sex, I couldn't get Alina out of my head. My wolf howled in pain as I was laid there, practically numb allowing Hailey to hover on top of me.

I mentally found myself wishing it was Alina, not Hailey.

Fuck.