17. Rejected

*Jade’s POV*

He immediately froze when heard me. In one quick move he got off me and turned on the light. I quickly get off the bed and fox my robe. When I turned to see him, his eyes were wide with surprise. He yells out, “Jade?! Fuck this is not happening right now!” I can't help but feel a stab of hurt in my chest.

I start chanting out loud, “No, no, no, this can't be! Why?” I see Julian pull his hair in frustration and says with venom laced in his voice, “What do you mean why, Mate? Where you expecting it to be your sweet and loving Levi. Do you not want me?”

I look at him with disbelief, “What are you going on about? You cannot speak on a matter you know nothing of, Levi and I had an understanding if something like this were to happen. He knows, how important it was for me to find my fated mate. Your anger towards my possible relationship with Levi is blinding you from the real issue here.”

He growls out, “And what would that be?” Is he being serious right now how can he forget about the one person he has been in a relationship with for the past 4 years? I can't help but whimper out, “Ava.” His face is now full of guilt and regret.

He suddenly screams out in frustration, “Fuck, I can't do this to Ava!” I feel my heart-breaking right at that moment and I cry out, “But we are fated mates!” He replies in a cold tone, “Jade, Ava is your sister. She and I have been in a relationship for years, this is not fair to her.”

I feel Esme’s anger and she growls out, ‘The moon goddess would not be cruel enough to do this to me, this male is not our mate. He is not at our level and because of the wolf I am, she would never make a mistake like this.’

Her remark took me by surprise. She should be the one begging me to be near him, she should be the one yearning for him and not denying the bond she clearly felt earlier. ‘Esme, how could you say that? He is our mate, you said so when he walked in.’

I hear her scoff, ‘Can’t you see it, Jade? The moon goddess wouldn’t have paired us with a male like him. We are too good for him.’ Wow, I wish my pride was not completely destroyed like hers.

When Julian didn’t hear me respond he sighed, “Jade we can't do this.” My eyes immediately filled with unshed tears. I look at him completely hurt and not being able to form any words. We had just shared an amazing moment and it quickly crumbled down.

He continued, “We have to go along with a rejection, I love your sister.” Another whimper leaves my lips when I hear him say that. He follows with the words I never wished to hear, “I, Julian Stone, future alpha of the Moon Stone Pack reject you, Jade Rivers as my mate and Luna.”

My heart is literally being broken right before me and my wolf is not even fazed. Esme says ‘Get it over with Jade. Accept it, I would never consider him as my mate.’ I just as her ‘Esme, are you completely sure? We won't have our fated mate if we go on with this.’ She growls out, ‘Yes, do it now!’

I take in a deep breath and say, “I, Jade Rivers daughter of the Beta of the Moon Stone pack accept your rejection.” I felt a sudden pain in my chest and the weakening of the bond. I see Julian clutch his chest and I feel the sudden urge to comfort him.

Before I did anything stupid, I fled. I ran outside, not being able to control myself any longer my sobs escape my lips and burst into tears. After what felt like hours my sobs are no way near their end, when I suddenly heard a voice behind me.

“Jade, are you okay? What happened to you babe?” It was Levi. He immediately comes to my side and hugs me and I start crying even harder. When I started to calm down, I started to talk, “Levi, h-e..... he rejected me.”

I hear a growl leave his lips and says, “Who the fuck would be stupid enough to reject you?” He holds me tighter in his arms when I hear him sniffing me. He abruptly says, “Wait, you smell like Julian. Was he your mate?”

I look up to him with wide eyes and my eyes once again fill with unshed tears with the mention of his name. When he sees the look on my face, he immediately cups it and says, “You don’t have to tell me anything right now. Should I take you home?”

I shake my head. I don’t want anyone to see me like this. It's bad enough to have Levi witness me at most venerable moment. I say, “No, please I can’t go there. What would I tell my parents if they see me like this? Oh, goddess how will I face Ava?”

Mentioning Ava made guilt wash over me. I made out with her boyfriend. Well, he was my fated mate but even telling myself that wasn’t making me feel any better about it.

Levi rubs my back and says, “Let’s not worry about that now, do you happen to have a change of clothes in the pack house?” I then realized that I was still just in my robe. I was so keen on getting away I didn’t care what I was wearing.

“I had a change of clothes in the alpha suite in the master bedroom, but I rushed out of there.” He furrows his eyebrows and says, “Let’s do this, I will take you to my suite and I will go get your clothes from the Alpha suite. Then we could figure out what to do.”

I just nod my head, getting up from the ground. I try to take a few steps but my legs give out. Levi immediately catches me and hold me up. Without another word he lifted me bridal style, my arms automatically wrap around his neck, and I rest my head against his chest.

Small sobs escape my lips on our way up to the suite. I suddenly feel him set me down on a couch, I didn’t even realize we had arrived. He kisses my forehead and says, “I will be right back.” I nob blankly at him.

I start to feel nothing but numbness and emptiness. I see Levi looking at me concern clearly reflected on his face but he doesn’t say anything. He just sighs and walks away.

*Levi’s POV*

I cannot fucking believe this. Why would something like this happen to her, out of all people. Maybe I should feel glad that I probably have a chance to be with her, but I can't. Not if it means seeing her this way.

Moon Goddess why didn’t you pair her with me? I would have cherished her, worshiped her, and loved her. I question this on my way to the Alpha suite.

Getting angrier remembering the way she was crying, the way I found her on the ground, and what worries me the most was the look in her eyes when I left. It was as if all the light that use to reflect brightly in them vanished completely.

I made it to the Alpha suite and quickly realized that Julian was still here. I follow his scent to one of the bedrooms, knowing perfectly well that it was the master bedroom and that was where her clothes will be.

I walk into the bedroom and it’s completely trashed. I notice Julian sitting at a chair glaring at me. I decide to ignore his gaze and make my way back to Jade as quick as possible. I notice female clothing in the floor beside the bed and go to grab it.

I hear Julian scoff and say, “Why am I not surprised that the person she ran to was you? I bet she told you everything already.” My patience was already hanging on a thin thread and that just made the thread snap completely.

“She did not tell me anything. All she was able to get out was ‘he rejected me’ since I was hugging her, I caught your scent on her and it was not hard to put the pieces together.” We are both glaring at each other and he suddenly smirks.

“How does it feel to know that ‘your’ girl was almost mine, if she hadn't recognized me, she would've let me fuck her.” I shake my head in disbelief and say, “But you didn’t and just to be clear she was not ‘my’ girl yet. We were actually waiting to see what would happen with the whole mate situation, and I just have to thank you for making things a lot easier for me.”

The smirk completely vanished from his face and turning into one filled with fury. “You will not pursue her. Don’t forget who I am!” I scoff, “So, what? Do you really expect her to be single for the rest of her life? Just remember you lost any right to claim her when you rejected her. Just because you are going to be the Alpha does not mean you could meddle with our lives.”

After saying that I rush out of there with her clothes in my hands. I hear Julian’s growls of frustration and also hear he threw something at the door. I make my way back to my suite to Jade. Making a silent promise to her, I will make her feel cherished, and I will help her forget him.