Rejected By My Alpha Mate

After my parents' tragic death, Alpha Reed, my father’s close friend, took me into the Reed Pack. As an Omega, I was grateful for their kindness, though I always felt the weight of my status. On my sixteenth birthday, Rohan Reed, the future Alpha of the Reed Pack, got drunk at the pack’s celebration. He cornered me under the moonlight, his dominant aura pressing down on me, and kissed me with a possessive fervor. “You’re mine, Malia,” he growled, his voice low and commanding. “You’ll always be mine.”

By eighteen, our bond deepened, though he refused to mark me as his mate. Still, he promised me a lifetime of protection, and I believed him. But by twenty-four, when I was ready to solidify our bond, he coldly declared he’d never mark me. “You’re not Luna material,” he said, his tone cutting. “You’re an Omega. The pack needs more than that.”

The tension between us stretched for a month, thick and suffocating. Hoping to mend things, some of the pack organized an outing. That evening, Rohan arrived with a younger female, an Omega like me. Her shy smile mirrored my younger self, and it stung more than I cared to admit. James Crawford, the pack’s Gamma and my loyal friend, was the first to confront him. “What the hell, Alpha Rohan?” he snapped, his voice tight with anger. “What do you take Malia for?”

Rohan’s gaze flicked to James, his expression icy. “Why the strong reaction, Gamma?” he replied, his voice dripping with condescension. “I only see Malia as a sister. Just because she’s lived in the Reed Pack all these years doesn’t mean I have to mark her, right?”

He leaned down to kiss the girl’s hair, his tone softening only for her. “Don’t go spreading rumors about me and Malia,” he warned the room. “My girlfriend might misunderstand. She’s young, not easily reassured.”

James clenched his fists, his jaw tightening. “Alpha Rohan, are you serious?”

We had all grown up together. James knew the truth of our bond, and his protective instincts flared. Rohan looked at him indifferently before lighting a cigarette, his expression cold. “Gamma James, since when did you and Malia become so close? When did it become your place to defend her?” His gaze flickered over mine before he turned to pinch the girl’s cheek. “Be good, wait for me outside. It’s too loud here. I’ll take you somewhere quieter later.”

The girl obediently cast a shy glance at him and left. Once she was gone, Rohan fixed his eyes on me, his voice laced with mockery. “Is it fun, Malia, having everyone push me into marking you?”

Before I could respond, he exhaled smoke, his smirk cruel. “I never claimed you were my mate, did I?”

I looked at the face I’d loved for eight years and suddenly felt its unfamiliar coldness. James stood up, ready to challenge him. “Alpha Rohan, saying things like that—do you even respect the mate bond?”

I held James back