Reborn, I Rejected My Mate

I was still gasping for air, my heart pounding from the memory of the enforcers dragging me away, when I heard Damien's voice cut through the haze. He was out there, living it up with some fresh-faced she wolves, while I was bound to a rod, my life slipping away. Then, out of nowhere, this ethereal voice whispered in my ear, soft as a breeze but heavy with meaning. "Samantha, your heart's too tangled to move on." The voice rumbles like a wolf's growl. "The old ones grant half a moon's reprieve-fifteen nights till the full moon. Don't call it kindness." Then my eyes snapped open, and I was standing in the lobby of a downtown loft. Polished concrete floors reflected the glow of recessed lights, and a handwritten card propped on a marble countertop caught my eye: "Cheers, Damien-here's to outrunning Samantha and finally breathing easy." The lights flashed, the music roared, and the crowd howled like a pack in heat. This loft-the Moon-was where Damien and I had formed our sacred bond. I never imagined that while I was being torn apart by those enforcers, my mate was throwing a party with his pack to celebrate my death. "Samantha! You're so shameless to show up here!" A voice laced with ice snapped me out of my daze, and before I could blink, a pair of strong hands clamped around my throat. I looked up into Damien's eyes, blazing with raw disgust and rage. My mate, the wolf I'd given everything for, stared at me like I was a stain on his world. All those days I was held captive, he hadn't spared me a single thought. I laughed at myself silently, bitter at how I'd clung to hope. The crowd around us didn't hold back either, their jeers cutting deeper than any blade. "Samantha, didn't you say you were done for? What's this, putting on a show to rise from the grave?" one of them sneered. "You faked your own kidnapping to stop Damien chasing Chloe-other packs? What's next? Crawling back as a ghost?"another wolf mocked. I opened my mouth to argue, but Damien's grip tightening, choking off my words. His eyes burned red, and I had no doubt he'd end me right there if he could. Just as my vision started to blur, a soft voice broke through. "Damien, stop it." His hands loosened, and I gasped, sucking in air like it was my first breath. My gaze landed on her-Chloe Aldridge, the she-wolf my pack treated like a precious gem. My cousin. Damien's sweetheart. "Look at that," someone taunted. "If you hadn't stuck your nose in, Chloe and Damien would be living their happily-ever-after." "You drove Chloe out of the pack, and now that she's back, you're clinging like a leech. Samantha, you're the worst she-wolf in Argentum Town!" I stared at the two of them, standing so close, so perfect together. Once, I would've lost it-charged in, pulled them apart, and marked my claim on Damien's cheek just to show Chloe who he was bound to. But now? I just stood there, a hollow smile tugging at my lips. I'd spent my life chasing approval from parents who didn't care, bending over backward for a mate who loved someone else. All it got me was a death no one mourned, my body left to rot. I could still feel the moment the enforcers tossed me a phon. First, I dialed my dad. No answer.​ Second, my mom. She picked up, but before I could speak, she lashed out. "Samantha, cut the theatrics! Chloe's in the ICU, and you're over here pulling nonsense to hog the spotlight. I swear, I wish it was you with that brain tumor instead!" The dial tone echoed in my ears, tears blurring my vision. The next call went to Damien.​ He picked up on the third ring, his voice tight. "I'm busy, Samantha."​ Before I could speak, a breathy whimper cut through the line-high, feminine, too close to the receiver.​ Then the call dropped.​ I hit redial. Again. Again.​ Every attempt met a flat, unyielding tone: The number you are trying to reach is unavailable.​ The enforcer's cold laugh still rang in my head. "What, you're the Aldridge pack's golden she-wolf, the mate of Voss's alpha? One call, and he's already gone. You're worthless." Then came the silver bullet, searing as it tore through my throat, blood gurgling like a broken fountain down my collarbone. I clawed at my neck now, the phantom burn still scalding enough to make me gag. Chloe noticed me staring and blinked, her face softening into that practiced, gentle smile of hers. She hurried over, grabbing my hand. "Samantha, if you're really alive, why vanish without a trace? Do you have any idea how many times Mom and Dad shredded their claws pacing the woods, howling till their throats bled when they thought you were dead?" Her words were sweet, but they pinned the blame on me, painting me as the she-wolf who faked my own death. I yanked my hand free, ready to walk away, but Damien caught my wrist, his grip bruising. "Think you can just slink off now? Even if you really died, I'd have spit on your grave." My wrist throbbed, but my eyes snagged on the frayed leather cord strung with wolf's teeth dangling from his left hand. Three years ago, when Damien was sick, I braved a blizzard and climbed nine thousand steps to the Ironpine Shrine, begging the spirits for his recovery. That leather cord with wolf's teeth was my offering, my devotion. I didn't say a word. I just reached out and pulled the cord off his wrist. The string snapped, wolf teeth scattering across the deck like my heart breaking all over again. Damien's expression flickered, like he felt it too, but the crowd just laughed. "Samantha, you broke it yourself! We all saw it-don't go crying to Damien later!" one of them crowed. "Yeah, I broke it," I said softly, my voice barely a whisper as I stared at the scattered beads. "It's not on Damien." The crowd went quiet, stunned. Even Damien's face darkened, his eyes narrowing as he grabbed my arm again, his voice like frost. "You better mean that. Liars don't get happy endings." "Feeling guilty?" he pressed, stepping closer. "Think what you want," I muttered, shaking him off. I crouched down, gathering the wolf teeth under the crowd's mocking stares, then turned and walked away. What was the point of explaining? Damien would never believe me. Half an hour later, I was back at Moonridge Villa, the manor we'd built when we bound ourselves to each other. Most nights, it was just me here, alone. Damien would rather sleep at his office than set foot in this place, except for the one night a month he showed up to fulfill his duty as my mate. I found a small box and tucked the wolf teeth inside. I had to gather up every piece of this life, every tie to this world, if I wanted to be free. A warm, magnetic voice broke the silence. "Baby, why'd you stay away so long?" I glanced over, my heart catching. My phone screen lit up with Damien's face. My vision blurred with tears as memories flooded back, threatening to drown me.