Chapter 2 Rejected

Aria's POV

The house was buzzing with excitement as Lila prepared for her celebratory dinner with Connor. The pack had been anticipating his return from Alpha training, and today was supposed to be a day of joy. For everyone, except me.

My mother had insisted I stay out of the way. "Don't embarrass us tonight," she had said, her tone as cutting as always. "Lila has worked hard to make sure Connor sees her as worthy. You don't want to ruin everything again, do you?"

So I kept to the shadows, cleaning in silence, as the rest of the house filled with voices. I could hear Lila laughing in the living room with her friends, her voice sweet, full of triumph, her every word a dagger aimed at me.

Honestly, they will be perfect together-she, the beautiful, accomplished one, and he, the strong and commanding Alpha's son. I was nothing.

But even as I scrubbed the counters, I felt something shift in the air. I couldn't explain it. There was a strange pull in my chest, a magnetic force drawing me toward the hallway.

I couldn't help myself. I stepped toward the source of the change, following an invisible thread.

And then I saw him.

Connor.

His tall, muscular frame filled the doorway, his dark hair tousled from his long journey, his eyes scanning the room like he was surveying a kingdom. The pack members gathered around him, greeting him, eager to see their future Alpha back home. His gaze swept over the room, but then-he stopped.

His eyes locked with mine. For the briefest of moments, everything else seemed to disappear.

I froze, feeling something deep stirred inside me-a sensation so strong, it sent a shiver down my spine. It was as if the universe itself was whispering the truth to me. But I didn't understand. Why did he look at me like that?

Connor's jaw tightened, his lips curling into a hard line. The room seemed to grow still as the truth hit me all at once. The mate bond.

But how could it be?

Connor wasn't supposed to be my mate. He was Lila's. He had always been hers. They'd been inseparable since they were children, and I had always known my place: the invisible twin, the one who didn't matter.

"I... I think I need a moment," I heard Connor mutter, his voice strained as he turned away from me, clearly unsettled.

Before I could even process what was happening, my mother appeared from nowhere, her eyes narrowing when she saw me standing there, frozen in the doorway.

"Aria, what are you doing?" she hissed, her voice low but filled with venom. "Leave. Now. Go back to your room. Don't ruin this for Lila."

But Connor was already speaking again, his voice loud and unwavering, carrying the weight of his Alpha blood.

"Wait." He turned back to face me, his expression unreadable but hard, as if he had made a decision. "No." He shook his head. "I won't do this. I won't."

My heart skipped a beat. What was he talking about? What was going on? The air seemed to vibrate with the tension between us.

"I-" He paused, as though he was searching for the right words. "I reject you. Aria Carrington, I reject you as my mate."

The words felt like a slap, each syllable cutting deeper than any physical blow. My breath caught in my throat. I could feel the bond that had begun to form between us-the connection I didn't even know existed-snap and break in an instant.

The room fell silent, the pack members staring in stunned disbelief, their faces a blur of confusion, but it didn't matter. The pain that seared through me was too much to bear. My chest constricted, and I wanted to run-to disappear, to escape. But all I could do was stand there, shattered, in front of everyone.

My mother didn't even seem surprised. She stood there, her face twisted with disdain, her lips curling into a cruel smile.

"See? Even your mate rejects you, Aria. You've never belonged here. You've never belonged anywhere. Maybe it's time you just leave and never come back. Go die somewhere, far away from us. You're a disgrace to this pack."

Her words hit me harder than anything Connor had said. A deep, suffocating ache filled my chest, and I knew, without a doubt, I didn't belong here. Not to them. Not to anyone.

I turned and ran as they all burst out laughing, my legs carrying me through the hall, out the door, into the cold night air. The pack house behind me felt like a prison, and the darkness of the woods surrounding me offered no comfort, only the promise of an escape I wasn't sure I even wanted anymore.

I ran for hours, past the trees and the familiar sights of the pack's territory, until I could no longer see the flickering lights of the house in the distance. My breath came in ragged gasps, my mind numb. The only thing I could think of was getting away.

My feet were raw, my body exhausted, but I kept moving, pushing through the ache in my chest, the tears burning in my eyes.

I stumbled into a small human town just as the sun was starting to dip beneath the horizon. I didn't know where I was, didn't care. There was only one thing left to do.

I stared at the vial in my trembling hands, the contents shimmering under the dim light of the alley. I've been carrying it for over a week now, trying to summon the courage to end it all but today is the day.

My mind was a blur-clouded with the cruel rejection, the years of abuse, the suffocating weight of my family's hate. It all felt endless.

The bitter liquid tasted like death as it slid down my throat, burning with the promise of finality. For the first time in years, I felt the knot in my chest loosen, and my thoughts became distant, blurry.

I collapsed to the ground, my limbs heavy as the cold concrete pressed against my skin. I could feel my heart slowing, a numbness sweeping over me. This was it. The end.

Everything started to blur-sounds faded into nothingness, the world spinning, becoming a distant memory. The last thought I had was that no one would care. No one would even notice I was gone.