Chapter 2 The Painful Rejection

DAISY'S POV

A cruel laugh echoed from the side. One of Mila's friends, Jenna, leaned against the dresser, arms crossed, eyes gleaming with amusement. "Goddess, how did you go six months without knowing your boyfriend was screwing someone else?"

I felt like the air had been knocked out of me. My knees wobbled. My hands clenched into fists at my sides.

Six months?

I turned back to Scott, searching his face for any sign that this was a lie, a cruel joke. But he wouldn't meet my eyes.

Mila, still wrapped around him, tilted her head, a mocking pout on her lips. "Oops, looks like the secret's out." She trailed her fingers down Scott's chest. "I guess I don't have to pretend anymore."

My stomach twisted, nausea rising in my throat. "Scott... Tell me what's going on." My voice was barely a whisper.

Scott finally looked at me, but there was no regret in his eyes, only cold detachment. "Daisy," he sighed. "Mila is my mate."

Mila pouted dramatically, tracing her fingers over Scott's chest. "Oh, baby, I think we should tell her everything." She turned her sharp gaze toward me, her lips curling into a smirk. "But first... poor thing needs a shower. She reeks of rotten milk."

Laughter filled the room again. My hands clenched at my sides as heat rushed to my face. My humiliation was their entertainment.

Scott sighed, running a hand through his hair, as if this conversation was exhausting for him. Then, without hesitation, he said, "I want Mila to be my mate."

His words felt like a blade slicing through my chest.

"No," I breathed, shaking my head. My entire body trembled. "But I... I'm your mate. I'm the one you're bound to." My voice cracked, the weight of his betrayal pressing down on me.

Mila stood up, stretching lazily before sauntering toward me. Her heels clicked against the floor, slow and deliberate, like she was savoring the moment.

She stopped just inches away from me, her eyes gleaming with cruelty. "How can someone like you ever be mated to an Alpha?" She scoffed, flipping her hair over her shoulder. "You don't even have a wolf. You're nothing but a weak, pathetic little girl playing dress-up."

The room spun around me. My heart pounded so loudly I could barely hear anything else.

Scott didn't say a word.

He didn't defend me.

He just sat there, watching.

I couldn't stop myself. The rage bubbling inside me exploded as I shoved Mila backward. She stumbled, her smirk vanishing for a split second before twisting into something more venomous.

Scott shot up from the bed, his eyes darkening with fury. "Hey!" His voice boomed, making my heart pound. "I'm the Alpha now, don't forget that. And I won't tolerate any disrespect toward me or my future mate."

Future mate.

His words hit harder than any slap ever could.

Scott stepped closer, his gaze cold and unrecognizable. "Be real, Daisy. Did you really think I would spend the rest of my life bound to a mate who can't even shift?"

I felt like the ground had disappeared beneath my feet. The pain in my chest was unbearable, as if my heart had been ripped apart, shredded by the very person I had trusted the most.

Mila let out a fake gasp, pressing a hand to her chest. "Oh, poor Daisy," she cooed. "You actually thought you had a chance."

Laughter erupted from her friends.

I clenched my fists, my vision blurring. My mate, the one who was supposed to love and protect me, was standing beside the woman who had tormented me my entire life.

Scott turned away like he was already done with me. Like I didn't matter.

Scott continued, his voice laced with disgust. "You don't even have a wolf. I'd rather die than be mated to a shame like you."

Then, his next words destroyed me.

"Daisy Storm, by the Moon Goddess's light, I reject you as my mate."

A searing pain exploded in my chest, like claws tearing through my soul. I choked on a sob as my knees buckled, my hands clutching at my heart, trying to hold myself together. But nothing could stop the agony that spread through me, burning through every inch of my body.

I gasped, my vision blurring from the pain.

Scott towered over me, his expression cold. "Accept it, and the pain ends."

I shook my head desperately, my fingers digging into the floor as I tried to push myself up. "But... I won't be mated again," I whispered, my voice barely holding together. "Scott, please... you told me you loved me."

He scoffed, crossing his arms. "Come on, Daisy. Can you really not tell the difference between love and pity?"

My heart shattered into a million pieces.

Mila giggled from behind him. "Aww, this is getting sad. Just accept it already. You know you'll never be a real mate to anyone."

The whispers around me grew louder. The pack was watching. Laughing. Enjoying my humiliation.

I bit my lip, forcing back the sobs that threatened to consume me. My whole body trembled as the pain only intensified, but I knew there was only one way to make it stop.

So with one final, broken breath, I forced out the words that would seal my fate.

"I accept your rejection."

The second the words left my lips, a final wave of pain ripped through me, tearing what was left of my bond with Scott into nothing but emptiness.

I felt hollow.

Dead inside.

Scott barely spared me another glance as he turned away, wrapping his arm around Mila's waist. She leaned into him, grinning like she had just won.

The pack cheered.

I could hear their whispers.

"She really thought she'd end up as Luna?"

"A wolf-less mate? The Moon Goddess must have made a mistake."

"Pathetic."

I couldn't stay here.

I pushed myself up, my legs weak and unsteady, and ran.

Tears blurred my vision as I stumbled through the halls, gasping for air, my chest aching from the rejection bond breaking. I had lost everything.

I wasn't just alone.

I was nothing.

But as I reached the doors leading outside....

I slammed into something solid.

Strong hands caught me before I could fall, gripping my arms, steadying me.

I looked up....

And froze.