BOUND TO THE WRONG ALPHA: FALLING FOR MY MATE'S FATHER.

She was not supposed to be here. But she was so close. She could see Ronan spread out on the bed. She hiccupped, stumbling drunkenly as she steadied herself against the doorframe. Raine wasn't supposed to come back, but the rejection, the humiliation, it was too much. She had to try, Ronan needed to take her back.

The room swayed as she staggered in, her breath uneven, the sharp bite of alcohol still thick on her tongue. She stumbled to the bed, the figure on it slept soundly, half-covered by the sheets.

Ronan, her love.

With shaky hands, Raine pulled down the zipper of her dress. It pooled at her feet and she climbed into the bed, pressing herself against him. Her breath hitched as she reached for him in the pitch-black room. He was perfect, her mate. He had cast her aside like she was nothing. But this, she was sure it would fix everything. She could change his mind, she knew it.

She dragged her naked body over him, and placed her lips on his. She felt the moment he stirred into awareness because his body stiffened beneath hers. She moaned low, moving against him as she kissed him again. The body beneath hers hesitated for a minute, but then he was kissing her back. Raine was pleased.

Her mate still wanted her.

His hands tightened on her hips, and then he was flipping her beneath him in an instant. Raine gasped against his lips as the big body above hers pressed her down into the mattress. Something was different about him tonight, he seemed rougher, more desperate, and in the dark, he seemed bigger. But her drunken head was too gone in the haze of lust to care.

Her alpha's lips brutalized hers, practically devouring her as his tongue danced with hers, fucking in and out of her tongue in a sloppy, wet kiss. Raine moaned, rubbing herself against one of his thick thighs. The sheet around him had slipped, and his rock hard member poked into the side of her hip. Raine ached to reach for it, but the alpha had her hands pinned over head as his mouth left hers and trailed down her neck. He nosed around her mating gland, teeth pressing gently against it.

Raine whined, bucking into the touch. She wanted him to bite her, she wanted his mark, but the alpha did not give it to her. Instead he trailed his lips down until he was biting one of her nipples. He pulled hard on the nub and Raine screamed, pleasure shooting straight through her entire being. His fingers nosed in between her legs, rubbing at her clit and spreading her slick.

Raine huffed, her chest puffing up in anticipation as he positioned his cock at her entrance and thrust in at once. Her back arched as her mouth spread in a silent scream. The alpha bottomed out, and for some reason, he seemed bigger than usual. Or had it been that long since she'd had her mate inside her? Raine's walls spasmed and clenched around the thick length inside her and the alpha gave a low guttural groan, hands tight on her hips.

Raine whined again, moving her hips against him in a silent plea for him to move. The alpha growled, dragging her until she was practically hanging off his lap. His big hands spanned the width of her waist and he began moving her over his length, dragging her like she was his living cocksleeve. Raine moaned, her voice rising with each pounding thrust into her, until she was practically sobbing. And just, as she approached her climax, she felt him swell inside her as he gave her his knot.

Raine screamed as her orgasm crashed over her, sobbing at pleasure ran over her in waves. She felt it then, that fire, that hunger as their wolves surged towards each other, a sense of rightness like no other as they molded into one. Raine's sobs became tears of joy as their wolves clicked together, a connection snapping into place.

She was finally getting it. The bond that she'd been denied. Ronan was hers now, and by morning he would have no choice but to mate her. Their wolves accepted each other, they were one.

Raine smiled as the alpha's knot pulsed deep inside her, and she let the relief consume her as everything went dark.

***

With the morning light, came realization. Raine stretched as she awoke, her limbs and muscles aching with a delicious soreness. The events of last night came back to her and she smiled despite her hangover. Ronan had made love to her. He took her back. The rejection had meant nothing. They would be joined as fated mates. Finally.

She turned, smile ready for her lover.

She froze.

The man in the bed beside her was not Ronan.

Raine felt her heart drop down to her stomach as all the blood drained from her face. She sat up frantically, pulling the sheets up to her chest as she took in the man next to her. The man she had let into her body last night.

Silver-streaked hair, a powerful broad frame she'd clung to last night as he'd pounded into her over and over again. And finally, glaring in the light of the morning, the alpha's mark on his shoulder.

Matthias Draven.

Alpha of the Draven Pack and Ronan's father.

Raine's stomach lurched and she made a pained sound as she scrambled back, struggling to get off the bed before the man woke, sheets tangling around her legs. Her commotion woke Matthias, and he stirred. Raine watched as those grey eyes of his flashed open and his gaze met hers. She saw confusion cross his features, and then shocked realization, and finally settling on revulsion. Raine was going to be sick.

Neither of them said a word. They barely even breathed. And then with one trembling hand pressed to her lips, Raine did the only thing she could do.

She ran.

48 Hours Earlier.

It was the day of her claiming, and Raine Whitmore had never felt so alive. Her heart pounded as she approached where the priest stood, waiting for her at the head of the altar. Ronan was still absent, probably running late, but Raine was far too excited to let that bother her. Tonight was her mating ceremony, the night her mate would officially claim her in the presence of the Lycan goddess and the entire pack. The moon hung high, full and bright, a silent witness as she stood by the priest, waiting for Ronan Draven, the man the fates had ordained as hers.

A ripple went through the crowd as Ronan shouldered his way past the wolves, he had two people behind him, but Raine only had eyes for her mate. After months by his side, all the whispered promises, lingering touches, he would be her alpha, and she would be bound to him forever.

She sent him a blinding smile, but Ronan's gaze swept past her coldly. He kept his gaze on the priest as he spoke,

"I, Ronan Draven, second alpha son of the Draven pack, reject you, Raine Whitmore as my fated mate."

The entire clearing fell into silence.

For a long miserable second, Raine thought she had imagined it. The words sunk into her, sharp like claws as they tore through her chest. Her wolf whimpered, and she staggered back as if he had physically hit her. She stared up at him with tearful eyes, hoping she had heard wrong.

"What?"

But Ronan stepped forward, towering over her, his dark cold and cruel. A far cry from the Ronan she knew. "I don't want you," he said, his voice sharp as a blade, slicing straight through her. "You're weak, pathetic. An alpha like me would never go for a wolf like you. You are not fit to stand beside me."

A ripple of gasps and murmurs spread through the crowd, members of the pack speaking amongst themselves in low, harsh tones. Someone laughed, the sound sharp and cruel. Raine swirled her head in the direction of the sound and found Selene Voss, standing beside a cloaked man. Selene Voss was Luna to the rival pack. What was she doing here? Raine's eyes blurred and she blinked back tears.

"But –" Her voice cracked as she stumbled forward. "You can't leave me, Ronan... You're my mate..."

Ronan sneered, staring down at her like she was gum under his shoe. "And? You think fate means anything? I'm not some lovesick fool clinging to destiny. I choose my future, and it's not with you."

A loud sob teared out of her throat as her world crumbled. This couldn't be happening, not after everything. She swayed on her feet, losing her balance as she gasped for breath. Her wolf howled inside her, rejected and broken.

"Ronan!" A deep voice cut through the noise and someone pushed their way through. It was Silas Draven, first alpha son of the pack. He stopped and frowned. "What is the meaning of this?"

Ronan lifted his chin. "I'm forging my own path." To the pack, "Raine Whitmore has no place here, she is nothing but a burden."

The words hit Raine like the final blow, and she crumbled to the ground, howling out her despair like a wounded animal. Her alpha had rejected her, she was unwanted, uuloved, cast aside like used rags. Someone in the crowd yelled, "An alpha has rejected her! Exile her!"

Another voice followed, "A rejected wolf is a weakness!"

Another followed, the voices growing louder until it became a chant, their cruel voices driving the knife of her rejection deeper, turning against her in seconds.

"Send her away!"

"She's not one of us anymore!"

"A mate who has been disgraced is a weakness!"

Someone stepped forward and dragged her by her arm, pulling her painfully to her feet. Raine cried out in pain as the bone there shifted. She glanced around for Ronan, desperate for her mate even in the midst of everything.

"No... please." She begged, her voice ragged even as the wolves dragged her away. She stretched her hand out to Ronan, pleading with him to reconsider, to save her this disgrace, but he didn't even spare her a glance. Raine screamed after him, her voice raw and desperate. "Please, you don't have to do this!"

He didn't even look at her. Raine felt her vision blur, as tears burned her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. Not here, not in front of them, not when Selene Voss stood beside her mate, watching her downfall like it was some kind of entertainment. Selene placed an arm on Ronan's, and together, they turned away from her sight, disappearing into the dark night.

Someone shoved her forward. Raine gasped as she felt herself get disconnected from the magic of the pack wards. "Get out! If you step foot on our land again, we'll consider you a trespasser on Draven territory."

Laughter rippled through the pack as she staggered out the pack's borders. These wolves she had grown up with, lived with, fought beside. And now they were turning their backs on her, treating her as though she was nothing. But maybe she was nothing. Maybe that was why Ronan didn't want her anymore. Because she wasn't good enough for me, and she wasn't good enough for the pack.

By the time dawned rolled around, Raine had managed to drag herself to a motel by the side of the road. Somewhere along the line, she had shucked off the heavy mating robes, and was in her inner wear. There was a bar attached to the motel, and the first thing she did as soon as she booked a room, was drag herself down there and get shit faced drunk.

For two days, she let herself wallow in the pitifulness of her situation. And then on the night of the third day, a plan began to take shape in her head. If Ronan didn't want her anymore, she would just have to convince him that he should.

He was her mate. One more night with her, and he would remember just how good they were together. He would take her back, and she'd have her home, and her lover back.

It was a solid plan.

What could possibly go wrong?

It was the walk of shame and thankfully, the sun was not completely out yet. Raine slunk around the corridors of the packhouse like a ghostly shadow, barefoot, trembling and reeking of sex, and regret. Her dress was a pitiful mess on her body, hastily zipped up, and her hair was even worse. She could feel the scent of the older alpha clinging to her body, basically pouring out of her pores. Every step she took sent an ache through her core, a painful reminder of what she'd done.

She had sex with Matthias Draven. A man more than twenty years older than her. She was 22, and if she remembered properly, he was approaching 45. The man was Ronan's father. He'd probably even carried her as a child.

Not only had he knotted her, their wolves had bonded. Fuck, what was she going to do? How would she ever look herself in the mirror again. Raine's head pounded, her muscles screamed as she staggered towards the back door, hoping to slink back to the motel and disappear for a whole month.

But fate wasn't done punishing her yet.

The moment she stepped outside, Raine smelled him before she even walked straight into him.

Ronan.

The man froze, and for a moment, neither of them spoke. Raine blinked up at him, eyes wide, as Ronan stared down at her in shock. In the dim morning light, he was a sight to behold, all sharp angles, artfully tousled hair, bare chest and sweatpants that hung low on his hips. His hands were slightly red at the knuckles, and a light sheen of sweat covered his skin. He must have just come back from training.

Raine swayed into him, unable to help herself, as Ronan's golden eyes trailed over her, his nostrils flared as he inhaled her scent. And then his entire body stiffened. His gaze darkened in anger.

"What the fuck?" He growled, grabbing her arm and dragging her painfully against him. Raine cried out in pain, his hold a bruising band on her arm. "You reek of sex." He snapped, his voice sharp like the scrape of broken glass, his eyes flashing yellow as his wolf rose close to the surface.

Raine whined, fighting to urge to submit in the face of her ex-mate. "Ronan–"

"Shut up!" he growled again, fingers tightening. "Why are you back at the pack house, and why do you reek of sex?! What are you up to?!" His nostrils flared again, searching her scent, and Raine felt fear seize around her heart. She didn't want him to discover who she'd been with. It was bad enough she'd been disgraced by him once, if he found out what she did with his father, Raine didn't know what he'd do to her.

Ronan's jaw clenched tightly, his teeth grinding against each other, as he caught her scent again. Raine's knees trembled, and it was only Ronan's grip on her arm that kept her upright. He stiffened, and then he laughed, a sharp, shocked sound that was full of mockery and disgust.

"You're fucking pathetic." He spat the words out. Raine flinched. "So you came crawling back after I rejected you, so desperate to be wanted that you spread your legs for the first man who looked your way." He leaned in, voice dropping until it dripped with venom. "He smells like he was an alpha. Tell me, was it worth it?'

Raine jerked back from the cruelty in his voice, choking on the sob threatening to claw its way out of her throat. His eyes glinted with satisfaction.

"Please," she gasped out, barely able to breathe past the lump in her throat. Ronan scoffed, staring down at her in disgust.

"You're pathetic." He said again, shaking his head like she'd gravelly disappointed him. "You begged me that night, do you remember? And now you're begging me again. No wonder I rejected you. Your wolf is a spineless, sniveling creature with no back bone. No match for mine."

Raine's eyes burned with tears, and her chest heaved as she fought back her sobs. How could Ronan talk like this to her? Just months before, he'd been telling her how much she meant to him, and now he was like he had never even loved her. She wrenched herself, staggering back from his hold. Ronan watched her struggle to get her balance, staring down his nose at her like he didn't know her.

"Go." He said, his voice was cold and flat. "The next time I see you here, in this pack. I will hurt you."

And that, was the straw that broke the camel's back. Raine's tears spilled over, and she looked at the man she had promised her life to, who had promised his in return. All she saw was a stranger.

Raine sucked in what was left of her dignity, and the she ran.

For the second time that morning.

***

She stayed in the motel for days before she mustered up the courage to venture into town properly. She needed clothes, and proper food. She couldn't stay cooped in her room forever, and no matter how much her wolf yearned and ached for Matthias, she certainly couldn't return to the pack.

She kept her head low, and her gaze averted as she made her way into a convenience store. She could smell there were shifters around, and she didn't want trouble. If any of them smelled her scent, and realized she was a rejected, unmated wolf, she would be prey. She felt it was best to stay out of everybody else's business.

Raine turned to aisles for toiletries, hoping to pick somethings up for herself, when she slammed straight into a familiar scent. Her wolf perked up, preening with pleasure as the scent of alpha washed over her.

Her heart pounded in her chest as she glanced up and saw him, standing at the far end of the aisle, frowning down at a shampoo bottle.

Matthias Draven.