From Rejection to Desire

"Do you smell anything yet?"

Looking down at my eager little sister, I give a derisive snort of laughter and roll my eyes.

"No. And I doubt that I will mate with anyone at this school anyway. At least I hope not. Everyone here are nothing more than a bunch of self-absorbed losers."

Cami's large brown eyes go wide as she hugs her books close to her chest and speaks in a hushed whisper.

"Why would you say such a thing? Your mate has got to be here, Kit, that way you don't ever leave me."

"I would never leave you. You're all I got. You're stuck with me."

Wrapping my arm around her thin shoulders, I give her a comforting squeeze.

She nibbles on her lip and scans the lawn.

"Everyone here isn't all that bad. What if you mated to Jody? He's so dreamy. Oh...or Colin? He's handsome and he seems nice."

I follow Cami's eyes to a group of seniors leaning against the railing of the school steps.

"Ha. They're the worst ones here."

Cami looks scandalized, but I don't care.

Yeah, they are good looking, like ridiculously good looking, but they are a bunch of arrogant assholes, in my rather unpopular opinion.

Jody is the son of the pack's Beta. Colin the son of its lead healer.

They are basically like royalty in our small pack.

And they know it.

They constantly pick on others and act like the entitled pricks that they truly are.

Luckily, I mostly avoid them and have kept off their radar.

Lucky...or maybe it's just because I am so below them in the pack hierarchy that they don't dare even acknowledge my existence.

Jody knows me though. Or he should.

I have worked in the packhouse where he lives these last five years since my parents died.

It was the only way that I could earn keep for my sister and myself, by cleaning the packhouse.

Cami, at only eleven, is too young to know how humiliating it is to scrub the floors of peers from my school, especially such good-looking popular ones, while they sit at their over-sized desk doing their homework or making out with popular girls on the sofas. Never even lifting their heads to acknowledge me when I go by.

Instead, Cami sits happily in the small staff room attached to the kitchen, curled up in the old rocking chair with a book, eating sweets that the cook sneaks to her.

But that's the way it has always been.

Everyone loves Cami. Freaking adores her.

She is sweet, innocent, soft spoken...and beautiful.

As in, unfairly beautiful, especially compared to me.

Her big, brown eyes, curly blonde hair, and petite frame paired with a quick smile that reveals perfectly straight teeth has always had this charming effect on everyone that she meets.

So not the case for me.

My hair is darker, straight, bland.

My eyes are a lighter brown versus her gorgeous deep chocolate ones that are so expressive.

Cami's face is round with these adorable dimples in her cheeks and not a single blemish, and mine, well, mine is longer, narrower and duller, and not exactly blemish free.

And while my sister moves gracefully, I am basically the most awkward being on the planet who is constantly tripping over her own feet.

Where she is an eternal optimist, I am a forever pessimist.

Maybe because I can actually remember life before our parents' death, where it didn't completely suck for me, like it has these past five years.

And maybe because no one sneaks me sweets while I get curl up and read...nope.

Although Cami does keep half of her sweets to share with me when I come to get her after I am done with work.

Because she's just that pure of a person...which honestly, makes me feel like more of a shit person for being so bitter.

Sighing, I tear my eyes away from Jody's handsome face and try to avoid the sinking feeling of disappointment in my stomach.

I would never admit it, not even to myself, that sometimes at night, I daydreamed about coming to school the morning of my eighteenth birthday to find out that I was mated to the handsome and popular Jody.

That he would tense...look up and meet my eyes...then rush over to sweep me off my feet, murmur 'mine' against my lips, then we would kiss passionately...and unable to keep our hands off one another, we would skip school to go celebrate finding our mate.

And then Cami and I could live in the packhouse, and I would never have to clean again in my life.

But obviously, that was all just a stupid dream.

Because here we are, close enough to pick up on each other's scents...and although he does smell nice...it's the same way he has always smelled.

So I still have to go clean the guest bathrooms today after school.

Damn.

"Still no wonderful and enticing scent?"

Cami's voice sounds dreamy, full of hope, as she smiles encouragingly at me.

She'll probably mate with an Alpha.

A gorgeous, stupidly wealthy Alpha who is head over heels for her.

And I bet I won't even have one.

"No. I told you, Cami, I probably won't even have..."

My body tenses as something hits me. A scent that feels so thick...so wonderful, that it makes it hard to breathe.

Could this really be it? Is this really happening...to me?

Cami squeals beside me in excitement, but I don't look at her, my body isn't under my control anymore as I turn in the direction that the scent is coming from.

Oh, holy shit.

Standing in the parking lot by a large black SUV on the driver's side, gripping onto the open door, is a tall, broad-shouldered, dark-haired boy who is staring back at me, looking just as frozen as I am.

"Oh my god! Oh. My. God! Kit! Kit! You mated with Tate!"

Cami keeps emitting high pitched squeals beside me.

There is no way.

No. Freaking. Way.

But my body is being pulled to his and I cannot look away.

This is it.

From the corner of my eye, I see the pretty blonde stepping out of the passenger side of the same SUV, looking between Tate and myself.

This is the longest that Tate has ever looked at me.

Has he ever looked at me?

I take a tentative step forward, and he frowns, turning his head to the blonde to say something that I can't make out, then he looks over at me again and starts walking towards me.

Oh my gosh...

Cami is jumping up and down beside me and I absently wave my hand in her direction for her to stop as Tate gets closer, his scent nearly making me fall over as my body becomes weak from desire.

I can feel all eyes on us. Watching our interaction.

Most likely in total disbelief that he mated with me.

I don't even believe it.

Is this real?

Did I really just mate with the most gorgeous boy in our entire pack?

The Alpha's son no less!

I would have never even dared to dream...

How could I get so lucky?

Tate is close enough that I reach out my hand, lifting the corners of my mouth in a tentative smile, wanting to touch him, to feel all those mate feels that I've heard and read so much about. But just as I do, he looks down at it in disgust.

"I, Tate Peterson, son of Alpha Francis of the High Peaks Pack..."

Wait.

What's happening?

No...no please...

"...reject you...what is your name?"

All I can do is make some sort of gasping grunt-like sound when my mouth falls open as I gawk at him in horror.

The pain coursing through my body right now is unreal.

It hurts worse than when I found out about my parents.

It's physically like I have just been hit by a truck, then had it reverse and back up over me again.

Tate's eyes go distant for a moment, then he nods.

"Reject you, Katherine Aster, as my mate."

With that, he spins on his heels and marches back to his girlfriend, who throws me a triumphant look as she snakes her arm around his waist.

"Oh...oh Kit..."

I'm not really sure when I collapsed onto the ground...but that's where I am, my little sisters arms wrapped around me, rocking me back and forth.

I knew it.

I knew it was too good to be true.

It was so stupid of me to think for even a second...

Fate is cruel.

My one chance at happiness...instantly gone.

In front of everyone.

You know what...fuck this place.

Swallowing back the huge knot in my throat, I tug at Cami's arms from around my neck and clumsily stand up.

Doing my best to push through the agonizing pain.

Lifting my chin, I try to keep my voice steady to sound brave, to keep the tears at bay.

I won't give the crowd the satisfaction of seeing me cry. Or to have them think that Tate broke me.

"Come on Cami, we are getting the hell out of here."

And never coming back.

Kit's POV

"Can I get you a refill?"

Pouring water into the glasses of the young couple holding hands across from each other, I resist the urge to roll my eyes and force my face into a very practiced fake smile.

The instant I turn away from them, the smile slides off and I do roll my eyes toward the ceiling.

Making my way to the booth all the way in the back, I plop the water pitcher onto it and stretch my arms over my head.

"How's the essay going?"

Cami pulls the pencil that she had been chewing on from her mouth and taps the notebook in front of her with a soft, dramatic sigh.

"It just feels so cliché, you know? Using the fact that I was a poor orphan to appeal to schools to accept me. Are you sure that is what I should be writing about?"

Reaching down, I turn her notebook towards me and scan the short paragraph.

"That's what I've heard. And why not use it to your advantage? It's the only advantage that you have."

"It's such a sad advantage to have."

She sounds forlorn as she stares at the paper.

"Stop being so dramatic, Cami. You are going to need scholarships to get into college, so get to writing."

"But Kit...I don't even know what I want to go for...or if I want to go...maybe I could take a year off, work and save some money..."

"Stop it. You need to go to college now, or you will never go. One of us needs to get a real job one day."

She eyes me under her thick, heavily painted eyelashes and I already know what she will be saying next.

Grabbing the water pitcher, I try to make my escape, but she grabs my wrist.

"Kit, maybe...maybe we should try and find a new pack. I'm eighteen now...I want to find my mate. And who knows, maybe you could find someone..."

"There is no one for me. And I don't need a mate. Neither do you. I don't want to talk about it."

I can't take her big, pitying eyes looking at me like that anymore, so I make my way to the diner's kitchen to check on an order.

Sighing, I place the pitcher down harder than I meant to, causing it to sloosh water onto the counter.

Howard, the manager, narrows his eyes at me and I quickly grab a towel to wipe it up.

As I do, I look out of the large wall cutout to peer into the dining room when I hear the familiar ping that goes off when someone opens the entrance door.

My hand stops, my heart thudding hard against my chest as I stare at the two men walking into the diner.

No...why are they here?

It has been seven years since I walked out of the pack with nothing but a backpack and my little sister.

I never thought I would see anyone from that wretched place ever again.

Nor did I want to.

An older, larger Colin walks through the door first, scanning the dingy diner with a hesitant frown.

Hmm. He aged nicely. Very nice.

Probably still a complete jerk though.

When Colin steps aside, Jody enters.

Oh my gosh.

He is gorgeous.

His sandy-colored hair is slightly longer, with some wave to it. Even from this distance, I can make out those gorgeous blue eyes.

Look how broad his chest is now...and he is even taller...

Why is he making that odd expression?

He looks so tense...

Wait...I know that look...

Shit!

Throwing my towel onto the counter, I hurl myself around the wall towards Cami's private booth.

No!

Cami is standing, her eyes locked onto Jody's, mirroring his lustful, comletely transfixed gaze.

Oh no, not you too Cami!

My heart feels the same crippling pain from seven years ago.

I never wanted her to feel this.

Wringing my hands together nervously, I debate whether I should go to her, put my arm around her comfortingly for when her rejection comes, or just to yank her away from him before he can do it.

Before I can make up my mind, Jody is at her table.

I want to yell at him, tell him not to hurt her, to just go away and leave us alone!

But...he's putting his arms around her...oh my god, he is...kissing her!

Feeling dumbstruck, I stare as they wrap their bodies around each other in a way that seems like they will never be able to untangle themselves.

It's just like I imagined it would be when I found my mate...so that must mean...

He's not rejecting her.

Why would he reject Cami?

She is stunning, inside and out.

Men want her.

My shoulders sagging, I glance over to see Colin grinning at his friend, pulling his phone out of his pocket and snapping a picture of them before looking down at his phone and typing away.

"Kit! What are you doing just standing there? Take table threes food out!"

Jumping at the harsh tone of my manager behind me, I glance at Cami and Jody one more time before walking past my manager who is now leaning against the wall, frowning at the pair.

"What is this? I didn't know Cami had a boyfriend."

It's not hard to hear the disappointment in his voice.

Sometimes I think the only reason I was hired was because Howard liked the fact that my gorgeous sister comes every day and sits in her booth to do her homework.

Ignoring this, I grab the hot plates of food, barely noticing the burning on my fingertips, and move to the table to plop them down in a dreamlike state.

I always knew that Cami would have a gorgeous mate. I always knew that no one would dare reject her.

But did it have to be Jody?

Did he have to be from our old pack?

And why can't anything ever go in my favor?

She got all the good looks, and all the luck.

"Howard, I am taking off."

"What?" He finally looks away from Cami and Jody. "Your shift isn't over."

"I don't feel well."

"You look fine to me."

"Well, I'm not."

Untying my apron, I toss it at him and grab my purse off the hook before leaving out the back exit, digging my car keys out of my it with trembling hands, and diving inside my car.

I can still see Cami and Jody from my current position.

Shit, you would think they wouldn't be able to breath and would have to pull apart at some point.

Dropping my head back against the seat, I drag my palms down my face.

It's hard not to feal a teensy bit jealous.

But that's not fair.

Cami would be happy for me.

And I am happy for her.

Seriously.

Kind of.

Ugh.

Banging my head against the steering wheel, I accidently hit the horn.

Fuck!

Lifting my head, I catch Cami's eyes.

She looks radiant as she smiles, pointing at Jody in disbelief.

Now she grabs his hand and is pulling him toward the exit.

Kill me now...

Forcing what I hope is a convincing smile on my face, I begrudgingly get out of the car and lean against it while I watch Cami drag Jody, who can't take his eyes off of her, to meet me.

"Kit! Kit, Jody is my mate! Can you believe it? Look how handsome he is."

She stands on her toes to cradles his face with her hands, and he puts his hands on her waist to pull her against him in response.

Cami giggles as he lowers his lips to hers and they embrace again.

"This isn't awkward at all."

Colin is beside me with a sheepish grin as he jerks his head at the two who are now practically rolling around on the hood of my car.

"Not at all. It's super fun watching your sister get groped on top of your car."

Colin laughs and holds out his hand.

"I'm Colin."

Is he for real?

"Yeah, I know."

I don't take his hand and he tilts his head questioningly at me.

"Do we know each other?"

I don't know whether to be embarrassed or pissed off.

Definitely pissed off.

"We do. I was a part of your pack for eighteen years. As was my sister."

I jerk my thumb at the two of them, Cami now passionately running her hands through Jody's perfect hair.

Comprehension falls over Colin's face and I wince.

"Oh! I remember! You were the girl who-"

He grimaces and trails off.

The girl who mated to and was publicly rejected by the Alpha's son.

"Yeah, that's me."

Colin shifts his weight uncomfortably beside me and looks relieved when his phone pings inside of his pocket and he turns away to look at it.

"Jody! Wait a second..." Cami giggles gleefully as she shoves against his chest. He looks at her with so much affection that it makes another wave of pain wash over me, clutching the door to keep me upright.

Cami turns towards me, her lips swollen, but looking blissfully happy.

"Kit, isn't this wild? Jody and Colin were only passing through on their way back from a Luna ceremony, and he said he sensed me when he drove by..."

Jody twirls her hair around his finger and starts to nibble on her neck.

I feel my world crumbling around me.

My entire life has been taking care of my little sister.

And now that she is grown, and has her mate to take care of her, what do I do?

How do I just let her go?

Because that is what is going to happen. She will go back to our old pack to be with her mate.

And I'll...just stay here. All alone.

Jody whispers something in Cami's ear and she swats him playfully in the chest, making him grin.

"That was Alpha Tate. He wants us to come home immediately."

Jody raises his eyebrows and says something, but I don't hear it over the loud ringing in my ears.

Alpha Tate.

Alpha Tate.

So, he is the Alpha now.

Good for him.

I guess.

Not that I care.

Throwing a hand onto the roof of my car to steady myself, my sweaty palms instantly make it slip so that I lose my balance and my body thuds painfully into the side of it.

Damn him.

Propping my elbow against the metal, I try to look as natural as possible, as if I just stand like this sometimes.

But judging by the pitying look that Colin is giving me, I don't think I am fooling anyone.

"We can have your stuff shipped and I will buy you whatever you need. Whatever you want, it's yours."

"Kit will need her stuff too."

"Whatever she needs."

"Um...what are you talking about, Cami?"

"Jody says we don't have time to go home and pack, so he will send someone to pack our stuff once we get back."

"Why would I need my stuff?"

Cami raises her eyebrows at me.

"Because we are going back with Jody, of course."

I shake my head.

"You are. I'm not."

Cami frowns, gently pushing Jody off so that she can slide off the car and stands in front of me.

I avoid her gaze.

"Can you guys give us a minute?"

"Okay, but just a minute. Alpha Tate doesn't like us to mess around."

Colin moves away, but Jody hesitates, clearly not wanting to be away from his mate for any amount of time whatsoever.

Cami reaches behind her to squeeze his hand.

"Just a minute, I promise."

He begrudgingly follows Colin.

Cami clutches my hands in hers and pulls them close.

I can see myself in her wide, dark eyes that look up at me pleadingly.

"Kit...I know this has got to be hard for you. And I know that the last place that you would ever want to go to would be High Peaks pack...but I can't not be with Jody...but I also can't be without you. I need my big sis. Please...please come with me. If it's too hard for you, we will figure something out, but I need you with me. Please, please, please!"

Fuck me.

The things I do for my little sister.

Shaking my head, I sigh and roll my eyes.

Cami accurately takes this as a reluctant yes and squeals, jumping up and down and kissing my cheek.

"Thank you! You are the best sister ever!"

Then she turns and rushes back to her mate, who gladly takes her in his arms and spins her around.

This should be fun. Returning to the place that was nothing but miserable for me to watch my sister be happy with her hot mate that I used to daydream about being my mate.

Yeah. Totally fun.

Dream come true.

Kit's POV

It takes everything in me not to bang my head against the window that my forehead is leaning against in the front seat of the luxury SUV that I have spent the last four miserable hours inside of. Four, painfully awkward hours of Cami and Jody groping each other in the backseat, making gross wet noises while sucking faces.

Not helped by Colin, every once in a while, trying to initiate conversation to distract us from the make out session behind us.

Unsuccessfully, I might add.

Because I have nothing to talk to Colin Anderson about.

I have nothing that I want to talk about with anyone from the stupid High Peaks pack.

Damn them all.

Scrunching up my nose, I resist the urge to cover my ears as I hear Jody murmur, "you're so hot", to my sister for the millionth time.

This is hell.

"Oh, thank god, we're here."

Colin looks as relieved as I feel as he pulls into a long, circular driveway in front of the same packhouse that I used to spend hours a day cleaning.

Fuck. Am I going to have to clean it again?

Surely not?

With my sister being the Beta's mate, won't that be enough to earn my keep?

Not that I plan on staying here.

Especially not in the same house as...well...that one guy who I don't even want to think his name.

"Get out of the damn car, you two! Go get a room already."

Colin waves his arms at the two of them to exit and they untangle themselves from each other long enough to scoot out, then instantly reattach to each other.

Shaking my head, I shut the passenger door and lean my back against it to steady myself.

His scent is everywhere.

It's strong.

And it still has the same stupid effect on me.

"Kit, are you okay?"

Cami turns her head against Jody's chest to look at me, her eyes out of focus as his hands roam over her back, cupping her bottom as he nibbles on her ear.

"Fan-fucking-tastic."

"Mmm...good."

She closes her eyes and Jody literally sweeps her off her feet and practically runs with her in his arms inside of the house.

Don't worry about me! I'm totally good.

Sighing, I catch Colin's eye.

He makes an exaggerated grossed out face in the direction that Cami and Jody went, and I give a weak, reluctant laugh.

"Weird seeing him like that. He's usually really reserved."

"Yeah, Cami's never been one for PDA either."

"Apparently that's what the mate bond does to you, I wouldn't know."

He shrugs, then makes a horrified face.

"Oh shit! I'm sorry..."

"It's fine."

I push off the car and wrap my arms around myself.

The only thing worse than getting rejected, is everyone pitying me over it.

Well...maybe that's not so much worse, just a really, really sucky bonus.

Tucking my loose hairs behind my ears, I lift my shoulders.

"Now what?"

"Um...let me show you to your room."

Colin points at the pack house, but I shake my head.

"Yeah, I'm not staying in there."

Colin frowns.

"But Alpha Tate..."

A shiver runs down my spine.

"I mean...don't you want to be with your sister?"

"Uh, yeah, sure. Because she'll be in a room with me."

Colin picks up on my sarcasm and scratches his neck.

"Well, the problem is, that we really don't have an extra space for you anywhere else. We're expanding, but the only place where you could have your own space would be in the packhouse. For now, anyway."

I turn in a circle, as if trying to find some random bed that I can point to and claim as mine.

"Is there a nearby hotel?"

Colin grins and shakes his head.

"Nah. I think you just have to stay here. Don't worry. It'll be fine. It's a nice place and you'll have a big room in the Beta wing."

"I'm familiar with the place."

I mumble as I begrudgingly follow Colin up the front porch steps. Noticing as I do that the handrails look freshly painted.

Colin notices me looking at it.

"We've been doing some renovations since Alpha Tate took over and our pack expanded. How long has it been since you left?"

"Seven years."

"A lot has changed since then."

I make a non-committal grunt at this.

Colin steps in front of me, his hand on the doorknob.

"It's true. For one, I'm not as big of an obnoxious asshole as I was in high school."

I can't resist grinning guiltily at this.

"Yeah, I know that's what you've been thinking. You wouldn't be the first person to have called me out for it."

He winks and pushes the door open.

When I step through, my hands fall to my side as I look around.

It doesn't even look like the same place.

"Like I said, we have done a lot of renovations. You couldn't tell from the front, but we even expanded the back out quite a bit."

Colin gestures in front of him and I look in the direction of the long hallway in front of us.

"Nice."

"I even stay in here now. I became a healer like my dad."

I nod.

Of course, he did.

"Since we renovated, the Beta Hall is on the second floor now."

The moment my foot lands on the bottom stair, a wave of nausea almost makes me fall over.

His scent is so heavy right now.

As if he was just here.

Colin stops on the stairs above me and looks at me in concern.

"You alright down there?"

I nod and clutch my stomach, still feeling sick.

Colin hurries back down the stairs and reaches out his hand, hesitating slightly, moving his hand up and down as if uncertain where to put it, before wrapping it decisively around my elbow.

"Come on. I think I know what's happening to you. Once you get to your room, it won't be so bad. He never goes down that hall."

Giving him a tight smile of appreciation, I let him help me up the stairs and we turn left, the painful scent fading the further we move down the hallway.

"See. Better?"

I nod as I remove my arm from around my stomach, his own hand dropping from my elbow as I do.

Feeling embarrassed, I tuck my hair behind my ears again and look around before continuing down the hall.

"This looks great. Like what they've done with the place."

Colin follows my gaze.

"Yeah. It was Sarah's doing. She really took to interior design."

My step falters and I massage my suddenly thick throat at the mention of her name.

Sarah.

The other name I never want to say, hear, or even think.

The blonde who Tate picked over me, his own mate.

Colin looks guilty again.

"Oh, fuck. Sorry...I keep putting my foot in my mouth."

"It's fine. Seriously. No worries."

Colin looks unsure as he leans against a door.

"Still...sorry. Anyway, here's your room."

He pats the door behind him and steps aside.

"I'll give you some space. Um, you got a phone on you?"

I eye him suspiciously.

"Yes..."

He grins.

"I was going to put my number in there in case you needed anything. Or you know, didn't want to be alone."

Raising my eyebrows at him, I still feel suspicious as I pull my phone out of the front pocket of my old, frayed jean shorts and hand it to him.

He puts his number in it, and hands it back to me.

"I texted myself so I would have yours as well."

"Okay."

I take it back and pull it close, not sure what to say.

"Someone should have your stuff here by tonight. In the meantime, someone has already stocked your room with some essentials. Training is twice a day-"

"Wait. Training? I'm not staying. So, I don't think I should be a part of training."

And I haven't trained in seven years.

I mean, Cami dragged me to all her stupid kick-boxing classes, spin, and pilates to keep in shape after we left, but there is no way I am up to the werewolf training standard.

And I am not about to embarrass myself in front of all these people who watched me get rejected by their Alpha in such a painful public fashion.

"Oh. Well. Okay. I will...let Alpha Tate know. Normally Jody would deal with that, but he's going to be pretty distracted for a while, I'm thinking."

He grins and I force a half grin back, eager to get inside my room and be alone.

"Great. Thanks, Colin."

I reach for the doorknob and start to push the door open.

"Oh, one more thing that you might want to know."

I look over at Colin who is wearing this forced casual expression.

"Sarah left. A year ago. Mated with a human, an accountant I think, and moved to the city with him."

With that information bomb, Colin lifts his hand in a wave before putting it in his jeans pocket and striding down the hall while I stare at his back, an odd numbness creeping over me.