A WEEK LATER

ALPHA KAYDEN POV

It was finally the day of my entronment and mating celemony.

It was going to take place in the pack house. I entered with Grace and it was already filled with the pack members.

It was another good one week of not seeing Kimberly. It seems she was avoiding me purposely.

Kia still refused to talk to me.

It shouldn’t be this hard. Mates can reject each other. It doesn’t break the bond, though. Nothing does. It is only words. It only opens a room for another she wolf.

As we entered the pack house, Her invigorating scent of strawberries and cloves invaded my nostrils, and at that moment, I knew she was closed by.

My heart rate sped up, . I could smell her scent amidst the crowd. I had to brace myself against the onslaught of her scent hitting me.

And then I saw her. She was standing close to the stairs.

A silk jacket hung open, revealing the shorts and cut-off tank top she wore underneath, her caramel-colored hair flowing loosely around her shoulders. She was gorgeous.

Goddess, she was beautiful. I always thought that she was pretty and hot, but now that she was my mate, she was even more beautiful than before. She smelled like strawberries and watermelon. Her lips were perfect. Her small body was perfect. Every curve was made for me. I just wanted to touch her.

I clenched my fists to stop myself. I

shouldn't be doing this.

It was my mating ceremony with Grace.

I shut Kia out completely because he would kill me for what I was about to do.

Yes! I'm gonna reject her again and in public and I didn't want Kia to see this. He was so happy when we smelled her. I would deal with him later. Not caring that Grace was beside me and people were watching, I walked up to her.

“What are you doing here?” Her eyes widened. She's clearly not in distress.

She should be in pains that I'm getting engaged to someone else and not her.

"My wolf can't seems to accept it and there's no way I can get married to Grace if he doesn’t" I said and she nodded.

"So you're here to reject me again?" She asked and I nodded.

"Let's get over with it then"

She muttered.

I stared at her confusingly. How was she so calm?.....So strong?

I took a deep breath and covered the pace between us.

"You know why I have to do this again?"

"I do" she nodded.

"It's for my sister and also for your wolf"

I nodded and ran my hand through my hair.

Every part of me was screaming at me not to do this. Kia clawed his way to the front of my mind to see his mate, and he was growling and whining. I didn’t want to do this. I wanted her. But I had to. She's an Omega..

I took a deep breath and looked directly into her wonderful eyes.

“I, Kayden Woods, Alpha of the White Moon Pack, reject you, Kimberly Burgs as my mate and Luna

I could feel my heart breaking. Kia was howling inside me, and I could feel his pain.

She was looking right at me, and I could see the pain in her eyes, but she refused to show it. Most wolves fall to their knees from pain. I wanted to fall to my knees and claw at my chest. But she didn’t. She was standing there with her head held high. She took a deep breath and closed her wonderful eyes.

"Well you have said yours now I will say mine"she said.

"I Kimberly Burgs reject you Alpha Kayden Woods as my mate not to have anything to do with you and I strip myself off anything connecting me to you.

The pain in my chest amplified, but I could still feel the bond. “We’ve done this before. It’s not working.”

“Your wolf has to accept it,” she said.

“Yours didn’t.”

“Didn’t she?” she said.

You said she didn’t want to break the bond.

‘She didn’t. Still accepted.’

How was that possible? Our wolves were primal creatures. They were animals, after all. They weren’t ones to deny themselves what they wanted. Not without a very good reason.

“Tell your wolf to accept it,” Kimberly said with a crack in her voice.

The muscles in my jaw tightened to a point I thought my teeth would shatter. The noise in my head from Kia becoming almost unbearable.

“He won’t.”

“Make him,” she forced out.

“I can’t.”

“He doesn’t have a choice. I’ll never be with him, and neither will she,” Kimberly said, tears threatening to fall from her eyes.

I could feel the pain he felt. It was excruciating. I told him it would end if he just accepted, but he wouldn’t give in. He was an Alpha. He was as strong as me. I’d never overpower him on this. Kimberly must have sensed my stalemate. Or her wolf did and told her because she moved away from me.

“I, Kimberly Burgs, cut my ties to Alpha Woods…."

“What are you doing?” There was desperation in my voice. She couldn’t do this. I moved to stop her.

“And the White Moon Park.”

“No.” I fell to a knee, feeling the invisible tether that united pack members with their Alpha splinter. Kia was pounding against the barriers of my control, putting all his might into taking over the shift. I knew I was on the verge.

“From this day forth, I am a rogue.” She took an unsteady step toward me, silent tears rolling freely down her face. “Now get out.”

She had used my father’s name. Either of our names would have worked in the limbo state we were currently in. But she used my father’s. There was nothing I could do to stop her. Nothing I could do to fight the separation. She knew exactly what she was doing.

If my wolf wouldn’t sever the mate bond, she would remove herself from any control I had over her.

With one final, agonizing look, she walked away, disappearing out of my parents.

I took in a ragged breath of air. Kimberly now had until midnight to be out of our territory. If I caught her on our land after that, I would have to kill her. Mate bond or not. She was a rogue now. It was our laws.

I dragged myself back to my feet, them turning back to Grace, who was so shocked at the little drama that just happened.