Scarlett's Second Chance Mate

SCARLETT’S POV Amid the number of teens and adults that stood in the large hall, I dispersed from the part of the audience and headed to the side where mates usually find themselves. I stood by the corner and anxiously hoped that today’s mating ceremony was going to be different from the past ones. Indeed, luck was on my side, as I unexpectedly heard the word, “Mate”, and turned to the side where my mate was standing. As our gaze met, happiness and joy filled me. His dark short hair, perfect jawline, and the right amount of muscles were what would make him very attractive to any woman. He wore a straight expression, which made it quite difficult to tell if he also felt happy with his newfound mate, me. Just then, the crowd chattered, “Oh my!” “Is that Alpha Quinn’s mate?” “She’s pretty. They look good together” I gazed in awe, after hearing that he was the Alpha of the pack. It felt good to be highly compensated by the Moon Goddess, after a series of disappointments. Feeling satisfied with my mate, I stood still and wore a smile on my face, while waiting for him to do what the men always did whenever they found their mate----‘Make the first move’ Things turned sour the moment I was painted from pretty to weak, just after waving to my Dad. “Wait, what? This is Mr. Cameron’s daughter?” “It should be” “Alpha Quinn got mated to the daughter of a lowly omega? That’s something to laugh at” “I always thought that she looked familiar” “She has been away for a long time now, because of her education” “Yeah, that’s right. She’s Scarlett Flynn, the awesome mate of Alpha Quinn” I gazed at the direction where this statement came from, sadly, there was little to nothing I could do. Thereafter, I turned to face my mate but his expression was something I had never imagined. His icy glare swept from my head to my toe. I stood firm, unmoved by whatever was running through his mind. Just then, he approached me and exuded a heavy aura. I felt the atmosphere change from a convenient one, to one that was unusually cold and uncomfortable. Everyone suddenly left the front, giving him enough room to gawk at me as though I were his prey. Instantly, he shifted his gaze from me to two men at the high table. They were also dressed in royalty like him, and the younger one looked just like him: hence, I concluded that they’d be his Dad and brother. Suddenly, he brought his gaze back to me and looked me in the eye, sinisterly---- “I, Alpha Quinn Ares reject you, Scarlett Flynn as my mate and future Luna” At that point, I felt a thousand knives stab me in my heart at once. I felt my hands shaking and my heart, wrenching in pain. He went further, breaking my walls and drawing me back from my fantasies. With rage in his eyes, he glared at his Dad, his brother, and back to me and every other person present. “What could a lowly omega be searching for in the mating ceremony of Alpha Quinn? Why would you be mated to me? Of all people?” I suppressed the urge to reply to his pride-filled question. There and then, he drew the last straw, while gazing at me in disdain “I detest you! Your family, and everything that made you my mate!” Instantly, I felt in control of my emotions and subconsciously stopped my fingers from shaking. I took a step close to him and looked into his eyes with renewed energy. “You detest me? My family and everything that made me your mate?” Alpha Quinn furrowed his brows and replied with disgust written on his face, “You’re in no position to question me. Moreover, I meant everything I said. I am Alpha Quinn and I’d never accept to be mated to a laughing stock, not in this life, and not in the next one!” My heart ached at the sound of his words. I shut my eyes and assured myself that I was not what he called me. “I didn’t choose to be mated to you. So why blame me as though I have a hand in it?” Alpha Quinn glared at me furiously, “I don’t care if you have a hand in it or not, the mere thought of you being my mate irks me. I’d never tarnish my name by allowing people to address you as my mate. I don’t care what you do, just get your weak and powerless self out of my palace and this pack. I do not want to see you again!” Just when I thought that the Moon Goddess had compensated me, it only turned out to be worse than the times when I had to go home without a mate. Having a mate like Alpha Quinn was worse than being addressed as ‘the girl who always left without a mate’ I swallowed hard and spoke out while suppressing my tears, “I Scarlett Flynn, accept your rejection. Just as you’ve commanded, I’ll leave the pack and never allow our paths to cross, not in this life, and not in the next life!” Putting on a facade, I smiled and advanced toward Dad and brother, who were gazing at the scene with nothing but pain in their eyes. I embraced Dad, and my brother, before heading to the door. Unexpectedly, I turned around and declared while gawking at Alpha Quinn, “And if our paths ever cross again, I won’t be the one crying. That’s my promise to you!” With that, I stepped out of the palace door and was escorted by the guards who were sent to walk me to the pack’s gate. Once we got there, I was pushed outside and did nothing but watch as the gate was shut behind me. Life flashed,