Rejected From Birth

I Refuse

~ Essence POV ~

I would never have believed that the one who would wish me first on my eighteenth birthday would be this man… the man who found me pathetic in my last life. He asked me not to avoid him, but whenever I look into those amber eyes, I remember how worthless I was in his eyes.

He looked quite pissed when he ran his fingers through his silver hair. His face was chiseled just like his body and I must say his shoulders were quite broad. He does have a well toned body and a good physique.

When he rubbed my earlobe, I gulped down hard. I can't believe that I am crying just because he wished me. He wiped away my tears and I could hear a commotion coming from inside.

"She is here, Lycan king. The real one is here." I whispered to him.

The collar of his shirt was crooked, so I corrected it. His lips almost brushed against mine and, for a moment, I was taken aback.

What was that just now?

I should not have gotten so close to him.

"Essence! Where are you? Come here!" The queen sounded a bit annoyed.

Daeron was gazing at me so intensely that I really forgot that the others were looking for me. It's not like we met a lot in my last life, so why do I feel so intimidated by his gaze?

He was holding my wrist and when he placed his hand on my face, I even forgot to breathe for a second.

We might not have any sort of bond between us, but I don't feel that we don't have anything between us. This guy was known for his unpredictability all his life and even his death was a mystery for everyone. How could I ever believe that someone like him could ever die because of a damn curse?

For some reason, I can't see the color of his aura. I always thought that he thought of me as some lowly woman when the truth of my origin came out.

The woman who came with Vivian blamed everything on my birth mother. Well, thanks to her confession and how that woman switched the babies, everyone started to loathe me even more.

In my last life I was so stunned that I didn't give much attention to what she said about me and that birth mother of mine.

"Shall we go, princess? I believe everyone is looking for you, but don't forget that your first and all your dance belongs solely to me." Daeron Raegan kissed the back of my hand and I could tell just by looking into his eyes that I somehow managed to gain this man's interest.

I never really want him to get curious about me.

I could never tell what exactly is going inside his head and what he is planning to do?

I nodded my head, so he walked by my side. When we entered the main hall, I was welcomed by the gazes of my family and people. They were whispering to each other and then out of nowhere the queen slapped me hard across my face.

"How… How dare you take the place of my real daughter! That treacherous woman died. She tormented my daughter until the last moment of her life while you enjoyed the treatment of the princess of the werewolves." She yelled at the top of her lungs and she was about to slap me again, but this time Daeron stood in front of me.

He was quite tall… no, he was taller than most of the werewolves. I looked like some petite girl in front of him.

His broad back covered the face of queen Olivia and that made me smile.

"After knowing the truth about her birth, I felt so bad for Vivian that I planned to expose the truth in front of everyone. I heard how everyone was busy preparing for the fake princess, so I brought the real one.

What the fake princess' birth mother did was wrong, so I believe she should be the one to receive the punishment instead of her mother as she is no longer with us." The woman blamed everything on me and the queen agreed with what that woman suggested to the king.

Vivian was continuously shedding tears while Ryan was trying to comfort her.

I seriously don't want to become a part of all of this.

"Why are you hiding behind the Lycan king, you shameless girl? Someone like you is not even good enough to eat with us, let alone attend such a grand party.

This should all be prepared for Vivian. She even has all the royal traits, unlike you." The queen again tried to get her hands on me, so this time, I asked Daeron to move, as I wanted to deal with her myself.

"Why should I accept the punishment for someone else's crimes? It's not like I planned to switch babies, right? Oh, and why should I believe that she was my birth mother… Do you have some sort of proof?

And even if she was, I am not going to pay for her crimes just because she gave birth to me." I told the woman who came with Vivian and when the queen heard my words, she started to tremble in anger.

Sebastian Archer, the prince of the vampires, was enjoying the free show. Why did the king of the werewolves invite him?

"Should I silence them all for you?" Daeron asked me in a hushed voice and I was aware if I took his hand then he might shut everyone's mouth without thinking twice. In my last life, after hearing the truth about my identity, he immediately left the party, so why exactly is he still sticking with someone like me?

"Don't… don't get angry with sister Essence. It's not her fault that her mother was such a bad person. I can share the love of my family with her." Vivian smiled at me and after she walked closer to me, her eyes fell on Daeron and I could tell that she was quite mesmerized by his insanely handsome appearance. Well, I was no different. No matter how many times I see his face, I seriously can't get used to that face.

Ryan was looking at me strangely and only the goddess knew why he was walking towards me.

The queen grabbed me by my right arm and she then dug her fingernails into my skin with all her might, but before she could hurt me any further, I removed my hand from her grasp and after leaning closer to her, I whispered to her huskily, "I let you slap me for the first time out of respect that I had left for you, mother.

I know that you must be feeling betrayed, but let's be real, it's not like you have treated me as your daughter even for a day. If you tried to hurt me one more time, then I would be forced to treat you in the same way."

Daeron tried to control his laughter and I know that even though I tried to keep my voice down, he heard everything with his great hearing abilities.

I have never seen him smile nor heard him laughing… This was definitely something rare. Even his people and Amara were shocked to see how he was protecting me.

"Enough! This party is over. I will announce later what I have decided on the fake princess." The alpha king announced loudly and the guests who came to wish me started to take their leave, but Sebastian and Daeron still didn't leave.

Even Alan tried to stay by my side.

What does he want from me? Why can't he just leave me alone?

"I asked everyone to leave, so I would like to know why you are all still here?" My dear father sat on his throne while the queen sat beside him.

Don't tell me that he is going to introduce that bastard now?

"I have already fixed your marriage, Essence.

So, why don't you marry that guy and become his Luna? That guy wanted to marry my daughter, but now that the truth is out, I can't lose Vivian the day I finally found her, can I?

Think about us… think about the family that raised you as their own and accept this alliance for our sake." The alpha king took the glass of wine from the tray and after he decided about my future, he gulped down the wine.

Daeron looked so pissed that I could feel that he might stab the alpha king to death.

He said to do this for the sake of my family, but he forgot that I don't have a family.

"I refuse." I and Ryan said in unison and when I glanced at him, he walked towards the king and queen while he grabbed me by my wrist.

"Well, if you want a strong alliance, then why don't you let me have her as my bride?" Sebastian smirked at me and this made the alpha king confused.

While I tried to remove my hand from Ryan's grasp, I glared at Sebastian.

"She can't accept your offer as Essence belongs to me. Tell them Essence." Ryan pulled me closer to him by grabbing my wrist and both the king and queen looked so stunned that they failed to say anything. Even Vivian was at a loss for words.

What is he doing?

I thought that he was planning to win over Amara, so why is he suddenly behaving so strangely?

There is no way that someone like Ryan would ever accept me as his mate and that, too, in front of so many people.

After saying those words, he leaned closer to me, but I simply glared at him.

"Why do you look so angry? Isn't this what you wanted?" He asserted to me calmly and the way he was smirking at me made me lose my cool.

Did he think I would be jumping in excitement after his useless claims on me?

He surely has a lot of misunderstandings about himself.

"So, you knew she was not your real sister. Oh, that's the reason why you were desperately trying to search for Vivian, huh?

Well, Essence can't become your Luna, but if you want it, then she can definitely serve you as your lover. What do you want to do with her, son?" The alpha king Evan asked his son and he did not even even once about my opinions or what I wanted to do.

Well, what else was I expecting from such a useless king?

How could he ask me to serve Ryan as his lover? Does he know no shame?

It's not up to him how I am going to live my life… It's up to me. Before they could decide my fate, I broke free from the grasp of Ryan and after that, I rushed into the arms of Daeron.

The dragon-blooded Lycan king was initially confused, but thankfully he played by my side. I leaned closer to him and then I immediately pressed my lips against him, making everyone gasp in shock.

His lips felt so warm against mine that I completely lost myself when he deepened the kiss. I threw my arms around his neck and he simply pulled me closer to him by grabbing the back of my head.

What's this?

Why can't I push him away? Why do I want him to continue this?

I have never really felt so weird in my life?

What the heck is happening to me?