Spellbound by His Once Rejected Mate

“Aaaaand-” a pause followed Annais’ words as she eyed me again. “Are you excited for tonight?” she smirked at me, her grin going from ear to ear like a maniac. “Tonight?” I manage to muffle as I look up at her, my eyes narrowing in confusion. “Am I missing something?” the girl asked, a little confused herself now by the situation. “Isn’t tonight the last day of Ostara? Your birthday too? Maybe you’ll be lucky enough to find your mate tonight?! Maybe finally shift and get to meet your wolf night!?” Oh! The party! My lips press together in a thin line as I hide my eyes in my book again, muttering a silent agreement. “Why aren’t you excited?! I thought you were extremely excited since you were sure Zeke’s your mate and -” Annais rolled her eyes, leaning into her seat, ignoring the pile of opened books around them. “Did anything happen?” she leaned in again, lowering her voice since everyone seemed to get pissed at her for being too loud. “Things did happen.” I manage to whisper, choking back my frustration. “Spill it out.” Annais pleaded with her signature puppy eyes. Oh, those blue eyes of hers, I just can’t wait to see what fool gets trapped in them. ***One week ago*** As per usual, around this time of the year, our pack house gets rather crowded. New faces, old faces, grumpy and happy to be here, all alike, gather for the big celebration of Ostara, the spring Equinox that was to come in just a week. This year is no different. My father, Marcus Lennix, the alpha of The Crimsonhide pack, made sure to invite everyone important or not, to this amazing celebration we never miss to have. And with no Luna at his side, He had me. He trustworthy advisor and never too young to rely on, daughter. “So-” I pluck the pen from my notebook and open it with a smile. “From what I could check, most of everyone is here. The crescent moon pack is here, The Valley Pack, The Eclipse Walker, The Forest Warriors, The Willoughbys-” I pause as I read the last name out. “Why did we invite the Willoughbys again?” I manage to groan as I check them off my list. “Because, Mellione, neighbors are very important to hold close.” My father instructed as he didn’t even bother to look at me from behind the pile of paperwork he had in front of him. “What neighbors?! We live at the end of the world, with nothing surrounding us but wood and water.“ My hands go up in frustration, but the look he gives me makes me immediately drop them and hide my frustration. “And yet, where the borders of our lands end, we have neighbors. Neighbors that don’t constantly call the police every time they see one of us running wild and free. Besides, their grilling skills are just-” he smirks and gestures a chef’s kiss. “Now, please go ahead and tell Adrian I want him here. Tell him it’s urgent.” He returns to his papers as I get out of my seat and start walking for the door, scrolling through my list of people that have not arrived yet. “Mell, dear-” his voice rang a little hollow in my ear. “Yes?” I turn on my heels to face him. “We have extremely special guests joining us this year. Please make sure They are feeling welcomed.” My eyes land on the last name on the list. The Demontooth pack. A cold shiver runs down my spine as I highlight the name again with a fourth underscore before rushing out of the room. The Demontooth pack was known to be one of the hardest to approach packs around. They were filthy rich and there were countless rumors going on about them. Were they dealing with the mafia? Were they drug dealers? Organ traffickers? No one truly knew, for the pack rarely made any contact with any other packs. My father had tried for years to get them to join us for Ostara, since it is one of the biggest celebrations of the year in our community. “Is daddy’s big girl free?” A choir of voices rang through the hallways, picking my attention as I continued to stare at the highlighted name on my notebook. When I look up, My eyes land on Alpha Michael’s twin daughters. Astrela and Aeris. Two of the most gorgeous she wolves I have ever seen. With their red hair and freckled skin, their petite figure and round curves, and their big green eyes, they had every single boy at their little finger. Also, they were two of the loudest and never tired talkers I could have ever befriended. A smile crosses my lips as I cross The Irishhound Pack off my list, and the girls hug me tightly. “You’ve grown so much!” I manage to squeeze out the last bit of air from my lungs. “Well, last year we had that terrible flu, and father didn’t allow us to come.” Astrela rolled her eyes. “But we finally got here, and we can catch up for all the time we have missed!” Aeris giggled excitedly. I manage to pull a smile on my face as I peel myself away from them. “Let’s do just that! Tonight!” I grin cheerfully before rushing away. “Big party planner here!” I shout as I lift my notebook in the air as a hint for my excuse. The house is swarming with people, and I have to squeeze past some to get to Zeke who was chatting leisurely with Mark. I stop just a step away from them, looking up at the two, waiting for any of them to notice me. They were at least half a foot taller than me, and I guess that my plain pitch black hair was not too eye-catching for them to notice me just staring at them. “Zeke!” I finally hiss between my teeth, glaring up at him. The two paused and turned their attention to me. “Yes, hello Mark.” I pull on a fake and polite smile before turning to look at Zeke. “Can you please tell your father that Alpha Marcus needs him upstairs?” I ask without looking at him. “Why don’t you put in the effort and do it yourself, Mell?” Zeke sighs and rolls his eyes, giving me the stink eye immediately after. “Because-” I shove the notebook in his face. “I have extremely important guests arriving, and I can’t just run around being a postman!” I hiss at him. “It’s alright, Mellione. We will find Beta Adrian and deliver the message for you.” Mark assures me with a gentle smile, and his brown eyes fixed on my figure. Mark and Zeke were two of the easiest people to be around. The three of us grew up together, and despite the obvious differences, there had never been an issue. Well, that's if you don’t count the stupid things we’ve all been through. Like crushes on each other that turned out to be more awkward as we grew. “Thank you, Mark.” I smile sweetly before turning on my heels and hurrying away before I’d punch Zeke in front of everyone. Zeke and I had a complicated relationship. He was Adrian’s son, henceforth the future beta of the clan. With me as the only daughter of the alpha, the only heir, his position was rather unsure. I couldn't become Alpha and there was no saying that my mate would be an alpha, especially one accepted by our pack. A small part of me hoped that Zeke would be my mate, and he would become the next alpha in line, while Mark would ascend as beta, and everything would be so simple in the end. Even the thought of Zeke being my mate made me uneasy and my cheeks flushed red. I curse myself mentally for distracting myself, but I don’t manage to finish the sentence in my head when I bump right into a wall. Or what felt like a wall, because this wall had arms that reached out to steady me immediately. I pull my nose out from my notebook and face the coldest and scariest eyes I could have ever come upon. Icy blue, with specks of green, with thick and dark blue limbal rings(you know, the circle around your iris), these eyes seemed to bring winter with them. “I’m sorry -I- sorry-” I manage to spit out immediately, steadying myself on my feet and bowing my head multiple times. But the stranger says nothing. Their hands free my arms, and they straighten themselves with the same distant and cold eyes still pinned on me, making me feel even smaller than I already am. At five feet three, I stand right at the height of their chest. Smurf, I comment to myself before pulling on a polite smile. “Welcome to The Crimsonhide pack!” I cheer with a voice that soon dies in my throat when I understand who I’m facing. Seth Allodias, alpha of The Demontooth pack. He was recently named alpha, after the passing of his father. From what I knew, he wasn't a day older than twenty five when his father passed on the hospital bed, thus crowning him alpha over his pack. His hair held a strange ashy color, his skin was a fair porcelain taint, and his cheeks and jaw were covered in what seemed to be the beginning of a full grown gray beard that accentuated his sunken cheeks and high cheekbones even more than they already were. His jawline was as sharp as my tongue sometimes. His ears were ever so slightly pointy and held multiple piercings in a platinum white tint. His lips were dry and full despite the obvious split on his lower one. Did he fight someone on his way here? I feel my heart shrinking in my chest and my stomach turning and twisting uncomfortably as I notice him studying me as well. My pitch black hair was plainly pinned in a high ponytail, with two small sections that used to bang framing my face. My grey eyes were lined with a simple black liner and I wore no makeup to hide the few red blemishes on my skin. I was never ashamed of being a teenager. Never, until now, when under his icy eyes, I felt naked and alone. He wore a black and white old money attire, making him stand out even more. His pants were black and the turtle neck shirt he wore was as white as the last snow that had fallen just recently. On the other hand, I was wearing thick black thighs and a plaid monotone skirt with an oversized pink shirt, making me feel like three years old who tried to dress herself for picture day. Behind him, a blonde haired man, similar in height to Seth, showed up, his eyes a deep dark forest green as he looked around the sea of people in the house. “This place is a little too crowded, Seth.” he spoke, without even noticing me. Seth’s eyes were still pinned on me, but slowly moved to my notebook. I immediately close it and manage to pull my eyes away from him, my whole face reddening along with the tip of my ears altogether. “Alpha Seth of the Demontooh pack and Beta-” the name suddenly slipped completely out of my mind. “Calix.” the green eyed man introduced himself, not very pleased about it. I managed to offer him a weak smile as I pulled out two different keys from my notebook. “My father will be very happy to hear you made it to the celebration this year!” I cheered, pushing through the sudden rush of anxiety that washed over me, handing over the two keys with a shaking hand. Seth pulled his hand out of his pocket, revealing bruised knuckles, taking the keys from me slowly, his porcelain cold fingers brushing against mine in what seemed to be a simple mistake. “Your rooms are -” I started, my voice shaky as I pulled my hand back to my notebook, opening it and scrolling through it, hoping to find the list of rooms. I could feel my heart beating in my throat and somehow, everything seemed to happen so fast that I couldn’t keep up with it anymore. “I’ll show the gentlemen their rooms.” a low voice, a familiar low voice pulled me out of my panic attack. A steady hand rested on the small of my back and beside me Zeke showed up. Even if Zeke was merely eighteen, he stood almost as tall as Seth, his messy curly hair contrasting the neatly combed one of Seth. He seemed tense and I couldn’t understand why. But the way his hand was laid on the small of my back told me I had something to do with it. “The Twilight Pack is here, and they keep asking about tea?” he spoke, without looking at me, but I knew this was something addressed to me, because there was no way in hell he was speaking to the icy blue eyed man in front of me. “Right…” I whisper and pull myself away from Zeke, already uncomfortable with the silent staring war these two had. “I hope you get accustomed! You’ll find the program for these days in your rooms, and if you need anything, I’ll be around!” I rush to speak and bow my head, before turning around and hurrying away, despite the eyes I feel pinned on my back.