Her Rejection's Revenge

PROLOGUE: LIPSTICK TOO BRIGHT

The lipstick color was too bright. I stared at my reflection with critical analysis as the vivid crimson color tainted my lips. It wasn’t that it didn’t suit me – the flaming red Ruby Woo of the MAC collection was a universally flattering color.

I was a typical blonde girl with a passable body. Passable because I wasn’t as slim as the fashion standards dictated. My body weight was average, although not obese, but my curves didn’t make me a hit in high school. It would seem that the latest trend was skinny.

But I sported a fair complexion, and the retro matte lipstick accentuated my luscious lips giving a natural pout to my flawless creamy skin. It was epic. I sighed in resentment as I pulled out a wet wipe from the box.

Braxton wouldn’t approve. One glance at me and he would start yelling that I looked like a wh*re trying to attract other men. I wasn’t. I was only trying to look my best for him, my boyfriend of three years. Or maybe for myself? Was there a problem with a girl trying to look pretty only because she wanted to feel good about herself?

The familiar cramp in my neck intensified at the thought of upsetting him, and with demure resignation, I wiped off the sublime red from my lips and the intense long wearing formula stuck to them even after three swipes. I took another clean moist wipe and cleaned off the rest of the smudged lipstick until only a faint trace remained.

Why was I always so tempted to stray when Braxton had made it clear what he expected of me?

Could it simply be because you like red lipstick, Zel?

I jumped at the sound of the voice inside my head – it was that of my wolf Itzel. She wasn’t always around lately, so whenever she was, I felt out of sorts. Itzel was not a very strong werewolf, and I could feel her sickness seeping in my blood weakening me further every day.

It was a sinking feeling to realize that I couldn’t be as powerful as Braxton Cooper, next Alpha in line to the Ocean Howl Pack. My mate. Three years ago, I had been over the moon to discover that Braxton was my mate. He was the one every she-wolf had been after, but he’d chosen me.

Well, the Moon Goddess had chosen him for me. I could never imagine that I would be so lucky to be the Alpha’s mated girlfriend. But I didn’t deserve him. I was a pathetic omega and the probability of such a low-rank mating with the top hierarchy level was rare, if not impossible.

In our world, our wolves were our alter egos, whom we could hear and connect but which made their appearances during full moons. Contrary to popular beliefs, we were not able to shapeshift at any place or any time. Our transformations were involuntary, except only for those who were strong enough to have complete control over the beast. Like the really strong Alphas and Betas.

So far, I haven’t met anyone who could shapeshift at will. No one in our pack had that aptitude anyway. There were special occasions when we would transform, and that was whenever our Alpha would compel us during the full moon nights. Our current Alpha was Finn Cooper, Brax’s dad who had occupied the throne for several years now.

The ‘throne’ was not a literal seat – it was just the power to command the entire pack called the Ocean Howl Pack, my pack. It wasn’t a big one, but it was the only one I knew. I’ve been born in it and as an omega, I haven’t traveled around to meet other werewolves or other communities.

Did I forget to introduce myself? So typical of me. I was Zelda Settlemire, born to Oscar and Zola Settlemire, both omegas and servants of the Ocean Howl Pack. I was twenty-one years old and a pretty boring bookish academic whose life’s only highlight had been on my eighteenth birthday when I discovered that future Alpha Braxton Cooper was my mate.

I had joined college last year much to Braxton’s annoyance and reluctance and was studying a nursing program. Well, I really wanted to be a doctor, but Brax said it would take too long. When he’d consented for the two-years program, I had been so relieved that I jumped on the chance without giving him time to reconsider. It had taken me two years to convince him.

Braxton wasn’t much interested in getting himself an education because he had other priorities – he was about to turn twenty-two at the end of the week. All his time was spent in counseling the people and training hard to be strong enough to protect all of us. It wasn’t something he took lightly. The crowning ceremony of him preceding the previous Alpha was planned on his birthday and it would be a grand event. The pressure was so immense that I was trying my best to avoid any kind of conflict with him during the last moments.

I was the only one who knew how much it mattered to him to be the Alpha of the Ocean Howl Pack. It would be an important step for him as he would espouse all the responsibilities of the pack with me as his Luna. He hadn’t promised anything yet, but I was quite confident that he loved me in his own way.

As his future Luna, I would be crowned together with him on his birthday, and the reason I wanted to study medicine was because I was also keen to help my people in my own way. Protecting people wasn’t only about physical strengths, it could also be about brains. I had been the top scorer of my class every time, and I was only capitalizing on my assets.

If only Braxton and me could see eye to eye. Sometimes, we were so different that a simple divergence of opinion would explode into a heated argument. I frowned. But that was before when I was still trying to find out my own identity.

Now, I was absolutely sure of who I was. I was the future Luna of Alpha Braxton of the Ocean Howl Pack. For the past six months, I was no longer expressing my own opinion to him just because I respected the immense pressure he was experiencing.

If being his support was so difficult for me, I could only imagine what he was going through as a future Alpha. One wrong move and he could jeopardize everything. Alpha Finn was not very tolerant to errors – he’d already warned Braxton that if any of us made a mistake, he would disown us without mercy. Brax was sh*t scared of his father and would not deign go against his wishes.

I knew that his parents were already not too keen on having me as the future Luna, and he’d stood up for me several times. But lately, the situation was so precarious that I could literally feel it slipping out of our hands. If only he would open up to me. It was different when we had just discovered each other, Braxton although thoroughly displeased with my omega status had not rejected me.

To placate him, I agreed to train alongside him day and night in order to sharpen my defense skills. It had worked because for the last year, I was learning new techniques and even if my wolf was weak, I could sense my human form leaner and stronger. My reserve had only mollified him – Braxton was still horribly ashamed of being mated to an omega.

But rejecting the mate bond on our pack was considered a blasphemy, one which would prevent him from ascending the throne. So, with time, Braxton managed his disappointment, and I was too grateful to feel any kind of resentment.

I was gifted the position other girls drooled about and envied like mad, so there was no room for complaints for me. Really. Braxton and I were like the old couples who made things work despite the odds. The s*x between us, aside from the first time, was okay – the mate bond between us was so potent after we’d made love that it was almost unbreakable. I could literally feel him in my head, accommodating myself to his tastes and likes before he even voiced them out.

It was the least I could do after he’d accepted me. Any other Alpha would have rejected me on the first day itself.

With a deep sigh, I put back the MAC lipstick, unable to believe that I could get so puerile over a lipstick color. What did it matter? When in less than seven days, I would be crowned as Braxton’s Luna? I would be by his side forever, claiming to love him with my soul as he would mark me as his.

What did a lipstick color had anything to do with my current predicament? Shaking my head at my own stupidity, I removed a peach nude color from my make-up kit and applied it on my lips. There, that looked much better. A bit anemic, but at least it would not trigger another world war with Braxton.

Besides, the whole point of today was surprising him, wasn’t it? And I meant it in the best way possible – it would be a pleasant surprise when I would arrive unannounced at his place for a nice cuddle and displeasing him was not on my agenda.

It would be a special birthday treat before he prepared himself for the grand ceremony. I knew he would be so busy in the coming week that I would hardly get to see him.

I usually avoided doing impulsive things around him. Braxton liked absolute control. He would be in a bad mood when I go over at his place unannounced, but this time I had an excuse. I had left my car at his place two nights ago. We had dined together, and he’d dropped me back home afterwards. So, if ever he was vexed by my unexpected appearance, I would just pick up the vehicle without fuss.

I shoved my short dress down my thighs once again, giving my push-up bra another heave upwards. I looked good, I told myself confidently in the mirror. The red lipstick combined with the sexy dress would have been a bit overkill. With my long fiery strawberry blonde hair cascading around my shoulder, I looked hot enough to set him on fire.

Grinning at the seduction that I was planning, I grabbed my purse and took my mother’s car keys before calling out that I was ready. She was giving me a lift to Brax’s place where I would pick up my forgotten car. My grand excuse for seducing the pants out of my Alpha boyfriend!