Book 3 - Chapter 3
2559 Words
Kelly
"Ready?" I asked Kelsey after I finished zipping her up.
"No...im worried." She said, anxiety written all over her.
"Kelsey, you have nothing to worry about. I was a fluke. You are going to find your mate and live happily ever after." I reassured her.
Kelsey just turned eighteen and got her wolf a few days ago. She thankfully got a sweet, compassionate one, unlike my savage borderline serial killer. My parents threw her a massive party to celebrate, just as they did for me when I turned her age. I prayed to the moon goddess that she would be merciful to Kelsey and give her a mate who would love her endlessly. Unlike mine, who rejected me and then disappeared.
"Okay...lets go." She said, her eyes screaming fear.
"I'm going to make sure you get some kind of liquor in you before you go out there if you don't loosen up." I pointed at her, making her laugh, finally.
"...What if I meet him tonight?" She asked, a blush creeping up on her. "Do we mark each other right away?" She whispered.
"That's up to both of you." I shrugged. "It will come naturally Kelsey, don't over think it."
I personally had no experience with the matter, but Kelsey looked up to me for everything. She treated me as if I knew all the answers to life, which was far from the truth. But I was her older sister, I was supposed to be her example to follow. So even though I didn't always have the answers, I always had something to give her. Some words of advice that she would seem to cling to.
"Thanks Kelly." She said, wrapping her arms around me. "I pray that you will be gifted a second chance mate."
"I don't think I'm that lucky." I said, giving her a sad smile. "But thanks anyway."
A second chance mate was basically a one in a million. It was highly unusual for someone to be gifted a second-fated mate, so I didn't even try to humor the idea. Some would cling to it their whole lives, praying that they might be gifted a second chance mate should theirs reject them or pass away. I was not one of those people. I was realistic.
I walked with Kelsey to her party that was just starting to ramp up. She was quickly met by a group of her friends who whisked her away. I watched her closely, having an inkling about a boy she was going to school with. Mason I think his name was. He seemed very fond of her, and had turned of age about a month ago. I saw him speaking with our father in private two weeks ago, which told me he might be more than just a friend from school soon enough.
I watched the beauty of the mate bond, their eyes meeting, their bodies going ridigid, I could even see them mouthing 'mate' to one another before Kelsey crashed into him, sending them both to the floor in a heated kiss. Goddess damn. I laughed and went to the bar, grabbing several glasses of bubbly to toast the happy couple.
"Congratulations Kelsey and Mason." I said, raising my glass as they pulled themselves off the floor.
Her friends followed suit and Kelsey and Mason happily drank before he whispered something to her and she blushed and nodded and they went on their way to go do things that newly fated mates typically do. I was happy for her, really I was. She deserved someone who would treat her like the princess she was and Mason seemed to be just the person.
I retreated to the food tables, shoving down my awful memories with a few crab cakes and some bubbly. It was hard not to think of that night when I was here at Kelsey's party. I still remember the pain of the rejection as if it were yesterday.
"Where is your sister?" My father asked.
"Kelsey? I think she ran off with some friends." I lied. She wasn't getting c**k-blocked tonight if I could help it.
"No, not her, Kylie. She snuck out." He grumbled, looking around for the little brat.
"Sorry, I haven't seen her. But I'll be sure to let you know if I do." I shrugged.
"Thanks." He sighed and headed off, a slew of guards starting to form around the party tent, undoubtedly in search of Kylie.
"Mmm, something smells good..." Keres purred.
"Oh my goddess, she does speak." I scoffed.
"Follow that scent." She demanded, threatening to push forward.
Not wanting to cause a scene, and also picking up on the delicious scent of freshly popped popcorn, I let my nose lead the way. I was perplexed when the smell seemed to keep getting further and further away. Moreso, when I noticed that no one had any popcorn,
"Keres...you don't think..?" I began to ask but stopped short when I was met with a beautiful set of hazel eyes.
"Mate." He gulped.
"Mate," I whispered.
"Hi...I'm Alpha Avery." He said, licking his lips.
"Hi...I'm...Kelly...Princess Kelly." I said, feeling like a fish out of water.
"Hi Kelly...do you want to get out of here?" He asked smoothly.
I nodded quickly and took his outstretched hand, my mind still playing catchup. "I-ugh-have a room here." I said nervously.
"Of course you have a room here, idiot." Keres spat.
"Lead the way." He smiled.
I quickly guided us into a spare room in the palace. I didn't want any disturbances and I had a feeling my parents would come back to my room asking about either Kelsey or Kylie at some point when they couldn't find either.
As soon as the door shut, his lips were on mine, devouring my mouth, his hands roaming my body. My body lit up under his touch, my wolf purring in delight for the first time ever. It felt like electricity, but also like a healing balm. It felt so right. I was a bit nervous, I had a feeling I knew where tonight was going to lead us. While I have hit a few bases, I have never made a home run, so to speak. But I wasn't going to tell him that I was a virgin and ruin the moment either.
I matched his pace, matched his mood. He took my shirt off and then I took his off. Before I knew it, we were both naked under the sheets, our limbs tangled in a beautiful mess. I thought we would have had more foreplay. I hoped we would have anyway. I was still a bit tightly wound and nerves were biting at the back of my mind when he started dragging his manhood through my wet folds. But I guess he was just super excited to find me. I know I was excited about finding him.
"Avery..." I purred, my fingers digging into his muscular arms ever so slightly.
He entered me in one quick thrust, taking my untouched flower with him. I yipped and slammed my eyes shut, the quick sharp pain and pressure making it hard to relax.
"Goddess, you're tight." He grunted in approval.
I felt awkward and uncomfortable, secretly hoping it would be over soon. And thankfully, it was. Avery finished within what felt like a minute or two, quickly pulling out and releasing himself over my lower stomach. Not exactly how I pictured our first time would be.
"That was fun, thanks." He said, before getting off of me and collecting his clothes.
"What are you doing?" I asked, wrapping the sheets around myself with shaking hands.
"Listen... I'm really sorry about doing this..." He began.
"No." I practically growled, my worst fears playing out in my head.
"I Alpha Avery of the Whispering Pines Pack, reject you princess Kelly of the western kingdom as my mate."
"Why?!" I yelled, fighting back tears.
"Do you accept?" He pressed.
"You owe me an answer!" I screamed.
"Fine." He huffed. "I have a chosen mate. We have been dating since middle school. We are having her Luna ceremony in three weeks, when we plan on marking each other. You are just my hall pass."
"Your hall pass?" I asked, dumbfounded.
"Hall pass...like my one chance to cheat without any consequences. My chosen mate and I agreed that we would reject our mates if we ever found them, but we could have one night with them first." He said sheepishly.
"That's all I am to you? A one-night stand?" I cried.
"Do you accept?" He asked again, almost pleading.
"I reject your rejection!" I growled.
"Ahhhh!" He growled back, his fist connecting with the doorframe. "Fine. I'll have you begging me to accept your rejection in no time." He threatened, storming out of the room.
I got out of bed with shaky legs and washed up in the shower until my skin was red. How dare he use me and then just toss me aside. I'll show him. He doesn't know what he is missing. But I'll make sure he does soon enough.
- - - - - - - - -
Jonas
"Are you sure you're okay?" I asked as Kelly used a tree for support, trying to catch her breath. "You've been acting funny for a while now."
"Fine." She winced, holding her side.
"Dont lie to me." I said, coming up next to her and scooping her up into my arms before she had the chance to fall. I found a private area off the path we were walking on and sat with my back against a tree. "Tell me what is really wrong." I said, tucking her hair behind her ear.
Her lip quivered and her eyes were shiny with unshed tears. "He rejected me." She sniffled.
"Dustin was a piece of s**t-"
"My second chance mate rejected me." She blurted out. "And being the i***t that I am, I rejected his rejection."
Shit. I was not expecting that. Being rejected once was bad, but twice? What kind of cruel joke was the moon goddess playing? Second chance mates were rarer than rare. How he could have wanted to reject her anyway is beyond me. Kelly was perfect.
"When?" I asked, my heart broken for her. "Why?"
"Two weeks ago." She sobbed. "He said he had a chosen mate."
"Have you tried to contact him? Maybe you two could work things out, if he just got to know you maybe-"
"He won't answer my calls. And he keeps doing...things with her." She cried harder.
"Things? ....Oh!" I cringed. I cant imagine the suffering she must be going through. I think I would kill myself if I ever found my mate and then she went along and slept with someone else. "Goddess, Kelly, you deserve so much better. What can I do to help?" I asked, using the sleeve of my shirt to wipe away some of her tears.
"Can you take me to his pack?" She whimpered.
"Yeah." I sighed. "I can do that."
"And please don't tell anyone. It was awful enough getting the pitying looks the first time. I cant do it again." She sniffled.
"Dont worry, my lips are sealed."
I waited until Kelly calmed down enough to pass as okay-ish before heading back to the palace where my car was parked. Of course, King Carson was always vigilant with his guards. My father, who is Delta to the king, spoke of it often. He thought it was overkill, and I couldn't agree more. It took a few really good lies and Kelly threatening to have them written up to get past the guards who were posted at the edge of the pack territory. But once we were past them, it was smooth sailing. Smooth as it could be anyway.
I was secretly overjoyed to have several uninterrupted hours with Kelly. It was hard to have one on one time with her the older we got. She was busy with her family and royal affairs, training with Thorin, and visits to her strange plant doctor. Meanwhile, I was going to school to study other supernatural creatures, hoping to be a diplomat one day. Mostly because I found other species so interesting, but also partially because I knew that would at least keep me close to Kelly. If I couldn't be her mate, I could potentially be her Beta or Delta or Gamma one day.
Her mate. If she really did go through with the rejection today, maybe, with time, I could win her over again. We were kind of an unspoken thing in high school. I don't think it would be very hard to rekindle that old flame. Not for me anyway.
"It should be coming up here soon." Kelly said sadly.
"Got it." I nodded.
I eventually came across the dirt path just off the main road that led towards Alpha Avery's pack. I turned onto it and within a few minutes, I could see wolves running past us. Hopefully, they could sense Kelly's alpha aura and would inform their alpha immediately. The less time we spend here, the better. I looked over at Kelly, whose demeanor seemed to have shifted. She looked...fierce. I hardly had a chance to put the car in park before she was flinging the door open, guns loaded.
"Stay in the car Jonas." She said, her natural alpha tone slipping.
She hadn't even been made an alpha yet. I knew then that I had no plans to leave the car. Kelly was obviously in a bad place. I would be here for her when she was done, ready to drive the getaway car if needed. I watched her walk towards the alpha's house. The residents of his pack quickly parted from the princess on a mission. Though, I'm pretty confident that if they didn't move, that she would run them over right about now. I had never seen Kelly this way before.
I sat in my car for what felt like forever. Hopefully, they were able to work things out. Although, part of me, a small part, hoped she would dump him, mate or not, and choose someone better. Someone who wasn't going to try to reject her without getting to know her first. Someone who wouldn't sleep around when she refused his rejection. She deserved so much better.
I fell asleep waiting for Kelly, jumping when someone knocked harshly on my window. Thorin? What was he doing here? I rolled down my window, rubbing the sleep from my eyes.
"Thorin?" I asked. "What are you doing here?"
"Go home, Jonas," he said, his deep Russian accent leaving no room for argument.
"Is Kelly okay?" I said, flinging my door open.
"I said, go home." He said, quickly slamming my door shut. "Kings orders...princess will be fine." He softened, only slightly.
"Okay..." I nodded, fumbling with my keys.
If it was coming from the king, I wasn't questioning it. King Carson was a fair and just leader. But he was also fiercely protective of his daughters and the last thing I needed was to tick him off. If the rejection did happen, which I'm assuming it did, he was probably here to collect Kelly. I drove back in silence, praying that whatever happened, Kelly would be able to move forward from.
- Writer
