Rejected by the Beta, Claimed by the Alpha

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"But I defended myself against a possible attacker!"

My dad slams his hand on our wooden kitchen table and growls.

"That isn't the point of the game! It's called Run or Die! Not fight or die!"

I let out a frustrated breath and clench my hands together until they turn whiter.

"In real life, I have to fight dad. You know I would die otherwise!"

I watch my father's eyes turn completely black and see his claws extend from the tips of his

fingers.

"No! You will run and I will protect you! It's my job to make sure you can get away! We'll

practice more Tuesday. Go to your room until then and think about it," he says in a deeper voice

than usual.

I frown and look at him with disgust.

"Excuse me?! Did you forget that my birthday is tomorrow?!"

"I don't care," he spits.

"You won't live to see another birthday if you don't learn! It's for your own good!"

I nearly scoff. As if my 35 year old father knows what's best for me.

"I won't be putting up with this for much longer," I tell him lowly as I turn and storm towards the

stairs.

"What the hell does that mean?" he yells.

I turn around quickly and hold out my arms.

"I'm done with this! I'll find my mate and he can take me far away from here! I'll never have to

see you again!"

There's dead silence as I stomp up the stairs and into my bedroom.

I just can't take it.

I can't.

I deserve to be like the other kids. I should be able to live my life and do what makes me happy

and comfortable. Picking up my phone, I group chat Leeland and Reece.

Lilac: Tomorrow we're all going out to the city for a whole day of birthday fun. Drop everything.

Reece: I'm in. I'll pick you up at 5a.m. and we can hit all the bars and clubs until the day's over!

Leeland: sounds good. Your dad approved?

Lilac: ��

Reece: Sweet! See you then❤❤❤

So, with one overwhelming day, two fights with my father, and a simple phone chat, it was all

decided. From here on out, my father no longer reigns over me.

I have a life to live.

*****

With one last sigh, I channel all my cares to the moon goddess and accept my fate.

My dad is going to lock me up like Rapunzel when I get back. It'll be worth it, though. Waiting

for my ride, I check the mirror to admire my light pink body con dress. The sweetheart neckline

accentuates my already generous breasts and I'm glad I can finally wear it.

My dad saw me try to go out in it once and immediately carried me to me room to change. Not

today.

My blonde curls are tired back in a low ponytail and smaller curls cascade down around my heart

shaped face. A light pink lipstick and a line of eyeliner complete the look and even I'm

impressed.

I think I look hot.

Seeing headlights flash through my window, I step onto the ledge outside and jump the ten feet it

requires to meet the ground.

My heels get a bit stuck in the mud, but I wipe them off of the grass before running to the range

Rover parked a few feet away.

"Here! Let's go," I say quickly strapping myself in.

Reece takes off and Leeland turns around in his seat to look intently at me.

"What," I ask with a frown.

Why does he look so disappointed?

"Nothing...just...you're not my mate."

He turns around d and looks out the window solemnly and I furrow my brow.

Was he expecting me to be? Reece shoots me a look through the mirror and I can see it's her

'we'll talk later face.'

"How about we stop for breakfast before hitting the spots in the city? Everyone else can't make it

until later, but we'll meet them at the club for our last stop."

Leeland and I agree quickly and within fifteen minutes, we're pulling up at Granny's famous

pancake house.

Stop one of many more to come.

•••

After breakfast, it's only seven and Reece insists on taking me to the world of trampolines.

I've never been, but she says Justin took her there for her first date and it was amazing, so that's

where we head off to.

It's an hour out of our way, but well worth it when we arrive and see what we have to work with.

The floors and walls are all trampolines and since it's early, hardly anyone is here.

There's a dodgeball trampoline on one side, basketball trampolines on the other, rope swing

trampolines into a foam pit, and just regular ones.

"This is heaven," Leeland groans dramatically.

I agree and we get wristbands before being set loose on the kingdom of bounce.

We all decide to say on the regular ones for now, which is fun because we try to out bounce each

other before we do the rope swing. I laugh as Reece just barely makes it past the edge and into

the pit. Any closer and she'd have hit her head.

We end up spending the better part of three and a half hours here. This wasn't the outfit to wear

because I'm not gonna lie, all the bouncing made my boobs pop out of the dress every now and

then, but luckily nobody saw.

We stopped for snow cones at one point before coming back and now that our time slot is up, we

need to go.

"How about the arcade," Leeland suggests.

So off we go. It's right next door, so it's not a pain to get to.

We end up getting one hundred quarters each and I use them on whack amole and Pac Man.

After collecting six hundred tickets, I hand them to Reece since I don't need any of the prizes and

find Leeland putting quarters in a game with a motorcycle in front of it.

"Come're," he says patting the seat. "Help me win."

I walk over hesitantly and climb on before he slides on behind me, resting his hands on my mid-

thigh considering this isn’t a real bike and doesn’t require someone to hang on for dear life.

"You steer. I'll lean."

At the agreement, we start the game and I'm suddenly caught in a race. Leeland whispers what I

need to do in my ear as I pass many of the other digital players.

"Turn!"

I take a sharp right and Leeland tightens at the exhilaration as he accommodates the bike to

follow the wheel.

"Just a little... YES!"

Leeland chuckles with happiness and looks down over my shoulder at me from behind.

"Second place. Not bad."

I nod in agreement and watch him carefully as he leans closer towards me. His lips peck my

cheek, but he doesn't pull away. He moves even closer and his lips touch the corner of my mouth

before pausing. He keeps looking at me hesitantly, but I'm frozen in a mixture of shock and

unsureness.

It’s not like we’ve ever been in this position before. Do I want to kiss him? Yes, I’d like to see

what it’s like, but he isn't my mate. Leelands not-

I gasp in surprise when his lips finally connect with mine. He lifts me around on the bike to

straddle his lap before deepening the kiss. For once, I'm looking down on him while I drop my

head to accommodate the height difference.

My first kiss.

I lift my hands to brush his Sandy blonde hair, effectively easing the awkward tension I was

feeling in my body.

"Whoa!"

I yank myself back quickly and snap my head to Reece who's shoving twizlers in her mouth. Her

eyes are wide and she looks back and forth between the two of us skeptically.

"Not mates, but very much about to mate," she comments snarkily.

"No, we're not," I whisper in embarrassment.

Leeland stands and we all look at each other awkwardly before Reece starts talking again.

"So, it's almost one. We could get lunch before setting up at the club and waiting on people?"

I agree quickly and speed walk to the car. What have I done! I don't want to hurt Leeland, but I

can't be with someone who isn't my mate! It isn't right!

He sends back some guilty looks through his side mirror as I avoid actual eye contact. I just hope

this doesn't ruin our friendship.