The Alpha's King Curvy Mate

Rejection

Ariel.

I was still stunned that Daniel was in my room, like, this only meant that he felt the mate bond.

“I told you he would claim us,” Adira chirmed excitedly in my head.

Having him so close and alone made me feel things I have never felt, I could feel my cheeks heating up as sudden shyness enveloped my entire being.

The room suddenly felt warmer than it usually was and his Alpha aura made me want to hold him tight and never let go.

Daniel's eyes calmly roamed my room as if assessing everything that was in it. From the way he kept his emotions blank and stoic, I could tell that he was not impressed.

Even though I tried my best to keep the room clean, it was nothing like what was expected of a Beta's daughter's room.

It was a storage room for the most part; some of my father's maids used to live in the room until my father built a new staff quarter and asked them to move out of the main house.

“Is this where you sleep?” He asked as he brought his gaze to me.

“Yes,” I mumbled with a nod.

“Pathetic,” he said and my eyes instantly went to his. “Don't get me wrong, even my father maids sleep in better rooms and wear better clothes, yet I got this...I mean you for a mate. This has to be the joke of the century,” he said in a voice laced with resentment.

“You don't have to accept me if you don't want to,” I said to him despite my heart breaking with my every word.

“You don't tell me what to do, Ariel; I always knew this mate bond thing was overestimated. You? My mate? No way. The goddess must be crazy to have paired you with me," he flinched his nose as if I disgusted him. "You're too ugly and weak to be mated to anyone. As the strongest warrior in this pack and soon to be the alpha, I deserve someone better, someone more beautiful and strong, not some fat slum-like you... you are...” he spatted.

“Enough!” I said, even though his words were as painful as a razor cut, I couldn't let him continue raining insults on me.

“Take off your clothes and shift,” he commanded.

“Excuse me,” I said unable to believe the words coming out of his mouth.

“Take off your clothes, I want to see your wolf,” he repeated.

“I don't have a wolf,” I lied.

“That's a lie; I can pick her scent; let me see her,” he said, attempting to rip my clothes.

“No!” I retorted, hitting him hard across the face.

“How dare you? You will regret this I promise you,” he said and was about storming out of the room when he suddenly stopped and turned to me.

My heart was panting and I feared the worst as he walked towards me.

“Look, I am sorry, he said calmly. “I shouldn't have spoken to you in the manner which I did, forgive me,” he added in a convincing voice that said he was truly sorry.

I searched his eyes as if looking for any sign that he might be lying to me, but I found none. Moreover, Adira was already softening towards him.

“It's okay, it's obvious you don't like me; you can go ahead and reject me,” I said.

“Why do you think I would want to reject you? Is it because people say you are the pack freak? Or the fact that people believe that you are cursed? Or is it because they say you are fat and ugly?” he said calmly as if deliberately wanting every word of his to sink into my head. “Those things don't matter to me, you are my mate, and I guess I have no other choice but to show you to everyone. So come to the ball this evening and I will make an official announcement that you are my mate,” he said.

“Are you sure?” I asked finding it hard to believe the words he was saying.

“Of course, I want you to be there, don't keep me waiting,” he said as he slowly caressed my face with the back of his hand.

Sparks from his touch ignited every essence of my being, and I found myself wanting to do anything he said or wanted.

“don't keep me waiting, Ariel ” he added before working out of the room.

****

“You know we are going to be late if you don't get ready for the ball,” Adira grumbled.

“I am not going,” I retorted.

“But you have to, our mate is going to be waiting for us,” she encouraged.

“Are you sure, because I don't think I believe anything he said. It's almost too good to be true,”

“He is our mate, Ariel. He is meant to love us. Irrespective of our flaws, I am sure he was just fooling around, and he apologized, didn't he?”

“But...”

“There is no but; stop thinking that you are incapable of being loved. Get dressed and let's go to the ball,” she insisted.

“Fine,” I replied as I groggily got up from the bed I was lying on and went through my clothes to see if anyone was befitting for a ball.

But I found nothing.

“See, I don't have any good clothes to wear,” I sighed disappointedly.

“You know our mate won't mind whatever you decide to wear, right?” she asked, and I could practically feel her rolling her eyes up on my head.

“Fine,” I said.

I decided to wear a flowered free dress, it didn't exactly fit the occasion, but it wasn't that bad either.

I stared at my piece of broken mirror for a while deciding what I wanted to do with my hair.

You see, I don't have regular hair color like everyone else; mine was white.

Yes, you heard me right; my hair was as white as snow, and it was always a problem for me to decide how to style it.

I took a rubber band and tried packing it into a ponytail, but it made my face look too serious, so I decided to just style it into a messy bun with a few stairs flowing down each side of my face.

I let out a deep sigh as I stared into the mirror, my blue eyes staring pitifully back at me.

“You look amazing, Ariel,” Adira said.

“I hope our mate thinks so,” I replied, as I dropped the mirror and headed out of the room.

My father, Lyra, and my stepmother had all previously left for the ball, so the house was quiet.

The hall was already packed full by the time I arrived at the ball; there were lots of girls who had come to see if they could get lucky.

A few girls from my school recognized me instantly and started with their usual jabs and mockery, but I ignored them and tried focusing my energy on how I was going to face the entire pack when Daniel finally introduced me as his mate.

I wasn't exactly what you call confident, but I knew with him by my side it would be easy.

Talking about Daniel, where the hell was he?

Even though I wanted to ask people around, I figured I should find him out using his scent.

I sniffed the air and immediately identified his scent from the hundreds of scents that filled the atmosphere.

I followed the scent, and it led me to the back of the hall where the event was taking place.

I wondered what he would be doing there and even though my heart was already telling me that something was wrong, I ignored it and continued searching.

I heard a clapping sound from a distance and my interest peaked as I walked towards where I heard the sound from.

“Yes! f**k me harder!” I heard a familiar voice moan a few feet from where I stood.

I turned around and my eyes caught the most heartbreaking scene I could ever have imagined.

It was Lyra and Daniel f*****g each other brains out. Lyra had her hands on the wall, while Daniel stood behind her, ferociously pumping his c**k in and out of her p***y.

Cold chills beaded my skin as I found myself glued to the spot and unable to take my eyes off them.

“You like it, right?” Daniel, who had his hand around Lyra's waist, asked in a raspy voice.

“Yes, Daddy, you are so f*****g good,” Lyra's voice moaned even louder as they both reached their heights.

I felt stab-like pain pierce through my heart as tears blurred my vision. For a moment I couldn't breathe, as the pain of betrayal sliced through me like a sword in a warrior's hand.

“Daniel,” I heard myself say before I could stop myself.

Daniel and Lyra froze on seeing me, and instantly, they both started hastily dressing up.

I couldn't watch them for another second, as my feet developed a sudden mind of their own.

I walked away as fast as my leg could carry me, but I guess it wasn't enough because Daniel caught up with me in no time.

“Ariel,” he called out, but I didn't stop but kept walking until he forcefully pulled me against a tree.

“Get your filthy hands off me,” I snared angrily at him.

“Ariel, calm down, and just listen,” he pleaded, but I was in no mood to listen to him as I kept hitting and pushing him off me.

“Look, I'm sorry; I didn't mean to hurt you,” he said calmly, and even though I was deeply hurting on the inside, the genuineness in his voice sort of calmed me.

“What is going on here,” Lyra angrily screamed on seeing Daniel and I.

“Ariel is my mate,” he said, keeping his eyes on mine.

I was surprised to hear him say that I was his mate to Lyra; maybe he didn't mean to hurt me after all; maybe he thoroughly loved me.

“What are you talking about,” Lyra retorted, confusion and disgust etched on her face.

“You will see,” Daniel replied as he pulled me along with him.

People began to stare as he dragged me along the hall until we went to the stage. By now, we had everyone's attention.

Daniel left me for a while to grab the microphone before returning to where I was standing.

“Hello, everyone; thank you for honoring my invitation, I want to tell you all that I have found my mate, and she is none other than Ariel, our beloved Beta's daughter,” he said, and there was a sudden gasp in the crowd, followed by whispers that soon engulf the entire hall.

“Is this some sort of joke?” someone from the crowd murmured.

“It has to be,” another replied.

I was already feeling the weight of having over a hundred pairs of eyes criticizing and judging me. And somehow I wished that Daniel would stand up for me and protect me from them.

“I can understand why the murmurs and signs of disappointment, because honestly who would want to be mated to someone like this?” He said, gesturing to me with his hand in a condescending way.

Little chuckles filled the hall at his words, and at that moment, I realized I had been fooled.

“I have always told my father that the mate thing was overrated, and this just proves it. I can't imagine spending my life with such a pathetic being. And honestly, if I didn't know our pack stand on the use of magic or sorcery, I would have said that Ariel might have tried to charm me into picking her as my mate,” another round of gasps filled the air as people started murmuring all over again.

My eyes darted towards my father hoping for the first time in my life that he would save me from this humiliation. Hoping that he would come and rescue me, but instead, I was met with a cold, disgusted gaze.

“So, Therefore, because I know this mate thing is not real and because I can never have someone like her as my mate. I, Daniel Claw, reject Ariel as my mate,” he spurred confidently.

Realizing on what an asshole he was, I didn't waste a second in accepting his rejection.

“I accept your rejection, Daniel,” I replied firmly.

But the strangest thing happened moments after when I didn't feel any pain, not even the tiniest bit. Daniel, on the other hand, could barely stay on his feet as pain threatened to tear him apart.

This also brought about another round of murmuring among the guests present.

“Sorcery!” I heard someone say.

I always knew she was a witch,” another whispered.

“Sorcery!” Another chanted, and soon, the entire hall was chanting the word all over.

The use of magic or any type of witchcraft was prohibited from our pack and the punishment was death.

They had all believed that I used magic simply because I didn't feel the bond break. Within seconds, pack soldiers had appeared from nowhere and ceased me.

As they led me away, I could hear Daniel say that he had decided to pick a chosen mate, and it was none other than Lyra, my stepsister.

The crowd cheered, instantly forgetting my existence, and my heart ached with unexplainable agony.