Mute And Marked: The Feared Alphas' Mate

~Rina~ The morning sun barely filtered through the worn curtains, as it shone through the small, cluttered kitchen. The smell of burnt toast was heavy in the air, mixing with the sour scent of unwashed dishes piled high in the sink. My fingers trembled as I clutched the knife, spreading jam on the dry toast. I moved quickly, I didn’t need to be told what to do anymore; I’d learned to anticipate their demands, hoping it would make the day a little easier. It never did. “Rina!” My stepmother’s voice sliced through the air, sharp and cold. I tensed, gripping the knife tighter. I turned around just as she stormed into the kitchen, her eyes full of disgust as they landed on the breakfast I’d prepared. “Is this what you call breakfast?” she spat, grabbing one of the toast slices and hurling it at me. The toast hit my shoulder and fell to the floor. “You useless girl! You can’t even make a decent meal! Are you deaf as well as mute?” I didn’t flinch. I was used to it. Her venomous words had been a daily part of my life for years. I lowered my gaze and bent down to pick up the toast, knowing that fighting back would only make things worse. As I straightened, I saw my stepsisters, Clara and Bethany, leaning against the doorway, smirking. Clara was twenty-one, Bethany was nineteen—both older than me and both just as cruel as their mother. They wore their usual smug expressions, clearly enjoying the show. “Look at her, crawling around like a dog,” Clara sneered, flipping her hair over her shoulder. “Maybe that’s what she is—a dumb, useless mute.” Bethany cackled. “She can’t even bark back, can she?” she mocked, her voice dripping with cruelty. “She just stands there, pretending to be obedient. Pathetic.” I swallowed hard, my throat dry. I wanted to scream, to tell them how much I hated them, but the words were trapped inside me. The silence that has defined my life since birth was both my prison and my shield. So I forced myself to focus on the toast in front of me, keeping my eyes down. “Don’t just stand there like an i***t!” My stepmother’s hand connected with the back of my head, the sting sharp and familiar. “Clean this mess up and make something decent. You think you deserve to eat after this rubbish? You’ll go hungry today, like the useless freeloader you are.” I winced at the slap but kept my face blank. The sting was nothing compared to the emptiness I had learned to live with. Clara sauntered over to the counter, inspecting the toast. “Disgusting,” she murmured, wrinkling her nose before tossing the food into the trash. She shot me a taunting smile. “Oh, don’t worry, dear sister. You didn’t need it anyway. We wouldn’t want you getting fat, now would we?” “Fat and mute. What a catch!” Bethany giggled, the sound grating in my ears. My chest tightened, but I bit back the tears. I won’t give them the satisfaction of seeing me break. They had taken everything from me—my voice, my dignity, my hope—but I wouldn’t let them see me cry. I started cleaning the kitchen as they continued to taunt me. I scrubbed the counter, scrubbing harder than I needed to, focusing on the motion to drown out their voices. It’s all I can do to keep myself together. Madeline sighed dramatically, turning to her daughters. “Why do I have to put up with such a burden? If it weren’t for that pathetic excuse of a father she had, we wouldn’t be stuck with her.” My heart twisted at the mention of my father. He was the only one who ever showed me love, who tried to protect me from them. But after he died when I was twelve, my world became this living nightmare. “You should’ve left her at the orphanage when Dad died,” Clara said with a smirk. “No one would’ve missed her.” I kept my head down, scrubbing dishes furiously. The water’s cold, making my fingers numb, but it’s better than listening to their words, better than letting their poison seep into my soul. Madeline crossed her arms, glaring at me. “You better finish all your chores before noon. I’m not paying for your lazy bones to sit around. Clara, Bethany, let’s go. We have better things to do than watch this wretch stumble around.” Their laughter subsided as they left, the slam of the front door signaling that I was alone again. I let out a shaky breath, the tension in my chest finally easing. I slumped against the counter, exhaustion weighing down on me. I wish I could run away, find somewhere—anywhere—where I was not hated. But wishes were just that—wishes. Reality was this cold kitchen, this endless cycle of chores and insults, with no escape in sight. Wiping my hands on my worn apron, I forced myself to keep moving. I’ll endure, as I always have. °•° Seven hours later... I took a hard hurtful gulp at the deserted park where I stood, trembling. My heart was pounding in my chest, each beat heavy with dread. Owen, my mate, stood across from me with his hands shoved into his pockets. He wasn’t looking at me. His gaze was fixed somewhere in the distance, jaw clenched like he couldn’t be bothered to look me in the eyes. The silence stretched between us, but I waited. I couldn’t speak, but my hands itched to sign something—to ask why he had called me out here so late. My wolf, Syl, whimpered softly in the back of my mind, her unease growing. She didn’t like this. Neither did I. Finally, he sighed, as if even breathing the same air as me was a chore. “Rina,” he said, his voice flat. No warmth, no affection. “We need to talk.” I took a shaky breath and signed, “What’s wrong?” I couldn’t hide the desperation in my hands, even if I wanted to. Owen had been my only light in this dark world. My stepmother and stepsisters had made every day hell, but he had given me hope—at least, I thought he had. He finally looked at me, but there was no love in his eyes, only annoyance. “Look, this… thing between us? It’s not gonna work out.” My stomach twisted into knots, and I felt Syl recoil in pain. I didn’t want to believe it—no, this couldn’t be happening. I signed quickly, "Why? What did I do?" My fingers were trembling so badly that I almost couldn’t form the words. He scoffed, his lip curling in disgust. “This isn’t about what you did, Rina. It’s about who you are. You’re mute. You can’t even talk! How the hell do you expect to be Luna like that? You’re weak. Useless.” Each word was like a dagger stabbing into my chest. Weak. Useless. The one person who was supposed to love me, protect me, was throwing those words at me like I was nothing. I shook my head, tears burning at the corners of my eyes. "But… you said you’d always be there. You promised." Owen rolled his eyes, clearly irritated. “Yeah, well, that was before. Before "Kelly" came back.” The name hit me like a brick. Kelly. I remembered her—his first love, the one who had left him. I felt the ground tilt beneath me, my world spinning out of control. I signed again, slower this time, the realization dawning painfully. "You’re leaving me… for her?" “Of course, I am!” he snapped, his voice rising with impatience. “Kelly’s everything you’re not. She’s strong, confident, beautiful. She’s not some pathetic mute omega who can’t even speak her own mind.” I flinched at the venom in his words. I could feel Syl howling in agony inside me, her heartbreak mixing with mine. My hands went limp by my sides as I struggled to breathe. I had been holding onto this bond like it was my lifeline, thinking that maybe, just maybe, someone would finally see me for more than my silence, for more than my weaknesses. But Owen didn’t see me at all. He never had. He took a step closer, his expression hard. “So, let’s not drag this out. I, Owen Blackwood, reject you, Rina, as my mate.” The moment the words left his mouth, I felt a searing pain explode in my chest. I gasped, clutching at my heart as it felt like it was being ripped apart, piece by piece. Syl let out a mournful cry that echoed through my mind, her grief consuming every part of me. The bond, the one thread that had held us together, snapped like a fragile string, leaving nothing but emptiness. Owen watched me with coldness as I collapsed to my knees, tears streaming down my face. “Just accept it, Rina,” he said, his voice impatient. “Accept the rejection and move on. It’s not like you were ever going to be anything to me anyway.” I looked up at him, barely able to see through my tears. My hands moved slowly, trembling as I signed, "You never cared, did you? I was just… convenient." He shrugged, completely unbothered. “Pretty much. I couldn’t exactly stay mate-less while waiting for Kelly to come back, could I? But now that she’s here, you’re nothing more than dead weight.” The cruelty in his words shattered the last bit of hope I had. I couldn’t stop the sob that escaped my lips, even though no sound followed. The agony was too much, a storm raging inside me that I couldn’t contain. Syl whimpered weakly, her pain too great to bear. I felt her slipping away, her light dimming as she curled up into herself, broken and lost. We were both broken now. With a final, shaky breath, I forced myself to sign the words that would end it all. "I accept your rejection." The moment I did, the last remnants of our bond shattered completely, leaving behind nothing but a hollow emptiness that echoed through my soul. I fell forward, my forehead resting against the cold ground as I sobbed silently, the tears soaking into the dirt beneath me. I could hear Owen walking away, his footsteps growing fainter until they disappeared altogether. He was gone, just like that. And I was left alone, rejected, and shattered beyond repair. The world felt colder, darker, as I lay there in the dirt, Syl’s whimpers the only sound in the back of my mind. I was nothing now, just an empty shell of the girl I used to be. And the worst part? I had no one to lean on, no one to pick me up from this darkness. I was alone. Completely, utterly alone.