.

My eyes raked over her voluptuous body. She was nothing like this before. Why didn't I notice this? Her skin was different than before. Paler. I never cared how she actually looked but I could see she was never so hot like this. Her body had the perfect curves at all right places. She was wearing a shirt and jeans. After a year, her fashion sense had changed a fraction. I mean her figure was always hidden under her baggy shirts and jeans. This time she was wearing a shirt that hugged her curves perfectly. Her dark jeans made her look sexy, and worn-out sneakers were replaced by expensive shoes. Her hair was cascading down her shoulders and blew with the wind.

Silence settled between us as we walked through the gardens to the woods. Neither of the two us spoke a word. So many emotions attacked my brain that I was unable to form a coherent sentence. I couldn't get over the fact that she was here. It made me feel so elated. But something was still missing.

"I don't have my wolf." She said and I stopped in my tracts.

The first sentence she spoke knocked the breath out of me. My blood ran cold at her words. It was my wolf which suddenly felt dead. A sorrowful howl numbed my senses for a moment. Emptiness filled my heart.

"What do you mean?" I asked her in a strained voice. My wolf was hurt. I couldn't look at her. My eyes were finding sudden interest in the dried leaves.

"You should know it better. You were not around for my first shift so I lost my wolf. I couldn't transform properly and my wolf died." She told me in a cold voice. I could feel her hateful stare on me.

I felt as if someone had stabbed me in my heart. I clenched my jaw and fisted my hands in order to stop any signs of vulnerability from showing. She is my mate and she lost her wolf.

"Why did you leave? You shouldn't have left. I was thinking of helping you to shift on your birthday." I told her in a commanding tone, a tone only Alpha could use and a tone which would make pack members cower under my gaze. I didn't want to use it on her. It just came out.

"Why did you refuse to say I was your mate? And you found another mate for yourself the same day and marked her." She argued. I narrowed my eyes at her, anger rising inside me. My wolf was not doing anything. It was as if it didn't exist at all.

"Everyone knew Shea was my mate. If you were not born, she would have been my mate." I told her intending to hurt her.

I spent the past few months only thinking about her. Her scent called for me just moments ago but then anger took over me.

My wolf is not talking to me. I'm in full control of my human form and I blame her for being my mate. If she was not my mate, I could have had a happy life. I could have been a good Alpha. I could have been a good mate. Just because of her existence, I couldn't get what I wanted.

"Don't put the blame on me, Mr. Alpha." She glowered at me.

I was expecting her to blast with anger. The fire inside her eyes could burn ice. But her voice was so calm and so cold that it could freeze the sun. She was so composed. Her eyes were glaring back at me. They were the only signs of her anger.

She blinked her eyes and fire in her eyes vanished. It was replaced by coldness. She wanted to be cold but the passionate fire in her eyes told me that I was able to crack the shell she had built. She might have been preparing for this moment for the past year. She might have been planning to come back looking all hot.

She wants to make me feel guilty and accept her but I don't want to. I want a Luna for my pack and she can't even shift because her wolf died and she is blaming it on me. Only if she had stayed a little longer, things would not have been like this.

"You are to be blamed. It was your fault." I countered.

She kept her gaze cold.

"How is it my fault?" She asked through gritted teeth. She was not losing the cool of her voice.

"You left," I told her simply stepping towards her.

"Why?"

"Because you were foolish."

"Wrong answer. I left because my mate couldn't accept me. I left because he humiliated me in front of everyone. I left because everyone was taunting me with the remarks of future Luna. I left because my mate was with another girl and it physically hurt me to see them both together. I left because of my mate who happens to be you."

Her voice was colder than before staring at me with so much intensity, challenging me to contradict her.

"Tell me what would have you done if you were at my place, Mr. Alpha?" She asked me. "Tell me what could have you done if I was with someone else. What would have you done if I slept with another wolf? What would have you done if someone else pleasured me? What would have you done if someone else marked me?"

I couldn't imagine that. I couldn't.

The images of an unknown dark head man with Sera popped out of nowhere inside my brain. I could feel anger and jealousy bubbling inside me. Those images were so strong that I couldn't focus on anything around me. It got worse when Sera mockingly winked at me kissed that man. That image in my head was so vivid.

My heart constricted and I closed my eyes and shook my head to get rid of all those hurtful images.

"That won't happen," I growled opened my eyes again to find Sera staring intensely at me. Her eyes were dark.

"And you did everything I just said." She countered with calmness and another emotion I couldn't decipher.

Her words made me feel guilty. I did that. I caused her mental pain. I caused her emotional pain. Of course, she would have left. She was not always strong. Sera and Dave had lost their parents. She had seen so much in my life. I couldn't blame her for her insecurities.

"What's done is done," I said, surprising even myself. I can't dwell over my past now. "I can only say sorry. I'm sorry you lost your wolf. It was my fault. I take the responsibility. You don't have your wolf so I put you under my wing. Being the Alpha of this pack, I give you my protection." I told her. That's the most I can do.

"Don't you think there's more?" She asked coolly.

"I didn't reject you. I know it causes pain for both of us." I took a deep breath and continued, "I, Daniel Wayne Osborn, reject you as my mate."

There was deadly silence. She didn't say anything to accept my rejection. I can't accept her. She has lost her wolf. I can't make her the future Luna. She won't be able to protect herself. And she will be a constant worry to pack. Her bond with pack members won't be as strong.

A couple of minutes passed. The only sound could be heard was of wind blowing and rustling of leaves.

I guess she is under shock. But I can't do this now. I'm with Shea. I have marked her. Her father was Beta and my dad's best friend. If any of them come to know that Sera was my mate and not Shea, I will be in great trouble. Pack members will also hate me. Shea was rejected by her mate because she was wearing my mark. I can't do this to her now. I can't abandon her and replace her with Sera. It will complicate things. I'm not an ideal Alpha and I don't want to give rebellions a reason to overthrow me.

"Whoa Mr. Alpha! What makes you think that I will accept your rejection?" She asked.

My head snapped at her to find her smirking evilly at me.

"You always do what you want to do Alpha. You can do that now too. But it doesn't mean I will go along you. And don't dare to pull a stunt against me. You have given me your word that you will protect me. I am under your protection. I am not going to accept your rejection. Live with that." She said ready to walk away.

"It will cause you pain," I told her. If the bond is not broken, it will hurt both of us.

"You're wrong Alpha. It will cause pain for you. I will make sure of that." The venom in her voice made me flinch.

I watched dumbstruck at her retreating figure.