The clicking of claws was loud, bouncing off the walls as soon as we entered Drake's office. His eyes were warm and gentle as he looked down at me, ushering me further in his room before they turned cool and frigid the second he glanced at the wolf following behind us.

Drake slid open a few drawers, retrieving soft pants, socks and some loose shirts before placing them in two separate rooms.

I caught the hint and shut the door behind me, shifting and getting dressed. My heart stuttered and swelled when I realized this shirt had no buttons, nor did the pants.

Something that my trembling fingers would have trouble with.

Instead I was provided with soft fabrics that wouldn't aggravate my scars, pants that had a stretchy band within them and clung onto my hips without having to tie them down.

As I nudged the door back open, Drake was waiting at the desk with crossed arms. Which dropped instantly along with his stern expression, turning warm, soft and gentle as he smiled in my direction.

It made my stomach flip awkwardly at the pure joy in his eyes and the bashful grin that slipped on his lips.

I returned his smile hesitantly before it faltered as the door across opened and Elliot made his way out, glaring at the floor.

While I was still a bit wary of the man, I doubted he would be as foolish as to attack me. His first attempt, if that could even be called an attempt, was thwarted my Shadow and the wild pack.

And Drake had shown Elliot that this time, he wasn't going to reach out a hand. He had enough. He has enough. There was nothing left to give.

For a moment, I felt pity for both of them. Especially Drake who, unlike me, had his ex-mate shove himself in his face time and time again.

He had explained enough and I had put enough pieces together to know the truth. Drake had done all he could to reach a helping hand to Elliot, to help the man recover from their rejection process.

It made me shuffle my weight, hugging myself unconsciously. I had hid away in a forest, had reverted to the most animalistic origins of our kin. Anything to lessen the pain, to avoid being confronted with the rejection.

Yet, Drake had been confronted with nothing but his rejection. From what I heard, each time someone joined his pack, Elliot had come over to investigate. To pry, to insult, to prevent Drake from fully healing.

And here he was again, had been so certain he'd get his way again. Only this time, Drake had done nothing to help. He was tired of reaching out to Elliot, to let him know that the bond was gone.

Now, Drake was focusing on his own healing, his own life. A spark of pride burned in my chest as I shot the man a look. Because he could've lashed out. As an Alpha, he could've demanded retribution for the utter disrespect shown to him, could've waged wars between packs that would alter countless of lives.

Instead, he had nodded and accepted his fate and had turned his sorrow into a beautiful, understanding pack.

A pack that, thanks to their Alpha's own understanding of rejection, thrived. Survived, because of him.

"So, who's this then?" Elliot's scoff broke me from my thoughts, making me raise a brow as I crossed my arms. I didn't want to make any false impressions but Elliot seemed to be much too... pretentious to be an Beta for any healthy pack.

Beta's were often a strangers' first impression of the pack. As an official representative, they were supposed to pay mind to their actions and how they could cast their pack in a bad lighting.

Instead, Elliot sucked his teeth and scowled my direction before averting his eyes when I narrowed mine. I wasn't about to judge his pack or his Alpha based on Elliot's poor decision making.

"This," Drake spoke slowly, warningly, "is someone I hold very dear to me. So you better watch your tone before I ban you from ever setting a toe on my territory."

Elliot's head shot up at that, eyes wide and stunned before they grew damp. "What... what do you mean? Drake, you..." Elliot took a trembling breath before his eyes flitted back towards me.

"Did he set you up to this?"

Drake scoffed, rolling his eyes as he guided me to sit, not even bashful as he plopped down beside me, leaving Elliot to slink to the lone seat instead of the sofa we sat upon.

Elliot did so grudgingly, straightening his spine as if he wanted to look down on me. I barely repressed a scoff myself, as he wasn't intimidating anyone with his childish behavior.

"I'm Kyle." I decided to introduce myself, instantly gaining Elliot's attention as his eyes semi-darkened, nose twitching slightly.

Rolling my eyes, I averted my gaze and scratched my throat, not necessarily because my skin was itchy. Instead, it was a passive intimidation move, letting Elliot's gaze wander to the thick scars that were firmly imbedded into my skin.

And it seemed to work, as the man instantly recoiled, seemingly losing some of his confidence. "I... I see. And... and why are you... here?"

Humming lightly, I rested my head against my knuckles, feeling the reassuring warmth from Drake pressed against my side.

"My former mate forcefully rejected me." I said with a motion to my scars, catching how Elliot's expression paled when his eyes followed my scarred hand. "Drake was so kind to make me a part of his pack. And I guess.... We'll see... what happens next..."

I didn't mean to trail off but, even with the mask I put up in front of Elliot... I was still nervous. My brain knew Drake only had the best intentions, would never hurt me.... But my heart, scarred and bruised, still whispered venomously in my ear.

That's what you thought of Max too... and look where you ended up.

Fingers gently squeezed my neck in reassurance before Drake cleared his throat, drawing Elliot's attention to him. "Elliot." He sighed, rubbing his hands over his face with tired frustration.

"I've told you time and time again, that rejection is permanent. You can't just come running every time there is someone I may be remotely interested in, especially when I finally found someone I want to devote my time and attention to."

Elliot stiffened, fingers digging into the palms of his hands. "But what if we can fix this? If he gets between the progress of our bond-"

Drake raised a palm up, cutting off his ex mid speech. "First of all, there is to fix. I've told you time and time again that there is no bond to salvage here. If you wanted our bond to remain, you should've thought of that before you rejected me."

Elliot recoiled at that while I tucked my legs underneath me, keeping silent to observe the pair.

"Secondly," Drake's eyes became cooler, couldn't prevent the scowl from furrowing his brow. "if I recall correctly, you were the one who rejected me. You didn't let our so-called bond stop you from choosing someone else as your desired mate."

I could feel his anger cling to the air, stifling the room as his wolf was close to the surface. "Not only did you reject our bond before it had a chance to develop, you proceeded to stomp all over it because you decided for both of us that it would be best if we went our separate ways."

"You made your choice, Elliot." The Alpha spoke softly, tiredly. "Like you've always done. And now it's time I start to think about what I want. What we want." He amended with a smile in my direction.

That... that sounds really good.

Elliot remained silent and I could tell that the truth was slowly starting to sink in. Undoubtedly his wolf already knew, had always known what the consequences of their actions were.

I guess neither of them had thought that Drake would stop waiting for them. That he'd forever remain loyal to their former bond, that he wouldn't move on.

And now I realized that what Drake had tried to explain was true. That the rejecting partner had it easy in the beginning because they weren't bearing the full brunt if its brutal force.

It wasn't until their actions caught up to them, months, years later, that the full force of the rejection washed over them.

Elliot's lip wobbled before he bit into it, looking down at his fisted hands. Eyes flitting to the side, I felt a hint of worry curl in my stomach at the resigned, almost dull expression on Drake's face.

One that instantly warmed and gentled when I leaned into him. Fondness and joy warring with one another as his fingers gently folded around my shaking ones, helping to stretch out tensed muscles.

A stifled sob made both of us aware of the now crying Elliot, who was hiding his face within his hands. Fully realizing the irreversible impact he has caused upon Drake.

Upon their utterly destroyed bond.

"I'm sorry it took you this long to realize what you've done." Drake spoke softly, giving my hand a gentle squeeze. "But I'm happy you did because as awfully cheese as it sounds, I wouldn't have met Kyle if you hadn't rejected me."

This time Elliot wasn't the only one choking back tears, as I could tell Drake wasn't lying.

He genuinely was grateful for Elliot rejecting him, so he could've met me....

Is this guy for real?

No matter how hard I tried, tears welled up and flowed freely, making Drake croon gently as he rubbed them away. My fingers trembled harshly against his, probably caused from the suppressed emotion that threatened to overwhelm me.

"So...so...th-this is...is it?" Elliot's voice croaked past his sobs, eyes swollen, haunted with the knowledge he tried to suppress all along. "There...there's...no-nothing that...that can change?"

Drake slowly shook his head while Elliot fought to control himself, to get a grip on the situation. I cleared my throat, not certain if it was within my place to say something but...

Both of them needed closure.

"Why did you reject Drake?" I asked softly, feeling Drake's thumb brush over the back of my hand. "From what I know, you didn't even give him a chance. You let him wait and then thrusted your replacement mate in his face.

Elliot sniffled, rubbing over his eyes as he took a few shuddering breaths. His mouth opened and closed several times, as if wanting to start but knowing where to begin.

"My, um... my parents."

I raised my brows in surprise, chancing a look at Drake to see the same expression on his face. Elliot didn't look at either of us as he continued, "My father wasn't one of the lead Beta's at the Alpha's side but, he had a pretty decent rank before he found mom."

A tired chuckle slipped from the man as he pulled his knees to his chest, hugging them closely, as if needing the support. "Mother was... is higher ranking than him. An Alpha herself, their bloodline groomed to have high-ranking offspring."

"She wasn't cruel but... demanded absolute obedience, absolute submission from father. He respected her, naturally, but it seemed as if she needed to prove that, just because she was female, she still held the higher rank."

Elliot rubbed over his arms, eyes flitting to Drake and I understood as he continued, "I watched my father bend over backwards to please her, to soothe her fears. It isn't that common to have a female Alpha lead the back but he supported her the best he could, without seeming to want to raise up his own rank..."

"But I could tell how he struggled, how low his self-esteem became. How she discredited his achievements because he was a male who received everything on a silver platter, raising her own actions because she had the struggle of being born a woman..."

Elliot snorted, shaking his head, fingers digging into his arms. "Nobody cared about that. Perhaps her archaic family did but we didn't. That should've been enough..."

"Your father...is he?" I lowly asked, watching Elliot shake his head. "He's alive. A husk of what he was, claiming to be happily mated. Firmly under her tyrannical thumb."

Drake sighed softly, muscles relaxing as he finally understood, could finally move the rejection to the past.

"And you feared I would've done the same. You know nothing else when you grew up, but the fact that an Alpha mate would suppress their partner."

Elliot gave a slight nod, eyes welling over once more as he shivered with suppressed sobs. Drake smiled gently, looking at his ex with forgiveness.

"I think, even if you hadn't rejected me... it would've poisoned our relationship." He mused, making Elliot look up slowly, "You would've always seen your mother in me, wouldn't have been able to fully trust me. Elliot.... I think it's best if you get some help."

Drake gave my hand a reassuring squeeze before letting go to crouch in front of the exhausted Beta. "If you want, I can arrange a room and one of the pack's renowned therapists to come and have a talk. But you are carrying quite a burden from your past... and I don't see you moving on until you can at least lessen that burden."

Elliot took a deep, shuddering breath before he nodded. We spent only a few moments in silence before there was a knock on the door before Mark poked his head inside.

Drake explained the situation to his Beta before letting Mark guide Elliot out of the room. When the door closed behind them, Drake took a few deep, calm breaths before sighing loudly, cracking his neck.

"How do you feel?" I asked, smiling gently as he returned to the seat and sat beside me once more, this time turning in my direction.

"Good...I feel..." He closed his eyes and inhaled through his nose, letting the breath slip out of his mouth. "Better. Like a weight I didn't know was there has been removed. It'll take some time but, at least now I can understand, my wolf can understand..."

I nodded, tilting my head when Drake rubbed the back of his neck bashfully, opening and closing his mouth a few times before he chuckled.

"So, I guess... now it's our turn, right?"