I stared as my mate - gasp - ran away from me and my best friend walks away soon afterwards.

After a moment, I turn around to face the crowd of shocked faces concerned for me. I can see their wheels turning and some people already mind linking someone else to tell them the news. The future Alpha got mated to an omega. An omega he despises. Not only that, but a male one.

How the fuck did I get stuck with a boy for mate?

Seriously, Goddess? I'd understand teaching me a lesson by pairing me with Olivia, Rachel... But why a boy? You do know I'm straight, right? Is your WiFi having issues on the Moon? Because I could've e-mailed you that in case you needed. I'm available.

I walked slowly past everyone's freaked out stares at me. Then, I went passed my jaw dropped looking parents to get inside the house. And I hid myself in my bedroom. My parents thanked everyone for their presence and politely send them on their way. There's no mood for celebration anymore.

Not like if Ash would've been my...

My Goddess, poor Ash! I didn't even check on her. I hope she forgives me, though it's not really my fault. I'm not the one responsible for this mess. I'm not even the one who chased away my mate - gasp - or my best friend. It's just the way the cookie crumbled.

I cried myself to sleep. I really did. My pillow got so wet I needed another one.

I woke up late on Monday, though that's to be expected on winter break and my birthday.

I got downstairs to the dining room to get some breakfast and the household staff wished me happy birthday along the way. The maids, the cooks, gardener, everyone. It's so lovely. Most of whom I grew up with as they worked at the pack house.

I also got hugs from visitors and some other residents. Like I said, we have unmated warriors and pack members living with us. They all congratulated me - those who weren't already out, working - and it felt nice, despite everything.

Soon enough, I felt a hug from my mom. I basked in her warm embrace. She had set aside some breakfast for me on the microwave and I thanked her for it. She kissed me and let me go on my way.

I ate my breakfast alone and I commiserated over not seeing my best friend in the house, like he always comes. That's a tough pill to swallow, specially on my birthday. I thought about calling or even visiting him, but quickly shot that down. If he wanted to see me, he'd make himself available to me.

That doesn't seem to be happening any time soon. Not that I blame him particularly.

If he got mated to Ash, I'd be pissed too. So, I get it. Ironically, now I kinda hope they get mated to each other, to be honest. She deserves a good guy, even if it can't be me.

Tears come to my eyes reminiscing all this. After I washed the dishes, I stepped out of the kitchen only to hear a familiar voice.

My dad calls me from his office. It's soundproof, but the door was open. So...

"Good morning, dad." - I greeted him, dreading this conversation already.

He looked distraught. He was gobsmacked yesterday after the revelation. But now he just looks nervous and worried, which in turn got me to feel it too.

"Morning, son. Close the door." - He replied in a troubled tone.

Fuck. fuck, fuck. Is he going to ban me from Alpha for being mated to an omega?

Because I'll die if he does. Not even exaggerating!

"Listen son, I'm gonna be straight with you. I've been taking calls all morning from Council members--"

"Are they demanding you to pick another successor?" - I gasped at the realization. I'm utterly shocked. Way to ruin my birthday.

"Don't interrupt me!" - Dad chastised me, looking mad. I lowered my head in shame.

"All of them heard about what happened last night and they're worried about you getting rejected by your mate." - He explained in a deeply concerned tone. He looked genuinely wrecked. I know my ascension means as much to him as it does to me. It's a century old tradition.

I sighed in relief. Though I may have jumped the gun a little.

"So, they're not blocking me from Alpha?" - I double checked, fearfully.

"NO! You can't be blocked from Alpha on account of who your mate is! This isn't the 80's!" - Dad yelled at me. I think he's being conservative about the decade, but I have to pick my battles.

"I see..." - I mumbled.

"You need to talk to your mate. We need to see where he's at. And most importantly, we need to reassure the Council that you're not getting rejected. It was just cold feet." - Dad argued in a concerned tone. He's not reacting to my mating an omega as badly as I thought.

The Council is to a werewolf pack its oversight collegiate. That means they oversee the work the Alpha and Beta do. They check the pack books, expense reports, and they hear any complaint made against the Alpha or Beta.

It's worth stressing that no one outranks the Alpha. And the Beta only answers to him.

However, if the Council finds that any of them is abusing their power or involved in corruption of any kind, they alone have the power to remove any of the aforementioned from office. Or the power to block someone from ascending in the first place, which is why my dad is so worried for me.

It's all about checks and balances. Alpha power is too great for it to go unchecked.

You can refuse a command from the president of the United States. But you can't refuse an Alpha's command. Not if you want to live, anyway.

And since there's no Alpha without a Luna, I can certainly understand their concern.

I can't be one if I get rejected by my mate. Not at all. How am I supposed to have an heir without a Luna? Gasp! Though that's gonna be a bumpy ride, I can see it now...

Dad stared at me silently for a few minutes, waiting...

"You mean talk to him now?" - I gasped, once I realized it.

"No, son, wait for the Council to announce another successor. Yes now! Go!" - He yelled, gesticulating me out of his office. I winced at his words and left in a haste.

After I returned from Elliot's home without him receiving me, I felt crushed. I felt powerless.

How can I be mated to the one boy who'd refuse me?

Any other omega would count themselves lucky. But not the only omega in the world to defeat an Alpha in combat. I thought about asking Simon for help, but it seems too fucked up to ask your best friend for help to conquer HIS boyfriend. Jesus...

I hid myself inside my room, embarrassed. But I do need to eat.

At nightfall, we're having dinner, just me and my family.

"Have you talked to Simon yet, son?" - Mom asked me, curiously. She knows how big of a deal it is that he's not here with me on this day. Everyone does.

"Not yet, mom. I'm trying to give him space to process." - I replied, sounding more broken and defeated than I realized.

"Did you talk to him, son?" - Dad asked me, intrigued. I was counting out the seconds in my head until this.

"He wouldn't receive me in his house." - I replied, devastated. I'm deeply ashamed and embarrassed. Nothing I ever thought I'd feel on my birthday.

"I'm sorry, brother. I really am." - Zach comforted me from his seat at the table. He looked worried for me. Join the club, bro.

"Try again tomorrow, son." - Dad suggested, though it's not really a suggestion, is it?

"Dad, what will happen if he gets rejected?" - Jess asked him in a curious tone. The vultures are already circling. Jesus!

"He knows what will happen, Jessica. Try to be supportive of your brother. He needs the entire family now." - Dad shot back in his short temper mood. Say what you want about my dad, but you can't say he's not supportive of his children. Plus, she fucking knows what'd happen if I get rejected. And so does everyone.

"Yes, dad." - She replied in a dry tone, rolling her eyes.

On Tuesday, I waited till late afternoon to go to his house because he left to shop with his mom.

How do I know this?

Because I went to his house and no one was there. And his mom's car wasn't in the garage.

But I'm not a quitter. So I returned over there before dinner.

Some time later, I'm dining at the pack house looking more defeated than ever.

"He refused to talk to me. I can't barge into his house and make him." - I explained to my dad, sounding pissed off.

"No one is telling you to break and enter the house of the most feared warriors of the pack. Okay? Calm down!" - Dad replied in a terrible mood. He's seriously worried for me. Legit.

"I'm so sorry, son. I can't keep the Council at bay any longer. They call me about it almost every hour. And I can't lie to them, otherwise lose my job!" - Dad raised his tone, scaring everyone. But more than anything, he looked deeply distraught.

"Of course not, dad. I'm just asking for patience." - I argued in a troubled tone.

"Yeah, I tried. Werewolves are not the most patient creatures. If you don't return with an answer from him by tomorrow, I'll be forced to make other arrangements." - Dad declared and I gagged. All of us did.

"What? What arrangements, dad?" - I yelled, sounding very distraught.

"I don't know yet. But I can't keep them in the dark, I need to tell them something. If it's not you, then..." - He looked at the twins, who were gobsmacked at this.

I break down in tears. My mom rushed to my side, hugging me.

"I can't lose Alpha! It's not fair! I did nothing wrong! I beg you, dad! Don't let them take this away from me!" - I unraveled in tears and despair. Mom's by my side, comforting me as much as she could. The twins are absolutely floored. Dad stared at me in deep sorrow.

Elliot picked me up from the floor and carried me inside his house. Not many omegas could carry an Alpha larger in build and taller than them. But he's a different breed, so to speak.

I'm wrecked. I'm unresponsive. I lost my fight completely.

He sat me at a chair in the kitchen, which is the closest room in the house passed the front door.

"Can I get you some water? A hot tea?" - He asked me, politely. I said nothing, only looked down.

I'm dripping from head to toe. I'm dirtying his house floor, but I'm too wrecked to care about anything. If I can't be Alpha, my life is over. I cannot stand the shame. I just can't.

Elliot stared at me for a moment, watching my pitiful state.

"I'm sorry. I can't let you be like this. You're soaking wet, you're gonna catch a cold and I can't be blamed if you get pneumonia." - He stated in a concerned tone, looking worried at me.

He lifted me up again and put me over his shoulders. He unceremoniously carried me up the stairs - and I'm fucking heavy, no joke - and sat me on the toilet of his bathroom.

He then proceeded to take off my drenched shirt, which he left on the floor. He knelt before me and unzipped my pants. I got wide eyed at this, but said nothing.

But he noticed my spooked self.

"Don't worry, I'm not doing this to see you naked." - He snickered.

If only that was our problem... He's seen me naked more times than Ashley, who I dated for four years. Though we didn't start with the naked activities til much later in the relationship.

After he removed my pants and underwear, he lifted me up again and got me in the shower box, starting the hot water while he held me still. He got himself wet, of course, but he bathed me without much difficulty.

Then he got a towel for us, but not before removing his own wet clothes.

He wrapped me and himself, took me to his bedroom and dropped me onto his bed.

He took out two pair of pajamas, t-shirts and underwear from his wardrobe.

He removed his towel to dry himself off and I couldn't help but notice his physicality for the first time in my life. I mean, I've seen him naked before plenty. But now I'm really noticing it. He's so well built. His body is as strong as any of the boys from the wrestling team. He's only smaller than all of us. That's it.

He got into an underwear, t-shirt and pajamas, then knelt in front of me. He moved to get the towel wrapped around my waste but I held it from him. He tried once more and I kept it in place yet again.

"You're not dead. That's good. But you don't need to hide your penis from me. I can smell your stench in the room." - He smirked, confidently. I was trying to preserve him, but have at it.

He removed the towel from me and was exposed to my hard self. He didn't even blink.

He dried me off like it's nothing, dressed me in an underwear - though it's difficult to fit me in this state - without touching any 'improper' part of me. He proceeded to dress me in a t-shirt and a pajama set as well.

"I'm gonna deal with our wet clothes, grab us something to drink and I'll be right back." - He announced it once I'm dressed. He collected our towels and left.

I collapsed on his bed, scenting his odor that I didn't even realize I needed to scent.

It's impossible to explain how comforting for me his scent is now. It's nothing like I've ever sensed before in my life. So sweet and intoxicating, but in a good way.

Specially this early in the mate bond, I need his scent more than anything else. It's a wolf thing. We're deeply oriented by our sense of smell. And nothing calms us more than our mate's pheromones.

I basked in his sheets, so comforting, so calming to my troubled soul. Next thing I know, I drift off to sleep.

Some time later, I wake up with a hand caressing my hair. I'd get startled by the strange room I'm in, but the touch is so soft it got me drooling. Though that could be from the good nap I just had.

I opened my eyes and I see the owner of the hand gazing at me. I got up from his bed into a sitting position.

"I'm sorry for barging into your home. And I'm sorry for sleeping in your bed. It's the mate scent, it's doing something to me." - I explained in an embarrassed tone.

"I know. I wasn't raised in the jungle. I understand how it goes. You don't need to explain yourself to me. I'm not judging you for your hard on or for sleeping on my bed." - He snapped at me, making me blush at the recent memory.

"I apologize for that too." - I say, embarrassed.

"No need. Are you hungry? I made lunch for us." - He announced, surprising me.

"You did?" - I asked him, shocked.

"Well, I did for me. It seems rude not to feed you while you're here." - He smirked, making me giggle unintentionally.

"You shouldn't concern yourself with me. I can eat at my house." - I said, shyly.

"It's past lunch time at the pack house. Now you only have me." - He informed in a bragging tone.

"Goddess! How long did I sleep?" - I gasped in shock.

"Relax! It's only 2 p.m." - He reassured me in a calming manner, not letting me stress about it.

"I guess let's have lunch then." - I surrendered, getting up from the bed.

We walked out of the bedroom and towards the kitchen.

"How do you know the pack house lunch time?" - I asked him intrigued, as we walked.

"It's a funny thing when you spend so much time dating the future Beta. You get to know stuff about the entire pack." - He snickered.

"Yeah. Don't remind me of him. He still hasn't talked to me since you left my party." - I spoke in a troubled tone.

"I wonder why..." - He smirked.

"Can you talk normally please? This is hard enough without you making fun of me! You have already destroyed my life, don't need to gloat on top of my misery!" - I snapped angrily, causing him to stop in his tracks.

He turned around in the living room on our way to the kitchen and stared at me, deeply into my eyes.

"I'm not rejecting you."