The Cruelest Rejection

Freya's P.O.V:

Rich vanilla, dark chocolate, and roasted coffee.

The mouthwatering scent hijacked my heightened senses the second the wind shifted. My newly awakened wolf, Isolde, howled in pure, unfiltered joy. Driven by her excitement, my feet moved on their own, bypassing my rational thought. I chased the heavy fragrance through the winding halls of the packhouse. The pull dragged me up the stairs, guiding my steps all the way to the third floor. I kept my eyes closed, letting the intoxicating aroma dictate my path. The scent grew heavier, thicker, wrapping around me like a warm, comforting blanket. I stopped walking, my heart hammering against my ribs in eager anticipation.

I slowly opened my eyes.

'Mates,' Isolde cried out in my head.

But as my vision cleared, the magical fantasy shattered into jagged pieces. Standing before me under the pale moonlight streaming through the corridor window were the Triplets. Dante. Gideon. Silas.

The very same men who made it their life mission to ruthlessly torment my heart and soul for six agonizing years. Physically, they were breathtaking, sculpted by the Moon Goddess herself, explicitly made to love me. Dante stood tall with his permed jet-black hair and dark brown eyes, his sharp jawline bathed in the silver light. Gideon’s wavy chestnut hair fell perfectly over his striking hazel eyes, emphasizing his sharp features. Silas stared at me, his deep eyes shining, his cheekbones sharp enough to cut glass.

They were flawless. A treat to the heart.

But the brutal reality crashed down, suffocating my joy in an instant. They hated me. They would undoubtedly reject me.

Hot tears streamed down my face. Their initial expressions of shock twisted rapidly. The silence in the corridor stretched tight, thick with unspoken tension, until their handsome faces contorted into undisguised disgust. Pure, raw repulsion radiated from them.

'I can't believe it,' Gideon roared, his furious voice shaking the walls. 'Moon Goddess gave her as our mate!'

He swung his heavy fist. The sickening crunch of his knuckles hitting the solid plaster echoed through the empty hallway. The wall cracked under his brutal punch, dust raining down onto the floor. Isolde whimpered in my mind, hurt by his aggressive behavior. I lowered my gaze to the wooden floorboards. The deep disgust in his eyes was too heavy to bear.

'I fucking hate it!' Dante shouted in a raw fury. He grabbed a heavy decorative vase from a nearby table and smashed it against the floorboards.

I flinched at the loud crash. Shards of ceramic scattered across the wood, skittering toward my boots.

Heavy, aggressive footsteps approached me. The distance closed in a second. Rough fingers grabbed my face with a harsh, unyielding tight grip, forcing my head up. Silas. His skin against mine sent electric sparks shooting through my veins, but the mate bond magic meant nothing against the coldness in his stare. Just two weeks ago in the hospital, he had been soft and kind. Now, his dark eyes blazed with uncontainable anger.

'Listen, you piece of sh*t,' he spat directly into my face, his breath hitting my skin. The grip on my cheeks tightened until blinding pain flared across my skin, promising dark bruises by morning. 'We will never accept you as our mate. So from now get that in your head.'

He shook my face roughly. 'I, Silas...'

He took a breath to utter the formal, ancient words of rejection. I clamped my eyes shut tightly, bracing my body for the excruciating physical and mental agony of a severed bond. Rejection was the greatest pain a werewolf could ever face. I waited for the tearing of my soul.

But Gideon’s large hand shot out and grabbed Silas's shoulder, stopping him mid-sentence.

'No, Silas,' Gideon ordered.

Did he just change his mind? A pathetic, fleeting spark of hope ignited in my chest. Maybe they couldn't bear to let me go. Maybe the bond was too strong for them to break.

'It wouldn't be enough just to reject her,' Dante snarled, stepping closer. His imposing Alpha aura pressed down on my lungs, making it hard to draw breath. The thick venom in his voice suffocated that tiny spark of hope.

'She needs to feel the pain. She needs to pay,' Gideon added, his voice vibrating with pure, unadulterated hatred for the daughter of a supposed traitor.

My eyes widened in sheer terror. They wanted me to go through more pain than rejection.

'We won't reject her instead...' Dante trailed off, a cruel sneer forming on his lips.

Silas finished their dark, twisted vow, his stare cold and devoid of any humanity. 'We will show her what real pain is by using the Matebond.'

My heart sank into my stomach. The coldness in his declaration promised a brand new, unimaginable level of real hell. They were going to weaponize the sacred bond meant for love and protection. By keeping the bond unbroken but denying the mating, they would leave my wolf and my soul in a state of perpetual, starving agony. Had I not already gone through enough pain in this packhouse? Isolde cried endlessly in my mind. She just awakened today, and now she faced a waking nightmare. I stood helpless, unable to protect her or myself.

'Get ready to face the real hell, Freya Vance,' Gideon spat. He turned his back on me and stormed off down the corridor.

Dante sneered, shaking his head in disgust before following his brother into the shadows.

Silas held my face for a few seconds longer, his grip punishing. Then he shoved me forcefully by my shoulders. I crashed hard onto the wooden floor, the impact jarring my bones. He walked away without casting a single backward glance, leaving me in the dust.

Left alone in the dark corridor, surrounded by shattered ceramic and the fading scent of my mates, I broke down. My chest heaved with gut-wrenching sobs.

'I can't bear it anymore God, I can't,' I cried out into the empty space.

I pulled my knees to my chest. 'I lost my mom, dad, Helena aunty, Hector uncle, my everything. Why I needed to lose my mates also! Why!'

I screamed the last part at the moon shining through the open window, begging the heavens for an answer.

'My mates hate me. Why! What's my fault? Is it my fault that I wanted happiness? Or my fault that I wanted to be loved? Tell me! Tell me!' I sobbed loudly, my voice cracking under the weight of my grief.

I glared up at the silver orb in the sky. 'Why couldn't you give me someone who would love me? Who would save me from all these tortures? Who will care for me! Protect me! Not the one who tortures me.'

Amid my endless, suffocating despair, my wolf finally broke her silence.

'We are not weak,' Isolde said, her voice a steady, powerful anchor in the raging storm of my grief.

'I can't bear this anymore, Isolde. I'm tired of it,' I replied, tears blurring my vision.

'Don't forget the promise you made to your dad. You'll have to fulfill it.'

The devastating memory flashed through my mind. Standing by his grave, making a solemn vow to Arthur Vance. I promise you dad, I'll find the real culprit and I'll show everyone the Gamma's true colors.

I wiped my hot tears with the back of my trembling hand. Isolde was right. I could not afford to die of a broken heart. I had incredibly important things left to do. I had to clear my father's name and expose Gamma Malachi's treachery to the entire pack.

'You're right. I have so many important things to fulfill,' I whispered into the dark. Isolde hummed in agreement, her presence lending me a fraction of her unyielding strength.

I picked myself off the cold floor. Ignoring the ache in my body, I ran frantically back to my small room. I pushed the door open and collapsed face-first onto the thin mattress, burying my face in the pillows.

My hand reached under the bed, pulling out the small wooden box I kept hidden from the rest of the pack. I opened the lid with shaky fingers and pulled out my dad's silver locket. I clutched the cold metal tightly against my chest, seeking his warmth, seeking any scrap of comfort in this cruel world.

'I miss you dad. I really miss you,' I sobbed loudly into the quiet, lonely room. My tears soaked the sheets beneath me.

I held the locket closer, my knuckles turning white. The crushing pain of losing everything weighed down on my chest, threatening to suffocate me. Even my fated mates were taken from me by a cruel twist of fate, turned into my greatest tormentors.

'I love you, dad. I'll always love you. I'll unfold the truth. I'll stay strong,' I cried, the words tumbling out between ragged breaths.

I lifted the locket to my lips and kissed the cool silver. 'I know you weren't the traitor. I'll prove it to everyone.'

Overwhelmed by the crushing pain of my reality, I let out mournful, heartbroken cries. The agony of the un-severed mate bond already pulsed in my veins, a constant, sickening reminder of the hell awaiting me tomorrow. I lay in the dark, clutching the locket, crying until the emotional and physical exhaustion finally dragged me down into a fitful, restless sleep.