Pregnant And Rejected By My Alpha Mate By Caroline Above Chapter 21
Chapter 21
Day of the Ceremony
Belene’s POV
My fingers anxiously trace the flowers embroidered into the bodice of my wedding gown it’s a delicate
white contera weightless and ethereal I look more like a wood nymph than a bride.
I remember the day we chose it, Bastien and ill was the first dress we found that did notpletely
overpower my w frame three years ago. We tried countless others first, but the moment i stepped into
the gossamer fabric i wen tace said it all.
This is the way of rejection ceremonies Marriages end as they begin.
We will wear the same clothes, meet at the same moonlit altar with friends and family looking on, we’ll
even y the samnem Vet instead of vows to love and keep each other we will vow to part. Instead of
exchanging rings we’rar more then, and instead of shifting to run together beneath the stars, we’ll
divide, forging new paths in directions of our own choosing
Of course, Bastien and I never ran together in the first ce. We walked through the forest hand in
hand, a sweet concession for the loss of my wolf.
Tonight I expect he will shift, and I have a fairly good idea where he’ll run rather to whom he’ll run.
I’ve reyed my conversation with Arabe over and over in my head. At first I thought I must have
misheard her, after all Bacon himself told me Arabe was his mate. Yet the more I ponder our
conversation the clearer it bes Bastien is my mate, or the would have been if I still had Luna, It
exins why I always felt connected to him, why he always made me feel safe.
Those horrible women at Gabriel’s birthday were right, I am too broken to be anything but a burden. My
one chance to be whole might have been finding the man the goddess chose for me, but fate had other
ns.
My mate doesn’t want me without my wolf.
Who could?
Teardrops pool on myshes and I suck in a shaky breath, trying to tell myself that one day I might find
a wolf who is able to look past my shorings. One day I might be enough for someone, somewhere.
The tears fall anyway, rolling down my cheeks in gray rivulets of mascara, It doesn’t matter if I’m
enough for someone else The only person I want is Bastien, and no matter what I do, or how long I live
he will never want me.
Bastien’s POV
I used to have nightmares about losing Selene, now those horrible dreams are bing a reality. In
less than an hour, we are going to formally end our marriage and part forever.
Axel has been giving me the silent treatment for days, protesting my decision to go through with the
ceremony. I’m not any happier about it than he is, but I have to do this for Selene. This is what being an
Alpha is all about, I rernind my stubborn wolf, taking care of others, putting their needs above your own.
Being an Alpha is also about being in control. He replies grumpily. Do you feel in control right now?
No. We both know I don’t. I haven’t been able to eat or sleep for days. I haven’t been able to think
about anything other than the fact that I will never get to hold my mate in my arms again. Not only that,
I’m going to have to watch her build a life with another wolf – an idea that not only makes me feel
completely unhinged, but positively murderous.
So rather than focusing on things that are truly important like ise’s hunt for Vna wolves or my
Alpha training. I’ve been wallowing in grief and fantasizing about winning Selene back.
The ne Arabe helped me pick out is sitting on my dresser, wrapped up in a velvet box and
decorative paper. When 1 bought it I told myself it was merely a parting gift for Selene, a token of
appreciation for our years together and good will for the future. But deep down I imagined it might
convince her to give me another chance.
Ridiculous. Axel chides, apparently feeling very vocal now that he’s finally speaking to me again. You
think a pretty trinket is going to tell her something three years of marriage couldn’t?
A growl rumbles in my chest. He’s right of course, there’s nothing I can do or say that will change
things now. It’s toote. It was probably toote when we met. Selene’s heart belonged to another
years and years before I came along.
It’s time I ept it. I have to let us both move on.
With a heavy sigh, I toss the gift box into the trash.
Gabriel’s POV
I’ve always hated wearing suits. If I had it my way, I’d remain in my wolf form day and night, but drafting
laws and signing treaties is difficult without thumbs. My fingers tug at the windsor knot choking off my
air supply, fumbling with the annoying garment as read over the rejection agreement in my hand.
Disappointment and regret churn deep in my belly. This is not the path I hoped my son would walk. His
marriage to Selene started on difficult footing, but the struggle was never between them. For all the
horror of her past, I truly thought Selene had found peace with Bastien.
The sweet little wolf was afraid of her own shadow, but she was never afraid of her mate, and caring for
Selene had softened Bastien in so many ways. Watching her heal and witnessing them grow together
made Odette and I endlessly happy; we were both shocked speechless when they announced the
rejection ceremony.
He won’t admit it, but I know Bastien is heartbroken. Under any other circumstances I might be angry at
the person responsible for his pain, but I know it isn’t Selene’s fault. In the end I suppose Garrick’s
torture was too much to ovee. If anyone is to me it’s him, or the Goddess herself. How could
she allow one of her creations to suffer such cruelty?
The terrace curtains rustle, diverting my wolf’s attention. I drag my eyes from the document on my
desk, eyeing the fluttering fabric curiously. The doors were closed when I entered my office, and no one
has entered since.
I haven’t heard a sound, but an unmistakable draft of cool air wafts through the room. My hackles raise
as I scent a strange wolf, my mind racing to understand how anyone could have gotten past my
heightened senses. My gaze jumps to the goblet of wine by myputer, but before I can examine it,
the curtains part.
A shadowy figure emerges in my periphery, illuminated by the dim terracenterns. He’s tall and thin,
dressed in all ck and exuding undisguised hostility. Green eyes glow in the darkness, but I can’t see
anything more of his face.
“Whatever yourint,” I begin, for it’s clear that’s what he has, “only cowards hide in the shadows.
Be a man and show yourself.”
“Show myself?” His voice sounds familiar, yet I can’t ce it. “You mean you don’t recognize me,
Uncle?”
My heart skips a beat. “Frederic?”
“You look surprised, Gabriel.” Heughs humorlessly. “I suppose it’s no wonder. You probably forgot I
existed after you killed my father.” I see it all too clearly now. His resemnce to my brother is
unmistakable, even without good light. “Did it never matter to you that he had a family?”
“I was his family.” I remind him sharply. “He betrayed me, and he betrayed you and your mother.” I can
barely hold onto my train of thought. I’m now certain he drugged me, another coward’s move. “If he
truly cared for you he never would have done anything that might take him away from you. He had only
himself to me.”
The young man’s fists clench at his sides. “You really are a heartless bastard.” He hisses. “I figured
anyone who could kill their own flesh and blood would be – but I hadn’t imagined you would show so
little remorse.”
This belongs to N?velDrama.Org.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.” I snarl, “You have no idea how much it hurt me to fight your
father. It was the hardest thing I have ever done, or ever will do.”
“I don’t believe you.” Frederic spits.
“And what do you mean to do about it?” I demand, practically swaying on my feet. “Why are you here?”
“I’m here to finish my father’s work.” The words barely have time tond before heunches into an
attack. My foggy brain jerks me out of his path just in time, but I’m too slow to deflect his rebound
assault. ws rip into my back as I stumble forward, triggering the shift.
I only transform part way, spinning around to face him before he can sink his teeth into my throat. I
launch my body into his, knocking him to the floor and rolling in a vicious tangle of iling limbs as we
both attempt tond blows.
He’s young and strong, and I am about as agile as a drunk, but he is still no match for me. I’ve been
Alpha for longer than he’s been alive, I was fighting wars while he was still in diapers.
I throw the insolent pup over my head, lunging for him as he bounces across the floor. As one we shift
fully, and my wolf takes over. I close my jaws around his hind leg, dragging him yelping and whining
over the carpet.
Pain dtes his pupils, the ck pools slowly eroding his irises to a neon corona. In the light Frederic’s
gray fur is so simr to his father’s it takes my breath away. For a moment my addled mind believes it is
my brother beneath me, returned from beyond the grave.
A single moment of hesitation is all it takes. I freeze for a fraction of a second, and Frederic’s ws tear
through my carotid artery.
Blood gushes from my body, draining my life in a relentless flood. As thick, coppery liquid fills my
mouth, Frederic shifts back to human form, standing over me with a callous grin. “You’ve lost, old man.”
He announces snidely. “And Bastien is next.”
My growles out as a strangled gurgle, and my nephewughs. “His little mate too, and their pup.”
Confusion furrows my brow, and hisugh bes an outright cacklé. “Oh that’s right. Frederic taunts.
“You don’t know: Selene’s pregnant.”