The One 93


    Chapter 93: A Second Rejection?


    Sophie


    I chase after Margot who is running like someone lit her a***on fire. For a woman whose been


    recovering from a broken mate bond, she’s remarkably fast.


    “Margot. MARGOT!” I yell after her.


    She whirls around on me, her eyes wild. “I can’t. I can’t. I can’t do it again. Please don’t make me. I


    can’t do it again. I can’t, I can’t,” she says, breaking down into s**bs.


    I wrap my arms around her as she crumples to the floor, and I hold her while she gets a hold of


    herself.


    I begin rocking her, looking up to see Lucas and Kinsley. Lucas nods and leaves, Kinsley stays but


    keeps her distance.


    “No one is going to make you do anything, Margot. No one. I won’t allow it. Hunter won’t allow it.


    You came to us for protection and safety and that’s what you’re going to get. We do not allow public


    imings in this pack and we do not allow mates to force their mark on their mates. Everything in


    this pack is consensual. You will not be forced into anything,” I say to her as I rock her. She’s


    holding on to me like I’m a lifeline and she’s a drowning woman.


    “Why? Why would the Moon Goddess do this to me? What did I do wrong?” she s**bs.


    I look at Kinsley who presses her lips together and walks over,


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    rubbing Margot’s back. “Maybe you didn’t do anything wrong, Margot. Maybe you did something


    right,” Kinsley says.


    “How can you say that? You know what it’s like,” Margot says, looking up at Kinsley fear and anger


    in her eyes.


    “I do. And that’s why I can say that. Joshua was an a** I don’t even know the man, but I feel


    confident in saying that. I do know Alpha Ezra though. He was mated to Alpha Hunter’s sister, so I


    met him several times over the years. Before your make any rash decisions, think about this. Hunter


    told him to let you go just now, not to chase after you, and he didn’t fight him, he didn’t try to get toN?vel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive ? material.


    you. I know the pull of the mate bond. I’m assuming it’s just as strong for second chance mates?”


    she asks.


    Margot nods.


    “So, it must have taken a lot of effort on his part to control his wolf and walk away from you to give


    you the space you need right now.”


    She takes a deep breath, sitting up. “Where is he?” she asks, wiping her eyes. I watch as she


    begins to transform back into a well put together Luna. It’s a bit unnerving to me as I watch her dry


    her eyes, set her face back into a normal, passive look and take another deep breath before


    standing up. I wonder how frequently she’s had to hide behind this mask.


    “He went with Alpha Hunter to his office.”


    I stand as well, watching Margot. “I’d like to go to my room for the rest of the day. ll join you for the


    execution tomorrow, but I need some time.”


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    Take all the time you need, Margot,” I say, and she nods again before heading toward her room.


    She stops and turns to look at


    “Thank you for keeping me safe like you said you would.”


    “I don’t offer temporary safety here. That’s not to say we don’t have to fight for it, but Hunter and I


    are firm in our beliefs. For what it’s worth, I think Alpha Ezra has also had a change of heart and is


    now on board with the changes that Hunter and I have been fighting for.”


    She nods again but doesn’t say anything as she walks away.


    I turn and look at Kinsley. “Does it ever get boring here?”


    “Not since you arrived,” she says, smiling and putting her arm through mine as we walk back toward


    the main living area. I want to check on my mate and Alpha Ezra.


    Margot POV


    I spent a sleepless, restless night tossing and turning. I heard what Beta Kinsley says about Alpha


    Ezra, and I’ve seen him in the Committee of Alpha meetings. He’s always been very reserved and


    very quiet, but when he does speak, he seems to have valuable insights.


    His scent of cedar and eucalyptus had been intoxicating, but I can’t risk it. I can’t be bound to a man


    who will mistreat me again. I won’t do it. I need to reject him. I don’t know if another rejection so


    soon will kill me, if he doesn’t ept it, maybe it won’t. If he does…well then, maybe Joshua will be


    too weak to


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    ber


    attack if I die since he didn’t ept my rejection either. Maybe It’s for the best.


    Because I have so much restless energy this morning, I get up for warrior training. Alpha Hunter


    hasn’t let me spar yet, saying I’ m still recovering from my rejection, but I need to work off some of


    this energy today.


    I get dressed and head downstairs. Alpha Hunter isn’t out here yet, so I jog up to Beta Lucas.


    “Beta, I’d like to spar today,” I say to him.


    “Have you spoken to Alpha Hunter?” he asks me.


    “I was hoping I’d see him this morning.”


    “He’s been runningte since he found his mate,” he says, smiling. I give him a fake smile. I know


    that that means, and I know it’s not the same for Sophie as it was for me, but I don’t want to think


    about that. My mind is already all over the ce.


    “You can warm up with us, but it will be up him if you can spar, Margot.”


    “I understand,” I say, and I put myself in the back of the group. I know I’m out of shape, I haven’t


    sparred in years, but I really just need to hit something or someone this morning. If I can’t, I’ll settle


    for burning off this nervous energy.


    We go through the warm-up with Alpha Hunter jogging up about ten minuteste. I watch as Lucas


    smirks at him and Alpha Hunter just smiles before joining in.


    I catch the scent of cedar and eucalyptus and I know that Alpha


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    Ezra has joined the training session too. I should have thought of that He’s an Alpha. Most Alphas


    spar at least once, sometimes twice a day, to keep up their strength and keep their packs strong, I


    subtly move away from the scent and when the wann-up is over, I head straight to Alpha Hunter.


    “Margot, what are you doing here?”


    “Alpha, I’d like to spar today.”


    “Margot, I don’t think you’re ready yet. It’s only been a week…”


    “Please, Alpha. I need to…”


    “I’ll spar with her.” His voice sends waves of pleasure rolling down my spine and I turn, seeing Alpha


    Ezra watchin me.


    J


    I turn back to Alpha Hunter. I want to spar, but I’m not sure it’s worth it to spar with my second


    chance mate.


    “It’s up to you,” Hunter says.


    I hesitate, warring with myself over my wolf’s desire to be close to him and my fear of him.


    “Come on, Luna. I know you want the chance to hit an Alpha,” Ezra says.


    I turn and look at him now. It’s a challenge, a smart one. He may not know me, but I’m not the type


    of woman who backs down from a challenge.


    “And you’re offering yourself as my punching bag?” I ask mockingly.


    “You’d have to actuallynd a punch, but sure,” he says. It’s


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    teasing and challenging at the same time.


    Lift my chin. “Then I ept your offer.”


    ??? ?? ???


    Thear Alpha Hunter turn and leave us. “Try not to kill him,” he mumbles as he walks away. When


    we’re alone, I look at Alpha Ezra.


    “You should know…”


    He holds up a finger. “I can guess what you’re about to say. All I’ m asking is that before you make


    any drastic decisions, you give me a chance. I’ve lost one mate in this lifetime. I did a lot of things


    wrong in that rtionship. Now, I’m being given a to make that right. Please don’t take that away


    from me without getting to know me first.”


    He’s so sincere, the pain in his eyes so apparent, that I can do nothing but nod.


    Ce


    “Good. Now, as I’m sure you know, sparring means that we’re going to get really close. Before we


    begin, I want you to know that I have my wolf under control and I will not mark you, so you don’t


    need to worry about that. I wouldn’t anyway, but I have the utmost respect for Alpha Hunter, and I


    wouldn’t go against the rules of his pack.”


    I nod. “Thank you for telling me that.” It does make me feel better, although I hadn’t considered how


    close we’ll be while sparring. He’s an Alpha and most likely an excellent fighter. While I may have


    been a good fighter at one time, I’m very much out of practice.


    He takes a defensive posture and beckons me. “Let’s see what you’ve got, Luna.”


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    I’m no longer a Luna,” I say, getting into an attack posture.


    “Are you not?” he asks me. I know what he’s asking. If I’m his mate, that still makes me a Luna


    He beckons me forward again and I attack. Myck of practice is immediately evident, but Alpha


    Ezra is a great instructor. He gives me pointers, gently showing me my weak spots and making sure


    I’m covering them.


    He doesn’t let up and neither do I’m not sure how long we’ve been sparring, but my unused


    muscles are screaming at me. when he grabs the arm I’ve just thrown at him to punch him. He


    spins me around and wraps his arms around me, pinning my back to his chest, my arms pinned


    across my chest vrh his arms wrapped around them. We’re both panting, and I feel him run his nose


    through my hair.


    “You’re trying to fight me. Stop. You need to think about being in a battle. You need to think about


    fighting someone who is trying to kill you. You’re over thinking it. You have good instincts and good


    training, you’re just out of practice. We’ll pick this up again tomorrow,” he says quietly in my ear,


    before releasing me.


    I look around and realize that training is done, and the warriors are heading inside for breakfast.


    “Thank you, Alpha,” I say.


    “Any time, Luna,” he says. He’s smiling at me, but his eyes are full of heated desire as he watches


    me. “You’ll want to soak in a warm bath today. Your muscles will be feeling this workout.”


    I nod and turn to walk inside. I hadn’t expected him to truly spar with me. I thought he’d take every


    opportunity to touch me, and


    L


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    11 A Vouchers


    there were many, but he’d used every one of them as a learning opportunity.


    I turn and look at him over my shoulder, seeing him watching me as I walk away. Alpha Hunter


    walks up to him and says something. He responds without looking away from me.


    I turn to walk inside. He surprised me today and I put the thought of rejecting him to the back of my


    mind for now.


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