The Alpha's Secretly Powerful Rejected Mate

Aries POV:

The moment the private elevator doors slid shut. I leaned my head against the cool metal wall, my breath coming in ragged gasps.

My inner wolf was a raging tempest in my mind. "Go back! She is ours! Our mate is in pain!" it roared, clawing at the edges of my control.

I slammed my fist into the elevator wall, the dull thud echoing in the small space. Rejecting her had torn my own soul in two. The pain was a firestorm of a thousand silver needles stabbing every nerve in my body.

But I had no choice. It was my brother Caleb's dying wish.

The elevator opened into the private underground garage. My car was waiting. I slid into the driver's seat but didn't start the engine, slumping back against the leather, exhausted.

I pulled an encrypted satellite phone from the glove compartment and dialed a number.

"It's me," I said, my voice hoarse. "It's done. I've rejected her."

The line was silent for a moment before an old, gravelly voice replied, "Good. For the greater good, Alpha, it is a necessary sacrifice."

"I know." I ended the call and tossed the phone onto the passenger seat. For Caleb's wish, for this "greater good," I had to protect Isla. Even if it meant abandoning my fated mate. It was the only way to make the wolves circling the Monroe Pack—the ones who coveted Caleb's true legacy—lower their guard.

I finally started the car, the engine's roar a welcome distraction from the howling in my soul. I drove out of the city, heading toward the suburbs where Isla was staying.

I arrived at the villa, a property under the Beaumont family name.

Isla's mother, Miranda Beaumont, greeted me at the door. Her face was a careful construction of concern, but her eyes held the sharp glint of a shrewd businesswoman. Her gaze swept over me, assessing my value.

"Aries, you're finally here. Isla has been waiting," she said, leading me inside.

Isla was on the sofa. Seeing me, she stood, a fragile smile on her face as her hand instinctively went to her still-flat stomach. It was a gesture I was beginning to despise.

"Aries," she said softly. "The call... was that Kira?"

I nodded, moving to the bar to pour myself a whiskey. Alcohol had little effect on werewolves, but the action gave my hands something to do, a way to mask the tremor of rage and pain.

"Is she... okay?" Isla asked, her eyes shining with false sympathy.

"I rejected her," I said, downing the amber liquid in one gulp. It burned my throat but did nothing to quell the fire in my soul.

Miranda's eyes lit up. "Did she accept it?" she asked, her voice sharp with eagerness.

She has to, I thought, not looking at her. Under an Alpha's formal Rejection, the only choices were acceptance, madness, or death.

"Good, that's good," Miranda breathed, relieved. "Aries, now that the Kira problem is solved, shouldn't we start planning your ceremony with Isla? You need a proper Luna. The Pack needs an heir."

My jaw tightened. This was their goal. Use the child to push Isla onto the Luna's throne.

Isla came up behind me, her arms wrapping around my waist. Her scent, a cloying floral, tried to soothe me but only sparked a wave of physical revulsion. It was artificial and cheap compared to Kira's, which smelled of rain-soaked earth and wild herbs.

"Aries, don't be angry with mother. She's just worried about us," Isla whispered.

I pulled away from her. "Taking care of you and this child is my responsibility," I said, turning to face them. "Anything else can wait."

The smiles on both their faces froze.

I knew I couldn't push them too hard, not yet. I softened my tone. "Isla, you need to rest. I'll stay here tonight. In the guest room."

The emphasis on "guest room" was a clear line drawn in the sand. Disappointment flashed in Isla's eyes, but she nodded obediently.

I walked to the guest room, a profound weariness settling over me. My mate was shattered because of me, and I was trapped here, honoring a promise to my brother by protecting a woman I couldn't stand.

I closed the door and slid to the floor, my back against the wood.

I shut my eyes, but all I could see was Kira's face, her green eyes wide with shock and a pain so deep it mirrored my own.

I'm sorry, Kira, I thought, the words a silent prayer. One day, I'll tell you everything.

But I knew, even as I thought it, that she might never forgive me.

Just then, my personal phone-my real one-vibrated. It was an encrypted message from my Gamma, the Pack's head of security. "Alpha, we've tracked an unfamiliar Rogue scent near Ms. Hayes's apartment building. Should we handle it?"

A new threat. Aimed directly at the woman I had just wounded so deeply.