The Beta's Choice

4-Removal

Once the conversations are over and the alliances between the packs have been formed the meal is over. My family shuffle out first, I keep my head bowed in shame.

Of all the ways I imagined meeting my mate, this was the worst I could have ever imagined. Not only did he simply ignore me, he threatened me because I was a runt. I'm so disgusting to him he doesn't just want me to not be his mate, he want to punish me for it.

As soon as my feet hit the grass, my father and brothers turn on me.

"Runt-mate to the alpha of the fucking Red Wood pack, you certainly kept that under wraps didn't you, you little whore."

My mother moans in pain as my father grabs my hair and drags me along the path and towards our cabin. Even though my wolf is howling in the back of my mind to try to escape, I have no fight left in me after the rejection of my mate.

I'm thrown to the ground by my father, I'm sitting by the front door of our house, kneeling in the already crushed apples.

"You are his problem now, you don't come in the fucking house again."

My father spits on the floor by me, the force of the hatred splatters up to hit me in the face.

"Gamma, please." I beg as my father ushers the rest of my family inside the house, never taking his eyes off me.

"You, you sit there and wait for him to get you."

My mother tries to lag as she walks past me and I lean my face into the cloth of her skirt, breathing in the smell of my mother. My father notices what she's doing and harshly grabs her by the arm so she is forced into the house.

I'm left sitting on the chilling floor, with aching bones and a broken heart. I can feel the tears threatening to break through the barrier of my control as my lips begin to tremble. Not only do I not have a mate, I don't even have a family to support me.

Minutes or house pass as I shiver on the floor, pulling my knees up to my chest to keep me warm. Finally, the front door opens and my ears prick up in relief even if I don't show it on my face. My mother's shoes appear in my line of sight so I look up at her.

There are tears streaking down her cheeks and that's when I look down and notice the small plastic bag crammed with my stuff. My heart leaves my throat and aches in my chest, I've been kicked out of my own home.

"I'm sorry my baby." My mum whispers into my hair as she bends down to place the bag by my side. "I'll find a way to see you again Immy, I promise."

It doesn't go unnoticed by me that my mother hasn't mentioned my mate once. Everyone knows his reputation, he's a cruel, murdering rapist and now I'm his mate. I'll probably be doomed to the same fate as all the other women he chooses to bed. I'll be broken and then discarded into the role of rogue.

My mother leaves me, I still haven't found my voice and she understands. With a heavy sigh, my mum stands again and pats my shoulder as she walks past.

Suddenly, the reality of the situation dawns on me and I whip around quickly despite my aching and bruised bones.

"Mum." I whisper out hoarsely, for a second I panic that she can't hear me, but she turns and the biggest smile I've seen on her face in a long time is gifted to me. "I love you, I'll come back to you."

My mother smiles sadly and blows me one last kiss, I imagine my father is listening and waiting for her just outside the door. She can't say much of anything, we both know our time together has always been monitored... and now it's been removed.

The slam of the door makes me flinch and I press my face into my knees as the tears finally break the dams of my strength.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dawn is conquering the sunlit sky by the time I hear the crunch of gravel pricking my ears.

My mate has come for me.

My wolf whines with the need to properly look at my mate but I resist, he may be my mate but he resents who I am and he's an alpha. He's above me.

"So, here you are." His voice is cold and disdainful as he addresses me, my wolf whimpers, even after how he behaved at dinner, she still hopes that he will prove me wrong.

"We'll look up for fucks sake, let me see your fucking face." I flinch at the repeated, aggressive swear words that my brothers and father use so often around me, they hurt.

Trembling, I look up at him from my place on the floor. Some may see him as attractive, I don't. He has a cruel face with a curling lip that's permanently in a sneer. His eyes are a savage red and the way he looks at me makes him even more ugly.

He sighs heavily and points at me and then at the car I didn't realise had pulled up.

Nodding silently, I yet to my unsteady, weak legs and try not to stumble. When I'm standing, I feel more like a runt than ever. Like the beta, this wolf is bigger than my father, my beta and even my alpha. I barely come halfway up his chest and he notices that. His lip curls again before he sharply turns on his heel and stalks off.

Following after him, my plastic bag crinkling in the silent evening air. The alpha throws the door open and I wince at the force he uses, imagining that force and anger directed towards me.

I scrabble into the car and tuck my knees under my chest again as I try to suppress the shivers. I expect the alpha to climb into the passenger seat beside the driver but he doesn't. He slams my door shut making my teeth rattle in my head and then stalks off to another car.

Biting my lip, the tears spill out of my eyes once again. The driver doesn't even turn and look at the snivelling, sniffling she-wolf in the back of the car he merely rolls his eyes and then drives off after the car with my mate in.

Half an hour later, I'm bored out of my mind, I miss my books terribly. I'm too upset to imagine anything so instead I stare out of the window and watch the misty forest fly by.

I've not only been removed from my pack, it feels to me as though I've been removed from existence. No one here would care if I just disappears, one less runt for a mate, one less deadweight for the pack. It would be better if I was just gone...