The Alpha's Rejection

CHAPTER 9

MILLIE

I go upstairs to my bedroom, my heart beating so loud that I fear the guards will hear it. I close the door behind me. Adrenaline and guilt make me pace back and forth.

I locked the Alpha in the basement. He's likely beating the door right now, getting closer to breaking free with every pound of his meaty, vengeful fist. It might only take him a few minutes. I need to leave and make the best out of this night.

I change into dark jeans and a plain black t-shirt. A futile attempt at laying low. Surely, the entire pack knows I'm the runaway Luna kept away in the Alpha's mansion. No clothes will hide that.

If only they knew that tonight, their Alpha is the captured one.

I step into my sandals and rub my sweaty palms on my jeans. Then I catch a glimpse of the mark on my neck and remember that Leander brought this onto himself. He crossed the line too many times, and I need to remind him that I will always strike back.

I walk downstairs, my short hair in a ponytail, choppy and needing a trim. I keep my hands in my pockets and my head low, trying to become small. I'm not looking forward to the stares that will make my black clothes feel transparent.

I must admit my curiosity. There are friends I haven't heard from in five years and want to see how life turned out for them. Maybe I'll be flooded with memories of the past, when I was just a girl worried about fishing, TV and school. When Leander didn't exist. Maybe I'll forget about the present. About the mark on my neck, war in my heart and Alpha in the basement.

My guards walk behind me as I approach the bright lights and music in front of a pack house. Wolves run around, play-fighting, but most pack members are in their human form, talking and laughing under the moonlight. Wearing casual clothes, many of their feet bare and tucked into the grass. There's nearly a hundred people lingering, no children.

They sense me before I emerge from the shadows. Leander's scent is all over me, his mark creating an inescapable stamp.

Heads start to turn, and I walk slower, my steps falling unsurely.

"Luna, we can return home if you'd like," a guard offers.

"Don't be silly," I whisper. "I haven't had a single drink yet."

We enter the crowd, and it splits for us. I see familiar faces—a teacher, school peers, the carpenter that fixed my family's squeaky porch the summer I left, and my friend Janus.

Janus stares at me with wide eyes. Holding a beer like she always had when we were teenagers. I never said goodbye to her. The last time I saw her was when I realized my connection with Leander and I ran. I didn't reach out to her all this time because I didn't want to entangle her in my situation. I wanted her to live her life freely, avoiding Leander's scrutiny.

"Hey." I smile at her, my heart squeezing with sadness at the thought of all the years we lost. All the other stupid schemes we missed out on that didn't involve boys and seduction.

Her lips part, and she takes a shaky breath before replying, "Hey, Millie."

"Long time no see."

"I..." She licks her lips. "I'm glad you're okay."

I'm not. After five years on the run, after getting captured by Leander, I'm exhausted. But that's why I'm here now. I've materialized from shadows, doubt, and loneliness, to see what became of my people and find hope among their stories.

"Thanks. Have the years been good to you?" I ask her.

She smiles. "Yes. I met my mate. I'm a mother now."