Page 10 of Rejected by My Stepbrother Alpha (Billionaire Shifter Club #1)

H ope

Ivy

These last few weeks have been hell. When I saw Asher the day after we slept together, he acted like nothing had happened. He treated me with the same cool indifference he always did. Even though his father was in the hospital, wouldn't he react differently toward me after our night together?

The only explanation I could come up with was that Asher wanted to ignore the fact that we had slept together and move on with his life.

But that was difficult for me to do. I couldn't just move on after the best night of my life.

My dreams were filled with his addictive mouth on mine, his strong hands caressing every inch of my body, and the devoted look on his face when he entered me.

How was I supposed to forget that had happened?

After that, I’d spent most of my time in my room to avoid everyone and process what had happened.

But then obsessing over my impossible situation made me so physically ill, I couldn't get out of my bed most days.

Sometimes my anxiety and stress would build up so much that I would run to my bathroom and throw up.

The nausea had to be due to my stress about Asher and the remorse that plagued me when it came to my stepdad.

Guilt ate away at me for not visiting Russell in the hospital.

Frequently, I prayed to the Moon Goddess for him to get better.

My mother was pissed that I hadn't been coming with her to visit Russell.

She said that it didn't look good that I wasn't playing the worried daughter.

Her saying that made me feel even more sick. Was this all just a game to her?

Some nights, when I was feeling up to it, I would sneak to the pack's hospital and stand outside Russell's hospital room to check on him.

I'd make sure Asher was asleep before I poked my head in.

I'd always gaze at Asher's handsome face during those times and wonder why he wanted to act like nothing had happened between us the night of the gala.

But now, none of that mattered.

Because Asher was my Fated Mate.

I stared into Asher's hazel eyes and placed a hand over my heart. It seemed like it was going to beat out of my chest, like it was trying to get to him. As the mating bond between Asher and I finished manifesting, my soul sang with happiness.

The pull that had always been between us intensified even more now that our bond was in place.

Of course.

That was why there had always been this undeniable pull between us.

It hadn't been just my imagination! The Moon Goddess had wanted us to be together.

Making love to Asher hadn't been wrong. Who cared that our parents were married now that we were Fated Mates?

No one could find a relationship between us wrong because she had destined it from the very beginning.

Thank you, Moon Goddess.

I should've put my trust in her from the very first time I met Asher. She always had a plan.

I reached out my right hand toward him. Our bond was already affecting my actions, spurring me to touch him, to touch any part of him I could manage to reach. He was mine, and I was his. There was nothing that could keep two Fated Mates apart .

Nothing.

Right before my hand touched his arm, Asher took a few steps away from me and shook his head back and forth slowly—almost like he was being hypnotized.

“No,” he said quietly.

No?

My heart dropped to the ground, and with that one word, I was in danger of breaking apart.

Could he be…rejecting me? That wasn't possible, right? I'd never heard of anyone rejecting their Fated Mate before. The Moon Goddess said we were destined to be together. How could Asher question her? Didn't he realize we were meant for each other?

My vision blurred, and cold sweat ran down the back of my neck.

No, I couldn't panic yet. All hope wasn't lost. Asher hadn't officially rejected me yet.

I stumbled toward him, ready to beg for him not to do this. My hand was trembling as I reached out for him. For a moment, our eyes locked and I saw a fleeting look of hesitation cross Asher's face. Hope flooded through me and I rushed to close the distance between us.

But right before I could touch him, Asher’s hazel eyes darkened and he gave me a cold look as he sidestepped me and faced his pack.

My heart slammed against my chest as I ran up to him and grabbed his hand.

“Asher—” My voice was shaking almost as much as my hands.

“Let go of of me,” he snarled. He ripped his hand away, and glared at me.

His expression was filled with so much hatred, it made me stumble back, and I tripped slightly on my long dress.

Asher seemed to steel himself and he lifted his strong chin.

“The Moon Goddess has made a mistake,” Asher yelled to his pack and held his left hand up to showcase his bleeding wound that was identical to mine. “I refuse to accept a mate who is dishonorable to her pack.”

His cruel words hit me like a punch to the stomach.

There was a collective gasp and whispers all along the crowd as the pack processed this new development. My mother took a step forward, her eyes narrowed and her expression dark.

I let out a shaky breath and shook my head slowly as I faced the entire BloodMoon pack.

My eyes scanned the shocked expressions.

Some were filled with pity, a few with scandalous glee.

Hot fear mixed with embarrassment washed over me.

I opened my mouth to try and defend myself, but no sound would come out.

Asher turned to me, his face closed off, his mouth set in a straight line.

Tears began to form in my eyes, but I refused to allow them to fall. “Asher…don’t,” I uttered, unable to say anything else.

But he didn't even pause to think. His expression remained firm as he looked down at me.

“I, Asher Callahan, the future Alpha of the BloodMoon Pack, reject you, Ivy, as my Mate,” he said in a cold, emotionless voice.

No!

Pain exploded in my chest like a bomb had gone off in my body. My ears rang, and black dots appeared in front of my vision. Was I dead? I had to be dead to experience this kind of pain.

Miraculously, I could still breathe through the agony happening inside my chest.

Asher had a hand over his heart, and his eyes were closed like he was experiencing the same torment as I was feeling.

But was it possible for him to be in the same kind of excruciating pain?

He’d been the one to reject me.

The pack kept whispering around us, growing louder as they watched the worst moment of my life happening right in front of their eyes.

My hands began to violently shake, and when I looked up, Asher was staring down at me.

“What have you done?” I whispered.

Before he could answer or before my mother—or anyone from the pack—could intervene, I spun around and ran away.

I stumbled at first, tripping over my long dress. But I hiked it up and sprinted away from Asher, the judgmental whispers…from everything.

My eyes burned with unshed tears as I fled for the safety of the deep woods. For a few minutes, the only sound was my bare feet slapping the ground and my heavy breathing.

I peeked over my shoulder and let out a sigh of relief when I saw that I was alone. My emotions threatened to overwhelm me, so I did the only thing I could think of.

I began to rip my dress off my body, tearing it in half. Once I was naked, and the cool night air hit my skin, I could finally breathe again.

I allowed my wolf to take over, and my body began to tremble as my shape transformed. Every part of my body painfully lengthened and sharpened—my teeth, my nails, and my limbs. But I accepted the pain. I embraced it. It was better than allowing my despair to crush me.

As I ran through the dark woods in my wolf form, I looked up at the bright full moon and howled. The sharp sound was full of pain even to my own ears.