Chapter 1 #Chapter 1 Get away from me

####WARNING This story will contain:  Strong Sexual Content,  Strong Language and Scenes that may be triggering, Viewer discretion is advised.######### "Get away from me!" I kick at the three men trying to hold me down and flail my arms as hard as I can. My fingertips have become claws as I try to reach for my inner wolf to shift in self-defense. I only just had my eighteenth birthday a week before; I haven't gotten good at shifting on my own yet and it is nowhere close to night much less a full moon so instinct alone won't let me shift. ' Rayne?' I try to get my wolf to wake up in my mind. ' Rayne? Wake up!' I try again to call her. One of the men has my arms stretched over my head while the other two have got my legs. I struggle against them, but it's useless without my wolf coming to my aid. I'm too small to cause much damage. They have me beaten with numbers as well as size. A fourth man steps into my view with a clear glass in his hand. It's full of some kind of dark-colored liquid -Wine? Surely not blood!- and I can smell it from across the room. Its bitter odor stings my nose. I feel tears welling up in my eyes and I hate myself for them. What good is crying going to do me? "You do have spirit! I like that in a girl. Now drink this. Trust me: you'll like me better after some of our magic potion." I don't know what he means. I do know I don't want whatever he has in the glass. All my intentions to keep my mouth shut, to spit it out, to refuse to swallow, go away as he cruelly pinches my nose shut, cutting off my air. I hold out as long as I can until my head aches and lights are flashing in my eyes from lack of oxygen. The moment I open my mouth to take in a breath he is pouring the liquid between my lips, flooding my mouth, filling my throat, choking me. I gag and gasp and grunt to try to get air while getting rid of the rusty-tasting concoction. "That's a good girl! Give it a few minutes. Everything will seem so much better." I try to free myself from the hold of the men. It's still useless. I'm getting so hot. Why is it getting so hot? I remember I was on my way home from school. I was grabbed off the sidewalk and thrown into the back of a white van. "Your daddy wasn't lying when he said you had a lot of fight in you. He owes me a considerable amount. Depending on how tonight goes? I just might even let him have credit left over to hit the tables again. It isn't as if he'll pose much of a threat to the house. I doubt he could win if we rigged every game in his favor." I want to scream when his hands move up my legs to raise my uniform skirt. I try to shout for help, but my tongue is thick and useless in my mouth. I can barely move my limbs as heat seems to be racing through my body spreading out from my stomach making me pant. "That's a good girl," he mutters as his hands grasp my panties, dragging them down my thighs while I scream at the nothingness in my mind where my wolf usually waits, "You just lie there. I'll take care of you. I'll give you what you need." Sweat has beaded on my brow. I know I've been drugged. What was in the cup? What did I drink? A thick finger forces its way inside me and I struggle anew at the invasion. "Nnnn---" I keep trying to say 'no' even though I'm pretty sure it's useless. No one in this room is interested in what I have to say. "Un-fucking-believable. She's pure. " I have no idea what he means. I've only dated one boy before and all we'd done was kiss even though we were in love. I am saving myself for my mate. His face fills my vision as he looms over me. His skin is reddened with broken blood vessels over his wide, bulbous nose. His cheeks are more like jowls which wobble as he breathes in and out of his mouth; his hot breath stinks of liquor and cigarettes. Pinching my chin between his thumb and forefinger, he leans down to kiss me. His lips are thick and wet as they move against mine. I am going to vomit. He takes his finger out and traces my sex with it as if he has every right to touch me as intimately as he wants. I am saving myself for my mate! "I never would have believed you were pure with Pat Flores as your old man. I owe him big for you. I can't remember the last time I had a virgin." I can feel his paunchy belly pressing against me as he moves between my legs; I know I have to fight harder or it wouldn't matter what I wanted for my first time because it was going to be taken from me. His words rattle around in my head until I finally find myself furious at the realization all this is happening to me because my father can't stay away from the gaming tables. He was supposed to be my father! He'd sold me to this man! Rayne stirs in my mind as fury burned hotter through my veins than whatever evil drug they'd forced on me. She's a strong wolf with an indomitable will. I feel her strength flood my body as my anger combines with her power to shift me into my wolf form, ruining my school uniform and making me impossible to hold down. ' Kill him!' Rayne growls in my mind, 'He wants to take what belongs to our mate! He wants to grind us down beneath him like an unmated bitch in heat.' Rayne wants me to go for his throat, but I only manage to get a mouthful of his shoulder as I surge up. I bite hard enough to taste blood and release him from my fangs quickly before the bloodlust can overtake my mind. I am a medium sized female with long limbs and the coloring of a timber wolf; I have been told I will grow larger as I get older. I only hope I get the chance to reach full maturity. I have no idea what the consequences will be if I manage to kill him. I do know I don't want to be a murderer if I have the chance to simply get away. My long limbs give me speed over strength. I am fast. I am very fast. With my wolf senses, I can now tell the three men who have been holding me were only humans. The yelling beast who has assaulted me is a wolf though I can't tell anything about his power. He could be weak or my senses could be too dulled by his drugs or a combination of both. I run for the door to the room. Luckily the handle is easy to press down and the door swings open to let me sprint out into the hallway. My paws skid on the slick floor, sliding me into the opposite wall where my head strikes another door hard enough to make me dizzy. I can hear the men in the room scrambling to come after me. They might catch me if I don't keep running. I can barely hold onto my connection with Rayne as my blood boils in my veins; I can tell my wolf wants nothing more than to bite, claw, tear the men chasing us. I push my body to race down the hallway. I stretch myself out with every leap to cover as much ground as possible. I have never run so fast before. A maid comes out of a room with her arms full of linens. She walks to her cart and I can see the door to the room she's left out of is still cracked open. I don't think about the consequences or what could be waiting on the other side of the door. I just push my body through the crack and kick with my back legs to close it behind me. The poison in my system cut my connection to Rayne, forcing me to release control of my wolf form and shifting me back into my human body as I lay panting on the floor of this strange room. "I agreed to maid service. I'm not sure what service you're supposed to offer, but I know I didn't ask for it." I look around the room until I see a man standing in a hallway in nothing more than a low-slung towel about his middle. He is tall, even by werewolf standards, and broad in the shoulders. His dark hair curls around his forehead, his ears, down his neck; he looks as if he hasn't been to a barber in far too long. His blue eyes meet mine and I lose all concept of time or place. "Who are you?" I heard him ask the question even as the men chasing me began to bang on his door, demanding to be let in to retrieve me. I'm tired. I'm confused. I'm burning from the inside out from their drugs and I'm naked on a stranger's floor because my own father sold me to pay his debts to his bookie. Feeling hot tears leaking down my face, I manage to rasp out, "Please. Help me?"

Chapter 2 # Chapter 2 Half a million dollars

The Next Morning "Who are you?" I came awake with a jerk, disoriented and aching all over. A heavy male body lay beside me---we were both naked except for the sheet covering our bodies. Embarrassment stained my skin bright red. I searched my memories of the night before, trying to figure out how I had gotten here while attempting to wrap the sheet around my body. I stopped when I realized I'd leave my bed partner totally nude. My skin felt too hot and too tight as I tried to work out how to get myself out of the situation. I wasn't used to being around naked men even if I was a werewolf. We cared about propriety no matter what humans thought! I remembered myself saying over and over, "I'm your mate!" I eased myself off the bed to look for clothes. I tried to be as quiet as I could so I didn't wake up the stranger. I didn't take the sheet to spare his decency, instead sacrificing my own modesty: I'd rather be caught naked than have to face a naked man I'd evidently seduced with all the subtlety of a bitch in heat! His scent was all over me, all over everything really. Rich and masculine, every time I breathed I felt as if I was being surrounded by the forest with hints of wood and a warm spice I couldn't name. I wanted to crawl back into bed beside him and never leave. My wolf, Rayne, grumbled in my head, "We shouldn't leave! He is our mate!" An open suitcase was on the dresser. I took a white button-down shirt out to cover myself. He was huge compared to me; his shirt was long enough on my body to cover me almost to my knees. I took a necktie to act as a belt around my waist. "We have to get home to Ethan! He's only fourteen, Rayne! What if Patrick's debtors come for him?""Our mate matters more! Can't you tell? He smells so good! He's the strongest Alpha we've ever met." Shock had me turning to look at the male asleep behind me. He was an Alpha? Rayne groused louder in my head, "Of course he's an Alpha! Take a deep breath! No one will dare hurt us with his scent marking us as his." Was he Alpha to a whole pack? I looked at the collection of personal belongings littering the top of the dress beside the suitcase. I left his wallet, keys, and money clip alone. I was no thief! A gold card case had the initials "TW" on it; I found business cards inside all saying they belonged to Tyler Wright of Moonrise Entertainment. House Wright was the Alpha House of Moonrise Pack. They were the biggest werewolf pack in the USA in both members and resources. They could buy and sell any of the other packs without breaking their bank accounts. Every wolf knew them; their Alpha was an older male, older than my father even. I supposed this meant the man in the bed was related to them somehow, but he wasn't their leader which was a relief. Knowing in part who he was helped shake off some of my fear though my hands wouldn't stay still, trembling from nerves as I prayed with all of my strength I would get away before he awoke. Rayne continued to insist we stay with our mate. I took one of his cards so we could contact him later. We had to get to our brother. Ethan was only a child! I couldn't stop worrying over my fated mate being a real, fully grown Alpha. He might even be the Alpha of a sister pack to House Wright. I didn't know enough about Moonrise Pack to know their lower houses. I knew I had to leave before he woke up though. An Alpha would stop me from leaving until we were properly marked as each other's mate. His wolf instincts would insist I stay with him no matter how worried I was about my baby brother. Ethan was too young to fend for himself, period, and I knew our father wouldn't protect him. Patrick -I refused to call him 'Dad' after what he'd done to me- had proven he didn't care about his children when he sold his daughter to pay his gambling debt. I couldn't find a phone in the room other than the man's personal cell phone which was locked. I left the room after checking the hallway was clear; I took the elevator down to the lobby level where I saw the word 'LUST' on the wall. I blushed again as I realized I was in a place famous for pleasure. As I got off the elevator, a woman in a skintight black dress came over to greet me, holding a tablet in her hands, "May I be of service?" I steadfastly refused to consider what sort of 'services' she might offer. "Yes. Can you please call me a ride?""Of course," she replied smoothly, pulling up a rideshare app on her screen, "What's the address?" I started to give her my home address only to stop when I realized it probably wasn't smart to go there. I gave my best friend Bella's address instead as I knew I'd be safe with her family. We had only met our freshman year in high school, but Bella was more like a sister to me than a friend. On the ride to Bella, Rayne fussed, "I want to go back! We left our mate with neither of us marked. What if he thinks we're rejecting him? What if he thinks we aren't proud to belong to him?""What if he thinks the sun no longer rises in the East or sets in the West, Rayne? He'll get over it. Ethan is only a boy. He needs us to make sure he's safe because Patrick isn't going to protect him." Rayne would get over leaving our mate this once. We'd have the rest of our lives to be with our mate. Ethan would only have a life at all if we took care of him. Bella surprised me by giving me my cell phone as soon as I came through the door. "I found it with your backpack outside school. I went to my parents, but we didn't know what to do except call Patrick. He told us---" She stopped talking and looked away from me. The look on her face made it clear Patrick hadn't said anything nice to her family when they'd called worried about me. "It doesn't matter. Thank you, Bella. Thank you so, so much." I straightened my shoulders as I pulled up Ethan's name to call him. The phone only rang once before being answered. "Ethan! Are you---""It's about time you called!" Patrick's voice stunned me into silence. "I hope you're happy! They took your brother after you ran off. If you had just stayed the night with them, shown 'em a good time, you'd be home by now and your brother wouldn't be missing.""A good time?" I repeated. My lips felt numb. "They said you ran off to some Alpha. Figures you'd find the only single Alpha in the place. I knew you were a slut just like your mother. Did you have fun with him? I hope you had fun. They're going to kill your brother if you don't get the money they want.""If I don't get the money? How am I supposed to get them any money?!" Patrick snarled, "That's your problem! I did my part. I gave them you. The debt became yours the second you ran out of the room! It's five hundred grand. They get it or they kill Ethan." I had never hated anyone as much as I hated Patrick in that moment; Rayne growled inside my head with the desire to tear out his throat. He was no father. He wasn't even a man. "You---you don't even deserve to be called an omega! You deserve to die for refusing to help your own family!""Ask your new Alpha for help! What's his name anyway? Did you even bother to get it?""Tyler Wright," I snapped. " Tyler Wright? " Patrick practically yelled, "You're lying! Whatever. Call Mr. Tyler Wright to help you get Ethan back. The Wrights can afford it.""Ethan is your son!" I cried, refusing to even consider using my new mate for money. "And I can have another one! I'll send you the details. Good fucking luck." He hung up before I could say any more and my phone buzzed in my hand as messages began to come through. Bella asked, "Are you sure they've taken Ethan?" I opened the messages Patrick sent, reading them quickly as feelings of dread swept over me. The last message was a video clip. "It's a video." I showed Bella the message; she took a deep breath before taking my phone to hold between us. Her hand was steadier than mine. Ice started to race through my veins as I saw Ethan bound to a chair. My shaking hands froze as I took in his bloody face; my body was an ice sculpture by the time I noted his battered face and taped mouth. A man in a mask explained Ethan was safe for a week---"Then we send you more of these little home movies. You'll get another seven days to get the money or he dies. You'll get a video of that, too. Two weeks, Pat. Or else." The message cut off and left us staring at each other, both too frozen with fear to speak. We were both crying when Bella's parents came home. They asked what was going on and it took everything in me to answer. "I have to get half a million dollars or my brother Ethan dies!"

Chapter 3 #Chapter 3 I am pregnant!

13 Days Later "I'm nowhere near close," I groaned, rubbing my forehead as I leaned away from Bella's laptop. Bella admitted, "I don't know where else we can look for money. We've mortgaged all the properties available to you, Patrick, anything we had records of from your mom's estate, and everything my parents can offer. Our house is already under mortgage. We only have two days left." Time was not on our side. "What about the banks? No. We've talked to every bank. What about other lenders?" I was panicking, nearly hyperventilating. The kidnappers had been sending video clips of Ethan being beaten every day. "Yes. We talked to all of them except---""Nathan can't help. I can't even ask. House Lewis isn't involved in this. They don't need me dragging them down too. Besides. How would I explain this to him?" I took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. I was capable. I had always been good at finding a way to do whatever needed to be done. I had never used a boyfriend to fix my problems before. I wasn't going to start now I'd found my fated mate! I hadn't told Nathan anything about finding Tyler. The only contact I'd had with my boyfriend had been to tell him we were over. He'd asked me why -Nathan had deserved a reason why- and all I could think to tell him was because we had to be. I supposed it said something about the strength of my character Nathan accepted my response with no further questions. Bella gave me a worried look as she asked, "Have you considered asking Patrick again?" I realized now I'd made excuses for Patrick all my life. I had wanted to believe my father was a better man than he was, but now my eyes were wide open. I went to Bella's bedroom with my phone. I sat on her bed, looked around at all her things and wished I could trade places with her. The room obviously belonged to a teenaged girl whose biggest interests were K-Pop boy bands, clothes, and makeup. I couldn't even remember my room at home. All I saw when I closed my eyes was the mate I had left sleeping in a room at LUST. Patrick answered on the first ring and I humbled myself to say, "Ethan deserves your help. Tell me what to do. Please." I felt myself getting sicker and sicker the more Patrick talked. His proposition to steal from my mate was more disgusting than the man who had tried to claim me as payment for Patrick's debt. Mates weren't supposed to betray each other. Ever. The Moon Goddess gave wolves a fated mate to be their other half, to complete them, to protect them and love them and keep them from ever feeling all the negative feelings which overwhelmed a wolf alone. How could I blackmail my mate? I listened close as Patrick explained how it should go down. I had to admit he was clever for a worthless bastard. I found myself hopeful I would save my brother, but at what cost to myself? How could my mate ever forgive me for this kind of betrayal? I knew I already had a lot to answer for just because I had run out on Tyler Wright while he lay innocently sleeping at my side. I hadn't even left him my name. I saw the last clip of Ethan being beaten play again in my mind and realized I had no choice except to try Patrick's plan. I couldn't let my brother die. Once the call ended, I helped myself to a yellow sundress from Bella's closet. I put on light makeup before going downstairs to get my bag. I hugged Bella as if I'd never see her again. If this didn't work, if I didn't save Ethan, I wasn't sure if I would see her again. I called a taxi to take me to the Moonrise Entertainment corporate building. Tyler Wright was the CEO of his family's business enterprise. Or at least that was what we had found out from the internet. I felt nauseous while thinking about my mate being the future Alpha of House Wright. I'd be Luna of House Wright! What did I know about being a Luna? The taxi driver asked me if he should wait when we got to the main office building. I told him no with a shaky smile in answer to his skeptical look. I doubted I looked good enough to be meeting the CEO's secretary much less Tyler himself, but I didn't have any choice. Patrick had given me to his debtors to settle his accounts and I had run out on them. I didn't regret running, but I did regret playing a part in putting Ethan in danger. My brother was only a boy. He deserved a chance to grow up no matter what the cost was to me myself. "No, thank you, sir. I've got it from here." I got out of the cab and straightened my shoulders as if I had the confidence of a person with an appointment. Maybe if I played the part well enough, they'd believe me. I didn't know what floor Tyler was on. I figured the CEO would be close to the top though, so I made for the elevator banks only to be stopped by a security guard. Patrick had warned me I might meet resistance getting into the building. It was easy to sound upset with the guard for holding me up. I was upset. If I didn't get a meeting with Tyler Wright and if he didn't help me, my brother was going to die. "Excuse me! I have to see Tyler Wright.""Do you have an appointment?""I don't need an appointment." I tried to put as much scorn into the words as I could. I called up the way the meanest girl in my school talked as an example. It must have worked because the guard dropped his hands from my arms even if he didn't move out of my way. "Everyone needs an appointment, ma'am. Please give your name at the desk and they'll give you an elevator card." Just then the elevator opened to let off a party of people. A pregnant woman came out with several men. She was laughing at something they were talking about and one of the men courteously took her arm while another hovered his hand over her lower back to make sure she was able to step out of the lift without harm. Patrick had told me all I would have to do would be insist on seeing Tyler in person. "Tyler didn't say anything to me about an elevator card." I bluffed the guard based on the fact I didn't see anyone leaving the elevator with a card in hand. He looked more annoyed with me and I knew I would have to keep him off-balance or I would get myself thrown out before I had a chance to ask for help. "The security desk will call ahead for you, ma'am. Please go give them your name to announce you." Giving them my name wouldn't help at all. My memories of the night I had spent with Tyler were hazy at best. I couldn't recall the exact sound of his voice, but I remembered him asking me my name over and over while I insisted it didn't matter. The drug in my system was potent enough to strip away all my inhibitions. I'd writhed against him, under him, over him. My wolf hadn't fought back because she had recognized her mate in him. Names didn't mean anything to Rayne. I felt anger flicker through me as Rayne came closer to the surface. I knew my eyes were going to start glowing if I wasn't careful. "Tyler is my mate and I am going to see him!" The guard stepped back and raised his hands cautiously. I guess Rayne made a better impression than I did. "I really can't let you get on the elevator without checking in. Mr. Wright hasn't announced a mate. Yet. Ma'am," he added. I felt proud at the way the guard was nearly stuttering to appease me, but I didn't have time for pride or anything else. I had to save Ethan. Patrick had told me to insist on seeing Tyler himself. I was going to make sure I saw him in person until someone physically dragged me away from the building. I knew nothing about the drug I'd been dosed with and Patrick claimed he didn't either. I only believed him because he had sounded irritated about it when I pressed him; irritation was a sure sign of ignorance in Patrick's case. Patrick insisted Tyler would give me the money I wanted -all the money I wanted- if I was really his fated mate. All I had to do was let him get a whiff of me, he'd said, and I recalled how strongly Rayne had reacted to being covered in his scent in the room at LUST. If I was so taken with his scent, surely he'd be taken with mine. "I am Tyler Wright's mate and I am pregnant! You will let me see him now or you'll explain how you let his mate and his child die!"

Chapter 4 #Chapter 4 I, Rachel Flores, reject you, Tyler Wright, as my fated mate.

3 Years Later "Happy Third Mating Anniversary!" Tyler didn't reply to me as I mind-linked him. I knew he heard me all the same. As my mate, he couldn't block my messages even if he didn't choose to reply to them. "Please come home right after work today. I'm preparing a special surprise to celebrate the occasion. You'll love it. I promise." I could feel a spark of interest from Tyler's side of the bond though he remained silent. Most females would have been at least a little concerned if their mate refused to respond to them, but I knew my situation wasn't ordinary. I was the offspring of an omega father from a lower pack who had blackmailed my alpha mate into accepting me by faking a pregnancy. The fact I hadn't known if I was pregnant or not at the time didn't matter. I had said I was pregnant; I wasn't. It was a lie. It was a lie I told for money. Money Tyler Wright had given me to pay off my father's gambling debts in order to save my younger brother from kidnappers. No one cared what the money was for though. All anyone cared about was the lies I had told to get money from a mate who had been surprised to find me in the first place. Tyler could have loved me, I think, if I hadn't told my father's lie. I had been drugged on our first night together as mates; I didn't have clear memories of my first time making love. I thought Tyler had been gentle with me. Generous. Kind. It was hard for me to think of Tyler before I met him in his office. He'd been closer to a stone statue than a man as he listened to me ask him for money. His cold expression had never changed as he'd written me a check in the amount I named. Every experience since then had been the same: an exchange of something for something else. Tyler touched me when he needed release. Tyler spoke to me when he needed me to respond verbally to a question. Tyler gave me money to ensure I had no reason to talk to him. Our mating was colder than winter in the Arctic Circle. I twirled as I set the table for our mating anniversary dinner. My skirt flew out around my legs and I laughed like a girl again though I was a college graduate with a degree in Music Theory. I felt as if I were dancing on air as I hummed a tune I had composed myself as part of my thesis. Tyler had not attended my graduation even though I had completed my studies on the Dean's List. I would never accomplish enough to make Tyler proud of me. I would never be able to erase the grudge he held in his heart against me---and I was done trying. Placing the covers over the plates to keep the heat in, I moved to open the bottle of wine we would be sharing. The wine was the most luxurious part of the meal. Tyler preferred simple foods which I had learned from his household staff rather than from him directly. All the years we had spent together felt as if they were melting away as I poured two glasses of the rich Malbec. Hearing the door shut, I picked up a glass in each hand and offered one to Tyler as he came into the room, "Happy Anniversary!" He sneered at me before his eyes flickered to the bottle on the table. I knew he only took the glass from me because the wine was his favorite and it was too valuable to waste. "What is it you want now?" Tyler scorned my offer to sit at the table to share a meal with me. I wasn't surprised. I couldn't stop smiling which was probably as confusing for him as it should have been for me. I had been given few reasons to smile during our mating. "I want to celebrate this anniversary as our last together." Swallowing more of the wine than was socially acceptable, Tyler drained his glass before reaching for the bottle to fill it again. I drained my glass and accepted the refill he offered with my smile intact. "Our last together? Is that what you're after? You want your own house? This mansion isn't good enough to share with me?" I shook my head negatively. Tyler was very good at provoking me. I finished my wine and placed my glass back onto the table. Tyler finished his as well then he surprised me by grabbing my wrist and pulling me against his chest. My nipples peaked at the friction of his suit rubbing against my blouse. We hadn't been fully naked together in so long I couldn't recall our last time. I was touch starved and my body yearned for his as my wolf, Rayne, nearly howled at the attention. We kissed hungrily for minutes, sharing the flavor of the wine between us as our tongues danced with one another in the way we had never bothered to do with our bodies. Gasping, I broke the kiss with a smile before heading for the stairs up to our bedroom. Tyler slept beside me every few nights to keep our wolves at bay. The mate bond demanded he have me close while his personal hatred of me kept us worlds apart even when we shared the same bed. "What? Are you going to tell me you don't want this? You always want it on 'special occasions' so here I am!" Tyler followed me up the stairs and I avoided looking back at his disgruntled face. I knew it would only upset me and possibly send Rayne into a frenzy of need to please our mate. I almost felt sorry for his confusion. He really had no idea what was going on. "I do always want it, don't I? I'm sorry about that, Tyler. I can't imagine how hard this has been on you all these years. I suppose you were right at the start. I do want something. I want my own home. You're right about that, too. What you're wrong about? You're not going to have to deal with any more 'special occasions' with me ever again." Tyler grabbed my arm to reel me back to him. His mouth fell on mine to start kissing me again and he used his free hand to grab my ass, grinding his hips into mine as he tried to sate his body. All our physical encounters were fast and hard in order to get them over and done with as quick as possible. Originally, Tyler had been the one who wanted things that way, but, now, I wanted it over just as soon as he did. For a moment, I let myself give in to the feeling of my body crashing against his, drank in his wine-flavored kisses and pretended it was passion we shared instead of alcohol, and I buried my fingers in his thick hair which he never remembered to get cut. I could have loved him. We fell onto the bed. His weight was heavy on top of me, but I didn't mind. My body was strong and young and I was in remarkable health for all I was the daughter of an omega. I was an excellent match to his Alpha physique no matter whether he wanted to admit it or not. Tyler began to push up my blouse, palming my whole breast in his hand over my bra. Our mouths devoured each other as we lost control of our bodies. I didn't consciously spread my legs, but I came back to myself as I felt him reaching for my panties under my skirt. I pressed against his chest to get some distance between us and Tyler raised up to take off his suit jacket. He opened the bedside table to grab a foil condom packet; I shook my head as I stopped him from opening the wrapper. "What now, Rachel? What is it?" Desire made him snappier than usual. "I promised you a surprise, Tyler. Don't you want it?""Right now? No. I think you know what I want right now." For a moment, I thought about giving him what he wanted---one more time sharing his bed wouldn't hurt, would it? Except it always hurt. Every time he touched me as if he hated me, I died a little more inside. I was tired of dying. I wanted to live for a change. "I, Rachel Flores, reject you, Tyler Wright, as my fated mate." The words held an ancient kind of magic in them which caused my inner wolf to fall quiet in my mind. I wasn't worried about Rayne. She would wake up. She would wake up and she wouldn't yearn for this male any longer because our side of the bond was severed. "What?" Shock blanched Tyler's tanned face, his eyes going wide as his wolf tried to respond to his mate's sudden silence. "Surprise!" I crowed as I scooted from underneath him and straightened my clothing, "I am truly sorry I kept you for so long, Tyler. Three years with me? That was wrong. I shouldn't have insisted on this mating all this time. I can't give you the time back, but I can give you your freedom now. All you have to do is finish the rejection on your side and you'll be rid of me forever. I hope you find happiness. I truly do.""You're rejecting me? What are you playing at?""This isn't a game, Tyler. This is goodbye." Tyler remained on the bed as I gathered up my suitcase to make my way back to the stairs. I had packed only the very essentials. Everything he had ever given me -designer clothes, shoes, jewelry- I had left behind with him where it belonged. I took only as much as I had brought to our union in the beginning. I had the reputation of a gold-digger, but I would be damned if I proved myself to be one. Tyler must have still been stunned on the bed as I left out the door. He didn't come after me and I had already dismissed our staff for the day so there was no one to send for me either. I got into a private car and closed my eyes as I focused on surviving the ride to my friend Bella's apartment. Bella was waiting in the doorway with a concerned expression when I got out of the car. I made it inside the door and into her arms before breaking down in tears. She held me as I wept, rocking me against her as she tried to hold me together as I was being broken apart by my emotions. "I can't believe she's pregnant! I'm so, so sorry, Rachel!"