Page 2 of Alpha's Rejected Mate

There hadn’t been a hunt in years.

Harper didn’t want to get banished from this pack as well. She’d already been banished once, and thankfully, no one had asked her the gory details of why she had to leave the Fox pack.

Just thinking about Mateo was enough to make her wolf angry. When she’d first been banished from the Fox pack, her wolf had felt sorry for herself. Harper hadn’t felt much better about it. At the age of eighteen, taken from everything she’d ever known, because the alpha didn’t want to be her mate.

Over time, those feelings had changed, and whenever she did think of Mateo, her wolf was nonplussed about it. The years had passed and they’d both grown used to the feelings of loneliness. There had been a couple of men who showed an interest, but being already mated to another man didn’t feel right. She knew her wolf wished it was different, that they’d been able to just change on a whim and not care.

Mateo was out there. It wasn’t like he was dead. He’d rejected them, simple as that.

The barman came to Franny’s beckoning. She had seen many a man crumble when Franny turned on the charm. Apart from the woman’s father, that man did see past her charms, and he wasn’t too impressed. It probably didn’t help that she seemed to be naturally rebellious, and just … Franny.

Harper adored her. Where the whole pack had been nervous about getting to know the banished member of their new pack, Franny had been different. She’d been the only one to talk to her, by introducing herself. “Hey, I’m Franny. I know a lot of people around here are losers, but do you want to tell me why you got banished from another pack, when you look like a goody-two-shoes that doesn’t break any of the rules?”

From that moment on, they’d been good friends. It would seem people avoided Franny, just as they did her. They were a mismatched pair. Both had to make a few sacrifices along the way. Sometimes, Franny had to fall in line and conform, and Harper had to let go and live on the edge.

It had been a fun friendship that had bloomed in the last seven years, and one she cherished. Franny kept her from being so lonely, and she certainly made life interesting. She didn’t regret their friendship, even if they’d gone to a human bar.

Within minutes they both had a beer in hand, and Harper glanced around the bar, feeling her nerves hike up. Several of the group Franny hung out with was at the bar, so it wasn’t like she was alone. Even though there was a group of them, Harper was only close to Franny.

They couldn’t get drunk. Their metabolism was different from that of a human. They had a stronger constitution for alcohol. Even still, Harper knew she wasn’t going to go past one drink. She didn’t want to piss the alpha off completely.

She at least got some leeway being Franny’s friend, since Franny’s father was in fact the alpha. There had been a couple of times she believed their antics would have gotten them expelled from the pack.

“This is fun,” Franny said. “What do you think if I pick up a guy tonight?”

Harper nearly spat her drink out. “What?”

“Come on, this could be fun. You and I pick up a couple of human guys, and we show them a thing or two.”

This was another of those times when Harper hadn’t quite been honest with Franny. It wasn’t that she lied, but she’d also never told her that she’d never been with a man. Franny knew about her mate, and she guessed her friend assumed she and Mateo might have actually done something, but they hadn’t, not even close.

It was the worst night of her life, realizing she’d been mated to a man who didn’t want her—and then to get banished. Her father hadn’t been able to do anything about it either. He followed instructions but had reached out to Franny’s pack, and the rest was history.

“Ugh, no, I don’t think that is wise. Your father will accept you going to a bar, but even you will have to deal with some kind of punishment if you decide to bring an outsider.” She whispered the last part. They were surrounded by humans.

Franny looked like she wanted to test her father’s patience, and this never went well. Harper was about to argue when her friend’s attention turned away.

“Well, well, well, now they are not human,” Franny said.

Harper turned her head, but she already knew who it was. Her wolf had sensed him the moment he stepped into the bar, and now, as she looked across the room, she tried to keep control of her wolf.

Anyone who’d been away from their mate for seven years would be ecstatic at the thought of seeing them again. Not her. Her wolf wanted to hurt him. The betrayal she felt was bone-deep, but she stayed perfectly still and turned away. She couldn’t look at him.

“Harper, girl, are you okay?” Franny asked.

Before she responded, she finished her beer and turned to look at her friend. “Can we go?”

“Okay, you’re starting to worry me. You’ve gone all pale.”

“That big guy that just walked in. Black hair, looks mean?”

“Yeah, what about him?”

“He’s the guy that banished me from the pack seven years ago.”

“Wait? What?” Franny asked.

“Yeah, that man is my mate, and now he is here, and I’m trying not to lose it, but I feel close to losing it. Can we please go?” she asked.

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