Page 2 of You're Not My Mate

And even after all this time, she was still pissed at him. Not that he could blame her.

He felt his wolf wanting to pounce, wrap his arms around her, press his face against her neck, breathe her in. There was also the overwhelming need to mark her, to see her flesh covered with his teeth, or at least his scent.

Rose didn’t have any of it. And she was never going to.He’d fucked it all up.

None of the guys knew.

Where Wolfe and Boyan had fallen for their mates, and it involved their own kind of drama, he had not.

The moment he saw Rose, just over a year ago, he’d known who she was and that she wouldn’t be good for his image. Yes, he had fucked up big time. Their wolves had known what they were to each other.

Most wolves found it to be the most magical moment to finally find their soul mate, the one other wolf destined to be theirs for eternity. Rose had been ecstatic, and so too had his wolf. There was only one problem—he wasn’t. He’d rejected her, rejected the calling to mate with her, and he been doing so every full moon. None of the pack knew. It was why he tried to steer clear of her cabin.

Rose wasn’t like Amelia who’d been a social outcast because of her views and ideas. She was … different because she chose to be.

Her parents had also been known as cleaners, so they tended to see a lot of bad shit, which the whole pack found unnerving. Some members of the pack didn’t make it through their transition, and the Swift family were the ones called to clean up the mess. This is why Rose didn’t mix well with others.

But, Rocco also knew Rose was a gentle soul. Unlike her parents who were able to clean up messes and pretend they hadn’t seen shit. Rose cleaned up the mess, kept the brave face on, but when she was alone, she’d sob.

It’s why she steered clear of the pack and kept to her small cabin with her tiny garden. She only came out when necessary. It’s how they’d been able to avoid each other for so long, but also why he’d not known she was his mate.

Sometimes, when he’d been in town, he’d catch a scent, but it was always so pale, he figured he’d missed it, or maybe itwas his mind playing tricks.

It was always, without a doubt, this woman, because he wanted her so badly, and he knew that was never going to change. But he was in charge, not his wolf, not his basic needs. He didn’t give a fuck if most of the time she was close, he was hard as rock. Rose also invaded his dreams all the time. She had become a repeat within his mind, and there was no getting away from it.

He wouldn’t cave.

Rose may be his fated match, but that was where it ended. They were never going to be mates.

****

Rose hated this job. Even though she was damn good at it, and knew there wouldn’t be a single trace of human, or wolf, or anything by the time she was through, it didn’t stop her from hating it. Her parents believed their ability to clean up such messes without feeling was a gift.

She missed her parents, but they had been quite old when they had her, and they had unfortunately passed away a long time ago as well. The cabin they had lived in was now hers, and she truly believed before them, her grandparents. They were good cleaners and all packs needed people who were able to clean up the mess that no one else wanted to take care of.

This is what she did, even at the stupid potlucks and parties. She was always invited but she declined so she could sleep before getting to work. For a long time, that was the extent of the mess—used dishes, broken or crusty with food on them. The usual beer, or litter, or whatever the pack threw down because they were filthy.

It had been a long time since the pack had lost anyone through a transition.

But these bodies were not the regular kind of wolves.Even the shattered bones, the pieces not splintered or destroyed, showed a mutation she couldn’t even begin to describe. Like always, she told the Alpha what she found.

Most of the men were gone. She made sure to clean them up first so they could leave, and she’d be alone to do her work. This is what she preferred. She didn’t want prying eyes as she lifted body parts and organs, and cleaned away the blood.

Also, she would be required to do a little gardening, because of the location of the mess.

The only problem she faced this time was a little pest in the form of her asshole mate. No! She refused to think of him as her mate. Rocco was a piece of work.

She tried not to curse when she thought of him, not vocally, and she also tried not to in her mind. In a strange way, she felt if she gave in to that need to just blurt out those words and tell him to fuck off, then in a weird way he’d won, and she couldn’t stand that. She didn’t understand her own way of thinking and it was truly messed up, but there was nothing she could do.

“Are you seeing anything different?” Rocco asked.

Like always, his voice made it hard for her to think. Her wolf had mixed feelings about their mate. On the one hand, all they wanted to do was mate with him, run over to him, and press their body against him, breathe him in, and not let go. The other part of her wanted to gouge his eyes out and kick him in the balls.

They did neither, and instead tried to ignore him as she did a final sweep of the area. The bags of parts—there was no nice way to think or say it—were wrapped in a bag, and she’d give them to Alpha to dispose of while she took care of the rest.

With the last pieces done, she put them in the bag and tied it up.

“Are you going to keep ignoring me?” he asked.

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