Page 20 of Rejected By The Alpha Heir

The words come out harsher than I intend, but I can't take them back now.

Father's eyes narrow dangerously. "You don't have a choice, son. The decision has been made. You will fulfill your duty to this pack and take Yelena as your mate."

"To hell with duty!" I snarl, slamming my palm down on the counter. “I should get some say in this!”

Mother gasps, her hand flying to her mouth. “Austin!”

“No! You don’t get to guilt me into this, Mom! Not this time!”

My father growls, a deep rumble that vibrates through the kitchen. His eyes flash with barely contained anger. "You will not speak to your mother that way."

"It's not just about what you want," my father retorts. "This union was destined by the Goddess herself. To refuse would be an insult to Her and everything our pack stands for. You are destined to be mates. This isn’t a choice!"

I let out a harsh laugh. “I’m well aware that you think I should have no choices here.”

I clench my jaw, meeting his steely gaze head on. The tension crackles between us, neither one willing to back down.

"I'm a grown man," I say through gritted teeth. "I can make my own decisions. And I'm deciding that I don't want to marry Yelena. I won’t do it."

My father's eyes blaze with anger at my outburst. He opens his mouth to reprimand me when a small gasp from the doorway makes us all freeze.

I whip my head around to see Yelena standing there, her face pale and eyes wide with shock. She's wearing one of my t-shirts that falls to her bare thighs. Her hair is tangled, both from sleep and sex. There's no mistaking what we did last night.

"Yelena..." I breathe out, my heart clenching painfully in my chest.

Tears well up in her eyes as she stares at me. "You don't want me?" her voice is small and broken.

"I..." I falter, unable to find the words. I glance helplessly at my parents, who are looking between us in growing realization and disapproval.

"I heard what you said, Austin," Yelena whispers, a tear slipping down her cheek. "You made yourself quite clear. I’m just…I’m going to go."

She turns on her heel and flees from the kitchen before I can respond. The sound of her footsteps running down the hall echoes in the sudden silence.

I hear the front door open and then slam shut. I stand frozen, staring at the spot where she stood. The devastation on her face is seared into my mind.

My heart clenches painfully as I watch Yelena's silver wolf streak away into the forest through the kitchen window, her pained howl piercing the morning air.

"What have you done, Austin?" my mother whispers, her voice heavy with disappointment.

“You will fix this,” my father snarls.

Chapter Eight

Yelena

The forest floor is soft and littered with pine needles. It’s comforting in its predictability. I’m grateful that I had at least remembered to carry clothing with me this time when I shifted, but the T-shirt I pulled over my head is Austin’s. I wish I would have had the sense to grab a pair of sweatpants, too. It’s a brisk Fall morning, and the breeze is chilly in the forest.

His scent covers me, causing a spiky twinge of pain in my chest. I trip over a tree root and fall, landing face-first on the forest floor. The taste of dirt and bark fills my mouth. It’s bitter, a stark reminder of my current reality. I don’t know if I want to scream, cry, or simply lay there and become part of the forest for a while.

After a long minute, I push myself back up with a sigh, brushing the dirt off my face. At least out here, I’m alone and no one can judge me for being a mess.

I crawl over to lean up against a nearby towering pine tree and shiver. Austin’s t-shirt is too big, hanging down almost to my knees. The fabric is soft against my skin, yet another reminder of how it felt to be held by him last night.

When I woke up this morning, I was so excited. Waking up in Austin’s bed, with a new ache between my thighs, it felt like the start of something new between us. A solution to the tensionthat always seems to be between us. I went out to the kitchen to find him with a hopeful heart and dreams of perhaps sharing conversation at breakfast before convincing him to stay home this morning so we could explore each other again.

“You should have stayed in bed,” I mutter to myself.

How could I have known, though?

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