His eyes blinked rapidly. "No." His voice was hoarse, and it sounded like the word ripped from his chest.
That word—that one word was like a spear lodged in my chest cavity.
"No?"
He grabbed my arm and pulled me into the pantry behind him. The sparks of his touch were impossible to ignore. The door slammed behind him and he pushed me further from him, causing me to stumble over my feet. I reached out and caught myself by holding on to a shelf.
"I can't be your mate. You're Ivy's sister... she's my girlfriend." Disbelief clouded his features as he clutched his hair in his hands.
My eyebrows creased, and my chest ached. It felt like vines were wrapping around it and smothering me silently.
"I'm in love with Ivy. Not you." His words hurled daggers into my soul.
"Stop," I whispered. My head was still fogged by the matebond.
"Ivy lost her mate. I can't let her lose me too," he argued as if the matebond between us was my doing.
"He died... that was out of his control. Why would you choose the same fate for us? To lose each other." The desperation I felt laced my words as I held onto the shelf tighter.
"I don't care about you as much as I care about her. I can't." His jaw tightened.
"This isn't how it works. I don't understand." My voice cracked. Tears started to form and run down my cheeks. I couldn't grasp the situation that was unfolding in front of me. I felt drunk. I couldn't think.
"Don't you get it? I don't give a fuck about the matebond. It's deceitful." He let out a humorless laugh, but I didn't miss the pain behind his eyes.
"How can you say that? How can you stand there and tell me you feel nothing for me?" I took a deep breath, trying to regain some semblance of control. "You're my mate, Nolan." I reached my other hand out toward him, but he took a quick step back.
His intense stare seared into mine. "I know what I feel for Ivy, but—" He hesitated, running a hand through his long hair. "What I feel for you is nothing but the bond. It's not even real." With each word that spewed from his mouth, I died a little more. He continued, "This isn't what I want. Ivy and I knew I'd find my mate, eventually. I know what I have to do."
I sucked in a sharp breath, gripping the shelf with both hands. "Please—don't," I begged, despair rich in my voice but it meant nothing to him.
"I'm sorry." He paused, squeezing his eyes shut. "I, Nolan Albright, the son of the Beta of Maxwell Pack, reject you, Sophia Maxwell, the daughter of the Alpha of Maxwell Pack."
That statement broke me. Physically, emotionally, and mentally. My soul shattered into a million minuscule fragments.
I squeezed the shelf tight, breaking the wood. Splinters cut into my hands, and I could feel the wetness of the blood seeping out.
Using all the strength I had left, I spoke the words I knew he yearned to hear, "I accept your rejection."
Once those words were stated, a seething pain worse than before sliced into me tenfold. I squeezed my eyes shut and crumpled to my knees, holding in an excruciating need to scream. I curled my fists up, pushing the splinters deeper into my palms.
Once I sensed Nolan's presence leave, and the door shut behind him, I gasped for air. The tears poured out and my body shook. I had heard that the rejection of a soulmate was the worst pain a wolf could endure, but I didn't know it would feel like this.
I imagined leaving, taking off and never coming back. I wouldn't have to face anyone after being tossed aside as garbage by my mate, but I knew that wasn't an option. I was the firstborn of my father, the Alpha of the Maxwell Pack, which meant I was the future Alpha.
After a few minutes of hell passed, the fog from before had cleared and the pain from my rejection subsided. My chest felt hollow. I glanced down at my bloodied hands, picking the splinters out and dropping them on the floor. Each time I pulled a bloody fragment of wood out, it stung.
What just happened? Why did it happen? I had so many unanswered questions whirling around in my mind.
I stood on unsteady legs. What I felt was almost unbearable, but now that agony turned to a cold emptiness. I didn't feel anything anymore. I wiped my tears away with the backs of my hands, smoothed down my dress and walked into the kitchen.
I turned the cold water on and ran my hands under it. Blood washed down the drain and I was able to pull the last of the splinters out. I turned the faucet off before walking back toward the ballroom.
After scanning the room, I went over to my parents who were by the grand piano, mingling with pack members.
"I need to speak with you both privately," I said, yet I hardly recognized my own voice.
I could see the worry in their eyes. They excused themselves and followed me to the meeting room.
My mother, Sage, was the first to speak as she wrapped her arms around my frame. "Sophia, honey, what happened?" I nuzzled my face into her auburn hair.
My father, Shawn, said, "I'll take care of it. You need to tell us what happened."
"I was rejected." The words sounded foreign in my ears.
Finding a mate was what every girl dreamed of since childhood. I was no exception.
My mother's hold on me tightened. My father, visibly fighting his wolf, struggled not to transform.
"Who?" My father growled.
"Dad, please."
I didn't want him to make a scene. He was the Alpha and was held to a standard, something he took seriously. He couldn't damage his reputation.
"Oh baby, I've heard the pain of rejection is almost unbearable..." Mom stroked my hair.
"It felt like my soul was being
