Rejected by the Beta, Claimed by the Alpha

A familiar voice met Rowena's ears at the entrance of the pack house. "Beta's mate! How romantic," Clara sneered. Her expression showed mockery. Rowena stiffened, and her fingers dug into her palm. Clara had always hated her for no reason, but this awed Rowena because Clara knew she had been rejected already. So why pit her friends against Rowena? Clara's many friends were all present. There were nothing less than twenty of them, each one of them holding a white egg.

Rowena's eyes watered. She knew what they were going to do, and she could not stomach it. As an Omega, she dared not utter a word. This kind of punishment was given to she-wolves who committed crimes such as adultery or theft. Once they were done with you and anyone saw you, they would instantly know, without asking, that you committed either of the crimes. Most of the people who endured it eithe fled from the pack or committed suicide. Life as an Omega was not easy, and this was even worse. The girls chorused together, "Shameless Rowena!"

Clara was not done with her, asking, "So did you think that Beta Charles would break up with me and date you? Hahahaha, Rowena. You should not have been born. The moon goddess knew how senseless you were, for which reason she gave you a shameful birth. After today, you will know your place and never come close to Beta Charles again."

Rowena knew her place as an Omega, so she dared not utter a word and did not try to fight back. With her head lowered, she tried to walk away when Clara grabbed her by the arm. She snarled, "Where do you think you are going? We are not done with you." She winked at the girls, and uncooked eggs began to rain down on Rowena's head. She shielded herself with her arms, but it was surprisingly painful.

Over a hundred eggs were smashed nonstop on her head. She was covered with the slime of the egg white and yolks and smelled bad since some of the eggs were rotten. Measuring the distance from the packhouse to her small house, Rowena knew she was done for, and all she did was shed tears while the girls heartlessly continued smashing her with the eggs at every chance. She had to be careful not to swallow some, and the smell was terribly repulsive.

"What is going on here?" Alpha Clinton's angry voice resounded. In a blink, all the girls, including Clara, ran away, but he saw most of them, including Clara. His anger boiled at them, but his heart sank at the sight of Rowena and what they had done to her. Guilt sat heavily on his heart, and he could not allow it to get worse. But before he could say a word, Rowena took to her heels, falling and rising from the slime of fresh eggs together with their shells on the floor, which she kept stepping on until she was far from him. Rowena did not look back and would pick herself up when she fell, even when other pack members laughed at her. This shame was worse than the rejection she faced since no one saw it.

Alpha Clinton watched her in both shock and remorse, unable to take a step. For five minutes, he was rooted in the same spot as he tried to understand exactly what had just happened in front of his pack house.

"Dad, let's go inside. I will get someone to clean up," Beta Charles said, unremorseful of what his girlfriend had done to poor Rowena. From the moment he felt that bond with her, he began to despise her. Ever as the bond was broken, he still could not get over the fact that the moon goddess had heartlessly paired him with a low omega like Rowena. If he had his way, he would drive her out of this pack to a place where no one would ever associate with her.

Alpha Clinton went into the house but said sternly to Charles, "Make sure that you punish those girls for what they did to Rowena, especially Clara."

Charles frowned, not buying into the idea. "I'm sorry, but Rowena is just an omega. She is nothing. Besides, I love Clara and I want to marry her." Crash!

Alpha Clinton kicked the glass center table, and it broke. His anger doubled. Clara was ill-mannered, and the only reason Alpha Clinton tolerated her was because she was a pack member. It was his responsibility to protect everyone. Nevertheless, he could never allow Clara to become a Luna in his pack. Taking deep breaths to calm himself, he asked seriously, "Is she your mate?"

Charles mind-linked some other omegas to come over to clear the mess in the living room and the frontage of the pack house, after which he responded lividly, "Those things do not matter to me anymore. The moon goddess does not get to decide for me. My destiny is in our hands."

"I know that Rowena is your mate," Alpha Clinton pointed out. He knew it because it had been pre-arranged. He only wanted fate to take its course, which did not seem to be happening. Therefore, he was disturbed. Years ago, Rowena's destiny had been changed because of a sacrifice her father made before his death. For this reason, Rowena was his responsibility.

"I already rejected her," Charles said ruthlessly. Alpha Clinton felt like he was having a heart attack. There was a strange pain in his chest.

"You what?"

"Why do you seem surprised? How will you or I introduce her to our Alpha friends and even the pack? Clara is much more suitable. She is beautiful and everyone loves her. She is the only one who should be the rightful Luna," Charles said while batting an eyelash and without remorse.

Alpha Clinton was sweating hard. He dared not reveal the secret or else, everything would be ruined. But how could he watch this happen? His heart was squeezing tightly inside his chest and ribcage. He found his voice and warned seriously, "If that is the woman you choose over your destined mate, then I will not hand over my title to you."

Beta Charles glared at him in annoyance and countered, "Like you have a choice. If you die, that title will still be mine. Or do I have to remind you that your so-called first and rebellious son neglected his pack? For what? A woman?" Disgust coated his face and tongue while he spoke. Alpha Clinton debunked immediately,

"He did not. His mate was human and was not comfortable there. He loved her enough to sacrifice everything, and that is what I call strength. Your elder brother respects the mate bond, and that is what you have to do."

"And that gives you no choice but to make me the Alpha. Look, the best I can do is give Rowena a break from her chores. I will assign another Omega to be in charge of the cleaning, but she does not deserve any apology," Charles said despairingly. An omega for a mate? He would rather die. Whereas, Alpha Clinton was not having it. He said strictly, "I don't want to see Clara in this house again."

Charles responded swiftly, "I'm sorry, Dad, but this is going to be her home, so you are going to see her every day. Don't forget that it's just you and me, and I am your Beta. I stood by you when your beloved son left. Please don't be stubborn," he said with a threatening gaze.

Alpha Clinton felt helpless in the situation. Any other woman who became Luna except Rowena would spell doom for the snow mountain pack. His gaze darkened, and he warned seriously, "Charles, don't tell me that I did not warn you. You will regret this."

"No Dad, I have never regretted anything I have done in this life, and I'm not going to regret rejecting a useless Omega as a mate," he said with disgust.

A week passed, and Rowena never returned to the pack house. Alpha Clinton was uneasy and said to Charles after one of the morning training sessions, "I will go and visit Rowena. She should have returned by now. She always took her chores seriously."

"Oh please, don't disgrace me. How can an Alpha like you, go to the Omegas in search of a lowly one?"

"Be careful, Charles, don't..." The raging sound of a siren was heard, meaning that the pack was under some form of attack. Both father and son rushed to the door to check. They were surprised to see the pack warriors taking down some rogues, but what amazed them was the person leading the fight. Seeing the unfamiliar car parked in the yard, they already discerned that it belonged to him. It did not take long for the rogues to be taken down as the pack members bowed to him. The warriors were even happier to see him.

"Jaxon," Alpha Clinton called out, but Charles turned grim when he saw his elder brother, Jaxon pulling out luggage from his car. Even when the pack members wanted to help, he shushed them politely away. He let out a smile that did not reach his eyes when his gaze met that of his father. Jaxon hugged his dad before Charles while Alpha Clinton told Charles to send the pack members away.

"Dad, I mean no offense, and I am very happy to see you, but I saw a girl on my way here. Blonde hair with a petite frame. She looked like she had been crying for ages and carried luggage. I almost knocked her down, and when I got down from the car, I realized that she was my second chance mate. She ran into a taxi before I could speak to her. Do you have any idea who she is?" Jaxon asked without catching his breath.

This was very important to him, and he wanted to chase after the taxi, but he saw the rogues infiltrating the pack and saw it as an obligation to protect it. Now, he was desperate to see that girl again.