Rejected by the Beta, Claimed by the Alpha

Jaxon felt an emptiness in his chest as if his heart was missing. Thinking that the moon goddess had been merciful to him, soothing his pain with a second chance mate, he had just been hit with an unwanted surprise.

"What do you mean by 'she is not coming back'?" Jaxon asked, startling Alice. The man had become intimidating after leaving the pack for three years. It didn't matter, though, and if they meant to torture her daughter after all they had done to her, it was good her daughter left. As much as she wanted to yell and chase them out of her small house, she still held back the pain due to her position. From Charles's cold glares, she felt that the Alpha was up to no good.

"Why do you seem surprised, Master Jaxon? Do you not know what your brother did to her a week ago? After brutally rejecting her, he allowed Clara and the other girls to egg-stone her. Everyone knows what that means, so please don't tell me that you expect her to stay after such humiliation. It would have been better to just banish her."

Alice had cried all night for the past week in secret but had forced herself to be strong to comfort her daughter. It was as if all her tears had run out, so she could not cry anymore, despite the immense pain she still felt. Being an omega did not mean they were numb to pain. They had their human side just like every other werewolf. It was just unfortunate that the emotions of the omegas were always trampled upon and abused.

Jaxon could foresee that the woman was holding back her anger, but his rage boiled towards his brother. Even if he didn't want and rejected her, why allow her to suffer the punishment of a criminal? No wonder Rowena was so sad when he saw her. She must have been crying since that day, and Jaxon wished he had been there for her. He was always the indifferent one, but never for once did he look down on any omega. Maybe he should have done better before leaving the pack. He should have stopped the nepotism against the omegas. He glared at his brother.

"All pack members deserve our protection, so why did you allow it?"

Charles was unremorseful of everything that had happened, feeling even better that Rowena had left. To refer to her as his rejected mate sickened him. Rowena did not deserve to even carry the title of his rejected mate, not ever. "Oh please, don't lecture me. If you cared so much about this pack, then you should have stayed."

Jaxon was so enraged, his eyes darkened dangerously. He was about to punch his kid brother in the face before Alpha Clinton intervened. "Let's go and talk about this in private." Jaxon was fuming but obeyed his father and Alpha. He turned to Alice. "Please, give me her location, and I will make this right."

Alice was at a loss. After everything that transpired in front of her, she was just realizing that things were not as she thought them to be. Sadly, her hands were tied. "I respect you so much, but I'm sorry. Her wounds are still fresh. Give her time to heal."

"How long are we looking at?" Jaxon did not have the patience. He wanted to be there for her and be the one to comfort her. What would be his use if she healed from the pain by herself?

"She wants to go to medical school, so you can imagine," Alice left out the rest for him to figure out. Jaxon wanted to punch a wall, but there was none nearby. Just hedges and flowers. The omegas were not privy to much income, so their best fencing was hedges. As cheap as they were, they also added beauty that other pack members did not have in their houses. No one acknowledged it, but they were certain of it.

"I can be there for her. I will not let her lose focus or anything. You can trust me." Jaxon swallowed the pain and anger seeping through him while he pleaded, though not directly, but Alice could not betray her daughter for the family that caused their pain.

"Please. I already lost trust in our leadership. I'm just an omega. Just leave us alone."

The woman's words hurt Jaxon, but he did not argue, knowing that she was in pain. Slow and steady would always win the race, and that was exactly what he planned to do. For now, all he could do was to render an honest and heartfelt apology, whether or not it worked. "I am very sorry for everything."

"You are not the one at fault, so why are you apologizing?" Alice could not understand him but was touched by how responsible Jaxon was. He just proved maturity that his junior brother did not have, which made Alice wish that he would rather be given the Alpha title and not Charles.

"He is still my brother, and even though your daughter is away, I will make sure that you are well taken care of."

Alice stiffened. Jaxon was going too far, and she did not want to break her promise to her daughter. It was a well-known fact that they meant nothing to the ruling family, so it was not hard to make the promise of not telling Alice's location to anyone. Now, she was fighting hard to keep that promise, and the only way would be to not entertain Jaxon around her so much. His complex personality made him rather difficult to reject.

"You don't have to. I can take care of myself."

"I know, but I won't stop until your daughter returns. If she is here to take care of you, then I will not be needed," Jaxon said solemnly. He was not going to back away. Rather, he was going to take on Rowena's responsibility and take care of her mother for her. This was his start to winning their trust again, but Alice felt uneasy, trying to find ways to discourage him.

"If that is the case, then you might spend your whole life taking care of me."

"I don't mind," Jaxon replied solemnly. Alice sighed as she watched them leave, wishing this would be the end of their visit. However, Jaxon did not seem like he was going to give up anytime soon, which made her somehow uncomfortable.

The drive back to the packhouse was filled with total silence. Jaxon was tired and needed rest, but now he couldn't. He was thinking of letting his wolf out, but he also had to deal with this matter about Clara. When they reached the packhouse, the three men threw themselves onto different sofas, though they could all be comfortable in one. Jaxon was the first to speak.

"I propose that we banish Clara."

Charles frowned imperceptibly and quickly jumped to Clara's defense. They were both made for each other because they thought alike, so how could Jaxon even think that after being away and leaving his responsibilities for Charles and Alpha Clinton? He was not going to allow it. "For putting an omega in her place, I will not allow it."

Alpha Clinton was calm, observing his two sons. What Charles did weighed heavily on his heart, and he was glad that Jaxon was ready to make amends. It also meant that his promise would be fulfilled. It was a secret he could not tell anyone until things had fallen into place since that piece of information could change everything.

"Charles, you know that all along, I intended to make you the Alpha of the pack, but what you did to Rowena was terrible but also comprehensible. Still, you have to find Rowena wherever she is to apologize or behalf of Clara if you don't want her to be banished."

Alpha Clinton was trying to play fair to avoid enmity between the brothers. When Jaxon was leaving, he gave up his rights to the rulership, for which reason Alpha Clinton could not give it back to him directly. It would only be if Charles rejected it. Seeing how proud his younger son was, he was sure that would happen.

"My elder brother is here, and he can have the Alpha title. I will not cause trouble if you leave Clara alone," Charles took his stand. If being an Alpha meant searching and apologizing to a lowly Omega, then he would rather remain a beta and have the most beautiful woman by his side. Jaxon could rule with that Omega for all he cared.

Alpha Clinton thought it wise to give him another chance, thereby stating it in simple terms, "If I understand what you are saying, then it means that you shall remain as the beta and have Clara as your mate." "Exactly my point," Charles agreed. Alpha Clinton was elated but maintained a stoic expression while he asked, "Good, but are you not forgetting something?"

"What?" Charles was a little confused at the moment.

"Clara is just seventeen and has not shifted. What if she does and finds a mate who is not you?"