The next day, I was up before the break of dawn. I am so sleepy even though I will myself to move. Even as I move, my eyes are half-closed. "Ouch!!"

I jump around in agony and my hand shots down to grab the toe I bumped into the door frame. That is surely a wake-up call for me. I went into my shower, stripping the pyjamas off my body till I am stack naked. The warm water heats my body as it hits my skin. I sigh, feeling content with the happy feeling. I scrub my body, then walk out of the shower and head to my joint closet in my room. I pick out blue, simple, faded, jeans. I put them on and they are loose on my slender body, only hugging my hips.

I put on a white shirt, and my black Converse to match with the jeans and head out the door.

It's still dark outside, as I walk on foot through the houses, heading to the areas where the event will be held. My pack isn't large, but it has very strong members who are great fighters. We may not be large in numbers, but we are strong. The pack consists of houses that are clustered together. They are so close to each other, with a few stores available in case we want to purchase some items. For items not available in the pack, we go to the human town a few miles from here. There we can find a mall and bigger stores.

It's quiet as I pass through different houses, I pass by the alpha's house too and judging from the quietness I know they are still sleeping as well.

Since the Darkmist pack will arrive today, I will need to get things done before the afternoon.

The sun slowly begins to rise, and so does the noise, indicating that other pack members are awake too. I guess it will be a busy day for everyone. I reach the rose garden, which has a large clearing in it, perfect for outdoor activity. The roses add beauty to the whole event.

"Hey Lucy!" my best friend Stacy shouts as I pass by her house she is standing on the porch, waving from a distance.

“Hey, Stacy!"I wave back enthusiastically. I suddenly feel guilty for not visiting her yesterday on my special day off. But I am sure she would understand, though I fear not. Stacy can be quite petty sometimes.

I continue to head in the direction of the rose garden I pass a few houses and am there.

I smile when I see it. I can see some decorations were done yesterday, which will only make my work easier.

I get busy and begin work with the team I picked up. I was happy about how efficient they had been in my absence.

We work as quickly as possible till all the decor is done. By now, it's already lunch hour. The breakfast I missed is now beginning to bite me, making me regret it.

“I think we are done here!" I announce it to everyone and they all cheer happily. "Job well done, team. Now all that is left is to wait for the celebration."

They cheer happily. "It was great working with you, Beta Lucy," Jane announces one of the warriors from the pack, and the rest of the group agrees with her. I smiled at everyone and say my goodbyes and wish them a great celebration ahead of them. I walk in the direction of Stacy's house. I am starving and her place is the only thing I could think of quickly. I needed food before I passed out.

I gently knock on her door and she opens it quickly. I quirk my eyebrow at her and she shrugs her long straight waist-length black hair, bouncing on her shoulder at the action.

“What?" her sharp voice makes me wince slightly. I roll my eyes at her, then push her aside and I am inside the house. I heart straight to her kitchen and open her fridge, scanning what fast food she has. Coming up with nothing, I moved the cupboards just as I was about to open them, I hear rattling I turn sharply to look at her.

”Coco pops?” I asked her and she just shrugges again and continues to pour some for herself. Feeling defeated, I grab the box from her, grab a bowl and milk, and make some for myself.

”I didn't know you were that hungry. You would have told me early and I would have cooked some food for you." She says, in a way that feels like she's mocking me for my hunger. I glare at her and then continue to eat the cereal as if my life depended on it.

Her big blue doe eyes are solemnly focused on me. She watches me quietly as she eats. She is beautiful. There is no denying that. She has the perfect white skin too. I kind of envy her sometimes, not that I'm not pretty myself, but just that I can't compare to her. Not only that, her movements are graceful too. She is like this porcelain doll that is very delicate and, like me, she also hasn't found her mate. Stacy is more like the opposite of me. While I am rough around the edges and may not be the kindest, being beta taught me to be tough and also be a fighter. Well, as for her, she can barely fight, even in her wolf form, but her beauty is exceptional. Maybe that's why we got along so well. Opposites often attract each other.

“I was so hungry," I complain to Stacy as I completely eat everything, grabbing some more too.

"Teaches you something for skipping breakfast," she giggles gracefully. I frown at her, giving her a questioning look.“ Oh please, you are my best friend. I can tell when you miss breakfast. You are quite a hungry bear if you ask me.” She teases with a smirk plastered on her face.

”I ain't a hungry bear." I defend myself. This only earns me a laugh from her.

"I won't argue since that's what you tell yourself when going to sleep," she deadpans. Her comeback completely shut me up. Instead, I ignore it and continue to eat. It's funny how we are having cereals for lunch. I am not surprised though, Stacy is a lazy cook since she lives alone most of the time as her dad is rarely home.

“Please hurry up; we need to get ready. Blackmist will be coming soon. I am so excited. I have a feeling I will meet my mate today!" She squeals, jumping around like a young girl, her sharp voice making me wince once more. Damn, this girl can scream.

She grabs my hand and quickly leads me to her room, and from the outfits, I can see on her bed, I know she has been planning this for a while.

She has the most expensive-looking dresses spread on her bed. It is no surprise as her dad happens to be rich. After losing his mate, Stacy's mum, during childbirth, he was kind of lost and decided to venture into some business forum that brought him a lot of money and still required a lot of his time. It was his way of coping with the loss of a mate. Even if it meant he would spend less of his time with Stacy, he still spoiled her with everything she needed. Stacy is a few months younger than me, and we are still tied to the hip.

“I told Daddy to buy me the best of the best. I want my mate to be happy when he sees me today. I just have this strong feeling. Yeah, so dad bought the best as you can see, just choose whatever you want. If you want to shower first, you know where my bathroom is. " She says, as she begins to collect her makeup stuff. I head to her bathroom, getting into the comforting shower, and just like her room, her bathroom is pink too. I grab the shower gels available. I go with the coconuts option, which is what I usually use whenever I come here. I take a quick shower and use the restroom when I go back to her room I find that she is almost done with her makeup and is now styling her long black hair. I grab the blower and begin to dry my own naturally curly auburn hair. I had recently cut it till it was reaching my shower, but it seems it has outgrown that length and become thicker than before such that it is now reaching my back. My hair is fully dry and Stacy is done with styling hers. She decided to curl it and let it fall. She looks gorgeous. I am sure her mate will be happy when he sees her.

“Come here." She ushers me towards her, and I do just that. she lets me sit on the previous chair she sat on. "Do you need me to apply some makeup on your face?" she casually asks.

"Yeah, not too much, though I want a natural look," I instruct her, it's not like I am as excited as she is and I am not even trying to pretend to be.

“Okey babes, let me work my magic," she says, and I trust her very much in this. She is the best makeup artist I know.

I relax as she works on my face and, later, my hair. She doesn't take a lot of time before she is done. I look into the mirror and my hazel eyes reflect me. I look just like myself, but a bit more enhanced than before. I like this look very much.

I instantly stand up and am slightly taller than she is. While I am slender and taller, she is slightly shorter and curvy in the right places.

I grabbed a random blue dress off of her on her bed and put it on. It complements me very well and reaches just a little above my knees. It holds my upper body and loses on the lower part. This is something I could use. My love for Converse has me going back into them and Stacy knows better than to stop me. She just shakes her head at me before she gets dressed too. She wears a body-hugging red dress that is a little above her knees too. It complements her body so well, that I am a little jealous. She pairs up with some barley pumps and we are good to go. But by the time we reach the garden, it is occupied by different pack members. The setting looks great now that it's almost dark and from the strange scents I can detect, I can tell the other pack has joined us too.

This is the first time in years that these two parks have met in a gathering like this. The reason is that our packs never got along before, despite being neighbours. And their Alpha was to blame for it. I may be a beta but I have never met him simply because of that.

I follow the aroma and it leads me to the food served for all to take. I am instantly salivating. My hunger had not been satisfied by the cereal I previously had. I look at all the food served and I swallow hard. I instantly grab a plate and begin to serve myself, quickly dishing food like a hungry beggar who has been given a chance to pick whatever he wants. When I put food on the plate, I feel as though someone is watching me, and when I look around, I don't notice anyone. I shrug it off and take the plate to the nearest seat next to me. I'm sitting alone, stuffing my face with different kinds of food, because my best friend ditched me the moment we walked in, claiming that she wouldn't be able to find her mate if she didn't mingle whereas I don't care.

I am halfway through the plate when I hear someone call my name.

"Lucy!!" Alpha Xavier calls. Can't he see I am eating? A girl doesn't like to be disturbed when she is eating. I have some meat in my mouth when I look up at him. He signals me to go over, and I nod. He would make me leave my food. I put the plate aside as I became angry with him.

"This Alpha Raymond Walker from Blackmist, I don't think you two have met." Alpha Xavier, introduces me, I shake my head, and I observe the man standing in front of me. He looks to be in his late twenties, but he still looks handsome as hell. He sports a light blond stubble that complements his blond hair and has piercing honey brown eyes.

I reach my hand out and shake his firmly. "My name is Lucy Reed, the beta of the pack." I introduce myself.

”Yes, of course, Alpha Xavier mentioned it," he says sadly, after realizing I am not his mate.

”That's...." I am startled by a scream from behind me, and that scream makes me wince, letting me know exactly who let out that scream. Stacy

She runs up and passes me, stopping right beside me, and when I gaze at her, her attention is somewhere else. It's on Alpha Walker and from the look he reciprocates, I can tell these two are mates. It doesn't take time before he grabs her and she is engulfed in his body and they are already kissing.

I move away, deciding this is the perfect time to leave this scene. I head back to my abandoned plate, but it is not where I left it. Someone is holding that plate and looking directly at me. From the sweet intoxicating scent, I smell from him, I know one thing is that this man is my mate.

As I approach my plate, he stands up and I scrutinise him. He looks a bit skinny, not exactly what I hoped for. He has a handsome face, yes, but he just isn't my type. As I get close, I notice another thing I missed from the distance. His scent is so faint and it's a scent that cannot be mistaken by anyone. It's the scent of an omega.

I pose in my tracks he smiles when he sees me but when he sees the disgust on my face his smile instantly drops and is replaced with confusion. I bet he is wondering why I ain't happy to see him.

I continue to judge his weakness with my eyes and from his frail-looking body, I doubt he will ever improve and be strong. Why couldn't I will be like Stacy, not only is she beautiful but her mate is an Alpha too while I am stuck with the lowly omega.

I make a turn and my food is long forgotten I don't even think I will eat after this. The revelations have destroyed my appetite.

I take two steps away from him till I feel someone grab my forearm, the sparks and intoxicating earthy scent letting me know exactly who it is.

”Don't go.” For a weak-looking male wolf, he sure has a deep voice. I am almost weak to my knees but the thought of him being an omega, someone I never wanted keeps me standing.

I forceful shrug my arm out of the hold and just as I expected he ain't even strong enough to stop me. I continue to face away from myself.

“Why shouldn't I go?” I ask through gritted teeth. This is the last place I want to be.

”Let me talk to you please,” he pleads even though he saw the disgust that was clearly on my face.

I scoff, what could he possibly say to me. "I don't think anything you say will mean anything to me."

I still face away from him, seeing him just hurt me more. Different pack members peer at us, we are slowly grabbing attention and that is the last thing I want. How could a strong beta like me end with such a weak male?

"Let's just go somewhere private so we can talk," he mutters but I can get him just fine, I simply nod and begin to lead the way.

I walk past different pack houses, with him hot on my tail. I approach the woods where we go to shift, it's the only private place I can think of.

Thank moon goddess I wore converse it is easy to walk my way through the woods. I reach a sport that is hidden and away from any hearing ears, this is a conversation I can't have pack members listening on. I abruptly stop and turn around, he almost runs into me not expecting the sharp turn but lucky enough he stops just in time. His height surprises me when my face meets his chest, he is taller than I expected. I move a few inches back and look up at his face. Despite having completely shaved his head, he still looks handsome. Maybe if he had been a warrior or even gamma I would have accepted to be his mate but not an omega. My father always told me how bad it is to have a weak mate. Even if he recently changed I can't help but stick to his old teachings.

I fold my hands over my boobs, "Talk" I demand.

"I am trying to understand why you don't like me, aren't mates supposed to love each other no matter what?" he asks his eyes furrowed.

I roll my eyes at him then scoff." Give me a good reason why I should like you or at least accept you as my mate." I challenge.

His frown deepens, " Do I even need to have reasons?" I scoff at his reply.

"Then I have no reason to be here, just go on with your life I don't need you as my mate you have nothing to offer me. You are just an omega I bet on top of being weak you are dirt poor too. " I say as my eyes sweep over his outfit. He wore a simple black plain t-shirt and black ripped jeans, which he paired with worn-out running sneakers.

He looks offended by my remark but quickly covered it with an emotion I couldn't read. Not that I care about his feeling he can go to hell for all I care.

"So this is what this is about power and money?" he asks sadly his voice dropping by tempos.

"Not money but the power I am a beta I deserve better, someone with a higher rank but what do I get paired up with. " I gesture to him. " Just take a good look at yourself then look at me."

He is too stunned for a moment and I begin to wonder if he will say anything until he does." You are just a power-hungry bitch." I sneer at him.

"At least I go some power, unlike someone." I mock him, my sneer only making it worse. He seriously thinks I would be proud to have him even being mateless is better than that. His anger shadows his face and I only sneer more as if he can even do anything.

He begins to turn, "Not so fast," I stop him. His forest green eyes are instantly on me. One word I can describe them by is beautiful even when they hold anger and contempt for me. But even that is not enough to change my mind about what am about to do." What is your name?" he stumbles my question catching him off guard. He frowns at me he clearly can't guess what am going at.

"If you don't want me then why should my name be important to you?" He spats his voice even deeper from the anger lased with it. He didn't take my insults well.

"What do you think stupid weakling?" I taunt him. He glares at me and I reply to his glare with a smirk. I am getting on his nerves and I love it. "Give me your none important name like your none important self." I insult him further.

He tightens his fist and I quirk my eyebrow at him to challenge him. Should he try anything stupid and I will hand him his ass on a silver platter I have fought men who looked larger and more powerful than him and yet I still won.

"My name is Kayden." He finally speaks with a defeated look on his face. Just as I thought there is nothing he could do.

"Great, I Lucy Reed reject you Kayden, " I pause cause I don't know his last name. "What is your last name again. " I ask him.

He glares at me, " Kayden Gray" he snaps. He has a nice name too bad I am using it for bad reasons.

"I Lucy Reed reject you, Kayden Gray, as my mate." The moment I say those words he kneels to the ground and groans in pain. I felt the pain of the bond being one-sided. But I stayed strong and watched him on the ground withering in pain. "Accept my rejection," I command him.

"No," he says firmly, even though his face shows pain. Just how pathetic can he be.

"Suit yourself then."

I walk off and leave him there alone in pain. He will collect himself when he wakes up. I walk back to the gathering alone. I grab some more food careful enough to avoid anyone who tries to talk to me. I leave the place and head home, after this the least I want is to be around anyone. I felt guilty for not seeing Stacy but I could see her tomorrow.

I get home and lucky enough I am the only one home. I eat the food and head straight to bed.

I thought about what I had done. If dad found out he would be disappointed with me no wonder i have to keep this secret away from him and any other pack members.

I just hope Kayden won't go and start opening his big mouth but with his ego crushed I doubt he will do anything. This is the best decision for me, after all, I can always meet better males than him, more powerful men who meet my standards.

As much as I liked my decision a part of me felt guilty for the way, I treated and insulted him. Trying not to dwell on it I shove the guilt away somewhere very hidden and far.

The next day I am at Stacy's house helping her pack up the stuff she keeps bragging about how great and lucky she is to be mated to someone so powerful.

"What exactly did you do after kissing him? I asked her, referring to the time she met Alpha Raymond.

She blushes a pink colour tainting her cheeks. " After that whole scene, we created, we left to a private area and told me about how he wanted me to go back with him to the pack like immediately meaning today, he spoke about how he couldn't wait to ravish me once am introduced as luna of the pack." I squealed in excitement. I was happy for her, "By the way, I saw you leave with that guy who is he?" she suddenly asked changing the topic.

"No one important," I instantly dropped the topic.

"If you say so though I did think he is cute." I roll my eyes at her. "He is cute you can't deny that." if only she knew what I had done to that cute guy.

"I guess he is," I say as I remember his captivating green eyes.

Lucy.

I help Stacy pack up everything her room looks a bit empty she carried most of her things off to start a new life. I envy her no lie that's the kind of life I hoped for, being mated to an Alpha too but I got stuck with the weakest link.

"I guess that is all," She squeals yet again and I wince at her sharp voice.

"Do you seriously need to scream and jump around?" I ask her with a hint of irritation in my voice. With one of my fingers blocking my right ear.

"Sorry I am just so excited, have you seen how handsome he is, like gosh he is the most handsome man I have ever seen his alpha aura is so powerful I can't believe an omega like me got paired with such a strong alpha." Her words are like stub to my heart and she was pushing the knife deep inside. It is surprising even to me that she got paired with an alpha while a strong beta like me gets an omega.

"yeah you are so lucky I am very happy for you." Even I can't tell if I mean those words or not. " Does your dad even know that you found your mate?" She gives me the are you serious look. And I shrug my shoulders at her.

She rolls her eyes, " he does know I told him even though he knew even before that, word moves fast around here."

"It sure does move fast." I agree with her.

The doorbell ring and I rush to check who it is. I open the door and I shudder at who I see.

I receive a glare in return which I return with my own. "What are you doing here weak link?"

"None of your fucking business." He rudely replies through gritted teeth.

I scoff, "Right as if I would even want to know the business of the likes of you. " I remark. I roll my eyes at him once." you should even be happy you didn't die last night, such a weak wolf as you doesn't deserve to live."

"What do you mean such a weak wolf?" Stacy's voice sounds just after mine. My mouth instantly goes dry.

"No, it's nothing." I cover up with a lie.

"I see, " I breathed a sigh of relief. " Oh you are here to pick up my bags, just come in they are all in my room."

"I can't believe you are leaving. " Tears prick the corners of my eyes.

"We could always visit each other you know." She comforts me.

"Still ain't the same as having you around."

" I know"

Kayden was down with the bags, despite their skinny form he carries the bags with ease. So he did have strength left in him and here I was thinking he wasn't good at anything.

" oh, you didn't pick up something!" Stacy exclaims and rushes back inside the house.

It was just Kayden and me, " I have been waiting you know. Since you are leaving why don't you just accept the rejection on your way. I was serious when I meant I never wanted anything to do with a weak link like you." I whisper harshly to him.

He simply glares right back but didn't say a single word. Just as I thought.

I continued to taunt him," Just look at you all you are ever good at is being an errand boy. Being the back and call to do your alpha's bidding. I ain't up for such so please just cut me off too. "

" You don't know anything about my life Lucy. I will make you regret this one day Lucy mark my words." He threatens me.

" Oh please, you ain't got the balls or guts to do that." I snickered at him. He glares at me but mostly he is hurt by my words as if that would make me care, oh please.

He walks away in the direction of where he had parked his car a simple SUV. I doubted the car is even his.

" I am back Lucy did I miss anything. " Stacy looks at me as if she suspected something.

I give her an innocent reassuring look, " No trust me you didn't. " I smile to convince her.

" Okay..." She sounds unsure. She doesn't seem to believe anything I said.

I hug her tight one last time, I don't even know when I would see her next. Tears pool down my cheeks. She is the only friend I had and how would I go on living without her. All the memories of us came flashbacking back but it was time for me to let her go.

My wolf is sad too even sadder than when I rejected her mate. She practically hated me and never bothered to speak to me since I made the rejection. The more mean I was to him the more I drove her away.

I wasn't worried, with time she would warm up to me eventually. She will understand in future that it was necessary to reject his weak us. He would have only brought us down.

I watch my best friend leave as the weak link drives away. I wish I never see him again.

@

Years have passed since Stacy left to start her new life. My own life is stable and ordinary nothing interesting and in all those years my wolf had completely withdrawn from me. I didn't know the rejection would affect her much. Whenever I try to move on with another male wolf, a powerful one my wolf would cause havoc.

I got through three years and it was a constant struggle. I continued to train and perform beta duties and in all those years no one had dared challenge me over my position in the pack which was also a good thing.

While as in our pack not much was going on a lot had happened in Stacy's pack. A new wolf had taken over as alpha. They say he showed up from nowhere and challenged Alpha Raymond and won the battle. In our societies who over won the position simply took over. The name I heard was Kayden, but I knew it could never be that ex-mate of mine he was such a weakling he had no potential at all.

" He is here." My wolf Maya speaks through my mind. What did she mean he is here?

" Who is here Maya ?" She doesn't respond. She is back to giving me her royal silent treatment.

I am in the pack office as the alpha had invited me to be present for this meeting with the new Alpha what he wanted here no one knew.

I suddenly felt uncomfortable in the plush leather seat I sat in. What was wrong with me. ....no...it was Mara.

Just then a man with a very powerful aura walked in. I continued facing away from the door, my focus was on our alpha.

I was afraid his power exceeded that of Alpha Xavier too. I simply understood why he came here. Just his aura alone was frightening. But what caught me by surprise was his scent. I knew that scent I wouldn't mistake for anyone else. It couldn't be I must be wrong. I turned and when my eyes collided with those forest green eyes I nearly collapsed.