My Mate Chose His Mistress Over Saving My Life

The note had said it was urgent Omega business. Something about inventory at the old warehouse on the pack borders. I should have known better.

"Rebecca Allen." The voice sliced through the damp air of the abandoned warehouse. "How kind of you to join us."

My heart stuttered painfully in my chest. Alpha Jayson Warren stood before me, his broad shoulders blocking the dim light filtering through the dusty windows. Beside him, Briana Dunn's red lips curved into a predatory smile.

"I—I received a notice about Omega duties," I stammered, clutching my bag tighter. The scent hit me then—pine and winter frost, intoxicatingly powerful. My knees weakened. "You're..."

"My mate," Jayson finished, his eyes glittering with something that wasn't love. "Or rather, you were supposed to be."

The warehouse door slammed shut behind me. Briana's heels clicked on the concrete floor as she circled me like a vulture.

"Isn't this romantic?" she mocked. "The great Alpha Jayson Warren meeting his fated mate in such... intimate surroundings."

I couldn't breathe. Couldn't think. The mate bond pulled at me like a physical tether, drawing me toward Jayson even as his cold eyes repulsed me.

"I didn't ask for this," I whispered.

"Neither did I." Jayson stepped closer, his Alpha aura pressing down on me until my bones creaked. "A wolfless Omega. The Moon Goddess must have been joking."

Briana laughed, the sound echoing off the empty walls. "At least I have a wolf. And a place in this pack."

"I, Alpha Jayson Warren of the Bloodmoon Pack," he began, his voice dropping to that resonant Alpha tone that made every cell in my body freeze, "reject you, Rebecca Allen, as my mate."

The pain was instantaneous and overwhelming. It tore through me like wildfire, burning away any hope I'd harbored. I collapsed to my knees, gasping for air that wouldn't come.

"Did you think he would actually want you?" Briana crouched beside me, her perfectly manicured hand lifting my chin. "Look at you. No wolf, no status. Just a burden."

I tried to speak, but the rejection had stolen my voice. My wolf—the one that had never awakened—howled in agony somewhere deep inside me.

"Let's make this interesting," Jayson said, nodding toward something in the shadows. "That promotional bear was left here last month. Quite large, isn't it?"

Briana's eyes lit up with cruel delight. "Oh, perfect."

"What are you—" My words cut off as Jayson grabbed me by the hair, dragging me toward the massive teddy bear propped against the wall.

"You know," Briana said conversationally as they forced me to my feet, "we debated just killing you quickly. But where's the fun in that?"

I struggled against Jayson's iron grip, but the Alpha command still held me mostly paralyzed. "Please," I managed to whisper. "Don't do this."

"Shut her up," Jayson ordered.

Briana's hand clamped over my mouth as they shoved me toward the bear's open back. I kicked and twisted, but my limbs felt like lead.

"Stop fighting," Briana hissed in my ear. "It'll be easier if you just accept it."

They stuffed me inside the plush bear, my limbs crammed against the thick fabric. The air grew instantly stale and hot. I heard the distinctive sound of a needle and thread.

"No one will find you here," Jayson said, his voice muffled through the fabric. "The rogues that patrol these borders will think it's just debris."

The needle pierced through the fabric, sealing me inside. Each stitch was another nail in my coffin.

"Perfect," Briana purred as they finished. "Now, let's go celebrate our upcoming Luna ceremony."

Their footsteps faded, leaving me alone in suffocating darkness.

Three days passed in a blur of heat and thirst. My lips cracked. My throat burned. The air grew thinner with each shallow breath.

*This is how I die*, I thought. *Trapped in a teddy bear by my own mate.*

I don't remember losing consciousness. Only the sensation of drifting away, my wolf's faint howl growing quieter in my mind.

Then came the sound that saved me—the splintering crack of wood and the tear of fabric.

Light flooded in, blinding after days of darkness. Strong arms pulled me free from my prison.

"Rebecca," a deep voice murmured, urgent and commanding. "Stay with me."

I forced my eyes open to see the most beautiful face I'd ever seen—sharp features, intense eyes filled with concern, and an aura so powerful it made Jayson's seem like a candle compared to the sun.

"Who..." I whispered.

"Colten Campbell," he answered, cradling me against his chest. "I've been looking for you for a long time."

Something stirred deep within me at his touch—something that had slumbered for too long. My bones began to crack and reshape, my skin stretching painfully.

"What's happening?" I gasped.

"You're awakening," Colten said, his eyes widening. "Your wolf is coming."

Pain unlike anything I'd ever felt tore through me as my body contorted. I screamed as fur erupted across my skin, my form shifting for the first time.

And then, darkness claimed me again—but this time, it wasn't death approaching. It was rebirth.