Rejected

*MacKenzie*

"When will you stop pretending, Kenzie?" Robert asked, changing my bloody bandages.

I hissed when he accidentally pulled too harshly, pilling off a significant layer of skin. "When the right time comes," I replied through tears.

The pain was nothing new, but Robert had never been this harsh. Why such a change today? Since we met, I could only describe him as the protective, caring, and oversensitive bigger brother I always wanted to have.

"I'm sorry, Kenzie. I don't know how long I can watch you suffer for nothing." He apologized and gently started to change all the dressings on my back.

I met Robert when I was ten; he was thirteen. From the first moment, something between us clicked, and we stayed together through thick and thin. He became my best friend and followed me and my mom on our mission to find my father.

Robert was an orphan we met in one of the rogue's camps on our way. With no relatives to take care of him, he joined us, and we spent the rest of the journey getting to know each other. My mother was teasing us that we probably were mates and destined to be together.

I didn't understand what she was saying until we finally reached our destination after long months of traveling: my father's place. But instead of being happy, my mom did something I would never suspect her of.

She left me.

Oh, no. She didn't abandon me like an old unwanted thing, No. She did something worse; she died, not telling me how long and how much she was suffering. Her heart gave up just right after introducing me to my father.

"All done."

Roert's announcement brought me back from memory lane. That day, my life changed drastically; it was not as good as I assumed.

"Thank you, Robbie." I smiled over my shoulder, "What would I do without you?" I pondered, not expecting an answer.

"Kenzie." Robbie hesitated, "When will you give me an answer?" He questioned, finally.

I stood up from the chair and pulled over the oversized shirt. I was avoiding that question like fire. Almost a week ago, I promised to give him the answer as soon as I turned twenty. Yet, something deep inside me told me to stall the moment a little longer.

"Robbie. You know I love you very much and appreciate your help, but I'm not sure this is the right thing to do." I said, not meeting his eyes.

"Why not?" He urged, lifting my chin to look at him.

I took a deep breath and met his vibrant blue and hopeful gaze. Robbie was much taller than me, so I had to tilt my head slightly. His deep brown hair covered his forehead as he gazed down at me.

"You know why," I whispered, biting my lip nervously.

Robbie licked his lips as his eyes turned darker, and the atmosphere around us changed, suddenly filled with electricity. I knew what that meant. I understood completely why he asked me that question, yet I still was in awe that he did that.

"Because of mates." I kept my eyes on his chin.

Robbie clenched his jaw and inhaled deeply through his nostrils, "But you're not a werewolf, Kenzie. You have no mate in this world." He said, piercing my heart with the truth for the millionth time. 

"But you are." I hurried, "Don't you want to experience the sparks they talk about?" I met his eyes, hoping for some hesitation, but found none.

Robbie was damn set on making me his chosen mate, and as much as this would help my situation tremendously, I couldn't deprive him of the one thing every werewolf craved the most: a fated mate.

"I want you, MacKenzie." He confessed using my full name.

His deep voice and hot breath sent a shiver down my spine, causing my heartbeat to speed up. I gulped at the closeness and the heat his body and touch provided. I have never imagined myself in that intimate situation with any guy, especially Robbie. He was like an older brother to me. At least, he should be.

"Kenzie, baby girl. Just give me a chance." He pleaded, lowering his face to mine. 

On instinct, I Ifisted his shirt at his broad chest, parting my lips slightly. Robbie kept my chin in place as the other hand pulled me closer to him, pressing gently on my lower back. I had no idea how the situation had changed, but I was about to receive my first kiss.

Our lips were inches apart, my heart threatened to jump out of my chest, and my breathing quickened. My senses turned off to everything around us and, unfortunately, to everyone around us.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" 

The voice I was so desperately trying to forget from the morning beatings came from my doorway, and my whole body froze as my lips parted even wider out of shock.

"I didn't paint you as a whore, MacKenzie. You should be ashamed of yourself." Esther, my stepmother, expressed disgust.

"She's not a whore, and you know it," Robbie growled, placing me behind him.

"It doesn't matter what I know; it matters what I tell others," Esther smirked, entering my small room.

Robbie backed us away from her, and I clutched his shirt, pressing my body to his back. My wounds were still fresh from the whipping from the morning punishment.

"If you don't want to suffer the same fate as our dear MacKenzie, I suggest you step out of this, boy." She advised in a cold tone.

"Not a chance. She's my mate, and I'm taking her with me." Robbie declared, pushing his wolf out.

Esther only laughed at his words, and in the blink of an eye, she clutched his chin in a vice grip, piercing his cheeks with her sharp nails. Robbie hissed in pain, but his defensive posture didn't waver.

"Remember whom are you talking to, mutt. I am your Luna." She whispered in his ear, but her cold, black eyes looked down at me over Rob's shoulder. "I can kill you just because you exist." She added, not taking her eyes off me.

"Please, Robbie, just go." I pleaded, trembling. "Please, Luna, let him go." I turned to my stepmother, almost crying.

"Kenzie." Robbie pleaded, but I couldn't let anything happen to him. He didn't deserve my stepmother's punishment.

"Please, Luna. Let him go. I'm begging you." I cried.

There was no other way but to surrender. Standing up for myself ended severely every time I did. The weaker I seemed in her eyes, the lighter the punishments were.

"Leave the room, mutt." She said, using Luna's voice to command him.

Robbie did what was told, although I saw the fight in him to do it. He was my protector but couldn't protect me from her. No one could, not even my so-called father.

"Now that we are alone, I can tell you what I came here for." Once Robbie was out of the picture, she sickly announced.

I stayed glued to the spot where I was with Robbie and looked at the floor before me. I heard her footsteps and stopped breathing once her vintage pumps appeared.

"Kneel under the wall." She commanded, sending a cold shiver through my entire body.

I dragged my wobbly legs to the spot and kneeled facing the wall. I knew exactly what she came here for, and I started my prayer to the Gods to faint after the first hit. It was the only way to endure the whole punishment my 'lovely' stepmother had for me in store.

"You shouldn't exist, you bastard. Not only do you look like your whore of a mother, but you behave like her. The bane like you should've never been born." She yelled, tearing my shirt and exposing my already injured back.

I embraced myself for the highest pain level, but it didn't come. Instead, something unexpected happened. The sirens blared on, alarming us about the incoming attack on our pack. The noise was so loud that it hurt my ears.

"Don't think you're off the hook, bitch. Your punishment is just prolonged." Esther hissed as she cuffed my hand to the pipe on the wall before running away from my cabin to hide in the packhouse's bunker.

When the seriousness of the situation finally settled in, I pulled the cuffs, trying to release myself and hide. I started calling Robbie's name, hoping for his rescue, but it was pointless. My cabin was on the path to the old dungeon, about 5 miles from the pack house.

I was exposed to the enemy and would be the first victim of the attack. Especially now, chained to the wall, injured, and with nothing to protect me. The battle howls started to get closer, and my whole body trembled out of fear.

At that moment, my stepmother's punishment seemed like joyful fun compared to being torn apart by bloodthirsty rogues. The snarls outside my cabin made me squirm on the floor, hoping they would leave my house alone. But luck was not on my side today. 

The doors to my cabin creaked, and I curled in a ball, trying to hide from the intruders. My heart almost exploded as the air around me felt heavier, bringing an unmistakable alpha aura with the wind's gust. I shot my eyes harder, hoping to disappear from the rogue's sight.

The footsteps were heavy and approaching my way. I held my breath, expecting the blow to end my miserable life. I counted to five, but nothing happened; when my lungs couldn't stay airless any longer, I finally released my breath and opened my eyes.

But if the man before me were here to take my life, I'd gladly lay it in the hands of that angel. The world stopped momentarily when I entirely took in the gorgeousness of my intruder. 

He was barefoot, dressed only in washed, ripped black jeans, not fully buttoned up. The pubic hair was visible to my eyes and went through his sculpted abs to his broad tattooed chest. I licked my lips as the dirtiest thoughts played in my mind. Looking up, I braced myself for the shock of my life, and I wasn't wrong.

Thick, short beard growing around full lips, nose piercing, and dirty blond hair combed carelessly to the side. Something strange happened in my lower abdomen that reached my core rapidly, causing a moistening between my thighs and an unfamiliar ache.

The rogue's eyes penetrated my soul with its deepest shade of brown, heating my body with a simple stare. He was older, more significant than me, and probably even more prominent than Robbie, but what was fascinating about him was his aura. It didn't scream danger, although the man was dangerous.

"Name." He demanded in a hoarse and deep voice.

I gulped in nervousness at the command, yet it ignited a fire inside me. 

"Mac," I cleared my throat, „MacKenzie Allard." I stuttered, hypnotized by his eyes.

At the mention of my last name, his expression changed from intrigued to raged. He bent and grabbed my chin in a painful grip, sending pleasurable sparks and making me gasp in realization. I smiled at him in relief.

"Thank you for the rescue." I sighed and inhaled his earthy and uniquely fantastic scent.

"Who said I came here to rescue you?" He chuckled as he lifted my chin. 

"I am your mate," I stated as my whole body trembled from the intoxicated mix of pain and pleasure.

"You are." He agreed, but his grip over my chin tightened painfully.

"But not the wanted one." He explained, and my eyes widened in shock. "I, Conrad Hamilton, reject you, MacKenzie Allard, as my mate." 

With those words, he stood up and walked out of my cabin without looking back. Still in shock, I didn't notice my torn shirt falling, exposing my naked and bruised front as the tears rolled down my cheeks in waves. 

My mate, my rescue just left me in that hell to die. Exhausted and heartbroken, I let my body shut down and cried over my tragic life.