CHAPTER 5

DEREK'S POV 

The weight of responsibility pressed against my chest as my father’s words echoed through the phone 

“Joshua and Andrea found themselves as mates during the pack run,” he announced. “As the soon-to-be Alpha, Derek, you’ll have to give them your blessings. I’ll be there as well.”

A snort escaped my lips. The irony. Here I was, mated to the pack’s runt—a bond I refused to accept—and yet I was expected to celebrate another pair’s perfect union. Could my day get any worse?

Before I could stew further in my misery, my door burst open. Selene walked in, her smugness radiating off her like a foul perfume. 

Dressed in barely anything, she sauntered toward me with that look in her eye, the one that always made my stomach turn.

“How the hell do you keep getting into my house?” I muttered under my breath.

“Come on, Derek,” she purred, closing the distance between us, her fingers trailing up my arm. “Why are you fighting this? We’d be perfect together.”

I pushed her back, my patience snapping. “You’re not my mate, Selene,” I said coldly. “We were never meant to be.”

Her face twisted with fury. “Why are you rejecting me? I’m the Beta’s daughter! You need someone strong like me to share the burden of being Alpha.”

She kept pushing, her hands on me again, and something inside me flared to life—frustration, anger, disgust. I stepped back sharply, my voice firm.

 “Don’t raise your hopes, Selene. You will never be my mate. You’re rude, entitled, and the way you treat the pack—especially my mother, the current Luna—is unacceptable.”

Her eyes widened in shock. No one had probably ever dared speak to her that way before. “Go find your real mate, Selene. And while you’re at it, find a better way to spend your life.” I walked out, leaving her standing there, stunned into silence.

But as I descended the stairs, my thoughts betrayed me. Ava. Her image burned into my mind, the memory of her bare skin, her soft curves—fragile and imperfect, yet something about her lingered like an ache I couldn’t shake. 

Damn it, Derek. Snap out of it. I chastised myself. She’s the runt, the twisted-spine girl I rejected. And yet…

Her hair. Blonde, long, and cascading down her back like spun silk. Her eyes—crystal clear, almost unnaturally so, reflecting a depth of innocence and sadness. I shook my head violently. No. Stop thinking about her.

When I reached my parents’ house, laughter greeted me. My mother and father sat together, looking at each other like they were still young mates in love.

 It was a sight the entire pack admired—two wolves who found their fated bond and lived every day as if it were their first. Their happiness used to inspire me, but now it felt like a slap to the face.

“Interrupting love hour?” I teased, barging in. My father smirked and turned toward me.

“Derek, mating is a blessing,” he said gently. “You’ll find yours when the time is right. Don’t rush fate.”

I forced a smile, but inside, my chest tightened. If only he knew. I was already tied to my mate. And I’d rejected her.

The morning unfolded quickly. My father explained that Joshua and Andrea’s families were coming for the official blessing of their bond. 

I frowned at the mention of Joshua. Isn’t he Ava’s brother? My heart jolted. Would I see her again? Why did that thought send a confusing mix of dread and… hope?

When the families arrived, we stood in the courtyard. My father, the Alpha, addressed them with pride, my mother and I flanking his sides. 

I scanned the crowd instinctively, searching for Ava. She wasn’t there. My brows furrowed. Why isn’t she here?

Andrea’s parents stood stiffly, their faces dark and displeased—a stark contrast to Joshua’s beaming family. Something was off.

“Joshua has found a mate in our Andrea,” Joshua’s mother declared happily.

But Andrea’s parents interrupted, their voices sharp and bitter. “We do not accept this mating,” her father spat. “How can we allow our daughter to marry into a weak family?”

The crowd fell silent.

“A weak family?” Joshua’s mother demanded, stunned.

“Yes! A family whose eldest child was born premature with a twisted spine.” My stomach dropped. Ava. 

“Defects like that don’t just happen—they run in bloodlines. How can we risk our grandchildren suffering the same fate?”

Andrea’s face crumbled with embarrassment and anguish. “Stop it!” she begged, turning to her parents. “I love Joshua. Please, don’t do this.”

Her parents ignored her. “Joshua may look healthy now, but who’s to say the next generation won’t bear the same shame as Ava? You all hide her away for a reason!”

The anger I felt was sudden and violent, a roaring fire in my veins. My fists clenched at my sides. How dare they? How could they talk about her like that, like she was less than nothing?

I forced myself to stay silent, biting back the growl rising in my throat. Why am I so angry? Ava wasn’t even here, but hearing her name used as a weapon against Joshua made my blood boil.

Blake looked ready to start shouting, but my father raised his hand, his Alpha tone silencing the courtyard. He shook his head, his towering figure exuding authority.

“Is this what our pack has come to?” he said, his voice calm but cutting. “The Fates have chosen two wolves to be mated, and you would dare stand in their way? 

When Ava was born, I didn’t cast her out, because I knew she was born for a reason. No one chooses the circumstances of their birth, and no one has the right to judge another for it.”

The courtyard stilled. Even I stared at my father in shock. He was a traditionalist to his core, always preaching strength and power. Yet here he was, defending Ava. Defending the runt.

“And let me remind you,” he continued, his gaze narrowing, “Ava’s mother bore three healthy sons. Joshua is one of them. This union has been chosen by fate. You will not tear it apart.”

He turned to Andrea, his voice softening. “Andrea, do you accept Joshua as your mate?”

Tears streamed down her cheeks as she looked at Joshua and whispered, “Yes.”

“Then it is settled,” my father said, his final blessing sealing the bond.

Seconds later, Andrea rushed to Joshua, wrapping her arms around him. Their wolves burst forward, shifting seamlessly, and they ran off into the woods to complete their bond.

I stood rooted to the spot, my thoughts a chaotic mess. My father’s words echoed in my ears, and guilt coiled in my chest.

Was I a coward? I rejected Ava because of her “weakness,” yet here I was, seething when others belittle her. The mate bond was still there, strong and unrelenting, no matter how hard I tried to d

eny it.

But I’m the future Alpha, I argued with myself. How could I accept a runt for Luna?