Chapter 0002

A Year Later

Bailey…

Yet another birthday party for our beloved upcoming Alpha. Ha. Not my beloved upcoming Alpha. I hated the fucker. Breaking my heart without a second thought. What I had done to deserve that I had never got a proper explanation from him. Other than the frequent insults, of why would he want to be with someone like me? Did I look like Luna material to him? I had no clue. What the hell did Luna material look like in his eyes? Some blond bimbo, no doubt. They were the she-wolves he tended to spend his time with within our pack. The ones who worshiped the ground he walked on. That would do anything he asked of them. Ones that I highly doubted read much more than the work set of them at school.

“Bailey!” my Mum yelled at me from the stairway of our family home. “Will you hurry up?!”

“Do I really need to come to the party?” I responded. “I am telling you, Miles will not be bothered if I am not there!”

“Your Aunt and Uncle will be though. And I am not explaining to them again why you are missing.” My Mum continues yelling. “Do you not realize just how many events you have missed this year, all because you have your head in a book?”

“Yeah Bai-Bai. Such a geek. No wonder you have no friends.” My sister Morgan giggles from outside my bedroom door.

“Piss off.” I hissed. “I have friends.”

I stormed from my room, and down the stairs toward my waiting family. I planned to greet the birthday boy, not that he would care in the slightest. I know that he would rather not see me at all. And then I would sneak home.

“Ew, are you wearing that?” Morgan asked.

I looked down at the skinny black trousers I had on and the white tank top. Great. I can’t win. Nothing I wear is approved of by my sister, evidently named the fashion queen without my knowledge. Oh well, I am dressed and wearing it. I think it looked good with my chunky black sandals I had on…

I scowled at my sister and walked out of the door. “Are we going or not?” I snapped at them all, truly not able to wait for the following month when I leave to go to university. Get away from them, and this pack!

The party was well underway when we arrived, music pounding from the speakers as couples made out in every available space, so I averted my eyes as we walked through the corridors of the packhouse to the lounge where we would no doubt find Miles reigning over his people. Being all important, like he was partial to considering himself.

‘Why are you here?’ Miles’s voice filled my mindlink, before I had even fully entered the room behind my parents.

Great. ‘I didn’t get a choice. Trust me, I would rather not be.’ I snapped back.

I was getting more than a little tired of the way he would treat me. Yes, he planned on rejecting me. Decided I was not for him, but he could have left it at that. I didn’t need treating like I was some sort of social pariah because of the fact he decided I was not right for him. I do not think I deserved that. I had endured enough bullying through my time in high school, for the fact I enjoyed my education.

‘Oh. Excuse me? Are you implying you were not going to come to the party of your next Alpha?’ Miles links with some serious attitude.

‘Miles, you just asked why I had bothered coming. Now you are asking if I was not going to come? Make your mind up.’ I argued.

‘Remember who I am Bailey. You are not above me. Never will be. Could have been equal to me at most had I seen you as suitable to be my mate, but no. You were beneath that honor.’ He sneers.

I felt anger racing through me. ‘And you think I would not have rejected you?’ I snapped, moving back toward the exit, not wanting to be here anymore. Until I felt a hand grabbing the back of my tank top, yanking me back.

My eyes darted upward to see the dark eyes of Miles. Sneering down at me. Our Pack’s upcoming Alpha. The most arrogant man I think I have ever met. One, thankfully, I did not have to be mates with any longer as the stupid fucker had chosen to reject his own fated mate before even giving her a chance. “Going somewhere Bailey?” he asked, his voice full of spite.

“Well, I do believe you asked me why I was here, so I assumed you wanted me to leave.” I told him.

Miles bows his head down so it is level with mine, he inhales deeply, like he still enjoys the scent of me. He has done this numerous times of late, which I find quite bizarre. But, I ignore him as he tilts his head to look at me, “Hmm, I think my Mum and Dad may have something to say if you leave. Their clever little Bailey. Heaven forbid.” He presses his forehead against mine. “Just stay away from me, and do not spoil my fun.”

I shake my head in disbelief at him, as he stalks away. Did he even think for a moment I would be going near him if I could avoid it? I would rather be anywhere but near him!

“Bailey, why are you harassing my friend for?” I heard my brother, Jordan demand, as he suddenly approached, causing many people to turn around and look at me. Wonderful. Nothing like starting pack gossip is there. I am sure Miles would appreciate that!

“I wasn’t harassing him, he came to speak to me. Asking why I had come.” I told him, and my brother laughed. He is as much an idiot as Miles. Any of my friends who have big brothers hate how protective they are. Me? No, my big brother is the one leading all the bullying and being a total dick to me. He finds great embarrassment in the fact his younger sister is far from being one of the popular group, and is, in his words, ‘far too into her books’. I think, in all honesty, my entire family found me, in one way or another, a huge embarrassment.

“Well, he has a point. Not like you will be joining in with the celebrations. You will probably be sitting in a quiet corner somewhere reading.” He teases.

“Well, it is certainly more intellectually pleasing than any of you would be.” I smirked at him as I walked away from my brother who was standing looking confused. I am sure he had no clue what I meant. The scary thing is he will be the next, pack Beta. Heaven help our pack. Between him and Miles they only had one brain cell between them, and that was one that they shared, I am sure of it! And even then, I think it was rechargeable and started losing power and knowledge at a rapid rate! They only graduated high school because they paid people to do their work for them.

As I snuck away, out of the busy lounge to the top of the stairway, where I hoped to hide out for as long as possible, I heard footsteps behind me. I quickly turned, hoping it was simply someone on their way to their bedroom or even to one of the spare bathrooms on this floor. But, sadly, luck was not on my side tonight. No. Miles was following me. Eyebrows raised and looking quite irritated.

“Oi. I want to talk to you.” he demanded.

“You asked me to go away a minute ago, didn’t you?” I asked him.

“Don’t think so, think it was more a case of why you were here.” Miles says with a smirk. Sitting on the top step with me.

“Miles, you have the whole pack here for your birthday, I am sure whatever you need to speak to me about can wait.” I shrugged, desperately craving peace, which, considering the pounding beat of the music playing, would be difficult.

“No. Why didn’t you tell me you were leaving?” he questions, like he is irate at the fact I had not let him know. Why would I let him know?

“Why would I? We aren’t friends, Miles. You also are not my Alpha yet. It was arranged with my parents, me and your Dad, as Alpha.” I explained to him, unsure why this would even bother him. If anything, I would think he would be glad to get rid of me.

“You are going away though.” he murmurs.

“That is generally what happens when you go to college or university. Yeah.” I said with another shrug.

“There wasn’t one closer to home?” he hisses. “Because it seems to me you picked the one furthest away.”

“What does it matter to you? You hate me. I won't be here, You get your wish of being rid of me.” I snapped, truly sick of him trying to dictate to me what I should and shouldn’t be doing. I had worked hard in school, so I could do this. My parents had spoken to my Aunt and Uncle, the Luna and Alpha of our pack to allow me special permission to go to a university out of state to study, saying it was what I had dreamed of. I had nothing holding me back. And, with the fact Miles did not want me for his mate, or his Luna, I truly did not. Not that any of them knew of that. That was our own secret.

Even despite the pull to him as my mate since my wolf had arrived, I still found him truly repulsive. He sickened me. Though, the pains when he slept with the many she-wolves that visited his bed, made it even easier to detest the man that he had become. I still had no clue what I had done to deserve this treatment from this man, other than not being one of the popular group. But, I knew I deserved better than him.

Miles glanced at me, momentarily a thoughtful look passed over his face, almost caring, before a hardness replaced it. “That much is true. No more having to see the disappointing failure the moon goddess made of mating me to you. At least not for a few years. Who knows, perhaps you will meet someone while there. I suggest you do. That way you won’t have to come back, because, I, as Alpha, will be looking for my Luna.”

“Miles, I honestly do not care if you find someone else.” I told him, going to stand and head home, not wishing to spend another moment in the same place as him.

As I went to move away, he grabbed my hand, pulling me to him, so I was once more sitting level with him on the top step of the first floor landing of our packhouse. “Always so righteous aren’t you Bailey? You say you don’t care? We will see. Well, this will be on my terms. I, Miles Davenport, reject you, Bailey West, as my fated mate…” he began, and my head began to whirl as his words sunk in. The realization and excruciating pain of what was happening becoming too much for me…