Acceptance

ARIA'S POV;

Shaken up? Definitely. Who wouldn't be in my condition? Firstly, I had a one-night stand with a man I thought was just going to come and go, lo and behold, he turned out to be my uncle, my mate and also my professor.

How terrible could my life get?.

"Hey, little niece, you need to just watch yourself. What happened the other night was a mistake and it won't happen again. I didn't know who you were and I was too drunk to get my thoughts together that night," Ronald said to me as the sun peeked through the curtains, signaling the rise of a new morning.

I was in nothing but shorts and shirts, not caring about my appearance since I was more concerned about the fact that he hadn't spoken a word to me since yesterday, the moment we felt the connection and we both knew we were mates.

"We are mates. Do you think the moon goddess would have made such a mistake, knowing you're my uncle?” Genuinely confused, I asked, biting my bottom lip while trying my best not to scream out.

Just when I thought I'd finally found my mate and could forget more about the night I had with Ronald, only for me to be thrown into a world where he ended up being my mate.

Immediately, he stopped in his tracks, his buttons open leaving his chest exposed to me.

“Little niece…,” he began to say, fully aware of how much that address only angered me. It was his own way of making me more aware of the relationship between us and our age differences even though I already knew it.

“I wasn't so little when you had me screaming and moaning beneath you or when you had your cock buried deep in me while you groaned and asked me to stay with you…,” Smiling, with my eyes twinkling, I closed the distance between us, raising my hand to place it on his chest.

He took a sharp intake of breath and closed his eyes while he stood stiff.

I no longer felt in control of my body and it seemed like my wolf had taken over, unable to fight the mate bond.

“Stop…,” Ronald warned in a guttural voice with his eyes still closed. Rather than getting scared, his voice only turned me on, dropping a heavy weight in the bottom of my belly.

“I'm trying…,” I heard myself say in a voice that wasn't mine. I've always heard stories about the mate bond but I didn't realise how strong it was that I was losing control of myself.

The air around him had drastically changed and now, he looked murderous with each passing second but I was internally fighting with my wolf, fighting to take control back.

My second hand landed on the other part of his chest but immediately, I was pushed aside as distance between us was made.

“Get away from me,” he hissed, this time, I could tell the difference between the first time. Unlike before when he sounded unsure, the certainty in his voice couldn't be denied now.

My mouth dropped open in shock, my body freezing momentarily while I tried to process what just happened in the span of a few minutes. Now, I was in full control of my body and a few pants escaped my lips.

“I’m sorry. That wasn't me, I swear it,” With my lips wobbling as my emotions spiraled, my wolf whining in fear, I asked, raising my head to stare up at him.

In his orbs, there was nothing but pity and resentment he held in them which made me fear for what he might be thinking about.

“Well, I guess I'll have to do this the hard way. Marblemaw Aria, I hereby reject you as my mate!” And then, he dropped the bomb on me and my heart seared with pain.

“No ... .no….,” I stammered, raising my hand to hold the counter to support me. I could barely stand on my feet, my legs shaking while I tried to come to terms with what he had just said.

“No, no, you can't just reject me. Please,” I began sobbing, my tears falling without any control. Through my blurry vision, I stared up at him, hoping he was going to take back his words but instead, he only stared at me, with no emotion in those beautiful orbs. I knew I had to come to terms with this, sooner or later but I wasn't just prepared for this rejection.

“Be quick with it. Accept the rejection and let's make things easier for you. You don't have to feel obligated again. I already have a mate, my girlfriend,” he continued, staring at me calmly, tapping his fingers on the other side of the counter as he stared at me.

At this point, it looked like I was the only one feeling the pain of the rejection.

He still stood tall and unbothered, waiting patiently while I wept.

Why? Why was all of this happening to me? Just when I thought I'd finally found a connection, I ended up getting rejected and this was only the beginning, because I had no choice but to live with him.

“Can you give me some time to prepare myself? Please?” I begged, knowing there was no way out of this but to accept his rejection which was inevitable.

Unfortunately, all I got was a calm stare and then a few other words that pierced through my heart.

“She will be coming to join us later this afternoon and she will be the lady of this house. Treat her how you would treat me, your uncle,” Ronald added.

My head rang and so did my ears, the taste of rejection and pain all bitter on my tongue.

Not only was I being rejected but now, I had to live with my replacement in the same house. The more this thought sank in, the more my heart broke and the more my wolf howled out in pain, wanting to take over.

After saying his piece, I blankly watched as he walked away, leaving me to crumble and wallow in self-pity.

Without even a goodbye, he walked out of the door and yet, here I was, my heart crumbling to pieces.

All of my appetite was lost and the only thing I could resort to was to drag my feet back to my room. I barely registered a thing as I continued, not only feeling weak from the rejection but from Ronald's brutality.

I didn't realize how much time had passed since I sank into the huge bed but the only thought that ran in my head during that time was how to focus more on my school work, since that was the primary reason I was here in the first place.

Just as I was about to wallow in pity, I heard my name being called.

“Aria!” Ronald's all too familiar voice immediately had my heart suddenly thrum. The urgency in his voice made me confused, catching me off guard.

Was he going to throw me out of his house? Immediately, I threw the covers over me, jumping down from the bed and scrambling to my feet.

Without another word, I ran out of my room, heading straight down the stairs.

“Oh, you're here. Finally, I want you to meet someone,” Ronald began to say even before I managed to get to the end of the staircase.

I raised my head to watch him, before robotically turning my head to stare at the lady who had her hands wrapped possessively around his arm.

How could I have forgotten about the introduction he had promised me this afternoon? How pathetic of me!

“Aria. It's really you. I'm happy to see you again. We're going to be families!” The lady said with so much familiarity that for a brief moment, I went into shock as I studied her face.

Now, I was shocked by the realization of being rejected but not only that, the said mate Ronald had personally picked was none other than my new professor in college, Miss Caroline.

“I Marblemaw Aria, accept your rejection,” I said and almost immediately, a more excruciating pain tore through my chest, sending me tumbling to the floor.