-:Cecelia's POV:-

I sprinted out of the school building, ignoring all the disapproving looks people shot my way when I shoved past them. I couldn't hold the tears in anymore. I let them flow. Sera kept whimpering in the back of my mind like a wounded animal, bawling her wolfy eyes out. I let mourn the loss of the mate we never truly had.

I went on towards the forest near the school, throwing my belongings near the base of a tree, and shifted as soon as I was out of plain sight of the humans, tearing my clothes to shreds in the process. I gave over the control to Sera and she took full advantage of it, running away as fast as she could. 

Seconds into the run, she let out a loud howl. I was a little pissed because the werewolves in the school definitely heard it. But she needed it, so I didn't comment. Not that I was in a state to do so, anyways. 

The mate bond seemed to have numbed my sanity, penetrated my conscious, and blocked out all rationality from them, leaving only the thoughts of Ashton in its wake.

She ran for hours, using extrusion and exhaustion as an escape from her pain. Goddammit. This is exactly why I didn't want a mate.

Whining, whimpering she made our way through the forest towards a clearing when she couldn't run anymore. She flopped down on the ground with a pant, breathing heavily. She rested her head on her front paws and closed her eyes. She kept her ears peeled for any unusual noise. We sat there in the silence of the forest. There was no sound except for the quiet chirping of the birds and the slight rustling of the leaves.

'Can I get control back now, Sera?' I asked softly after a while. She grunted but didn't reply. Just when I thought she wouldn't, she let go of the control. I sighed as I shifted back, groaning when I realized that I shredded my clothes. I huffed and looked around the bushes to see if someone had stashed some clothes there. 

Luckily, I found a tee and a pair of oversized basketball shorts stuffed into the hollow in a tree trunk. I put them on and started my walk back barefoot, slowly. I felt more in control now. Things weren't being blown out of proportion by the effect and haze of the mate bond. I could think clearly. 

So, our mate had a girlfriend, okay. He had staked his claim on her in front of me by kissing her, okay. Mate didn't want us, okay.

Sera growled at me for thinking this.

'That's getting old, you know?' I said drily. 'It feels like you've growled more today than all the times combined since the day I shifted.'

'Mate,' was all she said.

'Sera. Come to your senses. He deliberately kissed her in front of us so we would back off. Let's just reject hi-'

'NO!' She thundered. I understood her reason. The wolves suffer the most when the mate bond is severed. But I was too antagonized to address her feelings.

'Goddess, Serafine! have some self-respect. I am not pining over some arrogant jerk who doesn't want us.' I snapped at her.

She snarled and blocked me.

I glanced around the forest to see the sun, realizing it was well after school hours. I quickened my pace, resorting to jogging to get back. I picked up my belongings from where I'd kept them and winced when I saw the number of missed calls from Julian and Aaron.

I sent a reassuring text to Aaron telling him I was at a coffee shop and quickly redialed Julian's number while walking back to my car. The call had barely connected when he picked up.

"I am going to kill you if you ever do something like that to me ever again, get it?" He snapped without wasting one breath.

"Yes, dad," I rolled my eyes. 

"I'm serious, Cecelia!" He boomed and I could almost imagine him red like a tomato. "You are in a different state and you just disappear for seven hours after you sound like someone died?!"

"Well, to be honest, something did," I justified.

"What?"

"He kissed her like I wasn't just standing there, Julian," I told him in a low voice. He took in a sharp breath. "Sera went batshit crazy and the mate bond made me temporarily crippled. I'm fine now. I was on a run."

"How's she now?"

"I don't know, still hopelessly in love," I scowled. "I hope you didn't tell anyone about my mate." My eyes widened.

"No . . . I was tempted to when you disappeared, but Liana stopped me." God bless her.

"How's she?"

"Devastated. She was excited for you to find your mate."

"Well, that makes one of us," I muttered under my breath.

"Give me a warning next time. I was worried sick, Lia," he changed the topic.

"Sure! Next time I'll make sure to stop Sera from losing her shit and trying to shift and tell you exactly what's going on." I said sarcastically. He and I both knew that that's not possible. You can only control your wolf so much.

"How are you holding up?" He finally sighed.

"I told you, I'll survive," I replied curtly, stopping dead in my tracks when I saw him leaning against my BMW, looking right at me. The parking lot was empty save for my car and a truck beside it which I concluded was his. I shook myself internally. He doesn't affect me, I repeated the mantra in my head. I walked to my car with strained nonchalance. 

"Do you want me to come over for a while?" He asked gently.

"No," I said decisively, thinking of his pack. "I'll tell you when I really need you to come. Don't waste your visits over nothing." 

I unlocked the car with my keys from a few feet away. I expected him to budge, but he didn't. I realized he was there to talk to me, I freaked out internally. I did not want to talk to him.

"I guess you're right," he muttered. I hummed.

I feigned ignorance as I walked to my car and opened the door. But just before I could, a hand grabbed mine and sparks shot up my arm. I closed my eyes. I didn't fail to notice how my breath hitched and became uneven. The first time he touched me. The feeling was delicious, threatening to overwhelm me. But I shook it off stubbornly.

"Julian, I'll call you later." I cut the call before he could reply. Then turning to Ashton, "What do you want?" I snapped.

He regarded me with a disgusted look. I felt my heart clench painfully. In my head, Sera sat down on her belly, whimpering and looking up at the scene through my eyes. He didn't speak.

"Well?" I demanded roughly, "I have better things to do."

His nostrils flared.

"Don't you dare tell anyone about this," he hissed at me. I ignored the shivers that went through my spine as my brain registered his voice. I narrowed my eyes at him.

"One, don't flatter yourself. You're not the kind of person I would want to herald as my mate," I jeered. "Two, don't fucking dare to even try to order me around again."

"You're my mate," he stated, his voice dripping scorn and repulsion.

"Gee will you look at that, I missed that detail altogether!" I said sarcastically. "You lost the right to call me your mate when you rejected me."

"Rejected?" He scoffed. 

"Let me jog your memory, future alpha," I drawled. "The hallway after the first period . . . remember?"

"You were jealous," he said evilly. I laughed humorlessly.

"Whatever floats your boat, sweetheart," I ridiculed.

"Sweetheart?"

"Is that all you got from it, you nincompoop?"

His jaw went slack from surprise before he recovered and resumed his glare. This time it held a resolve. His grip on my arm tightened.

"Rejected, hun?" He mused, looking deranged with that indescribable look in his eyes. "Let's see. I, Ashton Kian Summers, reject you, Cecel-" 

My heart was beating out of my chest and I clutched at my shirt as agony ripped through me. I stumbled while he fell back against my car forcefully, clutching his head. His eyes clenched shut. 

His wolf. 

Sera recoiled into herself with the realization of what was happening. Some part of me wanted to help Ashton but I couldn't. I was an emotional mess. For the second time today, my dam broke. Tears slipped down my cheeks relentlessly. 

It hurt even though I had no attachment to him. Our bond was too strong. Alpha mated to an Alpha. I was foolish to even think I could reject him sometime in the future and he was foolish for trying it. Our wolves won't let us. And we still manage to, our wolves will pay the price. We will never be the same because a part of our soul will die.

I watched as he stopped struggling and opened his eyes, pitch black. I exhaled, bounding a desperate Serafine more firmly.

"Mate," he breathed. I eyed him warily, trying to soothe the ache. That was his wolf in control. An Alpha wolf Ashton apparently had next to no control over. I didn't respond.

"I'm Xavier." He stated in a deep voice that seemed to reverberate. I was surprised, werewolves don't name their wolves so easily. That means vulnerability because the names give power. It dawned on me that his wolf was trying to make it up to me. Unexpected warmth flooded me.

"Cecelia." I pursed my lips to keep from releasing a smile.

"I am sorry about my human," he apologized with a frown, hesitantly raising a hand to wipe my tears. The sparks . . . Goddess. The gentleness of his touch was fascinating. I closed my eyes automatically, my resentment forgotten.

"I didn't mean to hurt you," he added. I noticed the use of 'I' and not 'we' but I ignored it. I focused on the feeling of being loved by our mate. Sera yipped in agreement.

"Can I meet her?" He asked. I knew what he meant. I opened my eyes and after a moment of thought, nodded. Sera jumped at the chance.

'Do not tell him your name, Serafine.' I cautioned. 

'I wasn't planning on it,' she replied smartly.

"Xavier," she purred and I cringed at her. I was not surprised to see him smile crookedly at us. I refrained from rolling my eyes.

"You're hurt," he noted, glancing at my jaw and pointedly staring at my arms. I had forgotten about them.

"It's nothing," she waved her hand in the air dismissively. The movement exposed more bruises.

"What?!" He growled, glancing at my arms. "You're covered in them!"

She watched him overreact and be possessive with an air of detachment.

"So I've noticed," she replied drily.

"Why are you so nonchalant about it?" He demanded, breathing heavily and grabbing my arm, observing it. Sparks danced across my skin, almost making me moan.

"Ever heard of training?" She sassed.

He clenched his jaw. "And this rich coming from you," she continued. "First you make a mockery of our bond and then you act as if you care? We will not be toyed with, you understand?" 

He opened his mouth to speak but Sera beat him to it.

"I don't want to hear it," she stated firmly. "No amount of apologies will ever make your behavior today acceptable. I came to meet you only because we're bound . . . Nothing more. You have disappointed us, mate."

To say I was shocked would be an understatement. I was proud of her.

'I am a part of you, Ce. Never forget that.' She reminded me gently, 'You and me against everyone, even if it is our mate.'

'I love you, Sera,' I choked.

'I love you too, my valiant human.'

"Sorry," he mumbled, ashamed and oblivious to our private conversation.

Without acknowledging that, she was back to her corner in my mind. She was calm now. I never really understood the pros of speaking your mind properly until then.

I gave Xavier a sympathetic smile, pulling my hand back from his grasp, already missing the warmth and the tingles. I moved past him, getting into the car. He didn't stop me, he didn't say anything. He just watched me drive away, his face contorted in regret and anguish.

The drive was difficult, not only because I was very exhausted, but because driving without shoes was fucking uncomfortable.

What a fantastic day.

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A/N:-

La la la la la . . .  Another chapter is done! I hope you're not bored, lol. Comment your thoughts!!

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