Her Rejected Mate – 1

Aurora’s POV

The yard fell into a deathly silence after my confession. Mom collapsed into her chair, as if all her strength had suddenly been drained. Those eyes, which had always looked at me with pride, were now filled with pain and disappointment, nearly breaking me. Roman, who had been supporting me moments ago, pulled away as if burned, taking several slow steps back until a significant distance separated us.

I knew the other Pack members wore varying expressions of shock, but none of that mattered. What mattered was that my family was looking at me like I’d suddenly become a stranger.

“Aurora…” Mom’s voice trembled. “Please tell me you’re making some cruel joke. Tell me you didn’t give birth to a child and hide him from us all these years.”

I wanted so badly to lie to them, just to erase that heartbroken look in their eyes. But I knew I couldn’t do that anymore. I couldn’t keep running from the truth.

“I’m sorry,” I cried, crouching down next to her. “I wanted to tell you, but I was so scared.”

I tried to take her hand, but she flinched away. My heart shattered into a million pieces. This was exactly what I’d feared all along. Thea was right. I’d always been the perfect one, the one who never made mistakes. Except for that one time. Now my image was tarnished in their eyes, and any advantage I had over Thea was gone. I was now in the same position as her, punished for my poor decisions. That night with Jaxon was the biggest mistake of my life.

“How did this happen? When did it happen? Did Dad know?” Roman paced anxiously.

I shook my head, unable to look them in the eyes anymore. “Dad didn’t know. Nobody knew except Jaxon and Helena.”

“I want the whole truth,” Mom’s voice had calmed, but a hint of pressure emanated from her. “I want to know why you’d hide my grandson from our Pack, from his family and bloodline.”

I didn’t want to revisit the past, but I had no choice now. If I didn’t want them even angrier with me, I had to tell them everything.

“It all started at the Mating Ball senior year,” my voice was barely a whisper. “Like the previous two years, I’d already agreed to go with Sebastian as his date. I thought… I always thought Sebastian would be my mate, just that the time wasn’t right yet. But during intermission, when Sebastian went to get drinks, I discovered Jaxon hiding behind a curtain, wanting to ask me to dance. My wolf suddenly awakened, responding to his scent.”

I looked at Sebastian, catching a flash of shock in his eyes that made me hesitate.

“Jaxon was my mate.” I slowly dropped another bombshell, watching everyone gasp again. I didn’t pause, wanting to get through this part quickly. “Jaxon felt it too, and he tried to approach me, but I avoided him. I suppressed my wolf and rejected him.”

“You went against the Moon Goddess’s will?” Mom’s tone rose with shock.

“The goddess made a mistake! How could I possibly be paired with that nerd Jax? He wasn’t worthy of me! And I didn’t want Jaxon, I only wanted Sebastian!” I argued. “So I didn’t tell anyone about it, not even Helena.”

“If that’s the case, how did you end up fucking your unwanted Jaxon?” Roman demanded, his mind clearly scrambled.

But his words stung, leading into the most painful part of what I had to share.

I took a deep breath and continued: “Everything was fine, but then when Sebastian slept with Thea and married her, I completely broke down. At home, I wouldn’t let you notice, wanting you to think I was still fine and unaffected. But back at school, I couldn’t sleep for months, wouldn’t eat, wouldn’t attend classes. And my wolf, because I’d rejected my true mate, began to withdraw, becoming numb. If Helena hadn’t discovered and helped me, I might have… lost control.”

I paused, remembering those dark days. The once proud and confident eldest daughter of the Sterling family, reduced to a pathetic creature who could only lick her wounds in the darkness of night.

“Then fate fucked with me again. I ran into Jaxon at college. Turns out we were attending the same university, and he was Helena’s project partner. But he’d changed a lot too, no longer chasing after me like before. Because of Helena, we’d occasionally see each other, but basically stayed out of each other’s way.”