Madeline’s POV
“You need to shift, my love,” Alpha Dimitri said softly. “We have all the time in the world to hold each other close.”
He smiled and took a small step back.
I couldn’t focus on my wolf. I couldn’t focus on anything else other than him.
I was in complete shock. I felt like my heart was going to jump out of my chest. The pain paralyzed me completely. I made my decision, but I was too weak and too scared to tell him.
I couldn’t be his mate.
He was my step-brother. His mother and my father were mates. His mother verbally and sometimes even physically abused me for months. The woman who almost became his mate helped her. Everything and everyone was against us.
I didn’t want to stay in this pack from the moment I came here. I didn’t want to stay with the man who left me and my mom. I didn’t want to be around the woman who hated me from the first time she saw me.
I already loved my mate and I would love him until I took my last breath, but I couldn’t stay. I couldn’t.
Skye was thrashing and screaming inside me. I was in too much pain to hear what she was telling me.
My heart was breaking inside my chest, but I had to do it. I had to reject him. I couldn’t stay in his pack and I couldn’t be his mate. I wasn’t worthy of being his mate.
I wanted to leave. I needed to leave.
So I took a deep breath and prepared myself to say the words that I knew would break both his and mine heart. I knew it would hurt and I knew that I would regret it for the rest of my life, but I had to do it. I had no other choice.
I looked into his eyes and saw nothing but pure love. I wanted to sob and rip my own heart out. My wolf was screaming at me, trying to stop me from saying the words that would set us both free.
But I made a decision. It was best for both of us if I left.
“I, Madeline Clark, rejec…,” I started speaking, but Alpha Dimitri stopped me by putting his hand over my mouth.
He pulled me closer to him and growled.
“What the hell are you doing?!” he shouted. “I am not letting you do this, Maddie. I’ve waited for you for months and I am not going to lose you!”
His eyes held so much pain and his voice was laced with panic.
“You are mine, Maddie,” he said as he leaned in and pressed a small kiss on my forehead. “You are mine, and I am not letting you go.”
My heart was racing inside my chest. I felt like a thousand knives were jammed inside my heart. Alpha Dimitri was shaking, loud growls kept escaping his lips, and his hold on me tightened even more.
“Why, Maddie, why?” he cried out and I almost screamed in pain.
He pressed me closer to him and leaned his forehead against mine.
“I can’t stay here,” I forced myself to mumble.
I didn’t even recognize my own voice. It was laced with pain and sadness.
Alpha Dimitri lifted his head and furrowed his eyebrows.
“Yes, you can,” he said, digging his fingertips into my hip. “This is your pack, Madeline. You are the Luna of this pack. You are the Queen of our kingdom. You can stay. You have to stay.”
I shook my head and closed my eyes. I bent my head down and tried to take a deep breath. It was impossible, though. The pain was gripping at my insides and I couldn’t do anything.
“I am not worthy,” I mumbled. “I am just a wolf. I am not a Lycan. I am not made to be a Luna. I am not made to be a Queen.”
Alpha Dimitri placed his finger under my chin and tried to lift my head. I didn’t let him.
“I can’t stay with my father,” I continued, my voice now laced with panic. “He never wanted me and he doesn’t want me now. I said that I would leave as soon as I got my wolf and I had to leave. I can’t stay here. I can’t be your mate. You deserve…”
My voice broke. I remembered the day when Janet told me that no one wanted me here, not even my own father. I believed her. I didn’t belong here.
Alpha Dimitri lifted my head using a bit more force this time. I saw a mixture of pain and anger in his eyes.
“This isn’t about your father, Madeline,” he said sternly. “This is about you and me. You were made for me. You were made to be a Luna. You were made to be a Queen.”
I gulped. Skye was still talking to me, but I couldn’t focus on her no matter how hard I tried.
“Things changed, Maddie,” Alpha Dimitri continued. “Nothing is as it was when you first came here. You found your mate. You found me and I won’t let you leave me.”
Alpha Dimitri looked at my neck and touched my marking spot with his thumb. My body exploded and I had to hold back a moan. His breathing picked up and his hold on me tightened. His dark eyes bore into mine and I was sure that my heart would jump out of my chest.
I couldn’t help but think about his strong arms that were completely wrapped around my body. I couldn’t help but think about his broad chest that was pressed firmly against mine.
“Alpha, I can’t…,” I started speaking, but he interrupted me.
“I’m not accepting your rejection, Madeline,” he growled. “You are my mate. You are the greatest gift that the Goddess has ever given me. I am not letting you go.”
My heart was hammering against my rib cage.
His scent overwhelmed my senses. He leaned in and rubbed his nose up and down my jaw. My skin was on fire. Every part of my body desired to be touched by him.
“I can’t let you go, my love,” he mumbled. “I’ve waited for you my whole life.”
His lips brushed against the marking spot on my neck, and I almost burst into flames.
Convincing him to accept my rejection would be the hardest thing I ever had to do.
