"I, Alpha Miller, hereby reject you, Isla Higgins, as my mate and Luna of the Pembroke pack," he said with a smirk as his beta pinned me against the wall. My heart shattered into a thousand pieces, and I felt a physical ache in my body as pain penetrated through me.

“There is no competition here.” Mora piped up as she wrapped herself around me, fated mate.

That hurt.

A lot.

It hurt me, even more, when he pulled Mora Evans into his chest and kissed her with such passion and lust.

How could he do this to me? I was supposed to be his fated mate. Not that nasty girl that everyone seemed to love and adore. I glared at her in frustration. I wanted to punch the life out of her fake image. This was the girl who had taken everything from me, she had made my life hell from as far back as I could remember.

“You do not deserve such good things in your pathetic life. Even your own sister despises you and your brother is not even here.” Alpha Miller added with a chuckle.

“Come on, baby. Let's get out of here. It stinks so bad I might be sick.” Mora said, pretending to throw up. I hated her more than anything in this world.

She knew what she was doing, and she knew that she had won. Smirking at me she walked away hand in hand with the alpha who rejected me. His beta let me go and I fell to the ground emotionless. I wasn’t going to give them or anyone the satisfaction of seeing me cry.

Oh no. I knew I had to be stronger than this.

“The moon goddess must have been crazy to pair a fatty like you with our alpha.” The beta laughed as he walked off back to his alpha’s shadows. I scowled at them as they got further into the distance.

“You'll regret everything you ever did to me,” I muttered under my breath. I promised myself that they would pay for this one day.

A small figure rushed over to me and knelt in front. “Are you ok?” I looked to see it was Aly, one of the omegas. We had become good friends over the years. I wasn’t an omega, but I was treated worse than them by the people who were supposed to care about me.

Today was my eighteenth birthday and I had woken up so excited to find my mate. So, you can imagine how disappointed I was when I came to find that the delicious scent of caramel was the new alpha of our pack.

Twenty-year-old Miller was gorgeous, tall with dark hair and a smile that sent anyone to their knees. He had the looks but carried a heart that cared about nothing but his selfish wants and needs.

I had no idea how the moon goddess could pair me with such a partner. He hated me and I would never be good enough for someone as powerful as him.

I’m not ugly but I’m also no Mora Evans. Unlike her skinny figure and beautiful brunette hair, I have a curvier figure with curly black shoulder-length hair. My eyes are a dark green color that nobody in our pack has. I’m like an outcast for my looks. I was nothing like my mother or my father. People often joked that I was found under a tree.

I knew that My mother loved me no matter what. She never treated me any differently from my siblings. Cora and Daniel were popular and stuck up for me many times, but I guess even they had enough of protecting the little sister who was never going to go anywhere in life. Cora was one year older than me and Daniel was three years older. Over the years Cora had become increasingly distant from me. She would barely speak to me let alone acknowledge me. If we weren’t from the same blood family, then she would be a lot happier. She was a spoilt brat now. Daniel and I had always been close. He always had my back. I missed him so much.

I noticed my sister, Cora walked straight passed me and pretended not to see me whereas Daniel was away for a few weeks training on a course. I know that things would be different if he were here.

Miller had been made alpha when our previous alpha fell seriously Unwell. He had been a good leader for our pack. Nobody picked on me around him and I felt safe. But now that Miller was the alpha, it was obvious that he was going to take Mora as his chosen mate and Luna. I knew he would never accept me as his mate. I was nowhere near as perfect as Mora.

Although I had learned from an early age to fight and train with my brother. He taught me everything that he knew, and that’s why I never got beaten just teased constantly. Aly was convinced that they were afraid of me since my brother was one of our best fighters in the pack. My parents did not want to let me go off to train as a fighter, they felt I was better off at home. Daniel told me they were just worried I would be better than him.

Aly poked me to bring me back to reality. I shook my head and smiled to let her know that I was fine. Even though inside I was a burning mess of emotion and pain.

Stupid arse.

Why did he have to be my mate?

For years I had dreamt of finding my mate and being happy away from this sorry excuse of a pack.

“Isla, are you ok?” She repeated for the millionth time.

“Thanks, Aly but I’m fine.” She helped me up and I brushed myself off.

“Well if, you’re sure. I must get back to work now.” She said sadly before scurrying off to load more dishes into the huge dining hall.

Miller was throwing a big party in celebration of the beta's birthday. We shared a birthday but mine was never as important as his. I was not bothered anyway, dressing up and the fancy parties bored me to death.

We were one of the largest packs in America and our neighbouring packs were also coming along so it was going to be very packed.

My sister was so excited to dress up and had no time for me, so I didn’t bother her. I headed to my bedroom and locked the door.

Sitting on my bed, I thought about how much better life would be without me here in this pack. What good was I for it when I’d been rejected and was soon going to be an even bigger laughingstock? The word would soon get around the godly alpha miller rejected that fatty Isla. I hated that he was so good-looking and couldn’t help but feel a little sad.

I took a bath and stared at myself in the mirror. I wished that I was as pretty as the other wolf. I was just destined to be an unmated she-wolf with nothing to offer.

“Isla, our mate is an idiot.” My wolf, Cleo popped up in my mind. I smiled to myself and agreed.

I got my wolf at sixteen and we usually can meet and find our mate from the age of eighteen upwards although some don’t find them until a bit later. Unfortunately for me, my mate was a complete arse.

Even Miller's wolf was as selfish as he was.

The knock on the door made me jump, my sister Cora was on the other side.

“Isla, let me in now.” She sounded annoyed about something, so I opened it and let her in. She was dressed up in a blue tight-fitting dress. Her long hair was curled and tied to the side of her head. She looked beautiful but the frown on her pretty face made my heart sink a little.

“What’s this that alpha Miller is your mate?” She confronted me causing me to roll my eyes and slam the door shut behind us.

Word seemed to get around fast.

“Well?” She impatiently tapped her door on my wooden floor.

“No, he’s not. He rejected me. That’s all there is to it.” I told her.

Her face softened a little. “Why didn’t you come to me and tell me? We are sisters, aren’t we?” I was surprised by her words because usually, she wouldn’t care much about me and what was happening in my life. Cora did not have the issues I had growing up. She was popular, skinny, and beautiful. I was not popular, skinny, or beautiful.

“Cora, it’s not a big deal.” I told her.” Don’t worry about me. I’m fine.”

“Well, I think it’s best that you don’t come down to the party tonight. I mean I know it’s your birthday and that, but I don’t want to sound mean but everyone’s talking about you and well. “

“I wasn’t planning on going anyway.” I interrupted her suddenly wondering why she was so bothered about me. She didn’t want any attention taken away from her. Of course, my loving sister would never have been concerned about me really.

She smiled and turned to walk out the door. I sighed and wished my life was not so rubbishy.

I was better off out of this pack.

I thought for a moment and decided to go and speak to my mother. My father would be far too busy elsewhere to talk to me.

I found her in the lounge, she was busy knitting away and humming to herself.

“Mother, I was thinking of going to stay at Uncle Ed’s for a while. I think it will do me some good since I’m done with school now.” I told her. She just nodded and didn’t even glance my way. That confirmed my decision. I would not be missed anyway.

I went back to my bedroom and packed my bags. I picked up my money card and decided that I wasn’t going to need my phone anymore. I took one last look around my bedroom and closed the door before starting my journey out of here.

The best birthday I could give myself was to be out of here for good.

I threw my stuff into my little beat-up fiesta that I had been given by my brother. He had always loved mechanics and made this car up for me. When I passed my driving test last year, it meant the world to me. Others were happy to drive around in their jeeps and expensive cars, but I was happy in my little car. I didn’t care what they said about it either.

I got into my driver’s seat and looked around. Nobody batted an eyelid at me, it was as if I was invisible.

I started the car up and headed out of the pack. There was no way I was coming back here.

“Isla. Wait. Don’t leave.” Aly waved her arms in front of my car causing me to slam on the brakes.

“Aly!” I exclaimed, unwinding the window. She came up to me.

“What are you doing? You can’t leave me.” She gasped eyeing my luggage in the backseat.

“I have to. I’m sorry Aly. I can’t stay here and watch him be all over her. There’s nothing for me here anymore.” I told her sadly. I could see the hurt in her eyes, but I had to do what was best for me.

“Come back soon and good luck.” She said walking away from me.

I felt sick and my tummy ached for no reason. I guessed it was just the nerves setting in or something.

They were going to regret treating me like rubbish!

Five years later

“Hey Isla, come see this.” My best friend Zara yelled up the stairs to me. I had just finished getting ready for the barbeque that we had planned weeks ago. All our friends were coming, and it was so exciting because, for the first time in five years, I was finally going to see my big brother, Daniel.

I could not wait to see him, we talked on the phone and messaged a lot but being so far away and Daniel having his own life, it had never been easy to arrange things. The main reason was that I had not returned to the pack house since I left five years ago.

Back then I was a mess, bullied, and then rejected by my so-called mate. The moon goddess had been crazy to pair me with such a selfish idiot. Whenever I talked to my brother, he would never mention anything about Miller, I preferred it that way. Of course, he had made Mora his chosen mate and Luna. It felt so good to be able to hold my head up high and not get upset about that anymore. He was no longer in my head.

I and my wolf were a hell of a lot happier and stronger now. Training every day and going to college to become a nurse, had turned me into a confident, healthy she-wolf.

Meeting Zara was the best thing to happen to me, she was like a sister. Well, I barely heard from my real sister. I guess she had forgotten all about my existence.

“Isla” Zara yelled for the second time.

I smiled to myself and took one last look at myself in the mirror. I had chosen leggings with a black vest top. My long hair was neatly plaited into two French braids. I looked good.

Making my way down the stairs. Zara whistled dramatically.

“Damn girl, you are looking good,” she said, causing me to do a twirl and pose like some celebrity on the red carpet.

I was grinning like a Cheshire cat when my eyes fell on a figure in the corner.

I almost fell over myself when I saw him.

He looked the same but older. His smile made me want to cry.

Daniel.

“Oh my God, it's really you. You came.” I screamed, rushing over to him, and bursting into tears.

I missed him so much; I missed all my family if I were honest but Daniel the most since we were closest.

“Hello, little sis.” he grinned swinging me around like he used to do when we were little kids.

“I'm so happy you are here,” I told him.

“Me too sis. But I need to talk to you.” his face went all serious and I fell silent.

I had a bad feeling it wasn't going to be good news.

“Well, the thing is, you gotta come home,” he said.

I broke out into a laugh; my brother was such a joker. I turned to my best friend and stopped when I saw how she wasn't smiling or laughing.

“What's going on?” I frowned at them both.

Daniel rubbed his forehead and sighed heavily like he weighed the world on his shoulders.

“Daniel, why are you saying this? It's been five years since I left that place. You know I can't just go back.” I said through gritted teeth trying to keep my cool. I had no idea why my brother would want me to go back there after all the abuse and bullying that I had to endure from everyone. I may be older and stronger now but that did not mean I wanted to face my past. I was in a good place now mentally and physically. Why should I risk that to go back to something that almost killed me?

“I won't go back there,” I told him. I knew I looked like a sulking spoilt brat, but it was the last place I wanted to be.

He looked slightly irritated by my unwillingness.

Who could truly blame me?

That packhouse was the last place that I wanted to be.

I looked to Zara for support, but she shrugged her shoulders helplessly. She knew everything about my past, how they had treated me like a piece of shit on the ground, how I had been rejected and made to feel an outcast by my own sister.

“You do not have a choice; I am sorry sis. Get your stuff now.” My brother ordered me causing me to stare open-mouthed at him.

My brother had never spoken to me like that before.

“What?” I yelled at him going to push him away from me.

If he thought that I was going to let him speak to me like shit, then he could think again. I had changed a lot over the last five years and nothing or nobody would ever make me feel that small again!

“It's mum. She's ill.” the words echoed in my head and changed everything.

My eyes widened in disbelief. What was he talking about?

“What did you say?” my voice was unsteady as I turned to look my brother in the eye. I could see the uneasiness and upset on his face. He wasn't lying, not that he would lie to me about something so serious as this.

Zara reached out to comfort me, but I pushed her away.

“I have to get my stuff.” I ran up the stairs so fast, but the tears were already brimming up in my eyes.

Grabbing my old suitcase from under the bed, I started shoving all my clothes and belongings into it. Not taking any care to organize it in the way that j normally would have.

My vision was beginning to get blurred by my stupid tears.

I did not know if my mother was going to be okay or not. Why had I not been told about this before now? I had so many questions. My mind was in overdrive.

There was a knock at the door but ignored it.

“Isla, please! Just stop for a moment and let me help you. I can come with you.” I heard Zara say as she entered the room and grabbed hold of me.

“No,” I said firmly, pushing her away.

There was no chance in hell that I was letting my best friend go near my old pack. I would not be responsible for my actions if anyone hurt my best friend. I did not trust any of them as a waste of space idiots.

“Fine.” Zara scowled at my bluntness. I could tell that she was offended by my lack of enthusiasm.

“I'm sorry, Zara. I really did not mean to sound so harsh. It's just for the best. I will be back as soon as I can.” I gave her a small smile as she nodded but avoided my gaze.

I was going to miss her so much.

Ten minutes later, I had my bags and my suitcase all loaded up in my brother's black jeep. He let me say my goodbyes to everyone quickly, but I could tell that he was eager to leave since it would take a while to get back to the pack house.

“You better call me when you get there.” Zara smiled through her tears and pulled me into a tight hug. I loved this girl so much; she had been there for me when I had nobody. She would forever be my chosen sister.

“You bet I will,” I told her as she reluctantly released me. Wiping her eyes with her jumper sleeve, she nodded and snorted laughter which sounded a lot like a pig.

I grinned at her and tried to stop the tears that were brimming up ready to flood my cheeks.

“Come on, sis.” Daniel nodded his head towards the car, and I gave my best friend one final squeeze before getting into the jeep.

Daniel hopped in and started it up. He did not say a word until we were a few minutes down the road.

“Isla, I am sorry. I know that going home is the last place that you want to be, but we need to all be there for Mum. She is in a bad way.” Daniel sighed and kept both hands on the steering wheel while I quietly processed his words.

My mother was unwell and needed all her children around her. I am sure that she will be happy to see me. We were never close, but I still cared about her and did not want any ill health for her.

I wanted my family to be happy, deep down that is another reason why I left when I did. To keep the humiliation of my rejection from ruining my family's pride.

After we had been driving for a couple of hours, Daniel pulled into a car park and my stomach rumbled at the sight of the cafe in front of us.

“Hungry?” My brother looked at me with an amused smile on his face. I nodded eagerly. He opened the jeep door, jumped out, and came to open the passenger side so that I could get out too. My brother was a true gentleman. He would make a great mate for someone one day.

Pushing open the cafe door, I felt all eyes on us which caused anxiety to overwhelm me.

“What can I get for you?” a woman dressed in a blue top and skirt with a white apron. In her hand were a notebook and pen which I am guessing was for taking note of any orders.

“Sorry, change of plan” I heard my brother say as I eyed all the cakes and desserts up.

“What? We only just got here. Let me eat. I am starving!” I whined but the color had drained from his face, and I followed his gaze to a table in the corner where a bunch of Burley men were sat growing at us.

I knew that they were werewolves, like us. They smelt like werewolves.

“What is going on?” I whispered to my brother.

“Isla, we need to leave,” he murmured to me. I frowned at him, confused and hungry.

Daniel clutched my hand, and he led me out of the cafe and back to the jeep. I was practically running to catch him up. He stopped for a split second to fumble in his jacket pockets of the car keys.

“What are you doing?” I yelled at him.

What the hell?

“Isla, we need to get out of here. Now.” He found the keys and wasted no time in picking me up, he then threw me over his shoulder and shoved me into the jeep.

I then noticed three of the massive burly guys around forty years old, standing at the entrance of the cafe, glaring at us as if they wanted to cause damage and pain.

What was their problem?

“Daniel, who are they?” I started to ask but he was too busy throwing the jeep into reverse to answer me.

I screamed in fright as one of them banged on the window almost smashing it and bared his teeth at us.

I hit the lock so it would not be yanked open.

“Get down,” Daniel shouted at me pointing to the footwell. I did as he said.

My heart was racing like crazy. What was that about?

I was crying holding my knees to my chest, scared that we were about to die but my brother assured me that we were ok. We were on human land, and nothing could harm us there. I did not know whether to feel relieved or not.

“Isla, I am so sorry,” Daniel said reaching out to me, but I just slapped his hand away, angry that he had put me in such a dangerous situation in the first place.

He must be crazy.

I wanted to turn around and go home, back to my safety, back to my best friend and the friends who had become my family.

But knowing my mother needed me was the only thing stopping me.

“Isla, please let me explain.” he sighed. I had no interest in whatever he wanted to say to me.

We were soon on human land and once my brother was sure that we were safe, he decided to drive through McDonald's where he ordered enough food to feed an orphanage for a week.

I was desperate for the toilet, and he reluctantly let me go into the McDonald's toilets. Warning me to hurry up, he watched me get out of the jeep.

My knees were wobbly as jelly as I forced them to carry my weight. I was a nervous wreck, scared that any second those crazy burly men would jump out and attack me.

Taking a deep breath, I pushed open the door and locked it. Once finished I washed and dried my hands.

I quickly hurried back out to my brother who looked relieved when he spotted me.

“I think you have some serious explaining to do,” I told him the second I got back into the jeep. He nodded mid-chew, and I raised my eyebrows. He owed me an explanation.

“Yes, Isla. I know.” he looked down at his lap totally avoiding my questioning glare.

“Tell me that we were not on someone else territory.” my eyes widened as I started to put two and two together.

His face said it all.

“Daniel!” I yelled shoving him and causing his drink to spill all over his tracksuit. Not that I cared, it was his own fault.