Bittersweet Rejection

I ran from my family's castle four years ago, but the one person I couldn't escape just showed up at the Summer Alpha Gala: Mason, my fated mate who rejected me seven years ago. Now he's an Alpha with a pregnant mate, two kids, and the nerve to grab my arm and growl, "Feel the tingles? You're mine." I pulled away. "You have a wife." He didn't listen. He cornered me in the garden, forced his lips on mine, and hissed, "Kiss me back." I bit him until I tasted blood. Then a dark shadow ripped him off me. Alpha Casper Lyall—the grumpy widower with the adorable five-year-old son who asked me, "Why were you crying?" I told the truth. "I miss my mate." Now the wrong Alpha wants me back, my family thinks I'm broken, and the only man who stepped up to protect me is the one with a permanent frown. But when he handed me his jacket and said, "I'm happy to extend my protection," I felt something I thought was dead. My wolf.