I, Belle Daphne, the Beta's youngest daughter in the Blue Moon Crescent Pack in Canada, was turning seventeen this year. I had two older brothers and one older sister, but we were not related to her.
My older sister, Diane, was found on our packhouse doorstep when she was a baby (I overheard this one night when my parents were talking to the Alpha). The Alpha tried to find her parents; however, they could not find them, and my parents decided to adopt her. She was adorable, after all. Ever since then, she had been the center of attention in my family, which made me feel like the black sheep as hardly any attention was paid to me.
Honestly, I was not fond of her anyway. Firstly, she didn't like me to go near my best friend, Blake Harrison, since the two of them were in a relationship. Secondly, there was something strange about her that I did not like, but I couldn't figure out exactly what it was. I guess you could call it a sixth sense, yet I chose to ignore it since I had no proof there was something fishy about her.
I had always wanted my best friend, who happened to be next in line to become Alpha of my pack after his father, to be my mate.
He was what all the girls wanted: handsome, sweet, kind, and caring. When we were celebrating his 18th birthday, I was kind of sad because he was in a relationship with Diane, and it felt like they were going to be mates.
Everything happened in slow-motion. He was looking straight at me with no one around.
"Mate!" shouted Blake as he fought his urge to transform into his wolf to claim me.
I was happy because I had always had a crush on him. I couldn't ask for anything more than to be his mate.
Sadly, the happiness only lasted a short time. He mind-linked me to meet at our favorite waterfall after the party. With that, he strolled off to where the party was being held. I saw him standing there, looking very serious.
"Hey, Blake." He had a cold look on his face. It terrified me because I hadn't seen this side of him before.
He looked at me with his cold eyes. "I am sorry, Belle. You can't be my mate. I love your sister so much, and I can't do this to her. She lost her mate when a rogue attacked, and I can't break her heart."
Was that all he had to say? He clearly didn't care about my feelings—his concern was only for my sister.
"How am I going to live without you by my side?" I cried.
He replied, "You will find someone better than me. I, Blake Harrison, reject you, Belle Daphne, as my mate."
When those words came out of his mouth, I felt my heart breaking into pieces. Then, he used his wolf form to run away, leaving me standing there, feeling all the pain.
After the rejection, I cried all night, asking myself why I didn't deserve the love of my parents, brothers, and him. I felt so stupid believing that my mate would accept me. I would probably never be good enough for anyone.
Everyone around me still fawned over her, even when I was there, suffering in silence after I got rejected. I kept on comparing myself to my sister, asking myself why he chose her. Did he love her for her beautiful body or her personality?
Every day, eating with my family and him was torture. So instead of eating, I would excuse myself and go back to my room. A couple of times, I saw them kissing and holding hands. It made me feel so sick. When I looked at him, it was like I didn't know him anymore.
The day his father announced he would become the new Alpha, he shocked everyone by saying that the wedding would be held in one month; he did not want to waste his time finding a mate when he was in love with my adopted sister.
I was devastated by the news while everyone else cheered for them. When I felt a tear roll down my cheek, he looked at me, but I turned around and ran to my bedroom. I cried for hours until there were no tears left. By the time I stopped crying, I noticed it was already midnight.
That was when I decided that I couldn't take the pain and quickly packed all my stuff. I grabbed a piece of paper and just wrote: Sorry, everyone. Please don't look for me.
I placed the note on my bed.
After I was done, I ran away into the forest in my human form. I still had a year until my first transformation.
I thought that by running away from all the drama, I wouldn't have to suffer anymore. However, the Moon Goddess had something else planned for me, upending all my expectations.