Eclipse

CHASE

“Mate mate mate mate mateeeeee!” my wolf howled in my head.

I looked down at Maya with irritation. I didn’t want the little pack orphan as my mate. She was nice, but I already had someone and had already planned to make her my mate.

I spent the day working with my father, knowing someday soon I would take over as beta when the new alpha was put in.

“Chase?”

I looked up to see my father staring at me curiously. “Hmm?”

“Care to offer an opinion?” he asked, giving me an odd look.

I shook my head in an attempt to clear the distraction from my mind. “Yes, sir…”

He watched with a smirk as I tried to figure out what we were talking about. “The medical building…,” he began.

“Yes,” I replied. “I think we should put some care into it as well. We’ve already had several equipment injuries that would have been better helped if the medical building was up to snuff.”

The alpha, alpha-to-be, and my father nodded their heads before turning back to their business.

“You can’t possibly be considering rejecting her? She’s our mate!” my wolf hollered.

“We have a mate. Andrea is our mate,” I replied.

He growled at me before pouting in the corners of my mind. I knew he wasn’t the biggest fan of Andrea, but it was decided. We would reject Maya.

At dinner, I walked in and immediately smelled her. Her scent was strong, filling the room with the amazing aroma of sun-ripened peaches.

I was pulled from my trance when Andrea walked up to me.

“Hey, babe, want to go sit over there? I see a few open seats,” she asked with a grin.

I smiled and wrapped my arm around her shoulders. “Yep.”

I sat quietly beside Andrea as she talked about her day at the clinic, searching the room for Maya.

I finally found her sitting with the twins. “Perfect,” I muttered, knowing rejecting her wouldn’t be easy with them always around.

“Did you say something?” Andrea asked, placing a hand on mine.

“Nope,” I replied before kissing her cheek.

Andrea and I had been dating for over a year now. She was the sweetest, kindest, most beautiful girl I knew. I knew it was foolish to fall for someone who wasn’t my destined mate, but she was everything to me.

When we hadn’t found our mates two years ago, we began dating, hoping that if we didn’t find them, we could choose each other.

“Well, that plan backfired, didn’t it?” my wolf huffed.

I ignored him, and my eyes perked up when I saw Maya walk off by herself. “I’ll be right back,” I said to Andrea, keeping my eyes on Maya as I walked off toward the hallway she had walked down.

“Maya,” I called out as she reached the end of the long hallway.

Maya turned to me with a smile. “Hi, Chase.”

“We need to talk,” I said coldly.

She knotted her brow as she picked up on my bad mood. “Uh, okay. Come on in,” she replied, giving me an odd look.

I walked into the room and closed the door behind me.

“Look, Maya, the thing is—”

“I know I’m probably not what you expected. I wasn’t expecting it to be you,” Maya said with a nervous chuckle. “But I’m glad—”

“No, Maya, you misunderstand. I don’t want this,” I said, interrupting her.

“What?” she asked. I could tell she was confused and disappointed as hurt began to spread across her face. “What do you mean?”

I took a deep breath. “I, Chase Branson, reject you, Maya Hart, as my mate.”

“No! Chase, don’t do this! She is our mate!” my wolf yelled as I said the rejection.

Maya groaned as she doubled over.

I watched as she tried hard to stay standing, tears falling down her cheeks from the pain. She took a deep breath and looked up at me with anger. “I accept your rejection.”

She turned away and walked to the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

I winced at the growing pain in my abdomen, bending down as I shut my eyes tightly, hoping the pain would end quickly.

After a few moments, the pain faded, and I straightened, feeling oddly heavy, before I walked out of the room.

As I reached the end of the hallway, I smiled as I saw Andrea walking toward me. “Hey! Want to head up?”

I pulled her close and pressed my lips to hers. “Let’s go.”

She smiled, taking my hand as we walked upstairs to my room.

***

The next morning was Sunday, our day off. The pack spent the day resting and spending time together.

I walked downstairs for breakfast, noticing Maya wasn’t there.

I shook the thought out of my head, knowing she was probably just sleeping in after working hard all week. Not that I cared, she was no longer my mate. Andrea was going to be my mate.

I spent the day with Andrea, enjoying her company and keeping her in my arms as much as possible.

I closed my eyes and breathed in her scent. She smelled nice; she had a pretty normal scent mixed with her coconut shampoo.

But I found it wasn’t as intoxicating or all-encompassing as Maya’s scent had been.

At dinner, we all stood from our seats as the alpha and luna walked in.

“Aurora Pack, we are pleased to have finished the harvest season! Good work to you all! Let us enjoy the next week of rest as we prepare for the next planting!”

The luna stepped forward. “To a plentiful harvest!”

“To a plentiful harvest!” the pack echoed.

I looked around the room full of proud pack members with a smile before my eyes rested on Maya.

Her eyes were sad, and I could tell she was only smiling as a front. I took a deep breath and tightened my grip on Andrea’s shoulder, knowing and hoping that I had made the right choice.