Her Chosen Mate

Part 13

(POV - Aria)

The next month was hell for Aria.

She sat in her room, her head pressed against the cool glass of her window, watching her breath mist in front of her. She couldn't remember the last time she'd walked outside without wishing the Earth would swallow her whole. She didn't want to face Aiden and his chosen mate. She didn't want to have to deal with the fact that, even though their souls had been made for each other, Aiden had chosen someone else.

She could still hear April's confused yells when she managed to catch Aria before she hit the ground, her hands shaking where they held Aria's arms.

"Why aren't you going to fight for your mate?" she'd seethed, pacing up and down, wearing a hole in the rug of Aria's bedroom. "You could take that outsider any day, Aria!"

But Aria had just shaken her head, her eyes long since dry of the tears from hours before. The ache that had hollowed out her chest and stolen her breath hadn't eased. It had only grown until it felt like a black hole was slowly consuming each of her organs. It left her feeling sickeningly empty.

She wondered if that was the physical effect of having a mating bond rejected. She'd heard stories of what happened to wolves when their true mates died, but that was after they'd sealed the bond. Was it really possible to feel so terrible if the bond hadn't even been sealed?

What was worse was that she had no one to ask. No wolf she knew had ever even heard of a wolf who had rejected their true mate, let alone having done it or experienced it themselves. She was completely alone, swallowing the bile that rose anytime she spotted Aiden and his chosen mate together.

She remembered burying her face in April's neck, sobs wracking through her body as she wept.

"I don't w-want to have to f-fight, April," she cried, fingers clutching the soft and slowly dampening fabric of April's T-shirt. "Who have you ever heard of that had to fight for their true mate?"

April sighed, rubbing Aria's back gently.

"I know it's new to our pack, but it's not entirely unheard of," she explained. "What I'm saying is that you've been crushing on Aiden for years, and he finally turns out to be your true mate and you don't want to fight for it?"

Aria shook her head, hiccupping on a breath. She couldn't explain why she'd backed down so easily when her wolf had threatened to burst out and tear Meredith to shreds. At least, not without sounding as pathetic as she felt.

But it was April, and April was her best friend. They shared everything.

Even the pathetic stuff.

"You saw how they looked at each other," she said miserably, pawing at her swollen eyes. "You saw how he looked at her. They're so in love. I can't be the one who... I don't want him to hate me."

April frowned deeply and cradled Aria's face in her hands. They had both cuddled up in Aria's bed the same way they'd done since they were pups, Aria's mom telling them scary stories while they stuffed their mouths full of candy. April clicked her tongue and said, "Your way too nice, Aria."

"If I was nice, he would like me. He would have accepted me instead of choosing someone else," Aria mumbled, fresh tears flowing down her blotchy cheeks. "What do I do, April? I can't just try to break them up, that's not me. And I don't want to hurt him."

"I know, honey," April cooed, her fingers toying with the ends of Aria's hair. "I just really wish you'd tell me that you wanted to kick Meredith's ass, because I'd be all over that idea, believe me."

Aria sniffled, remembering how Aiden had introduced his chosen mate to the rest of the pack.

"As your Alpha," he'd said, standing next to her with his chest puffed up, his hand clasped around hers. "I want to introduce you to your future Luna. This is Meredith."