I Rejected My Alpha Mate After Rebirth Chapter 03

I Rejected My Alpha Mate After Rebirth Chapter 03

After Landon left, I noticed something lying on the floor beside the bed.

Pain shot through my leg as I forced myself upright. Bracing one hand against the wall, I limped across the room inch by inch until I reached it.

A photograph.

The second I picked it up, my breathing stopped.

It was the exact photo Landon had mentioned earlier.

Layla was making a goofy face at the camera while Landon looked at her from the side, his amber wolf eyes softened with a tenderness I had never once seen directed at me in fifty years of being his mate.

The memory hit me without warning.

Our fiftieth mating anniversary in my past life.

I had spent hours getting ready, wearing a custom gown I’d secretly hoped would make him look at me differently for once.

“Landon…” I’d asked carefully, almost nervously. “Should we take a picture together?”

He hadn’t even looked up.

“No need.”

What hurt most was realizing he probably didn’t even remember that in over fifty years together, we had never taken a single photo as a couple.

Not one.

Even the picture on our Mate Bond Certificate had been stitched together from two separate portraits.

The thing I had spent a lifetime begging fate for had come effortlessly to Layla.

“Nora?”

The nurse’s voice snapped me back to reality.

“You shouldn’t be out of bed with your leg like that.” She hurried over and helped steady me. “Come on. Let me get you back.”

I nodded quietly.

I waited until nightfall, but Landon never came back with the sunflowers he’d promised me.

Worried something had happened to him, I asked one of the nurses to check where he was.

The nurse gave me a look full of pity.

“He’s fine. He’s been in Miss Layla’s room the whole time.” She hesitated before continuing. “They’ve been laughing nonstop in there. Anyway, aren’t you scheduled for the termination procedure tomorrow? You should try to rest.”

The smile froze on my face.

Unexpected.

And yet exactly what I should’ve expected.

Landon never lied to me.

Except when it came to Layla.

We had completed our marking ceremony a year ago, and I had never once tried to stop him from seeing her.

But recently, Layla’s father had been convicted of betraying the pack, and Landon was at a critical point in the Alpha succession battle.

That was the only reason I’d tried to keep distance between them.

He always promised me he would.

Then he would sneak off to see her anyway.

In my previous life, after Layla died, he became convinced I had intentionally delayed the rescue and cost her life.

He hated me for it until the day he died.

I lay back against the pillow and closed my eyes.

Maybe I really had been too greedy.

Too greedy for love that was never mine.

Late that night, the people who finally came to see me weren’t Landon.

It was the current Alpha and Luna.

Landon’s parents.

The moment Luna Victoria saw me, tears filled her eyes.

“Oh, sweetheart…” she whispered, brushing hair away from my face. “Look what happened to you.”

Alpha Thomas glanced around the empty hospital room, his expression darkening instantly.

“Where the hell is Landon?” he snapped. “His mate is injured this badly, and he isn’t here beside her?”

Their genuine concern made my chest ache.

After my parents sacrificed themselves for the pack, Thomas and Victoria had truly raised me like their own daughter.

I had always listened to them.

Always obeyed.

But this time… I couldn’t.

I slowly pushed myself upright and looked at them seriously.

“Alpha. Luna. I want to end things with Landon.”

Silence fell over the room.

“In a few days, I’ll be transferring to the Eastern Territory.” My voice trembled slightly. “Everything you’ve done for me all these years… I’ll never forget it.”

Victoria froze before immediately grabbing my hand.

“Nora, don’t say that. The Eastern Territory is halfway across the continent. How could I let you go there alone?” Her eyes reddened. “Is this because Landon saved someone else first? Is that idiot making you upset again? Don’t worry. I’ll deal with him myself.”

“Nora, Landon does care about you. The second he heard your leg was hurt, he had us contact the best healer in the Northern Territory. He’s just confused right now. Please don’t leave out of anger.”

In my previous life, after Layla died and Landon fell apart from grief, they had said the exact same thing.

And in the end, all of us spent fifty miserable years trapped in a broken mating bond.

Everyone regretted it.

I squeezed Victoria’s hand gently.

“Luna… Landon doesn’t love me.” My throat tightened painfully. “You can’t force love into existence. If we complete the bond, I already know what kind of marriage we’ll have.”

I lowered my eyes.

“He’ll spend the rest of his life loving another woman. I don’t want him living in pain forever.”

Emotion surged so violently through my chest that I had to stop speaking.

Victoria sighed softly.

“Nora… once the mate bond is sealed, he’ll see how wonderful you are.”

I wiped away the tears gathering in my eyes and forced a smile.

“Luna. Alpha. Love doesn’t appear just because enough time passes.” I shook my head slowly. “I don’t want to force him. It’s better if we end it now.”

Inside my mind, Amy let out a low, strangled whine.

“But you’re forcing yourself too, Nora…” my wolf cried softly. “Even I can smell your heart breaking.”

Thomas and Victoria exchanged a long look before both sighing heavily.

Victoria wiped at her tears.

“Our pack was never lucky enough to keep someone as wonderful as you.”

Thomas rested a hand on my shoulder.

“If you ever need anything in the Eastern Territory, contact us immediately. Victoria and I will always consider you family.”

The tears finally spilled over.

I threw my arms around Victoria and whispered shakily,

“Okay.”

That night, I didn’t sleep at all.

Early the next morning, I was wheeled into surgery.