Chapter 3 Rejection

**Shawn''s POV:**

I stood up, walked over to Sylvia, and grabbed her chin, forcing her to look at me.

"You knew about that mate bond, didn''t you?" My voice was ice-cold.

Sylvia pressed her lips together, refusing to answer.

Her eyes looked dead, almost bored—like she couldn''t care less that I was her mate.

"Why didn''t you say anything?" My thumb brushed against her cheek, and I felt that familiar fire rising in my chest again.

"What did you want me to say? ''Sorry to interrupt your hookup''?" Sylvia''s voice was sharp as she jerked her face away from my hand.

"Sylvia! Don''t be such a bitch." I glared at her.

Any she-wolf would kill to be mated to an Alpha. But here was Sylvia, acting like it was some kind of curse. She was just a damn slave! Who did she think she was?

"I''d rather you put some clothes on instead of running your mouth. That thing hanging between your legs is an eyesore, Shawn." Sylvia''s voice dripped with disgust.

That did it. I grabbed her throat.

"Let me go!" She clawed at my hand, her face turning red as she fought for air.

Watching her struggle didn''t move me one bit. I just stared down at her coldly.

"No traitor''s daughter will ever be qualified to be my mate. But I''m feeling generous today—maybe I''ll let you stick around. Not as my mate, but as my side piece. Take it or leave it."

"Go to hell!" she managed to choke out.

"I''m Shawn Gibson, future Alpha of this pack. You''re just a worthless slave, daughter of a traitor that every werewolf in this territory despises! How dare you think you can defy me?"

"Alpha? You''re just their puppet."

Sylvia actually laughed—like some kind of maniac.

Her words hit a nerve.

I threw her to the floor with one swift motion.

"You bitch! Think you''re too good for this arrangement? Fine—I can always send you to the brothels. You''ll service thousands of different werewolves! Let''s see how noble you feel then!"

My parents died when I was just a kid, so I couldn''t take over as Alpha yet. The Gamma stepped in as interim leader, and over the years, he''d gained all the pack''s trust and loyalty.

Now that I was finally about to become Alpha, it felt like I had zero respect or power.

And it was all because of Sylvia''s mother—that traitor. How dare this girl mock me like this?

Sylvia coughed and gasped on the floor, then looked up at me without a trace of fear. "Are you done? Can I get back to work now?"

"Fine. Since you want to be a slave so badly, let''s make it official." I smiled coldly. "As future Alpha of the Black Moon Pack, I, Shawn Gibson, formally reject you, Sylvia Todd, as my mate."

I waited for the tears, for the begging, for some sign that this hurt her.

Instead, Sylvia slowly got to her feet with a blank expression. If anything, she looked... relieved.

"Thanks for that, Shawn."

I blinked, completely thrown. What the hell was there to thank me for? Why wasn''t this damn slave heartbroken?

Before I could respond, Sylvia looked at me with the coldest smile I''d ever seen. "I, Sylvia Todd, daughter of the late Beta Olivia Todd of the Black Moon Pack, accept your rejection."

Then she turned and walked away without looking back. I was too stunned to stop her.

I''d only meant to scare her. After rejecting an Alpha, she''d never find anyone better!

For what felt like forever, I just stood there, shocked that the slave girl had accepted my rejection without even blinking. In my rage, I smashed the vase next to me into a thousand pieces, already plotting ways to make her pay.

"Shawn, what the hell have you done? You acted like a complete idiot! Why did you reject Sylvia? We''re never going to find another mate that beautiful! Go get her back, now!" Zeke was furious.

"No, Zeke. I''m going to teach her about regret." I watched Sylvia''s figure disappear out the window, wanting nothing more than to tear her apart.

"And how exactly are you going to do that? Don''t do anything stupid, Shawn. You''re about to become Alpha. You need to build a good reputation, not destroy it," Zeke tried to reason with me.

"Prince Rufus is coming to my inauguration today. I heard he''s ruthless and bloodthirsty. Some pack once sent him a female slave as a gift, and he tortured her to death. I''m going to put Sylvia in his bed."

"What? No! Are you insane? You''re basically signing her death warrant! Sylvia is your mate!" Zeke was horrified.

"Not anymore." I gritted my teeth.

My wolf refused to give up on Sylvia, and neither did my body. Every time I thought about her, that same burning desire flared up again. But I didn''t care. When she was dying from Rufus''s torture, she''d be crawling back to me on her knees, begging for mercy.

Too bad the only place I''d let lowly slave girls like her beg was in my bed.