Rejected At Last

Lyra's POV

"Me?!" I asked another question; I needed an explanation. There was no way to explain what just happened; it had to be a mistake.

"Did I stutter, Lyra?" The formally cloaked woman inquired with an eyebrow raised. I was so caught up in my own surprise that I didn't realize that the room had become pin-drop silent. It was like a moment frozen in time. No one said anything; I was sure everyone had the same question on their minds at that point.

"No, you didn't; it's just… I'm a lowly maid; I'm a weak omega," I responded.

"Questioning my knowledge?" she inquired again, moving closer to my face this time. I didn't know how she got so close to me at the back, where I stood for a split second.

"No, no, of course not; I'd never do that," I said to her. What puzzled me the most was the fact that Alpha Alexander didn't utter a word. He was expressionless, and he sat on the throne and tapped his fingers on the bronze arms.

The room was still completely and utterly quiet. The moon goddess' vessel spent the next hour matching mates with each other till she was all down. As it usually happens, immediately after the final matchmaking takes place, the spirit of the moon goddess leaves the vessel's body. The occurrence was exactly what took place.

The cloaked woman's body fell to the ground lifelessly after the last pair was announced. When she finally came to, she couldn't remember anything that had just taken place.

There was someone left out. Athena is my cousin. She didn't get matched with anyone. This was something that rarely happened. Although I hated her for treating me like she did, I genuinely felt bad for her. Unlike her usual self, she didn't throw a temper tantrum. She had a smug expression on her face.

"Lyra Daxton, was it?" A voice interrupted me in my thoughts. It was a familiar voice—the voice of my mate, Alpha Alexander.

I was so happy; I felt my whole life turning around in that moment. A man who was strong enough to protect me from all the cruelty I've faced in my life, a man who would be kind to me. I had no doubts now that the moon goddess had good plans for me.

"Yeah, Alpha Alexander," I answered, and I came out of the back of the crowd, where I stood with everyone who was already murmuring. I adjusted my dress and headed towards him nervously.

As I walked towards him, I noticed the murmurs were getting louder. "What's the moon goddess trying to achieve by matching the alpha with the lowest and most worthless member of this pack?" a random girl whispered as she stared holes through me in disgust.

"She's not worthy; isn't she that girl that does work with the maids?" Another one said I was feeling uncomfortable now.

"The alpha would never pick a person like her to be his mate; I'm sure the filth will be rejected." I got scared now when I heard this from a maid. The maids, too, were involved in saying mean things about me.

The alpha was patient; despite the elders ranting about how outrageous it was and how I was no good, he patiently waited for me. He was going to accept me into his arms and into his life.

I finally got to him. I stood in front of him, raising my head a bit to look into his eyes since he was so much taller than me. His brown eyes were beautiful, his hair was pretty, and I wanted to run my hands through them.

As I struggled to look into his eyes, he looked deeply into mine. His eyes were cold and dead; I couldn't understand what he was thinking. Suddenly, I started feeling uneasy.

"Lyra," he said my name again and grabbed my chin softly. Was he about to kiss me? In front of all these people who were already looking for ways to end my existence?

"Yes, Alpha." I summoned the courage to look him in the eyes directly and be bold.

"It looks like the moon goddess put us together," he said. This is holding on to my chin.

"That's what it looks like." I was too entranced to say anything reasonable. His voice made me weak in the legs and made my insides tremble. In my miserable life, lust wasn't something I felt much of, but this one was different. I wanted him to put the hand on my chin somewhere else. I wanted him inside of me; my body craved him. Every inch of me.

"Athena, come over here." He called out for my cousin. Was he going to humiliate her for all the times she has humiliated me? Was he going to make her suffer? How did he know her name anyway? He became more attractive to me, wanting to stand up for me like that.

Athena silently and calmly walked towards us; the murmurs in the room got even louder as she approached him. I didn't care about these people's opinions. This was karma finally playing its role and giving my cousin the treatment she deserved.

"Alpha Alexander, you called?" She smiled at Alpha Alexander, then directed the smile to me.

"Wait…what's…" I was interrupted in my inquisition by the most shocking sight ever. My heart had been broken and shattered more than it ever had in my entire life.

While still holding my chin, Alpha Alexander was kissing Athena. They had their tongues buried in each other's mouths; Alpha Alexander's other hand rested on Athena's thigh, gently grabbing a hand full through the dress.

The crowd stopped murmuring; they had been a bit too shocked for the entire event.

"What…what is going on?" I knew exactly what it was that was going on, but I couldn't believe it. Alpha Alexander was my mate; we had been given to each other by the moon goddess.