Chapter 5 Accept the rejection, swap a little blood

"I can't believe she's pregnant! I'm so, so sorry, Rachel!"

I trembled from the force of my emotions. My tears washed away years' worth of stress and frustration and pain. I felt myself coming alive again as my sadness melted away to reveal hope for a different future for myself.

No one had ever told me a mate could cause so much unhappiness to their supposed 'other half.'

Bella led me to the sofa where I collapsed into a corner, kicking off my shoes so I wouldn't dirty her cushions. I drew my knees up to my chest and wrapped my arms around my legs. I thought maybe if I could make myself small enough, I could contain part of my feelings or at least shrink them down to a more manageable size.

"I thought The Model was just supposed to be a cover story for the events you 'couldn't' attend?"

I rubbed my eyes with the heel of my hand as Bella's air quotes surprised a chuckle out of me as my tears dried.

Tyler had made plenty of excuses over the years as to why his mate "couldn't" attend events with him. His disgust with me was enough we had never married in the human way; I was not featured in the papers as his mate.

I hadn't cared.

I didn't need publicity to solidify my knowledge of myself.

Jenny Wayland was a human model of astonishing beauty. Tyler took her to all the functions he was expected to bring a companion. She looked as if she belonged with him in the photos taken by the press or paparazzi.

A rumor had started a year ago saying House Wright was being slow to announce their future Luna because Alpha Tyler was mated to a human.

Jenny the Model made no effort to dissuade people from the belief she was the human mate Tyler was going to introduce.

"I thought so too," I sniffed, taking a tissue from the box on Bella's coffee table, "I thought it was only dancing and drinking. I thought I'd know if he did more. Shouldn't I have felt it if my mate cheated?"

Bella gave me a worried frown, "I don't know. I could ask my mother. You're the only one I know whose mate isn't completely obsessed with them."

In the early days of everything, I would have broken down at a mention of how awful things were in my mate bond.

Now I was used to it.

"I know. My mating was a mess. I pretended to be pregnant only for my mate to knock up his human girlfriend! Hello, Irony, I have only myself to blame!"

"I know Patrick needs to be blamed! If he hadn't gotten buried under his gambling debt, you wouldn't have needed to ask Tyler for ransom money. You did what you had to do. For Ethan. What choice did you have? Let your brother die?"

I shrugged while I wiped my face. We had gone over this same argument so many times I was tired of it. I wanted to stop the conversation before it went any further.

"It doesn't matter. None of it does. Jenny showed me her pregnancy test. It was positive. She actually showed me the word 'Pregnant' on the screen right in the middle of the department store while I was shopping for Tyler's anniversary gift."

"That's insane! Who has that kind of luck? I can't even come up with the odds of her running into you."

Bella made a good point. Had Jenny known where I would be?

Tyler stepped out with several women on a regular basis. Models, singers, and even movie stars had appeared on his arm at parties or awards ceremonies or fundraisers.

I'd never appeared in public as his mate, but Tyler had taken out plenty of other females besides Jenny the Model. The only courtesy he showed our mating was never using another wolf as his escort.

He had spared me and my wolf, Rayne, that one indignity at least though I thought it was more likely his wolf, Wynd, who'd refused to allow him to betray his mate more than any kindness on Tyler's part.

Wynd and Rayne were going to be the ones to suffer from the rejection. Their mating had not been burdened by the betrayal Tyler and I shared. For our wolves, their mate bond was the gift it was meant to be from the Moon Goddess.

"Do you think Tyler told her? Did you leave a note for him?"

I shook my head, "No, I didn't leave a note. I texted him. She may have seen his phone."

"She was---with him then? All night?"

Bella sounded shocked though I wasn't sure if it was because she couldn't believe Jenny the Model would stay the night with my mate or that Tyler betrayed his mate bond. My casual shrug in response was enough of an answer for her. What was I supposed to say? My mate felt only hatred and resentment for me?

"It doesn't matter now. None of it does. He can have as many models as he wants. I gave him my rejection. Rayne is sleeping it off. She won't be happy, but she'll survive. She's strong."

"What about Wynd? How did he take it?"

I shrugged again, "I don't know."

"Well, what happened when Tyler said it back?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing?" Bella asked, confusion clouding her expression, "What do you mean nothing? I've never seen a formal rejection, but I know it's supposed to be intense for both mates."

"No, Tyler didn't say it back. He'll do it when he's ready."

A formal rejection was a serious mark of shame for a wolf. I wasn't surprised Bella knew little about the specifics of the act. Most wolves would never even say the word 'rejection' much less ask how to go about performing one.

"Yes. I went to Alpha Wright and asked for his help to be certain I did everything the proper way. I didn't want to mess it up. I want to spare us both what pain I can from here on out."

Bella reached across the couch to squeeze my arm. Her friendship was more than I deserved. I was lucky to have her in my life.

"He was really happy to help, too."

"Alpha Wright?"

"Yes," I murmured, thinking back to my meeting with Tyler's father, "He has hated Tyler mating me from the beginning. It's bad enough Tyler came from an omega mating, but to have a mate of his own from an omega family? His pride couldn't stand it. He told me we had to exchange the words then we'll have to break the seal with a blood exchange."

"Alpha Wright has only ever looked out for House Wright. He's the reason Tyler never announced you as his mate."

I disagreed immediately, "No. Tyler never formally announced our mating or married me in the human ways because I betrayed him. I tricked him into our mating for his money. Alpha Wright wouldn't have had to tell him to be quiet about me."

"Who said he had to tell him? Maybe he just wanted to?"

Rachel rolled her eyes and startled another laugh out of me.

She wasn't wrong.

I noticed her touching her neck and found myself enthralled with her mating mark.

Bella had found her mate Jack recently. Theirs was a whirlwind mating, but most were when it came to fated mates. She was still in the stage where everything was lust and love and building a life together.

Jack was looking for them a place to share since both lived in apartments too small to share comfortably. I would have to get myself together quickly so I could find a place of my own before Bella moved in with Jack.

Busying myself with my phone, I sent a text to Tyler asking him to finish his side of the rejection. I could still feel him in my mind as a buzzing nuisance.

"Tyler, please finish your side of the rejection ritual. I'll meet you wherever you choose to do the blood exchange."

No reply came and I was getting a headache from the partially severed bond.

I called his number for the first time in months only to go directly to voicemail.

"Tyler! I need you to accept the rejection. I am getting a headache and I doubt you feel much better. Reject me then meet me to do the exchange and that's it! You'll never have to see me again. Guaranteed."

Bella looked at me in confusion as the phone cut off on me.

"I don't know. All he needs to do is accept the rejection, swap a little blood, and it's over! He's never wanted to be with me. Why isn't he jumping at this chance?"

"I don't know, Rachel. Maybe he's thinking? Or he's---busy."

I caught the way Bella looked away from me before pointing out Tyler could be 'busy' and it occurred to me he might be with her.

"Jenny."

Bella nodded, biting her lip and covering her mate mark with her hand as if she wanted to spare me the pain of seeing it.

I went back to my phone with a new wave of fury. He could celebrate with his model after he rejected me! I deserved my rejection.

Dialing Tyler again, I put the phone on speaker so Bella could hear only for the call to cut off with a message from the phone company!

"We're sorry, but your call cannot be completed as dialed. Please check your number and make your call again."

I stared at the phone in shock. I had just called that number! It was his personal line! I hit his contact name again only to get the same message. I let out a sound of pure rage as I realized what it had to mean.

"He blocked me!"