The Rejected Mate (Elaine and Michael) novel Chapter 74

Kathy took a deep breath before speaking, her fingers tightening around the edge of the sofa cushion as if she needed something to ground her. “Elaine and I grew up together,” she began softly, her voice filled with nostalgia. “We weren’t just sisters, Roselyn. We were best friends. We shared everything–our secrets, our dreams, our fears. Even when we got in trouble, we’d always take the blame together. She was my other half in every way.”

Her gaze turned distant, eyes clouded with old memories. “I was the older one, but that never mattered. She was strong–willed and brave in ways I never was. Whenever someone picked on me, it was Elaine who stood in front of me, daring them to try again. We always promised each other that no matter what, we’d stick together and protect one another.”

Kathy’s voice trembled slightly as she continued. “But that promise… it became harder to keep when life started to pull us in different directions. When Elaine turned eighteen, she went off to college in the city. She wanted to prove herself–to be more than just a beta’s daughter. After that, we barely saw her. She’d come home for a week every year, just long enough to visit our parents and then disappear again into her studies. She was growing up, building her own path, and I was proud of her.”

Michael’s eyes softened as he listened, then spoke quietly, filling in the next part. “Elaine was gone during those years when I began attending the mating balls. I was searching for my mate–desperately. Every alpha around my age was finding theirs, settling down, preparing to take over their packs. But not me. No matter how many balls I attended, no matter how far I searched, I never found her. Every year that passed made me feel more… hollow.”

He exhaled heavily, rubbing the back of his neck as he recalled the memory. “Eventually, I began to think maybe my mate was gone–dead before we could ever meet. It happens sometimes. So I went to my father and told him that if I couldn’t find my true mate, I would choose one. My pack needed a Luna, and I needed a partner I could trust.”

His eyes flickered toward Kathy then, full of both affection and regret. “My father agreed. We decided it would be Kathy. She was my friend since childhood, the daughter of my father’s Beta, someone who already knew the demands of leadership. It made sense. We didn’t tell anyone–not even Elaine. But Kathy began her Luna training. We worked together every day. For a while, it felt like the right path.”

Kathy gave a small, bittersweet smile, though tears glistened in her eyes. “We were together for about a year before Elaine came home from college. She had changed so much. She looked older, wiser… but still had that spark in her eyes that I always admired.”

Roselyn listened quietly, her heart twisting with conflicting emotions.

“And just as Elaine came home,” Kathy went on, “Michael left for his Alpha training. I followed him, since I was preparing to become Luna. We were gone for two years. Two long years away from our pack, away from Elaine. When we came back…” Kathy paused, taking a shaky breath. “I was already with pup.”

She looked down, her hands trembling slightly. “We planned to announce everything–to tell everyone about the pup and about our decision to become mates. But before we could.”

Kathy’s voice cracked, her tears spilling freely now. “Elaine and Michael found out they were mates.”

The silence that followed was deafening. Even the air seemed to still. Roselyn’s breath hitched in her throat. Darius glanced at Michael, his eyes narrowing slightly but he remained quiet, letting them continue.

Kathy wiped her tears, forcing herself to go on. “Roselyn, believe me when I say… when I saw Elaine’s face that day–when she realized Michael was her mate–she was glowing. I’ve never seen her so happy. Her joy was pure, like all her pain and loneliness had vanished in that instant. And despite everything, despite what it meant for me, I was happy for her. How could I not be? I loved her. She was my sister.”

Her voice broke completely then, and she covered her face with her hands.

Michael’s voice filled the silence that followed, low and heavy with regret. “That night, I was supposed to talk to Elaine–to explain everything. I wanted to tell her that Kathy and I had already made a commitment… that she and I-” He stopped, his throat tightening. “But when I saw her, when I looked into her eyes and felt the bond between us, everything changed. The pull was… overwhelming.”

He looked down at his hands, his voice barely above a whisper now. “The mate bond is powerful, Roselyn. It’s not something you can simply ignore. My wolf–our wolves–they were ecstatic. After years of searching, we finally found what we had been longing for. And Elaine felt it too. I tried to fight it, I swear I did, but… in that moment, reason disappeared. I lost control.”

Kathy turned her face away, silent tears sliding down her cheeks.

Michael’s shoulders sagged. “If we had met earlier, before I chose Kathy, before all the secrecy, maybe things would have been different. Maybe none of this would have happened. But we made mistakes–the first of which was not telling the pack from the beginning about eeping it quiet would make things my decision to take Kathy as a cho easier. Looking back now, I can’t even remember what was thinking.” He shook his head, anguish clear in his eyes. “Every decision I made back then was the wrong one.”

The room was silent for a long moment. The weight of their confession hung between them like a thick fog.

Roselyn could feel their sincerity–the deep sorrow in every word. It wasn’t just regret; it was years of guilt, of sleepless nights and unspoken pain.

“I know you’re telling the truth,” Roselyn said finally, her voice barely above a whisper. “I can feel it. Every word you’ve said carries your regret. But that doesn’t erase what Elaine went through. It doesn’t change the fact that she suffered because of all of this.”