Page 6 of Rejected Mate Bride
That was Flora. The unthinking, unwanted daughter.
They had packed up the very same day, made excuses to the alpha about why they needed to leave that Flora hadn’tpaid any attention to, and whisked her away to another pack. Anything to avoid questions and rumors.
But in Ironbrand, things weren’t much better. They hadn’t been born into the pack, so none of them were ever truly accepted. Stella and Ben took their anger at the situation out on Flora, keeping her isolated from anyone who might be a friend to her. Being an outcast made the pregnancy feel longer and more difficult than she had anticipated, but finally, her daughter had been born.
All the pain and terror she had felt melted away into nothing the second she saw her daughter’s face. The feeling of her tiny body in Flora’s arms, the gentle curl of her eyelashes, the petite hand wrapped around her finger—each moment with her daughter had given her strength she never knew existed. She would do anything to protect her child, anything to give her the chance of a better life. But the end of her pregnancy meant that her parents no longer felt any hint of compassion toward her. Only two days after her birth, Stella had forced her to get up and dress herself to look presentable. It was then she told Flora about the plans she had foiled by having a child.
“Now that you’re not pregnant, we can get back to work,” her mother had said.
“Work?” Flora asked, confused.
“You’ve been costing us money ever since you came into our lives. We need to find someone who can…repay us, for raising you.”
Flora fully understood then why they had become so enraged with her pregnancy. Stella and Ben had been planning to sell her to the highest bidder—a trophy wife, a human mate who could become a plaything for whichever wolf wanted her. Her pregnancy had disrupted their plans and further drainedtheir resources. When she discovered the truth, she tried to use it to her advantage. Anything would be better than living under their thumb for the rest of her life, so she had told them to abandon her and the child. She was more than willing to make her way on her own from then on out. But they wouldn’t let her go.
“Your child will grow up someday, and things will change,” Stella had said.
At the time, Flora had thought she meant the chances of her marrying would increase when she no longer had a newborn in her arms, but the older her daughter got, the more Stella’s plans became clear. It wasn’t just Flora who was going to be sold off; that same fate would befall Sofia, too, when the time came.
Flora’s only hope had been to find a man willing to take on her and her child. She had needed someone to take them both away from Stella and Ben, and she would have done anything to protect her girl from the cruelty she had experienced at the hands of her parents. Anything that kept them content and compensated would be worth the price of her debasement. So, when she was introduced to Alpha Demetrius, Flora had done everything in her power to become whatever he wanted her to be. The strength she had found when she became a mother only increased with each passing day, as her desire to overcome her circumstances for her daughter’s benefit outpaced all other thoughts.
Of course, being his mate and joining the world of elite wolves in the Ironbrand pack as a human had been another circle of hell. The isolation imposed on her by her parents had served as training grounds for her future life of being relegated to the background of Demetrius’ life. But at least Sofia had been safe.
Now, Camden had upset the delicate balance of her life. He had whisked her away as if he owned her and brought her back to his home, the place where everyone still thought of her as the lowest of the low. At least in Ironbrand, she had been mostly ignored. Here, she was bound to be teased and abused as she had been before.
“Here’s your water,” Camden said.
She took it and took a cautious sip, unsure of what to do next. The fog in her brain had cleared, but she still felt unsteady.
“I can’t stay here,” she said quietly. “You know better than anyone how unwelcome I am with your pack.”
“I can’t send you back there. I won’t,” Camden said sternly, as if his decision was final.
Flora couldn’t understand why he was being so adamant about keeping her a prisoner. Hadn’t he been the one who had rejected her? Surely nothing had changed between them. She was still a human, and he said he would never be with someone who couldn’t raise his social standing in the pack. What did he want from her?
“Then I’ll leave by myself,” Flora stated.
“I’ll just come after you again,” Camden argued.
Flora set the water glass down on the table with a thud. She was done with the back-and-forth argument between them.
“Explain yourself, Camden,” she said sternly. “You broke off our friendship. You told me you wanted nothing else to do with me. So, what is this? Why did you kidnap me, and what do you want?”
“What I want…” Camden said quietly, his voice trailing off. “Flora, you are my lost mate. I never should have pushed you away before. What I want is to be with you, forever. I ‘kidnapped’you because you can’t marry Alpha Demetrius. You’re going to marry me.”
Flora’s eyes were wide as he finished his speech. Was he out of his mind? She couldn’t imagine a more insane plan. Marry Camden? The man who had broken her heart and left her to raise their daughter alone, in the care of parents who made her life miserable. It was only by sheer fortitude that she had managed to survive.
“No,” she said.
Flora was surprised when Camden’s eyes betrayed feelings of hurt and sadness. She had expected him to remain stoic, or even express anger. Anything but this.
“Please, Flora,” he said, shocking her again. “I can’t bear it if you go back there. Please, stay here. Marry me, and I can protect you.”
At the mention of protection, a thought crossed her mind. She had wanted to return to Ironbrand to shield her daughter from the forces that would harm her, but maybe there was another way. She could never envision herself marrying Camden, let alone loving him, but if she could use his protection to free Sofia…
“Under one condition,” she said.
“Anything,” Camden replied quickly.
