The Alpha’s Rejected And Broken Mate
Chapter 70

Stacey POV

f**k. I can't believe that, once again, my plans have been foiled by that little b***h. I thought for sure, once she'd ingested the Penny Royal Herb, that she would have a miscarriage and then want to leave the pack in the midst of her grief. Not to mention, Rowan would no longer feel obligated to keep her around. But I had failed. I scowled darkly, staring off into the distance.

"Hey," Grant said softly, from where he was standing and beginning to put clothes on "what's wrong?"

I could hardly tell him that I'd used him in order to poison my rival now, could I?

Instead, I bent down and grabbed my dress, strewn across the forest floor, along with my panties, stockings, and shoes. I'd dragged him out here, for what I liked to think of as stress relief. Well, he'd eased my stress alright, but not much. "Nothing's wrong," I told him, lying for all I was worth. "I'm just worried about poor Amber" I added, looking all dramatic and upset.

Grant believed we were friends, the foolish boy. As if. I hated that little slut with a passion.

"I heard that she's going to be fine. I wonder who poisoned her though. My money's on someone trying to get at the alpha", Grant said, frowning, a look of concentration on his face. I admired his spirit but sighed at his dumbness. Bless him, he still hadn't connected the dots. He wasn't very bright, but for all that, he was handsome.

"Yes, I visited her in the hospital and she's going to be alright. Somehow, the doctors got to her in time", I added with a frown. I had put in such a high dosage of the stuff as well. It should have happened in minutes, far too late for the doctors to be able to save her. Where had I gone wrong?

"I need to go and see someone," I told Grant quietly. "can you cover for me?"

He hesitates, but I'm wearing the other perfume, the one that's like an aphrodisiac and he can't get enough of me. I glanced meaningfully at him.

"Technically you're not supposed to leave the pack grounds," Grant said reluctantly.

I gave a big sigh and stood closer to him, letting the perfume take effect. "I'll make it worth your while" I cooed.

He blinked, his nostrils flaring as the perfume hit, his eyes going dazed and slightly confused, a bewildered look on his face. I silently celebrate the fact that it's working.

"Okay, but it better be worth my while" he growled, and I nodded, giving him a small hug, before stepping back. I place my dress, shoes, and everything else in a neat pile. They would only be ripped if I put them on now and then shifted. He watches me silently the whole time.

I shift, into my wolf, reveling in my taste of freedom. I went over to the small pile and fetched a hairbrush from it. It was not mine but Rowan's, and I was borrowing it. I needed to know something and Celia was going to give me the answer. I took off, my paws thudding heavily on the dirty forest floor, taking flight, the wind in my fur. It was a glorious day, with the sun shining, a clear blue sky, and birds chirping from their nests. Any other time, I would have been tempted to take my time, but I knew that Grant could only cover my having left for so long before someone became suspicious.

I made it to our little hideaway just in time, shifting outside the door and pounding on the door, completely naked.

"Celia" I hissed, aware of my nudity, "Celia"

She opened the door and ushered me inside. "I was working on a spell" she whined, "and you interrupted me."

I rolled my eyes. She had plenty of time to get back to her spells, but right now I was in a hurry. I brandished the hairbrush I'd carried in my mouth the whole trip at her.

"I have his hair" I blurted out and Celia sighed, all dramatic, like, and took hold of it, motioning me upstairs to the kitchen.

I sat at the dining table, oblivious to my nakedness as Celia placed a hair from the hairbrush into a small cauldron before she grabbed a pair of scissors from the drawer and made her way resolutely towards me. I flinched, but all she did was cut off a few hairs from the bottom of my hair.

"Sorry," she muttered, "but I need yours for comparison."

I didn't mind. She hadn't taken very many and it was hardly noticeable. She placed my hair in the cauldron.

"How did the herb go that I told you about?" Celia asked. "Did it do what it was intended?'

She paused at her work and stared at me.

I fidgeted in the chair. I was still angry and annoyed at myself for stuffing up so badly. I mean, it was a simple task. I hadn't even been spotted in the kitchen while the omega was making up the tea. That's how careful I was. It hadn't affected the males at all, so I'd dosed all three cups of tea while the omega had her back turned. Then I'd floated out the door and back to Grant, who was none the wiser about what I had just done.

"Somehow the doctors managed to stop the miscarriage" I snarled. "She's recovering in the hospital and the baby is apparently fine."

Celia looked stunned. I wondered what she was thinking.

"That's not possible," she said quietly, "did you give her the dosage amount I instructed you to give?"

"Yes" I snapped, "and it still didn't work. You must have gotten it wrong" I added, folding my arms over my chest and glowering at her.

Celia shook her head. "I don't have it wrong. That dosage was almost fatal when ingested. The only way she could have possibly been saved from having a miscarriage would have been magic or a spell of some kind and you told me there were no witches in the pack." I frowned. There weren't any witches in the pack, I'd made certain of that. So whose magic had saved Amber? It didn't make sense. I was going to have to pry to get answers or do some serious spying when I got back.

Celia grimaced and then turned back to her work, placing various herbs into the cauldron and mashing them up, muttering under her breath the whole time. She tipped the contents out onto the benchtop and began to wave her hands over the hair, saying several words that I couldn't repeat or even pronounce correctly. The contents began to glow, a bright blue color, smoke rising up over the top. I gaped, in awe, fascinated despite myself. Celia didn't even spare me a glance as she continued to chant. Then I saw the hair. One lot was blue but the other lot was glowing green. What did that mean? Celia saw it as well and sighed. She stopped chanting and slowly the smoke dissipated and the glowing stopped, the contents returning to completely normal. "Well," I demanded as Celia looked at me tiredly. "IS it Rowan's baby that I'm having or not?"

God, please let it be his baby.

Celia shook her head slowly. "No, the baby is the other man that you slept with. Gordon's. The different colors mean it wasn't a match for Rowan's DNA. You're definitely not carrying Rowan's child, I'm afraid", she said with a sigh. My shoulders slumped. I'd been laying bets it was Rowan's this whole time and now I was replaceing out it was Gordon's baby. Now, what was I going to do?

"You could still pretend it's his baby" Celia suggested.

I glared. "He's going to demand a paternity test when the baby is born and then what will I do when he replaces out? He'll most likely kill me for my deceit."

"What about a miscarriage?" suggested Celia, "before the baby comes to term. Then he won't have the heart to ask for a paternity test and if we have to we could falsify the documents."

I stared at her incredulously. Like hell, I was going to kill my baby. But another part of me was desperate to be Luna, no matter what it took. But in the end, I decided that I couldn't go through something like that. Not intentionally anyway. "No," I said glumly, "I'm not having a miscarriage."

"Well then, we're going to have to work on making you Luna so that he forgets all about it. I can maybe develop a spell that makes him forget he even wants one, but it will take time. Something you may not have a lot of" Celia said wisely. She was so right. I was running out of time and it was all that damn Amber's fault. He was so preoccupied with that little w***e, it wasn't funny.

"Come up with the spell" I advised Celia, my eyes glinting. "I'll keep working on becoming Luna. I might need more of that special perfume as well", I told her "I've been wearing it every day to confuse him and it seems to be working, but that damn mate bond draws him back to her."

"I know, but there's no spell in existence that will sever a mate bond," Celia said sadly, "unless he rejects her, of course. Maybe that's an option you could explore."

I glanced at the time. It was getting late and I'd spent far more time than I'd planned to. I got up from the dining table and gave Celia a hug. She hugged me back.

"I miss you," she said a little sadly and sounding a little lost. I guess it could get lonely for a teenage witch, being all by herself. If I was honest with myself, I missed her a lot as well.

"I miss you too," I said with a small smile, before going towards the front door, Celia on my heels.

"I'll get that perfume to you next week" she informed me "I need to brew it up again first."

"That's fine, I still have some left. I'll see you again next week for it" I said and then flew out the front door, shifting and beginning to run.

I hoped Grant hadn't had any issues covering my absence. I had gotten the answers I sought and boy did that suck. I had really wanted it to be Rowan's baby too. More than Gordon's. Gordon had been easily manipulated and weak, nothing more than a loser I had used to get back at Rowan for being so cold and distant. Now I was stuck having his child. Great. Just what I needed. My paws flew along the forest tracks, dodging debris and jumping over fallen branches and sometimes fallen trees, before I skidded to a complete stop, right in front of an impatient-looking Grant.

"About time" he hissed, looking around nervously "the Alpha is wanting to speak with you. I told him I would bring you in. So hurry up and shift" he declared.

As Grant watched appreciatively, I shifted back to human form, stretching and working out the kinks. He cleared his throat and looked off into the distance as I bent down and retrieved my underwear, shimmying into it, before putting my dress on. I sat down on a relatively clean patch of grass and began to put my stockings back on, relieved to see there were no holes in them. My shoes went on last and I teetered on the heels, catching hold of Grant's arm as he quickly grabbed hold of me, steadying me on my feet. For a moment I felt dizzy and lightheaded, something I was unaccustomed to feeling. I suspected it was due to my pregnancy. "Are you alright?" asked Grant in concern, his grip strong and sure.

I gave a slight nod, feeling queasy and a little apprehensive. I wondered what it was that Alpha Rowan wanted to talk to me about, and I was worried about what he was going to say. I crossed my fingers hoping it was nothing to do with a paternity test, as I walked on the grounds toward the pack house, Grant steering me in that direction and keeping me upright. Whatever this was, it had better be important. Maybe, I mused, I could even get some answers about Amber's condition and how she managed to keep from having the miscarriage I had set her up for. If I could get close enough to Rowan with my perfume, he might just spill Amber's secrets.