~~Chapter Five

Ashanti's POV

My breathing came to a fast halt as my mate's rejection rang in my head. He said it with an emotional deadness, like a cold fish.

The man had such a provoking character that pissed me off so badly. If the stupid mating bond wasn't affecting my senses, I'd want nothing to do with such a rude human.

Instant distaste filled my mouth. Even my wolf was annoyed at him for treating us like we were unworthy of his attention.

"Why?" I demanded without thinking.

"Excuse me?"

"You know what I mean, sir," my voice trembled from anger. "Why waste my time with all those questions if you didn't plan to employ me? Are you also implying that all your staff have a degree?"

His hand rose the sleeve of his white-as-snow button-down shirt. "It's not my fault you didn't do your research before applying to my company. Unfortunately, you're not a good fit for the role."

The flippancy of his tone made me want to scream. I shot him a glare, and his eyes twinkled with amusement. 

Typical male. 

All my life, I've had to deal with worse males who acted high and mighty and expected women to bow to them like they were demigods.

But with Chadwick, it was a little different. The mating bond rose a hot feverish intensity from my wolf who wanted me to give in to the mating pleasure, almost bursting my brain with pure heat.

I ignored Bea. My human self was insulted. No matter who I was, he had no right to speak to me in that manner.

"Your ego is wounded because you have never been rejected, much less by your mate," my inner thoughts mocked me.

Holding back from speaking an insult, I focused on remaining in his presence, carefully controlling my voice and tone.

"You're right about my under qualification. But that's no excuse to treat people like trash."

Smirking, he leaned into his seat. "You've got some nerves. Do you expect me to hire a high-school dropout as my secretary? You're lucky I even granted you an interview."

I crossed my arms in hostility. "You can choke on your pity, sir, because you look like a tyrannical boss who barks commands at your staff and makes their lives wretched in exchange for peanuts, so thank you for not hiring me."

Chadwick's face darkened at my words, but he said nothing. Mate or not, I would never let this weak human belittle me. 

My heart raced like a galloping horse, and I knew I had to leave before my anger took over and my lycan traits showed. A sick part of me wanted to bare my sharp canines at him and tell him to go fuck a cactus.

Instead, I got my legs moving but stopped when my eyes caught the sight of the werewolf simulation robot at the door. An amused smirk played on my lips as I noticed the error in detail.

"You don't even know how many toes a wolf has. Standard back feet have four. For such a big company, I expected perfection."

His face scrunched like a squeezed lemon with a warning look in his eyes.

"Get out before I escort you with security."

Outside the door, a satisfied smile spread on my lips. The proud fool needed a reality check. Just because we're fated mates doesn't mean he gets a free pass to insult me.

"Well done," Bea applauded. "Our mate must learn to respect us. Although it would have given me so much pleasure to let him claim us."

Shame and desire mingled hot in my throat. Did I do the right thing by walking away from my mate? I wished we'd met under different circumstances. Or better still, I wish I could break the mating bond.

Unfortunately, the only way of doing this was to fuck him out of my system and reject him on the night of the full moon.

"Remember, today is our running day," Bea continued. "We need to let out some steam."

I returned to the apartment and met chaos. The living room resembled a battleground, and every possession was scattered. From the coffee table to the chairs. My body froze, and my mouth fell open in horror.

Swallowing rapidly, I felt a burn of bile in the back of my throat, knowing that Dave was the unwelcome bastard behind this. With red lipstick, he wrote 'slut' and 'sex addict' on the cream wall in the living room.

Hate sparked within me. Dave has a partnership with the devil to ruin my life. The bastard had the guts to break in here to violate this place, I grew so angry that I screamed.

This was fucked up.

Fumbling with the phone, I called the authorities to accuse Dave of trespassing and ask for a restraining order. Bea was pissed, wishing I destroyed Dave when I had the chance. 

The door was a wreck and I had to change the locks and replace the broken table. I had little money left with me to solve this financial burden.

My heart became heavy with grief. This was becoming impossibly hard to bear. My thoughts became rough and painful as I remembered Chadwick's earlier rejection, Dave's destruction, back to the lycan pack when my dad promised to make my life a living hell if I didn't marry Seth Darkwood.

Holding myself rigidly, I couldn't stop the deep sobs that strained my insides. As much as I tried to deny it, my spirit was broken.

****

I spent a reasonable amount of my afternoon in the police station and returned home to find Harrison and Carmen looking around at the horrible chaos.

"What happened here?" Carmen asked.

"It's my fault," my voice broke miserably. "Ever since I brought my wretched self here, it's been from one problem to another. I shouldn't have come here."

Harrison and Carmen exchanged glances and Harrison, though uneasy, placed a hand on my shoulder. "Nonsense. As long as the police are aware of this, you have nothing to fear."

We sat in silence, none of us knowing what to say. I was emotionally drained and tormented with thoughts on how to fix the situation.

"How was the interview?" Carmen asked softly.

"I didn't qualify," I scoffed. "But I'll find another job. I always do."

 Harrison scooted closer and made me rest my head on his shoulder. "I'll personally make sure I get you a better job, even if I have to announce it to my friends in the queer bar. I'm sure they'll be willing to lend a hand."

"There's a branch of our former establishment a bus stop away. I'm sure Matthew, our former branch manager, can help you," Carmen said.

Harrison and I exchanged glances, and despite how sad I was, we burst out laughing and Carmen looked lost.

"Did I say anything funny?"

"No," I said between laughs. "Have you forgotten I resigned because Matthew lied about being single just to have sex with me, and when I found out about his heavily pregnant innocent wife, he cried on his knees and said he would divorce her once she has the baby?"

Carmen's mouth gaped in shock. "Tell me, Ashanti, how many guys have you slept with?"

My laughter rippled through the air, and Harrison joined me.

"I needed that," I laughed.