The God She Rejected

I can't say I have dreamed of the day I would meet my mate. Being the last one of my family who wasn't mated, I have seen how different bonds work. Some are better than others. I have seen my siblings have to fight for their mates and even be separated from them because of different circumstances, so I wasn't particularly fond of the idea. Still, at the age of twenty-four, I should have found them already. I even thought I would share a mate with my other two brothers since we are triplets, but that wasn't the case. The walls in my room feel like a prison, so I do what every woman with the ability to teleport would do. I went on another trip to clear my mind. I've been everywhere, from the sun-bleached ruins of Greece to the mist-shrouded peaks of the Himalayas. I’ve sipped coffee in a bustling Parisian café at dawn and watched the Northern Lights dance over the frozen silence of the Arctic. The problem is, none of those trips satisfies me anymore. I have gone to other realms as well, but I'm tired of watching my siblings get all cozy with their mates while I'm all alone. I love my nieces and nephews, but I want to be on my own. I considered all the endless possibilities and decided to visit Greece once more. I haven't been to the smaller, forgotten islands in years—the ones where the only sounds are the cicadas and the sea, and the air smells of wild thyme and dry earth—a place untouched by the frantic energy surrounding my pack. I focus on the memory of a tiny, secluded beach on Ikaria, a place I found by accident a decade ago. The wonderful thing about teleportation is that I can be anywhere without side effects. Everyone in my family can do it, but I'm the best in that area. I land on my feet in soft, sun-warmed sand. The Aegean sun, even in the late afternoon, is a welcome weight on my skin. "This was what I needed," I mumbled as I stared at the sea. "Hello, Miss," A woman stood from a lounge chair I hadn't noticed, shaded by a cluster of bamboo and linen. She was older, her skin weathered by the sun into a map of fine lines, but her smile was warm and immediate. She held a book in one hand, a glass of iced tea perspiring in the other. "A beautiful spot, isn't it? It rarely has visitors." I started, my heart giving a frantic leap. Geez, I was so out of it. I should have heard her or at least registered her presence. This proves how much I needed a break. "It is," I replied. "I'm sorry to intrude. I thought the beach was deserted." "No intrusion at all, my dear. The sea is for everyone," she said, her accent a melodic blend of Greek and something else I couldn't place. Her eyes, a startlingly light blue, crinkled at the corners as she looked me over, not with judgment, but with a deep, unnerving curiosity. "You arrived quite... suddenly. I blinked, and there you were." Damn it. "Y-yeah," I stammered as I scratched the back of my head. "People have told me I'm quick on my feet." I forced a laugh that sounded brittle even to my own ears. Her knowing smile didn't waver, but she mercifully let my pathetic excuse lie. "Are you staying at one of the villas?" she asked, changing the subject. She gestured with her book toward the cliffs where a few whitewashed buildings were nestled among the greenery. "No, I just arrived," I said, the truth feeling safer now. "I don't have a place to stay yet." "Ah!" Her face lit up. "Then you must try the new lodging in the village. It is not grand, not like the resorts on the other side of the island. But it is clean, the family that runs it is lovely, and the view from the terrace... it will steal the breath from your lungs." She leaned forward conspiratorially. "And the father makes his own ouzo. A dangerous talent." It sounded perfect. Simple. Real. Exactly the kind of place I wouldn't normally look for but suddenly craved. "Thank you. I'll do that." I said my goodbyes, my mind already shifting from the strange encounter to the practicalities of finding a room. I focused on the image of a village square she'd inadvertently projected—a small church, a handful of tables under a vine-covered pergola—and teleported. The world dissolved and reassembled in the span of a heartbeat. I stood at the edge of the village plaza, the setting sun casting long shadows across the cobblestones. The air was different here—warm stone, grilling meat, the faint, sweet smell of jasmine. And then, it hit me. A scent. Sharp, clean, and utterly intoxicating—like the zest of a fresh lime sliced open under the Mediterranean sun—it was mixed with something wilder that I couldn't place. The scent bypassed my brain and went straight to my core, a jolt of pure, undiluted awareness. Thethys, my wolf, suddenly shot to her feet and started growling inside my mind. "Everything okay?" I asked because she was usually silent. I've seen how much my siblings speak to their wolves, but mine isn't like that. She is quieter and reserved, the total opposite of who I am. Thethys kept growling, but she never, not once, answered my question. I sighed in defeat. "I sometimes wonder why you are so damn moody," I mumbled back. "Can't you scent that?" She suddenly replied, leaving me dumbfounded. I closed my eyes to track the scent, but for some reason, it was everywhere. I couldn't pinpoint the origin, which should be easy for me, considering I'm a wolf. "Should we use magic?" I suggested, but she shook her head. "We won't be able to track him. We don't have anything of his," She explained. Hmm... so my mate is a he. I have had my fun here and there, with men and women. I'm not the kind of person who enjoys waiting around, so I thought it would be fun to gain some experience once I met my mate. I didn't want to go into our first night together completely blind. "Then what do you suggest?" Theia stopped growling and started pacing. She had no idea what we should do, and because of my question, she was now on edge. "Fine," I muttered under my breath, more to myself than to my agitated wolf. "Forget tracking. Let's just find this lodging." The pull of the scent was a constant, maddening hum in my veins, a compass needle spinning wildly because the source was everywhere and nowhere at once. It was infuriating. I was the best teleporter in my family, a master of spatial awareness, and I couldn't pinpoint the one thing that mattered most. I forced my feet to move, walking away from the main square and deeper into the labyrinth of whitewashed streets. The scent of lime and wildness followed me, a ghost I couldn't shake. With every step, Thethys’ pacing in my mind grew more frantic, a caged animal sensing its keeper just beyond the bars. "He's close," She grunted. "So close..." “You’re not helping,” I shot back silently, my own nerves fraying. I tried to focus on the directions the woman on the beach had given me—look for the blue door with the fishing net, then turn left at the old well. But my attention was fractured, split between navigating the unfamiliar village and resisting the primal urge to stop and just… breathe him in. I found it. The lodging was a charming, two-story building with a deep blue door, just as described. A hand-painted sign swung gently in the evening breeze: ‘Thalassa Rooms’. But as I reached for the wrought-iron handle, the lime scent intensified, sharpening from a general ambiance to a specific, devastating point of origin. It was coming from inside. My hand froze an inch from the door. Thethys went utterly still, a hunter zeroing in on its prey. Here. He is here. The door swung open before I could process the thought, before I could flee. A man stood there, filling the doorway. He was tall, with sun-streaked golden hair and eyes the color of the moon. He held a stack of fresh linen in his arms and smelled of clean cotton, soap, and… lime. The wild, intoxicating lime scent was rolling off him in waves, so potent it was a physical force. Our eyes met. Time stopped. I knew he wasn't human; the aura surrounding him was too strong. He wasn't a wolf either, but a supernatural, that was for sure. "Can I help you?" he asked, his voice deeper than I expected, laced with a faint Greek accent that made the simple question sound like a caress. "MATE!" Thethys howled as she wagged her tail. Could he recognize me? What should I do or say? He was my mate. And from the way his eyes widened, the way his grip on the linens tightened until his knuckles turned white, he felt it too. The air between us crackled, thick with unspoken recognition and the overwhelming scent of lime and destiny. "I... I was told you might have a room," I managed to choke out, my voice barely a whisper. It was a miracle I could form words at all. He just stared at me, his sea-moon eyes wide with a shock that mirrored my own. He opened his mouth, perhaps to answer, perhaps to ask the million questions I saw swirling in his gaze. But then a light and melodic voice floated from inside the house. "Leo? Who is it, agapi mou?" Leo? The name sounds wrong. A woman appeared behind him, sliding her arm through his with a familiar ease that made my blood run cold. She was stunning, with dark curls tumoring over her shoulders and a smile that could launch ships. And there, on the side of her neck, just above her collarbone, was a mark. It was not a mate mark, but a love one. And it smelled of him. "I want to kill her," Thethys growled. I took a deep breath. He may have his past, just like I have mine. I won't be such a hypocrite to act like this is the end of the world when he might meet some of the people I have had s*x back at the pack. The man—Leo—flinched, his gaze darting from me to the woman on his arm, a complicated mix of guilt, panic, and confusion flashing across his face. At least it seems he cares. The woman, oblivious to the cataclysm she had just stepped into, beamed at me. "Hello! Are you looking for a room? We have one left, it's our best one! The view is incredible." I couldn't speak, so I only nodded like an i***t. The woman’s smile widened. “Perfect! I am Eleni. This is my friend, Leo. Welcome to Thalassa Rooms.” Friend... So they were in a relationship. "May I ask for your name for your reservation?" Her voice was still sweet, like honey. I couldn't even get mad at her because she was not being a b***h. I wonder what will happen once Leo tells her who I am. "My name is Anika Hills." "Hills? I have heard that last name," she mumbled under her breath. I smiled. "My family is rich, that's why you may have heard of me." Her eyebrows furrowed as she shook her head. "No, I don't think that is it." She turned her head to look at Leo. "You asked me about the Hills family, didn't you?" My eyebrows shot up. Has he known about me? For how long?