The Alpha's Rejected Mate novel Chapter 1

Scarlett was bewildered. She has always been a bookworm and thought that animals are friendly and not dangerous. "What?"

"Hold tight!" Her father said. He tried everything he could to stop the car, but when he finally did, the car collided with a tree and Scarlett's head hit the glove compartment because her seat belt wasn't properly buckled and was already almost loose.

As the car came to a stop, he called out, "Scarlett?" and turned to face her. She was wailing and her head was bleeding. "Are you okay?"

"It hurts."

"Hon, don't worry, you'll be fine," He said as he got close to her to look at her head.

"D…dad," Scarlett spoke, trembling. "What t–the heck is that?" She stuttered as she gestured toward her father's window. Her vision was already becoming blurry, making it impossible for her to see what was coming toward them.

Edward whirled around to see what Scarlett was talking about. When he noticed what was coming toward him, his eyes grew wider. His daughter was not in danger; he was.

"Dad..." Scarlett said, fadedly. Weakly.

She extended her hand to try and touch him. She fought to stay awake even though her eyes were trying to close. She fought to reach out to her father, but it was impossible.

She suddenly heard the sound of glass shattering, saw her father being dragged out from the window and heard his scream before she fell unconscious.

...

The sound of a crane slamming metal was all Scarlett could hear as she struggled to open her eyes. She could only make out a hazy image and a continuous metallic sound. Now that she could hear the voices clearer, Scarlett could hear her father joining in on the laughter as they drove to the NBA game.

She remembered yelling that exact phrase, "There is a large bear on the road!" and then everything went blank after she heard her father scream.

In the dimly illuminated room, Scarlett awoke, panting loudly. Her entire body was drenched with sweat. Except for the ticking of the alarm clock, the mansion was quiet. With her hand, she located it and switched it off. Scarlett wanted to stay beneath the covers after her nightmare, but she was afraid that going back to sleep would trigger another bad dream.

She got out of bed and as she sank back into it, she became aware of how frail she was. Her head started hurting, and she could feel the bandages around her head as she put her hand to her head. She was perplexed as to how she got hurt. She wasn't the type to play rough, so how did she end up with a head injury?

Scarlett succeeded in rising to her feet once more and she left her room. To inform her father of the nightmare she was experiencing, she needed to locate him. When she had a complaint, her father would always have a way to make her feel better. Her father is someone she can't live without and if anything happens to him, she won't be able to handle the world without him by her side.

Strangely, she couldn't see anyone as she descended the stairs. Edward would have been drinking his early morning cup of coffee and reading his morning newspaper but there was nobody there. "Daddy." To avoid waking the rest of the family, she whispered her call.

Finally descending the stairs, Scarlett looked around the hallway. "That is strange. Where did Daddy go?" When she couldn't find him anywhere, she suddenly found herself in front of her parents' door.

She opened it slightly and peered through as she observed her mother sobbing in silence. While lying on her pillow, she nagged at the picture she was holding in her hand. "Why did you take Scarlett to the game? Edward, where are you? Please come back to me."

After hearing what October said, Scarlett shook her head. She had her hand over her mouth as she made an effort to hide her eavesdropping from October. She kept shaking her head in disbelief. "No. No. Daddy." She then recalled that her birthday had just passed and that her father and mother had argued solely over her.

After carefully shutting the door, she took a few steps backward, then ran back to her room. Scarlett started to cry as soon as her door was shut behind her. Not because of what she overheard her mother say but rather because she was unable to recall anything after seeing the bear on the road.

The bear!

Now it wasn't all a bad dream. As her father was with her at the time, she heard his screams. She gasped as she swallowed. Hard. Because of her, her father didn't come home!

Scarlett violently struck her head with her hand. "It's all your fault, Scar! It's all your fault!" She screamed, her hands pounding on her head. No matter how much it hurt in her head, her heart was hurting more. She began to tremble and feel irrational, biting her fingernails. Then she heard a knock at her door.

She was startled, and her heart started to race as she turned her head in that direction. "Daddy. Is that you?" Quietly, she inquired.

Another knock echoed on the other side of the door, making Scarlett jump in panic. The moment her body began to move, she hurried to her bed and clung to the blanket with no intention of letting go.

The door opened and she could see Belly standing in front of it. Scarlett quickly covered her head with the blanket so Belly wouldn't see her disfigured, ugly face. She dislikes it when people witness her crying. They'd think she's frail and Scarlett wanted them to see how strong she could be without her daddy.

"You are awake. Good." Belly walked up and took a position in front of Scarlett. Then she took a seat on Scarlett's bed. Belly had to be the type of person who could be strong for her sisters because she was the oldest of her siblings. "Scarlett." She made a soft call. She reached for the blanket but Scarlett wouldn't let it go.

Scarlett had to ask while hiding under the blanket. She needed to be aware of what was happening. "What happened to daddy, Belly?" She sniffed and Belly got the impression that Scarlett had found out about what she had come to the room to talk to her about.

"First things first, remove the blanket from your face. This is a serious matter."

"How did I get here?" asked Scarlett. She didn't want to hear what Belly had to say, all she wanted to know was whether her father would be coming back to her.

Belly sniffed while attempting to contain her tears. Even though Scarlett had turned 18, she was still a child and if she doesn't learn to take care of herself without her father nearby, life will be difficult for her. "The cops found you unconscious in the car and brought you home."

Scarlett yanked the blanket away from her face right away. She questioned, "And Daddy?" When Belly turned to face her, she noticed how pale Scarlett was. "What about my daddy?"

"I'm sorry Scarlett, but the cops didn't see him in the car. Although they claimed it was some sort of accident, you weren't seriously hurt. They brought you home and Mom took care of you."