Rejecting The Future Moon Goddess [Amazon Edition]

Chapter 10 - Rejection Feels Like Death

Chapter 10 – Rejection Feels Like Death

I sigh as I look at myself in the small mirror hanging from the wall. After the graduation ceremony I made my way to my small attic room to see all the bags I had packed gone and a large gift box sitting on the bare mattress. The smile I had on my face had not left after noticing the pale pink dress inside and a note from Alex to enjoy the party – a party all Omegas had to help set up from cooking all the food to setting all the decorations. Now showered and dressed in the flowy off the shoulder knee length dress with a simple pair of black flats on my dainty feet I sigh and look towards the open window behind me where the sounds of music drift in on the wind. The party is in full swing and whether or not I want to go I could use the last night as a pack member to just enjoy some form of normalcy.
"Gemmie?" A soft knock on the door catches my attention as Alex pops his head inside, giving me a soft smile and stepping into the small room.
"You look incredible." I blush at the compliment, my hand instinctively going to my stomach that sports a black, blue and purple bruise from this morning. I know his words are to spark some form in confidence in me but the years of bruises and small scars left on my body made small reminders that although I am a were wolf, I would always be the weakest in the pack. Tomorrow out with the humans, I would no longer be the weakest. I hear a long sigh as Alex tugs me into a hug, his warmth reminding me that my brother will be by my side after tonight. That he will be giving up the pack he would be second in command of as the Beta for me.
"I know what you're thinking Geminie so stop it. You do look amazing and these idiots will regret their treatment of you one day." His arms tighten around me while his words give a small reassurance. Alex is right. One day these wolves will regret how they treated me as the truth is always revealed sooner or later. A moment passes and I push away from my brother, sending him a small smile to show that I will be okay and getting a relieved one in return from him.
"Lets head downstairs before I chicken out." I suggest with a nervous chuckle, running my fingers through my hair as Alex motions for me to take the lead. The walk down the stairs from the attic to the first floor is quiet, older Omegas running around back and forth while the music from the party outside slowly gets louder and louder with each step. Although this morning I promised myself to not look weak in front of everyone, I couldn't help but hesitate as we grew closer to the back door. The Betas made sure to spread the word that it was my fault the beloved Alpha and Luna were murdered. Everyone outside whether they were the younger generation, my generation or older despised me. The thought of my last night being filled with hate filled glares and whispers about why I am at the party even though I am a graduate myself makes me want to just turn around and leave without hesitation.
"I-I can't do this." I whisper out meekly, pausing just inside the sliding doors to the patio as I catch a glimpse of wolves mingling with one another as some dance on the home made dance floor. I could smell the bonfire on the wind, the smoky scent of pine logs burning giving the fall air a warm feeling.
"This is your day too Gem. You deserve a night to just let loose." With those words, I feel hands on my shoulders as Alex pushes me out the door without hesitation. A squeal of surprise leaves my lips and once I catch my balance, I turn to glare at my brother only to notice him gone. As much as I love Alex, my brother could be such an ass hole at times. With a deep breath, I stand straight and turn to face the crowd of recent graduates from my pack. Some just nod at me while other ignore me, their focus more on the alcoholic drinks in their red solo cups. As expected, I am ignored but the worry and anxiety I felt before being pushed outside slowly eased away.
Spending the next hour either roasting marshmallows by the fire, keeping warm in the chilly fall night and regretting that I did not bring a jacket I listen to the chatter of wolves who will become full fledge Hunters and Trackers. Wolves who will be taking over their parents position in the pack and wolves that will go off to college to learn skill needed in the pack like doctors, teachers and nurses. It made me start to question where I want to go. I had money from scholar ships now that I could go to college and make a living amongst the humans. Every so often the wind will carry a faint trace of this scent, one that causes my heart to skip a beat and make my thoughts muddled. I ignore this feeling, turning my thoughts back to my future. Now would be a good chance to leave with everyone busy at the party and only Omegas running about the pack house and grounds. I could figure out my future after Alex and I leave the pack.
"Attention please!" I stand, ready to leave when Beta Bastian's voice calls out loud and clear above the music. The chatter dies down and some shuts off the music. I curse my luck, wanting nothing but to leave unnoticed but with the attention on the Beta and Mika standing next to him, no one can move without being punished.
"Our dear future Alpha, Mika, says he can smell the scent of his mate in this crowd." Beta Bastian continues. The chatter begins, this time the focus on who in this pack would be the next Luna. My mind wanders back to the days Alpha Sorus used to tease Mika and I as the next Alpha and Luna pair. How Lace would jokingly say her and Luna Reena would plan my ceremony. Those memories feel like a life time ago, a life that was no longer mine.
"With this information, can we have all the unmated she wolves line up in front of the bonfire. Today we will not only celebrate the graduates of the Highschool, but we will also be welcoming our future Luna." I roll my eyes at their excitement, knowing many would have their hopes dashed. Unfortunately for me though I would have to join the line as Beta Bastian would not let anyone walk away at all. With a sigh, I watch the line grow longer and know that if I didn't join soon, a beating would ensue quickly and with that thought in mind I join at the very end.
The line moves quicker than I thought, a girl walking away dejectedly of escorted through tears by a friend once deemed not his mate while Mika stands there impatiently. Soon only twenty girls out of the forty remain. A scent is blown my way carried by the wind, one that has been haunting me all tonight.
"Not her." A deep masculine voice says, my mind focusing intently on the timber and pitch. A brunet in a slinky black dress walks away from the line, tears falling from her cheeks. I feel sympathy for this wolf, an Omega I have rarely talked to and only in passing while doing our chores. More girls are declined with a "Not her" or a "Next she wolf". I frown.
The line is growing closer and the wind brings the scent of mint and pine, reminding me of a fresh summer breath in the valley with nights spent laying beside Lizaria and the Unicorns. Then it came. The sparks snap me out of my day dream journeying from where a hand held my shoulder across my body and into my heart, kick starting it into an unsteady rhythm while the delicious scent wraps around me once more.
"Mate." The word escapes my lips in a whisper while another hand slowly caresses my cheek. My closed eyes open to see Mika looking at me with a gentle gaze, the backyard so quiet that all you can hear is the crackling of the bonfire. It felt like eternity as the two of us gazed into each other's eyes and the plans I had focused on today begins to vanish from my mind. As the Luna my life will change forever if I stay. Then the unexpected happen.
The hand on my cheek is gone, replaced by a burning sting as Mika slaps me. I stumble back shocked that my mate would hit me but that shock soon fades. This is Hidden Claws, no one liked me as the blame of Alpha Sorus and Luna Reena's deaths hung above me like a noose waiting to tighten around my neck.
"I refuse to be your mate." Mika seethes out, anger radiating off of him in waves causing lesser wolves to cower around us. I stay silent, unable to voice a reply. The Moon Goddess had cast her net of fate on us before either of us were even conceived. There is nothing he could do.
"You are the reason my parents are dead!" He continues, his fist shooting out to punch me but I had enough of being beaten and dodge, using his momentum to throw him into the crowd behind me.
"You and I both know I never killed the Alpha and Luna!" I call out in rage, sick and tired of this accusation.
"I was seven, fucking seven years old when they were killed. You and Lace were there. You saw the same thing I did of those wolves demanding to know where the child of the Moon Goddess were!" I continued. I felt a wave of unease in the air, my eyes moving to where the Beta couple stood. Something felt off about them but my focus right now is on my mate and his baseless accusation that I spent eleven years weighing down on me.
"You could have done something!" Mika screams back and I growl, shocking not only myself but those around me.
"And what, dear mate, do you expect a seven year old to do. You were thirteen and had more training than me at that time in combat." I counter, crossing my arms across my chest and glaring at him. I could see the hesitation in his eyes as he glares back. He knows I have a point and can't refute me. We were only pups and could do nothing but watch.
"You all have your head up Bastian and Jasmin's asses that you can't even see what's right and wrong with this filthy pack." I continue, seeing Alex silently slink onto the porch and giving me a nod. He had everything ready if I wanted to leave now considering how finding my mate is going. But this could be my chance to help Hidden Claws.
"Maybe it's a good thing I am your mate Mika, its about time this pack chan-"
"You are not my mate. I refuse to have someone as weak as you as Luna." He cuts me off, shocking me as I notice a look in his eyes. It's one I know too well and the feeling of helplessness slowly gathers in the pit of my stomach. I already knew what was coming and I couldn't stop it.
"I Mikael Alibaster and future Alpha of Hidden Claws reject you Geminie Blake as my mate and future Luna of this pack." A stabbing pain rips through my heart as if a million shards of glass is tearing it apart. I could feel my vision turn hazy from the pain as a whimper, causing another surprise reaction from the crowd, escapes my throat. Whispers begin to float on the air at the turn of events as I force my body to stay standing. I felt like death is trying to tear me apart and bring me into it's silent slumber.
"Anything you want to say?" Mika asks, a smirk on his smug face as he slowly saunters towards me. He and I both know I have two options. Accept the rejection and have the pain ease for me or fight for the bond. I wanted to fight for this bond, one that I have been hoping for to change my life, one that I dreamt about each night hoping for my mate to save me. I didn't want Mika and the cruel reality that came with him but I wanted my mate so I stay silent, glaring at the man while the pain pulsates through my body.
"Geminie say it!" Bastian growls out in warning and for once in my life, I ignore his order. A fist is thrown my way at my insolence and instinctively I catch it, glaring at Bastian who's face of anger turns into one of fear. The pleasure I feel knowing my so called father fears me numbs the pain of the rejection initiation.
"Say. It. You. Bitch!" He growls through his teeth, his body shaking. I just chuckle and apply force to Bastian's wrist until the satisfying crunch beneath my hands rings in the silent yard followed by a scream. With a small throw, I push Bastian aside and turn my attention back to my mate just in time to catch a slap across my left cheek that send me sprawling onto the cold ground in burning pain. Mika has just slapped me.
A fist entangles into my hair, pulling me up from the ground while an angry Mika towers over me.
"Geminie Blake, you have two minutes to accept the rejection or I kill you." I whimper with pain; his threat being processed through the ringing in my ears. He meant business and I realize in this moment that I have no choice but to do as he says.
"I Geminie Blake- " I start off slowly, fighting to hold back my tears. If I continued this, I would feel the pain for three long years but Mika would feel nothing. He would be able to go about his days as normal while I wallow in misery every time he sleeps with another she wolf, the bond pining for it to be fixed with my soul mate. I couldn't let that happen. He deserved the pain for not only this rejection but also the last eleven years of hell I faced With a silent prayer to the Moon Goddess and a sudden burst of strength, I reach up and clasp my hands around his hand, feeling multiple bones break with the precision of my movements as Mika releases me and screams. Being harmed by your soul mate must have felt like a thousand burning knives slicing through him just like it's felt for me each time he's slapped me tonight.
Now free from his grasp, I slowly stand, my breath raged from the pain this process has brought. I know I only have a few minutes until I would black out and had to do this next part fast.
"I, Geminie Blake refuse your rejection. Instead I reject you as my mate and your existence in my life." The air stills around us and a wave of panic fills the yard as the crowd around us looks to Mika the moment he lets out a blood curdling scream. Their future Alpha should be feeling a skull crushing pain now that his existence has been rejected by me and a marking of a blood coloured ring slowly appears around his neck. He would have that mark displayed for the next three years if he could not repair the bond before it snaps. Once we no longer share a bond, the mark would vanish. He will definitely need to hide this mark for the next three years or be ridiculed by other Alphas. Mike will be considered weak, so will this pack, and if I am being honest I enjoy this thought.
The wolves forget about my as Mika falls to his knees, clutching at his neck and head and begging for the pain to be gone. Now no longer the focus of attention I make my way towards the front of the house leaning against the exterior has the pain coursing through my body blurs my vision. Focusing on only one foot in front of the other and praying that I would be able to make it to safety before the pack hunts me down.
"Geminie!" Strong arms scoop me up, holding me close to a solid body as Alex's scent fills my nose. Relief washes over me as the pain begins to consume my body.
"I hooked up the portable tow in the back of my truck and have yours hooked up. I need you to stay awake Geminie to make it out of Hidden Claws." His words are muffled as if trying to reach me under water, but the urgency is clear. I have to stay awake for us to make it out safely. My conscious fades in and out of darkness, the pain increasing with the distance away from Mika while the bond urges me to go back, but I couldn't go back. Going back meant death. Only the cold air flowing over my body and the scent of pine keeps me grounded the farther away from the pack house Alex carries me until the next moment I find myself laying on a seat with a wool blanket over me.
"Geminie listen to me right now." Alex was yelling, he was mad. About what though?
"I already denounced myself from Hidden Claws, I need you to say the words. I can't cross the borders until you do." Ah, he is mad because of me. My mouth opens and closes, trying to fight the burning pain that constricts my throat to say the words. I could hear the howls of wolves and revving of engines as the pack behind us slowly grows closer. But my body would not co-operate with the fire that threatens to consume me.
A straw is placed in front of my mouth and I greedily drink the ice cold liquid that is offered, taking in the panic look in Alex's eyes.
"Say the words please Gemmy before they reach us." He begs, the haze clearing slightly while I look at my brother. I take a deep breath and open my mouth.
"I, Geminie Blake, denounce myself as a member of Hidden Claws and enter the world as a rogue." Relief radiates off of Alex and the truck moves forwards. As we cross the border that hides the pack from humans and their technology, the bond fizzles away and emptiness fills my mind as the pain of the rejection takes hold once again. Knowing that I am safe, I allow the darkness to consume me while Alex drives us towards safety.