Chapter 45: FORTY-FIVE

**-Indy’s POV-**

“Stay in the car! I’ll fix this.” Ryan scoffs at me and I’m too scared to mention his tone.

I watch Ryan step out of the car, his eyes fixated on the black wolf in front of him. “Lock the doors!”

Without thinking, I lock the doors and watch the scene in front of me. It’s weird, it’s like I’m witnessing a film from the first row. But wait, this is all about me! Why am I the one that’s still in the car? I frown my forehead, still not knowing what’s the best. I’m trying to convince myself to stay out of it - but my wolf is howling restlessly in my head, this is not good.

Ryan is standing in front of Khal’s wolf, they’re just staring at each other. Khal is starting to walk circles around Ryan, but Ryan doesn’t leave the black wolf out of his sight. Khal is growling at Ryan, he seems furious. But that’s not the only thing I notice.

There’s his aura again, the dark cloud around him is even thicker than the previous time. The time I visited him in the afternoon. This afternoon, right? It seems so long ago already…

I feel uneasy with the thick, dark cloud around Khal. Why is that? I’ve never seen that before with somebody else. Normally the aura is at least clear, some more pure than others, but not this… dark.

*Buwan? Do you know what this means?*

*No, I’m sorry Indy. But I feel it too.. It’s only Khal, his wolf is pure. Do you see the spot in the middle of his wolf’s head? There is the cloud not as dark, it’s a little light inside of the darkness..*

I narrow my eyes, trying to focus on the dark head of Khal’s wolf inside of the dark evening around us. But Buwan is right! I see the light spot inside of his wolf’s head, as if the wolf itself is clear, but only his body is not. What is this all about? I’m starting to freak out, seeing how close the two guys are at fighting. They’re going to kill each other!

The moment I unlock the doors to step out of the car and end this madness, I hear a loud growl and Ryan shifts into his wolf, in the middle of an attack at Khal’s wolf. “NOOOOO!” I yell and hear my voice echoing against the inside walls and windows of the car. In all the chaos, I’ve trouble opening the car, tears are filling my eyes. “Ohh, nonono.. Not because of me! Let this stop.. Oh Moon Goddess! Let me open this damn door!”

Finally, I’m able to open the door and step out. I watch the horror in front of me. I see the light fur of Ryan’s wolf covered in dirt and blood. And although Khal’s wolf is black, I see he’s limping with his left leg.

“STOP!” I yell out loud.

Khal and Ryan freeze and stare at me submissively. Did I just command an Alpha, no *two* Alpha’s? I shake my head, not the best time to evaluate the situation, Indy.

“What the hell are you doing guys? Please, stop. Don’t fight… I hate violence. Please, stop this madness!” I start crying and I feel my legs shaking beneath me.

I can tell both of them don’t know how to react. They just stand there, ready to attack each other any moment. But I don’t want them to. That’s when I smell Scott’s close. Oh thank Goodness… I sniff the air and mindlink him. *Scott?*

*Babae! Are you alright? I’m behind you! Easy, I’m here..*

I turn around and see Scott arriving on his motorbike. I sigh with relief. “Scott…”

Scott takes off his helmet and runs towards me, standing between me and the two wolves. I can’t help but chuckle, why are Alpha’s always this protective?

“What the hell is going on? Alpha Khal, What do you think you’re doing! You’re still on our lands and you’re attacking one of the Alpha’s of this pack. We’ve invited and treated you in our facilities, it’s punishable the way you act right now. Stop this bullshit!”

I feel Scott’s aura bursting and I got shivers all over my body. In some kind of strange way, this is hot. My body is very easily stimulated right now, with all that was happening just 5 to 10 minutes ago. All the three wolves must have smelled it, because I feel three pairs of eyes staring at me. Right… “Well, sorry guys…” I mumble.

“Well? Are you going to shift, or not?” Scott asks the two wolves, but they’re not planning to do so apparently. They’re having a staring contest between the two of them. I roll my eyes.

“For Goodness' sake. SHIFT BACK, YOU IDIOT WOLVES!” I yell again, losing my patience. This evening was supposed to be nice, remarkable and special. But this is ruining all of it! I feel tears again, why can’t anything be normal when it comes to me?

Strange enough, the two wolves shift back immediately and I’m not the only one that is surprised about it. “How the hell did you do that?” Scott asks me, shocked.

“What?” I ask.

“You commanded two Alpha’s. That’s unheard, even I felt it and you were not talking to me! What the hell?” Scott’s completely stunned.

I shrug my shoulders, I really have no idea. “It doesn’t matter. I want to end this stupid… well, whatever this is…” I make a gesture with my arms.

I walk over to Khal and Ryan, both naked. I try to focus on their faces, but darn that’s very difficult. Both of them are perfectly shaped in their own way. I clear my throat and look at Khal. “Khal, have you any idea what you just did? You know that you’re breaking a lot of wolf-rules right now?” I then stare at Ryan. “And you, mister, you attacked first. That’s also not something a true Alpha should do on their own grounds. And what were you thinking? Bossing me around, ordering me to stay in the car? That’s bullshit, and you know it!”

Khal and Ryan are now staring at their feet, like a child that’s scolded by his mom. I turn around and also stare at Scott, he’s standing a meter or two behind me, his arms crossed. “You too, Scott.”

“What did I do?” He asks surprised.

“This. Don’t you see it? This stupid thing has to stop! You ALL are my mates, when do you all accept that? You all have troubles with me being with one another, you claim that it hurts when I’m intimate with another. But it shouldn’t be…” I reprimand them.

“What do you mean, that shouldn’t be?” Asks Ryan.

I throw my hand in the air. “Really? You’re asking me this? I thought I was the only one not being schooled about wolves properly… Well, the moment a wolf is mated to multiple others, they shouldn’t get hurt by each other. What I’m saying is, that when the mates all accept each other, accept the situation, and are truly fine with it, me being with some of the other mates shouldn’t hurt you. Instead, the bond can get stronger through each other… And if the three of you are still hurt with me being with somebody else, then it means you have not accepted us yet... Didn’t you know this?”

Scott and Ryan are still baffled about my explanation but I see Khal’s staring at me with an intense look, damn, he’s hot. He nods. “Yes, I knew this. You must have learned this from your time being in our pack, haven’t you?”

I’m surprised he seems to remember anything. “You remember? Do you know I was a pack member of yours?” I hear my voice cracking, nervous about him remembering some stuff. I wait nervously at a response.

“Yes, I remember. I remember the moment I banished you from our grounds…”

I swallow the lump in my throat and close my eyes. Here it comes, he remembers. He remembers me being practically rejected by him. He…

“... but I don’t know why, to be honest. It’s only today I recovered some of my memories. I’m working on it. But I definitely cannot forget that beautiful face of yours..” He winks at me.

For a moment it’s my turn to be baffled. “Really?” I ask, stunned. “You think I’m beautiful? NOW you think I have a nice face? What’s happened with the ‘pig’ then?” I’m starting to feel broken again. I’m done with being the ‘poor girl’, the victim. How dares he! I’m not some doll that he can toss around, play with. I’m a Luna! Yes, a Luna. I’m feeling it for the first time. I feel adrenaline pumping through my veins, standing here in the middle of three Alpha’s - all listening to me.

I stare at Khal’s face and I see the confusion on his face, but the moment I mention the word ‘pig’ I see the same disgust on his face and I start to cry. “See? You remember, don’t you?! You called me PIG, you bastard! You, of all people, you - the first mate I found. YOU that mentioned how important mates truly are. How precious too…”

I want to go away, far away from this place. But Scott holds me and keeps me close to him. I start crying against his shoulder. “Why?” I whisper.

Ryan starts growling against Khal, and I can feel Scott is barely keeping his wolf in place. The moment I’m calmed down a bit I face Khal again. He’s still standing in his place, disgust and confusion alternating on his face. “Why aren’t you saying anything?” I ask Khal.

“SPEAK!” Ryan yells at Khal, the moment we all realize Khal isn’t starting to talk anytime soon.

Khal snaps out of his own thoughts and clears his throat. “I - I… my wolf mentioned I hurt you before. But I don’t exactly know how, why or when. But I do see flashes of memories and I’m sorry for the things I do remember… I’m sorry if I hurt you.”

I shake my head and feel the hope disappear. I don’t even know if I believe him, there’s something I can’t explain. *What should I do, Buwan?*

*This is your battle, my love. I know his wolf is pure, I told you before...But the human? I’m not sure, Indy, I’m not sure…*

I sigh. “It’s not *IF*, Khal. You have hurt me, a lot.. You devastated me, you broke me. It’s because of these two guys I’m starting to accept myself. They loved me for me, with all my imperfections…”

I hear Ryan clear his throat and I smile. “... well, they don’t see it as imperfections really. They love my curves and my fluffy belly. They’re OK with the fact I’m not a skinny model, in fact: I feel loved, finally…But you - you called me ‘pig’ and you felt disgusted by being fated to me. You thought the Moon Goddess made a mistake, and I’m not sure if I ever can forgive you for that...” I finish my words in a whisper.

Khal starts yelling: “Oh yeah? You thought it’s hard to be a fat wolf? Well, surprise, surprise: you’re not the only one! I was one before, you know, and I overcame that battle a long time ago. My father hated me because I was a chubby young wolf, he let me sleep outside with no food. He felt ashamed of me being his only son, a fat and weak Alpha-pup. But you know what? You just have to be strong, train and be hard for yourself.. But how do you think it was for me the moment I found out that I’m fated to an Omega? How do you think I felt when the hope for a strong Luna was burned to ashes in front of my eyes? I deserved better!”

We’re all shocked by this confession. He was once ‘chubby’ too? Really? Shouldn’t that make him more emphatic about my situation? I’m just flabbergasted, all I can say is: “... So you DO know. You DO remember, I was right all this time.”

I can hold Scott, but Ryan’s too far away. In a wink of an eye he slammed Khal to the ground. “Ryan!” I yell, while I stare at the body on the ground. I hear a low growl coming from Khal’s body while he stands up. My eyes got dark. “You deserved that, Alpha Khal. Don’t you dare to do something back…”

Khal stands up and he spits blood on the ground. “My father was right, all that time. Women are weak, especially *fat* woman. There’s no excuse why you didn’t train with the wolves when you were in our pack. I could’ve accepted you fully when you were training well, when you watched your diet or did something about that body. But now? Hmmppff. You’ve a very pretty face, but you shouldn’t be called a werewolf, you’re a disgrace for…”

I just snapped, my wolf is done with him. I’m done with him. I’m not even remembering how, but I shifted within the second while I jumped towards Khal. Buwan took over very quickly and the next second I felt blood in my mouth, Khal’s blood.

“Indy! STOP! Let go of him... INDY!” I hear Ryan yelling and I suddenly release the grip on Khal’s neck.

I shift back and I’m gasping, my body shaking too. I stare at the limp body of Khal in front of me and I fall on my knees. What did I do? I start crying. “Mate.. I’ve never wanted to hurt you, but you don’t deserve it to be my mate. You insulted a Luna to be, and you know that’s punishable with death. Why, Khal?”

I touch his cheek, still feeling sparks. He’s staring at me, still in disbelief. Blood is gulping out of his open wound. “Y-You… You’re not a n-n-normal w-wolf.. W-who are y-you?”

I sigh, but answer proudly: “I - I’m Luna Indy Ginto, daughter of the Royal Asul Ginto, and I hereby reject you, Alpha Khal Leon as my fated mate…”

I stare into the white, shocked face of Khal, he's feeling the rejection - and in some weird way I'm satisfied by his pain. I feel the mate-bond break too, and I close my eyes for a moment. Luckily, the bond was not very strong yet, so the pain is manageable. I mindlink my wolf: *It’s your turn, girl..*

My eyes turn brighter blue and I feel how my wolf is taking control. I feel our aura getting stronger. She opens my mouth and I hear her words through me: “... But I, Buwan, accept Raki as my fated mate…”

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Author's note: *Finally! The moment you've all waited for. What do you think about the acception in a rejection? Are you as curious as I am right now? Keep an eye on the next update if you want to know more about Indy and Buwan's motives! Much love...*

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