Laura.
“How dare you say that?! Who do you think you are?” Alaric threw me against the concrete wall of the building.
The impact was too strong. Maybe because he had the strength of the future Alpha and because I didn’t have the strength of a werewolf. Normal human strength was all I had.
I silently groaned at the pain caused by his act. I tried to hide it by fiercely glaring back at him.
“I don’t have the right? Wow! Just wow!” I smirked. “I’ve had enough of your cheating activities, Alaric! I am your mate, and I am going to claim it!”
“Whoa!” Alaric smirked back, clenching his jaw in great anger. “You are my mate, but not when I reject you.”
My eyes widened in shock. Is he going to reject me? He couldn’t do that! Rejecting his mate would tear up a big part of his strength. And he was the future Alpha of our pack. If he did that, he’d weaken himself and our pack would be led by a weak Alpha. That could not be!
“You can’t do that! Just because you hate me doesn’t mean you can reject me!” I tried hard to strengthen my voice. “You can’t be selfish! The future of our pack was in your hands—”
“What future does Remus hold? We had a Luna who doesn’t have a wolf. You are lower than an omega! A rogue must be better than you!”
That hurts.
That was extremely painful. Because it was true. What did the future hold for a weak Luna like me? What kind of pup could I bring in our pack if I, myself, was a weakling? The mighty Remus pack would probably fall. And I didn’t want that to happen.
“And do you think Ivy was a better replacement?” I fought back my tears.
I looked away. I might be a fool for asking. I already knew the answer but I still chose to get hurt and heard it from him.
“Why not?” Alaric smirked. “Ivy may be a daughter of a delta but she is better than a daughter of a beta who can’t shift at all. You are nothing better than a woman. I can’t turn you even if I wanted to. Why? Because you already had the blood of a werewolf. It’s dominant but still, you can’t shift! What a shame!”
I choked the invisible lump in my throat. I tried hard not to break down. He was right. What good there was in me being a daughter of a beta but couldn’t shift at all? What good was there in me?
I was fifteen when I met a witch in the forest, near Crescent Town. She said I was favored by the Moon Goddess. That I should just wait, I should patiently wait for the better days.
But would it ever come?
I hoped it would. I really hoped so! That was why I was still holding in the thought that I was going to be a Luna someday… That it was what the witch was talking about. That was why no matter what happened, I should not give up my right to be the future Alpha’s mate. But what was happening now?
“I made a decision,” Alaric breathed. I could see from his eyes that he was having a second thought about it. But he covered that emotion with fury.
No! I yelled inside me.
He couldn’t do this! He was not supposed to do this.
“Don’t do this, Alaric! It will weaken you. It will ruin the future of our pack,” I begged.
But Alaric seemed deaf from my pleading. He took my neck and grasped it, aiming to strangle me. That will only strengthen his rejection of me. The harsher the physical pain he inflicted on me, the stronger the validity of the rejection will be.
“I… Alaric Red,”
“No…” I shook my head. I tried hard to pull his hand away from my neck. I tightened my eyes together, as if it would help me not to hear what he is going to say.
“…the future Alpha of the Remus pack.” His hand tightened on my neck. I felt like I was drowning. I was out of breath. “…rejected you, Laura Morton. I don’t want you to be my Luna. And you’ll never be my Luna. Bear that in mind!”
Alaric let go of my neck and furiously gazed at me. I fell down on my feet, coughing while catching my breath. I was near my end. I almost choked. And Alaric did it.
I couldn’t believe he did it! My own mate tried to kill me.
“Weakling!” Alaric spit in disgust.
He quickly left. And as soon as he was gone, my tears slipped away. I felt the excruciating pain caused by my mate’s rejection. It felt like I'd been stabbed in my chest, numerous times. I felt my heart was bleeding.
I was bleeding, figuratively.
I looked up as the sun fell. Darkness started to cover the place. Soon, the moon would rise.
“Is this the blessing that Saskia was talking about? Is this how you favored me?” I hissed at the night sky. Tears flooded in my face. “Is this really my fate? Why did I have to be born in this world when you’re just going to make things hard for me?! I should have not been born! I should have not been born!” I cried as the great moon shone brightly at me.
It felt like the moon was mocking me… mocking my misery.
I went home just when I thought Mom and Dad were already asleep. I cried hard enough to make my eyes swollen. And I couldn’t let my parents see me. I didn’t want to break their hearts even more. I hadn’t brought any good to our family. I didn’t have a wolf, and now I was rejected by my mate. What else could happen?
“I’m glad you’re here, already.”
I almost jumped off upon hearing Dad’s voice. He was David, the Beta of the Remus pack. They respected him just like how they respect our Alpha. But things changed when I turned thirteen and I couldn’t shift. The members of the pack started to look down on him. And it got worse when I turned eighteen. And I really feel bad for my parents. I knew, even though Dad wasn’t saying it, he was dismayed.
“I’m sorry I'm late. I had some stuff that needed to be finished at school.”
“Did you cry?” Dad quickly cupped my face and examined my eyes.
“No… it’s windy today and my eyes keep tearing whenever it’s windy. You sure know that because I don’t have immunity to the impurities of the wind.”
Dad let out a deep sigh. “Alpha Evo wants to talk to you. But since it’s late already, we better face him tomorrow after school. Don’t be late. We need to be at his office tomorrow.”
I nodded and smiled at Dad.
‘I’m sorry, sweetheart…’
I was stunned. I knew I heard Dad’s voice but I was sure too that he didn’t open his mouth. Was the voice inside my head?
“What are you sorry for, Dad?” I asked. I wanted to confirm it.
“Huh?”
‘Did I say it aloud?’
There was the voice again.
“Yes, you said it aloud. Or maybe it’s in my head?”
Dad’s eyes grew wider. His lips broke into a wide smile. He was extremely surprised.
“You heard me in your head, sweetie!” he exclaimed.
“Gosh!”
I couldn’t believe it either. I could hear him in my head. And I was sure it was not ordinary for humans. Did it mean I was making progress?
“That was good! I am going to talk to Evo tomorrow but you still need to come to his office after school, okay?”
I nodded excitedly. Knowing that I made progress was such great news for me, for my family. I had a long day today and getting this kind of news was great enough to lighten my mood.
I could still hear Dad rejoicing in his heart and couldn’t wait to tell the Alpha and Mom. And I was as happy as he was. I could jump for joy.
And I didn’t hold it in. I jumped into Dad’s arms and hugged him tightly. He gave me a big hug too. I could hear his mind.
‘Thank you for your mercy. We’re at your grace, Moon Goddess. We hope Laura’s progress will continue. Even if it’s too late, we are still grateful to you.’
I smiled to myself. My heart was swollen with joy. Dad was right, even if it was late, we are still grateful for the progress. I now wanted to believe Saskia’s words.
I went to my room and quickly jumped on my bed. My heart might be shattered into pieces but I could get over it quickly if I try to forget him and focus on myself. I must focus on myself alone. I needed to work on my progress. I need to work out to strengthen this newfound ability I had.