Chapter 166 The Rejection

Chapter 166 The Rejection
Chapter 166

RAVENNA

The hallway was mostly empty.

I leaned against the wall, waiting for Theo. I had already sent him a message, and he had replied saying he was on his way.

I heard voices coming from around the corner.

I straightened, looking toward the sound.

The voices grew louder. The footsteps too. And I could have sworn I recognized one of the voices.

Shadows appeared first, stretching across the floor.

Then the figures came out.

Darius. Dorian. Samantha.

They stopped the moment they saw me.

Sam looked away immediately, her jaw tight, her expression hard.

I leaned back against the wall and crossed my arms. "Go on with it if you want to yell at me too."

Dorian spoke first. "Are you alright? When we called your father, he told us you were in a coma."

I nodded. "I am feeling a little bit better."

"You could have stayed back at home instead of coming to school," Dorian continued, his voice softer now.

Darius turned sharply to look at him. "What are you trying to do?"

"I am just worried about her," Dorian replied, frowning. "Asking how she is."

"Is that a bad thing?" Dorian challenged.

"Yes," Darius snapped. "Do not dare talk to her. Or else we will be enemies."

He hissed and walked away without another word.

Dorian stared at me for a moment, pity clear in his eyes, before he turned and followed Darius down the hall.

Sam stayed behind.

I looked away.

"Do you really not want to be my friend again?" Sam's voice was quiet, but there was hurt underneath it.

I turned back to her and met her eyes. "Yes. Now fuck off."

Sam looked so sad. Heartbroken.

"Fine," she whispered. "I will leave you alone."

She walked away.

The moment she disappeared around the corner, I slumped to the floor and started crying.

A few minutes later, a hand touched my shoulder. "Why are you crying?"

I looked up to find Theo standing over me.

I wiped my face quickly and stood. "We should get going. We are late already."

Theo wrapped his arms around me gently. "Cheer up."

"I cannot," I whispered. "I just broke up with Sam."

"Why would you do that?"

"I did not want to drag her into my mess."

Theo shook his head. "That is not fair. Sam has been seriously worried about you. You cannot just do that to her."

"It is for the best," I said firmly.

Theo did not argue. He just took my hand and led me forward.

We followed a lonely pathway toward the north side of the campus. The building we approached was silent, almost abandoned-looking.

Theo held my hand tightly and dragged me forward down the hall until we reached a staircase. We climbed down three sets of stairs, and that was when I began to hear the howls.

We reached the bottom and opened the door.

Right in front of me were crowds of students. Lots of them all gathered in groups.

Theo pushed me in gently and led me forward toward a section where I could recognize some of the lecturers, including Bonn.

I began hearing whispers immediately.

"What is she doing here?"

"She is not meant to be part of us."

"Why did they let her in?"

A lecturer clapped his hands loudly. "Everyone, keep quiet!"

The whispers died down.

Theo stopped me in front of Bonn and pulled out his phone. After a few rings, he handed it to Bonn. "My uncle wants to speak to you."

Bonn took the phone and listened for a moment. Then he nodded and handed the phone back to Theo. "Take her to the Alpha rank section."

I frowned. "What does that mean?"

Theo turned to me. "Your father thinks you are an Alpha. So he wants you trained under the Alpha rank."

"Alpha rank?"

Theo nodded. "There are sections all werewolves fall under. There are the Omegas, the Gammas, the Betas, the Deltas, and the Alphas. The Alpha is the highest ranking of all werewolves. The Omegas are the least."

We approached a group where Darius was seated, along with Caleb and several other students.

Someone waved at me from another group. I looked up to find Dorian.

Theo leaned closer and whispered, "He is a Delta wolf. That is their rank."

I sat down slowly.

Everyone in the Alpha group stared at me.

I looked around. There was one other girl in the group. A thin, nervous-looking girl with glasses. She and I were the only females here.

Theo crossed his arms. "Are you all going to start anything, or are you just going to keep staring at Ravenna?"

Caleb leaned forward. "Why did you bring her here?"

Theo glared at him. "She is here. Take it that way."

Caleb laughed. "She cannot be an Alpha."

"Sorry to shock you," Theo replied flatly. "But she is. And you are all going to help Ravenna learn the wolf culture and tradition. Help her learn how to shift."

Darius laughed. "She cannot fully shift. So how is she an Alpha?"

Theo shrugged. "I do not know the full details. But my uncle told me to have her here."

Darius smirked and leaned back. "This should be interesting."

Caleb grinned. "So what do we call you now? Half-shift Alpha? Part-time wolf?"

Marcus from the hockey team laughed. "Maybe we should call her the Moon Mistake."

Darius snorted. "Or the Cursed Alpha."

They all laughed.

Tears welled up in my eyes.

I grabbed my bag and stood. "Theo, this is not working out. I am leaving."

I turned and crashed straight into Bonn.

He smiled at me and pushed me gently back toward the group. "Sit down."

Then he turned to the boys, his expression hardening. "I want all of you to behave."

He looked at the entire group now. "Ravenna will be joining you. And I would like for all of you to be nice."

He clapped his hands once. "Alright. First of all, I want everyone to half-shift."

I watched as all of them closed their eyes and shifted. Their bodies changed quickly, smoothly, fur rippling across their skin, claws extending, their features sharpening.

Bonn turned to me. "Ravenna. Half-shift."

I swallowed hard. "I cannot."

"Call onto your wolf," Bonn instructed calmly. "Feel the bond, give it access and allow it to surge forward."

I nodded and closed my eyes.

I called out silently. "Moonlight?_

Nothing.

Everything was blank.

I opened my eyes and sighed. "I probably am not a werewolf. I cannot do any of this."

Bonn crouched down in front of me. "Everyone here started like this. You have to be patient. Trust in yourself and do not give up."

I nodded slowly.

Bonn stood and turned to the group. "We are going to practice controlling emotions today."

He looked at Darius. "Darius, you will pair with Ravenna. Allow your wolf to ground her. See if she can shift since you are both mates."

Darius grumbled under his breath but obeyed. He moved closer to me, his expression tight.

"You do not have to do this if you do not want to," I said quietly.

"I will do you this favour," he replied flatly. "Close your eyes."

I closed them.

After a while, I felt something stirring inside me.

It was faint at first. Like a well slowly filling up with water. It continued growing and growing until it became a steady presence.

" Hello. We meet again."

Moonlight's voice was clear in my head.

I grinned. "How do I talk to you?"

"Think your thoughts aloud inside your head."

"Can you help me half-shift?"

"Be ready."

I felt something spread across my skin. It was like an intense heat but soon turned into power humming energy.

I gave it a moment before opening my eyes.

Golden moon fur covered my arms. My claws were sharp and pointed. My fangs pressed against my lower lip.

I smiled, staring at myself.

But when I looked up, Darius was glaring at me.

Hard.

I blinked. "What happened? Are you not happy I did it?"

"What kind of joke was that?" he bit out. "Tugging at the bond like that."

"Which bond?"

"Stop pretending!" he yelled.

He stood abruptly, and that got everyone's attention.

Theo rushed over. "What happened?"

"I do not know," I whispered.

Theo grinned. "You did it!"

I nodded, still confused.

Bonn walked over. "Darius, what is the matter?"

"I cannot continue doing this," Darius said, his voice shaking. "And I do not want anyone pushing her to me."

I frowned. "What does that mean?"

He looked at me, his expression pained but resolute.

"I am sorry," he said quietly. "But I cannot bring myself to do this after what you did. I have thought about it. I am really hurt. And I hope you understand."

He took a breath.

"I, Darius Pike of the Mooncrest Pack, hereby reject you, Ravenna Casmir, as my mate."