Twice Rejected

ANA’S POV

I was leaving the only home that I had ever known, and I was barely out the door before Miss Janice slammed it shut and locked the deadbolt. But for some reason, I suddenly felt lighter, as though a weight that I wasn’t even aware of was lifted from my shoulders. Although I was still confused and my heart felt like it had been ripped to shreds only moments before, I heard a voice in my head talking to me, soothing me with her words of comfort and wisdom.

“I know this sounds strange, Ana, but we are going to be alright, Hell, better than alright, we are going to be amazing!” she said. I knew it had to be my wolf even though up until today, I had never felt her presence or been able to connect with her. I had already concluded that what I had been told my entire life was true, that there were things wrong with me, and the first on my mind was that I was wolf-less. “What is your name?” I asked the voice in my head. “My name is Scarlett, and I have been waiting patiently for a long time so that I could finally meet and bond with you. I am sure that you have many questions, but first things first, we have to get you to school. Thanks to Janice’s early morning antics, you have already missed your first class.”

Scarlett receded to the back of my mind as I hurried towards the bus depot with that reminder. It was the only place I knew right off-hand that I could store the boxes that contained what amounted to my life for just a few dollars. I pulled my purse out and got my little purple change purse from the bottom. I had enough money in change to rent one of the storage lockers at the terminal to store my two boxes for the day. There was no way I would try to fit them in my small locker at school or lug them around all day. By the time I finally made it to the office to sign in, the tardy bell was ringing, signifying that 2nd period had already started. I got my pass from the secretary and ran straight to class without stopping at my locker. I settled into my desk at the back of the classroom, and my mind began to wonder: “What is my next step when school lets out today, and where will I go?” Scarlett piped up just then, “stay focused on what is right in front of you, Ana. You still have to make it through until December before you can officially graduate; we’ll chat later, I promise”. She was right, and I knew it, so I pulled out my notebook and pen and started catching up on the notes I would need for the midterm exam next week.

The first part of the day went by much quicker than I had anticipated it would. Before I knew it, the bell was ringing, releasing us for the lunch period. I was starving since I had not had dinner last night and was denied breakfast before leaving this morning. I made my way to the lunch line, which was growing longer by the second. I knew that if I didn’t get a move on, I would end up at the end of the line with less than slim pickings. I stepped through the cafeteria doors and looked up at the menus available. In the left line, there was pizza and salad. In the right line, I could have lasagna with salad. Or, there was always the cold bar settled in the middle of the room. The cold bar looked more appetizing than the odors of lunchroom Italian that were accosting my senses. At least at the cold bar, I could make my own “Dagwood” sandwich. Lunch went by with no further drama, and I headed to my last class. On a typical day, I only had to go to school for a half-day because I had enough credits accrued that I didn’t have to stay for the entire day. But today, everyone was being let out at half a day. Sunday was Halloween, and the school at Moon Valley Pack did their best to give the students extra days off even if the holiday wasn’t an actual holiday.

Before I knew it, the final bell was ringing, releasing the hordes of students into the wild for the Halloween weekend. As I was gathering my books and folders from my locker, my olfactory senses went into overdrive as the scent of summer rain and cedar had me dizzy with desire. I spun around searching for the owner of the intoxicating aroma when my eyes landed on Jace Jacobs, the Beta-to-Be for the neighboring Rosewood Pack. We locked eyes, and I heard Scarlett squeal in my mind, “OUR MATE, He’s HERE!!” Less than two seconds later, she growled “MINE’ possessively as she stalked towards the cheerleader who had her arms wrapped around Jace’s neck. Before I could utter a single word to him, his gal-pal snickered, pulling him in tighter, and whispered, “reject the reject.”

I felt my claws begin to extend as I glared at little miss pep-squad when I felt myself being pulled away suddenly and ushered out of the crowded hallway and into an empty classroom. I began to move towards Jace, but he stopped me with his arms straight out from his chest. He looked at me with disgust as he said, “You have always been and will always be a complete disgrace to our kind. Therefore, I, Jace Jacobs, future Beta of the Rosewood Pack, reject you, Anastasia Lynn Tomes as my mate and future beta female.” With that, he turned on his heel to walk away. Before he could take ten steps towards the door, I responded quietly, “I, Anastasia Lynn Tomes of the Moon Valley Pack, accept your rejection.” It felt like my heart was ripped out of my chest and stomped on for the second time today. I felt the mate bond sever completely, and I fell to my knees, clutching my chest. I looked up just in time to see Jace’s steps falter a little, but he sneered at me then let the door to the classroom shut without another word.

Scarlett whimpered in my mind at the sudden rejection by our destined mate, but only for a minute. I was desperately attempting to wrap my head and heart around the events of the day. Then, finally, I felt Scarlett take over as I withdrew into the back of my mind, feeling depressed, destroyed, and like a waste of flesh and blood. “We ARE going to get through this. The Moon Goddess doesn’t make mistakes. Remember that!!” I heard Scarlett whisper gently to me in my mind.

As I wallowed in my sorrow in the recesses of my mind, Scarlett made sure to get us to a safe place where we could rest. She ensured that the site was comfortable and free from further danger to our physical or emotional wellbeing. It also gave me a place to begin the task of healing my heart and spirit. I just kept telling myself, “We are going to get through this. The Moon Goddess does NOT make mistakes” over and over until I finally allowed myself to succumb to the darkness and fell into a restless sleep, ending my birthday in tears.

The following day, when I woke up, it took a few minutes to get my bearings and realize that I was no longer at the Pack orphanage in the bedroom I had occupied for the past ten years. I looked around, inspecting the room. I was pleasantly surprised to see that Scarlett had not gotten us in some "no-tell Motel" but into a lovely hotel suite with a separate living area. I ventured into the bathroom to start a shower. My eyes were puffy, and my nose was snotty because of all the crying I had done. My head felt like I had a hangover from too much partying the night before. As I stepped under the steady stream of hot water, I dropped a shower-ball of lavender/chamomile essential oils provided by the hotel in the shower basket on the vanity onto the shower floor. I allowed the hot water to beat down on my neck, refusing to let my brain mull over the events from yesterday, breathing in the aroma of lavender and chamomile. Finally, after 30 minutes of allowing the shower ball and hot water to do their job of relaxing me, I felt that I was ready to take on the day. I washed and conditioned my long strawberry-colored hair with my Japanese Cherry Blossom scented shampoo and conditioner. I then bathed and rinsed off before stepping out of the steamy bathroom, wrapping myself in the fluffy robe hanging on the back of the door.

After getting dressed in a pair of black skinny jeans and an oversized grey sweatshirt, I set out to detangle the knots in my wet curls. While sitting at the vanity, Scarlett mind-linked me, letting me know that I needed to remember that everything happens for a reason. "It is not our place to question. Have faith in the wisdom of the Moon Goddess. She will guide us in the right direction. We have to remain open to her directions," Scarlett stated matter-of-factly. I answered that I believed her. Even though I had never felt the Moon Goddess' presence before now, I would keep an open mind. I then reminded her that she said she would answer my questions after I had some time to rest and recuperate. The three burning questions that were at the forefront of my mind were: 1.) Why I had never felt Scarlett's presence before yesterday; 2.) Why did I never shift after I hit puberty like every other wolf, and 3.) Where did we get the money to afford the new living arrangements?

Scarlett began, "For starters, the note that Freda slipped in your pocket when she hugged you was account information for an individual bank account. The current Alpha's grandparents set up a trust fund for any orphans who reach the age of majority. They set it up so that the orphans were not leaving empty-handed when the time came for them to leave. Deceptively, Miss Janice failed to inform you of it, and Miss Freda knew that she would try to keep it away from you. So after school yesterday, while you rested in our mind, I went straight to the bank. I withdrew everything in your account to remove the temptation for anyone to take it out and leave us destitute. I used a portion of that money to pay for this suite for two weeks to give you time to find an apartment.”

She continued, "Before I give you the other answers you are looking for, I need you to know that it is going to be a hard pill to swallow. Of course, you will not like what you hear, but under no circumstances will you attempt to get any revenge on anyone until it's time, and I will let you know when that is. Do you agree with those terms?" After I agreed to her terms, she began explaining that we were being treated for some unknown physical disorder from the time we were about three years old. Miss Janice was acquainted with a witch that provided the treatments. Scarlett informed me the "medical treatments" were done under the veil of secrecy and that not even the alpha was aware of them. We were administered a cocktail injection of Wolf Aconite (better known as wolfsbane) and liquid silver, among other harmful herbs and toxic substances. 

The results were devastating to both of us. The ongoing treatments impeded our ability to link to each other or to shift. These treatments also blocked our ability to heal and severely damaged our eyesight. Due to not being able to shift, exercise, and train with the rest of the orphanage's residents, we also gained weight that our metabolism could not regulate. Although everything that was being administered to us had the potential of being deadly, the witch seemed to know what the correct dosages were. Miss Janice and her friend, the witch, seemed to be looking for particular results. So the witch only used what she had to so that they could gain the results Miss Janice was looking for without killing us. In essence, we were a walking human/she-wolf medical experiment.

The more I listened to her, the more things began to make sense and the angrier I began to feel. I wanted to feel what had been denied to me. I tried to shift but had no idea how to even go about it. The only thing I knew about shifting was that it was the most painful experience a werewolf would ever go through the first few times. It could be deadly if not monitored by a mature wolf, usually the wolf's parents. And, unfortunately, at this point in my life, I didn't know anyone that fits that description, especially not anyone I trusted with my life.

It was late in the afternoon before our discussion was coming to an end. The sun was dipping below the horizon, and I felt exhaustion begin to take over me as though I had run the Boston Marathon. I changed into my favorite comfy flannel panda pajamas and slippers before warming some soup in the microwave for dinner as I didn't have a huge appetite. After eating and cleaning up the dishes, I crawled into the king-sized bed, snuggled under the fluffy down duvet before allowing myself to drift off into dreamland. My last conscious thought was that now that I was armed with the truth, things were going to change. I was going to make sure of it.