How would Rae get there?It was all that she was asking herself.She began walking. She didn't know where she was going. All she knew was that she couldn't stop and do nothing. Waiting for him to return was not an option. She was the one who was enraged now. How could he? How could he abandon her again, without a word?How could he make such a big decision without her?Rae felt hurt and betrayed, but she had to remind herself that Keegan wasn't himself. She had never seen him lose so much control. He was a shadow of his former self, and she knew that he would only go back to what he was once he killed his brother. But that was the whole problem. Fighting Negan was not a piece of cake. His pack was strong, and although Keegan's group had been reinforced by the males from WoodFur, they were all injured. The ones who weren't were very few. They would not stand a chance against StonePaw. So, why did he leave? Rae was walking around without any sense of direction. She was walking away
Rae searched the grassy field for something. Anything that she could use as a weapon. There was something glittering in the dark, and upon inspection, she discovered that it was a thick shard of glass. She picked it up. Nobody paid any attention to her. Everyone was engrossed in their own fight. She saw Negan and Keegan tumbling around in the dirt. They were still in their wolf forms. She held the glass tightly, but not sharply enough to cut her hand. Any extra injuries wouldn’t be doing her any favors. She neared them. Neither of them noticed her, and she began to fear that they wouldn’t. She stopped a safe distance away from him. She thought of calling Keegan’s name, but that would distract him and give Negan the advantage. So she held her breath and called out, “Negan!”He turned his head to her sharply. Keegan did the same. The point of this was to give Keegan the advantage, but he didn’t take it. Her guess was that he was too shocked at seeing her. Now that she had his attent
Rae awoke in a light room. She felt the area around her with the tips of her fingers. She could move her hand. Linen. A soft mattress. A sheet covered her body. She was in a bed. She instantly relaxed, and fell asleep for a few minutes again before trying again. There was the scent of bleach in the air. She knew that scent well, it was a detergent that her mother loved to use. Thinking about her now meant nothing to her. She didn’t feel pain. Her absence from her life did nothing for her. The wolf who made her heart ache was her father and him alone. He had been kind to her, and she wished that they had parted ways on better terms. Rae would never see anyone from her family again. It was strange to think about, but it was the truth. Trying to figure out where she was wasn’t easy. There were two options. Rather, there was only one probable one, but she would include the unrealistic one in her possibilities. One, was that she was at StonePaw. Where else would Keegan have taken her, i
Rae stared at her reflection in the mirror. It pleased her immensely. She pursed her lips to apply lipstick. It was a bright red like the color of her hair. She also made sure that it matched her dress. Her evening had to be perfect and she was going to make sure it ran smoothly. It was her last evening as a single female. She was going to mate with Alpha Negan of StonePaw the next day and her heart hammered relentlessly against her chest whenever she thought about him and their union. They had been engaged for five years. She was sixteen at the time. She will never forget the day he showed up at their door barring gifts for them all. She watched from the staircase as he spoke to her father about wanting a mate and what an honor it would be if their packs could be joined. Her sister was away at the time and so she knew she would be called down. She knew it deep in her heart. She ran up to her room quickly and put on her best dress. It was also red and she loved how powerful she felt
Rae managed to finish her dinner.It was delicious. Even Negan complimented the chef and StonePaw's chef was the best in their district. Rae ate raspberry mousse for dessert and it left her mouth watering. She watched Negan the entire time but he rarely met her eyes. She didn't want to think that something was amiss so she attributed his behavior to nervousness. Yes, he was probably nervous. He couldn't hold her gaze for five seconds.Yes, she was counting.After dinner, they sat hearing her father talk about the economic state of their kind and Negan joked about how similar to humans they were becoming. It was a tasteless joke but Rae smiled warmly and reassuringly at him. Werewolves hated being compared to humans. They were completely different beings. Her father hated it more and she could tell because his nostrils flared a little and all conversation ceased.Rae cleared her throat after a painful moment. Her father looked at her and then at her mother. Something passed between the
Rae's mating day had finally arrived.She woke up with a smile on her face. She sat up in bed and stretched her arms above her head. She checked the time on her alarm clock and it said 8 AM. The ceremony would start at 10 AM but she wasn't concerned because she still had time. What she found strange, however, was the fact that there wasn't anyone in her bedroom.Nobody had even tried to wake her up.She slid out of bed and freshened up in the bathroom. When she walked back into her bedroom, it was still empty. She frowned and opened her closet to make sure the dress was still there. It was. It looked a lot more magnificent in the daylight and she couldn't help but admire it.Where was everyone?Two hours wasn't much time. The vows would only be said later at night but the party would start much sooner than that. She had to be ready and she was running out of time. A spark of anger lit her soul on fire. She couldn't believe that her family was so irresponsible. It was her special day a
Rae awoke in the dark. Everything came rushing back to her. The mating day, the bitter betrayal. She could hardly believe it. The memories were a hand wrapped tight around her neck, squeezing her life's force from her veins. She couldn't sit up. It was almost as if she was glued to the bed. Her heart was hammering against her chest and she was paralyzed with fear. Negan. Kara. No. The thought hurt her physically. The pain was enough to make her sit up and look around the room desperately. She was on a bed and the room was dark but not the corridor outside. Light seeped into the room from the crack under the door. She looked left and saw that the window was open. She didn't know why but her heart swelled with pointless hope. She sat up and slowly climbed out of bed. Her eyes were on the window. As soon as she neared it, she saw that it was nighttime. The moon shone brightly in the sky. She could see nothing else but that was enough. It was enough to rock her foundations and bring he
Despite their efforts to get her to talk, Rae didn't say another word to her parents. She didn't regret her decision and was certain that she never would. She didn't care that it looked bad on their part. She wasn't going to act as if what they did didn't hurt her and remain in the pack. She would rather be a rogue than be a laughing stock. Kara and Negan could look bad. In fact, they could die for all she cared. Rae sat beside the window until the sun went up. She didn't feel tired, only emotionally drained. She tried not to think about how excited she was only a day before. She thought she would mate with the man she loved and live happily ever after but it seemed life had other plans for her. Or perhaps there was no plan. Perhaps she was destined to live an unremarkable life deep in the woods. She would find an empty cabin and inhabit it and forever be the rejected Luna.She didn't care. All she wanted was to leave.She hadn't decided what to take with her on her journey. Taking n