The Rejection (Luna of the Pack Series)

by S. J. Hayslett

  "I promise to love and cherish you. As the Luna of my pack, and as the Luna of my life. You will always be seen as my equal, because you are. Kairi," he pauses after saying my name to draw my ear lobe back between his lips. "Kairi, I don't know why the moon didn't pair us together. As far as I am concerned, you are my true mate. And I can't tell you how happy that I am that I found you."

  "You found me?" I ask him teasingly to give me some time to distract my wolf from squealing. Or maybe that was me that wanted to squeal.

  "Well, I saw you first. You were too busy staring at some punk to even notice." There's a smile on his face, but I can't help but to feel bad about the amount of time that I wasted being so into Julien. Even if it was for those first few hours that I knew he was my mate. I would have noticed Thorne that night. I hardly paid him any attention when I was near him at the club. I should have. I would have, if I wasn't so wrapped up in what my supposed mate was doing.

  But I can't be entirely down about that short period of my life. I got my baby out of the deal, quite possibly the best part of Julien that I will ever have. In all likelihood, it's the best part even Natasha will have. At least because of the bond, I know he felt something for me. With Natasha, there was only manipulation. I may have only been with Julien for five minutes, but for him they were five minutes of clarity that was shrouded by Natasha's deceit and manipulation. But those five minutes have given me a pup that I was anxiously waiting to meet.

  "Thorne?" I bring my hands up to his cheeks and draw his face out of my neck so that I can look at his eyes. He looks at me with such certainty and adoration. "I love you too." Technically, he didn't come out and say, 'I love you,' but there was no denying the love and adoration behind his words. Hell, through the newly formed bond, I could feel just how much love Thorne had for me. Well that, and there's something else poking me in the thigh that's letting me know the same sentiments.

  Thorne's hand drifts to my baby bump and he just leaves it there to rest. "I hope I didn't scare the little guy," he says with a teasing smile. A kiss on the tip of my nose sends more shivers down my spine and I yearn for so much more contact from him. Invisible circles begin to be drawn on my abdomen, almost lulling me to sleep because of the comforting effect he has on me.

  "Speaking of the little guy, there's something I want to tell you." His hand stills for the briefest of seconds but I can still feel it. "Umm, after our pup is born, I want to tell Julien that he is the biological father."

  "Why? After all the crap he put you through, you want to give him the satisfaction of knowing he has a pup with you?" Thorne moves away from the bed, away from me and I can't help but feel infinitely colder without his touch. I scoot up onto my hands and crawl to the edge of the bed. I need him to see me like the equal that he said he saw in me. Right now, being naked and vulnerable, the boost in height that the bed gives me, is just what I need.

  "While it would give me immense satisfaction to take his choice mate down a notch and present him as our pup," I point my finger between the two of us to let Thorne know that I wasn't taking his involvement away from him. "As Julien's first born. I can't stand the thought of turning into Vanessa."

  "Vanessa? What about her? You're nothing like Vanessa, baby."

  "I would be, if I kept this pup a secret from Julien. I mean what if MJ turns out to be yours? Are you going to be mad again that you were robbed of the first years of his life? Or will your anger be redirected because at some point Vanessa and Marvin had this same conversation?"

  "You can't know that they did."

  "And you can't know that they didn't," I retort. "Look, it doesn't matter whether they had a similar conversation or not. The result is still that they kept MJ from you while you would have wanted them to tell you. This isn't any different."

  "Honey, it is different. He betrayed you and chose someone else. He abandoned the both of you. You don't owe him anything." Thorne's hands rush to my cheeks, his eyes imploring me to see things his way. But I just can't. My hands hold onto his wrists, anything to keep him with me after the intimate moment we shared just minutes before.

  "I have to."

  "Why? Are you planning on going back to him? Huh? Since you want to use Marvin and Vanessa as examples, let's do this. If something were to happen to me would you go running off to Julien and say 'look at me! I have your baby?' You would leave Stoneforest for him?" Thorne pushes away from me and huffs while grabbing his pants from the floor. Angrily he's stuffing his feet into the garment and doesn't even bother zipping the fly before looking for his shirt.

  I can't even form a sentence, let alone a thought to stop him. I don't even know how his train of thought jumped the track and came to that conclusion. I never said I wanted to leave Stoneforest, even if something, goddess forbid, were to happen to him. But before I get a chance to actually speak up, Thorne is out the door. After the most magical night of my entire being, I'm left alone.

  Magical... I test out the bond and I can feel his consciousness, it feels heated with the anger he displayed in the bedroom. 'Don't you remember the betrayal you felt? I just didn't want to be the cause of that for another wolf. I'm sorry.' I try to tell him through the mind link, but even I can feel that he blocked me. Salty tears drive slow rivers down my face as I collapse into the bed. I haven't cried myself to sleep in so long and the main reason for that is because of Thorne and the companionship that he offered. But what do I have now since he walked away from me instead of talking it through? Can I even count on his companionship anymore?

  Sleep doesn't come easy for me in the least bit. Part of me struggles to stay awake for when Thorne came back, but another part of me knows he won't for the rest of the night. I fitfully toss and turn until finally succumbing to sleep when sun rays start to poke through the window.

  When I do think I awake, it's three hours later. Honestly, I can't even tell if I fell asleep. I'm ninety-five percent sure I opened my eyes, but if sleep really did approach me, it was shy and didn't stay with me long. I roll over and pick up the phone so that I can dial Lydia's office number to let her know that I was going to be late downstairs, as if that wasn't already obvious. But yes, for being pregnant, because she understood, and I soon began to get out of the bed.

  With one hand on my bump that seems to have grown overnight, I make my way to the bathroom. Sure enough, when I look in the mirror, I look like a pregnant human that looks to be well into the early stages of her third trimester. I could have sworn I was not this big last night when I stuffed my body in the body suit. Just the single thought of my short-lived lingerie reminds me of everything that happened last night. I can sort of see where Thorne is coming from, but I also don't think I'm being unreasonable, by not denying Julien to know of his son.

  I can feel my baby boy rearranging my insides, including my bladder, so my first stop of the morning is definitely the toilet. I start the shower and wait for the temperature to warm up while I handle my business. Once that is taken care of, I walk into the glass encasement of the shower and let the hot water cascade over my body. I mentally press the bond between Thorne and I and can tell that he still has me blocked from him. The sudden feeling of loneliness engulfs me, and I have the urge to have him near me. The only way I can make that happen right now is to reach for his body wash. Even I had to admit that his dark and stormy soap smelled better than the coconut and hibiscus soap I usually use.

  I scrub the thick lather into my skin, while my hand skims over my fresh mark. The chills are instant from my touch and I wonder if Thorne can feel the effect his mark has on me. My knees threaten to collapse beneath me as a wave of pleasure rolls through me. I feel the heat of our brief time together, our one night of passion, makes me sit down on the bench in the shower. However short the wave rocks into me, a new emotion takes over. Anger.

  I'm angry because Thorne managed to take my first, complete, time and twist it up into this mangled mess we were dealing with. I don't even want to deal with the fact that this is the second ou
t of two times in which a man has walked out on me after sex. Ohhh, I'm going to throw a lamp at the big bad wolf when I see him again.

  I rush through my shower, and half-heartedly wash my hair, too eager to hit him, do something. I know there's a chance that he may lash out, as a reflex. No one can just hit an alpha and not expect any consequences, but hopefully I can get out of the way before that happens. No, there's no getting out of the way with me. I'm angry, hormonal, and so fucking horny that it hurts, and Thorne is ruining my pregnancy glow. At least that's how I look at it as I find a skirt that falls to my knees and a cotton tank to match. My feet feel so swollen that I don't even think twice about slipping into some flip flops.

  My hate fire fuels the stamina I need to stomp down the stairs past a she-wolf who pauses by the steps. She is pretty and greets me with a warm toothy smile. Her blonde hair shines brightly, even in the low light of the hallway. She is wearing a cute yellow and green sundress. She holds her arm up on the bannister that makes her seem unassuming. But as unarming as she appears, I can still tell that she is a warrior.

  "Good morning Luna," she greets me. But I continue past her and down the next flight of stairs to the ground level.

  "Good morning," I say back, but keep it moving. No one, and I mean no one, is going to stop me from confronting the man in my life. I again try pressing through the mental barrier between but curse the man that wakes a passion within me with this bond, and then attempts to disappear on me. I'll take this passion and use it to burn this entire pack down to get to him.

  I make my way to the lower level and head towards the office, but the scent in the hallway is off. I can't smell Thorne at all but just to make sure, I knock on his door. Standing outside the office door awards me time to notice that the female warrior has been trailing me, though she tried to stay hidden many feet back. Since I was looking at her without turning my head, I can't be sure if she realizes that I was onto her.

  Of course, the door to Thorne's office remains closed so I go ahead a few doors down to the door that leads to my office space. Lydia is sitting at her desk working on Goddess knew what and looked rather surprised to see me standing there.

  "Luna, I didn't expect you so soon." She stands behind her desk and looks at me curiously. I can't even blame her, since I busted through the door and started looking for the exits. "Is everything alright?"

  I lock the outer door and silently indicate that I need her to follow me to my office. Once inside, I turn towards her and close the door behind Lydia. "I'm being followed," I simply say before stalking towards the window and pulling the blinds.

  "What? By who?"

  "I don't know. A warrior. She-wolf."

  "I'm not aware of any operations that Alpha Thorne would be running but I can find out who it is and why. Wait, Luna Kairi, what are you doing?" By now I had the window open and popped the screen off. I would have had my leg over the ledge had Lydia's words not brought me back in the room.

  "I don't care who she is. And Lydia, please call me Kairi. Just drop the Luna bit. Okay? Please, you're more than my assistant. You're like my only friend here. And as my friend, I need you to help me get my fat ass out of this window."

  "Why don't you go out through the door? Oh right, you're being followed. And you're not fat, you're just pregnant. Were you that pregnant yesterday?"

  "I know! I thought the same thing this morning. Now help me! I need to yell at Thorne." It is easier for Lydia to help me go feet first as she held my hands and lowers me out of the window. Once I am outside, I hand Lydia the screen so she can place it back in place and I go off in search of my mate.

  I'm about to turn the corner of the building when the same scent of the she-wolf that was following me from the stairs, assaults my nose. I crouch low to the ground, well as low as my pregnant self will let me and wait. She's not expecting me, so she's not walking in stealth mode or anything. What kind of tail is this? I'm just glad the wind is in my favor and allowed me to smell her before she knew what was happening. Her arm swings before her as she walks, allowing me to guess her position from her blind spot.

  She still doesn't notice that she's practically on top of me until I spring up and catch her by her throat. I swing her to the wall, and instead of lashing out to strike me, she brings both her hands to grip my wrist. I squeeze tight enough to hold her in place, but not enough to close off her airway.

  "Why are you following me?" She only grunts as she struggles out of my grip, so I tighten my hand around her throat. I lift her away from the wall, just so I can slam her back in the side. Her hands on my wrist loosen and I repeat the question.

  "It was orders Luna," she replies after glaring at me. I allow my wolf to make herself known through my eyes and the she-wolf immediately backs down in submission.

  "Who's orders?" I ask though I already know the answer to this question. Why would Thorne have me followed? Unless he really thinks I'm going to tell Julien about the baby before he's born. But I know I told him that I am planning on telling him after the baby arrived. Why does he think I need to be watched now?

  "Mine!" The deep and dark voice that I yearned to hear and was angry at spoke up like an apparition in the night. I dropped my babysitter and blocked out the coughing production she started to gain more oxygen, or sympathy, I'm not really sure. I don't think I was holding her airway closed. But then again, if I was, I'll blame it on being pregnant and protecting my pup.

  Thorne stands before me wearing no shirt and is covered by basketball shorts only. I can care less at how pissed he looks, I don't even care if his anger is directed at me or the disgraced she-wolf he planted on me.

  "Why do you have someone following me? I'm not a threat to Stoneforest. Then again, I am a threat to you. You arrogant deaf asshole." I stomp closer to Thorne, and without regard to my wellbeing, I punch Thorne in the face. "You couldn't listen to me at all and then you leave. I waited up for you and you don't have anything to say to me? What kind of shit is that? And if that's not shitty enough, you gave me the best fucking night of my life and you shut me out, completely. Because I see things differently than you? Fuck you!"

  My breath is huffing like I ran a marathon before confronting the man standing oh so close. Now that I'm trying to calm my breathing and my racing heart, I start to register a slight throbbing pain in my right hand. But I refuse to give him the satisfaction of seeing me hurt. My bones will heal eventually.

  "Leave us." His alpha-ness has spoken, and his plebes that were in the area scatter at the sound of his word. "Why are you making this difficult?" My eyes narrow at the insinuation he's just stated once everyone cleared away. I'm making this difficult?

  He has no idea.

  "Difficult? You mean because I don't bow down to your every whim? Because I actually think for myself and don't follow you around like a dog on a leash? Screw that! Why are you having me followed?"

  "It's not safe."

  "What you think I'm in danger from Julien? For what purpose?"

  "Not from that fucker. We still don't know where the rogues are or what they're planning. I wanted you protected while you were pregnant." At least he had the decency to look me in the eyes and tell me. Not that I was letting him off the hook. At all!

  "And you never once thought to say, 'hey Kai, just in case the rogues plan on attacking, I'm going to put some guards on you since you can't fight right now?' I would have welcomed that than some strange woman creepily following me around."

  "Following you around? She wasn't supposed to do that. She was supposed to befriend you and watch you from right beside you."

  "I'm not even touch on the fact that you ordered your warriors to watch me by forcing them to befriend me. You do realize that every friend I make here, I'm going to question if they're really there for me or because you ordered them to be. But I didn't give her the opportunity because I was pissed off at you."

  "Me? Why were you pissed off at me?"

  "Are you serious right now? Was I the only one present
in the bedroom after you marked me then dismissed me?" There is nothing holding back my voice and the tears of frustration, which only make me cry harder because I hate crying in front of anyone. Least of all, the person that's currently making me frustrated to begin with. "You stonewalled me and my feelings and then walked out. And you have the nerve to ask why I'm mad? I don't even know why you're mad at me."

  "How can you not see why I'm mad? You want to tell the sperm donor that he has a kid. A kid that I fully intend to raise as my own." He is whispering because he decided he wanted to tell the pack that our pup, was definitely his. I didn't think it would matter either way, packs were always adopting young pups when something happened to the parents. I don't know why he didn't want anyone to know about the biological father of my child. Maybe it was some misguided way of protecting me.

  "I just want to clear the air so that all parties involved are on the same footing. I was always going to put your name on the birth certificate. Our child will always call you daddy. But I also see the pain on your face anytime someone mentions Vanessa or MJ. And as much as I hate Julien, I don't want to inflict that much pain on him. Nor do I want our pup's existence to be shrouded in doubt on his end. That's it."