Page 12 of Rejected By the Alpha

“I just did a sweep of the land. It seems you have gathered everyone who was killed,” Marco’s voice sounds from behind me, making me jump. I glare at the men who snicker, before turning to Marco.

“Does that mean we can do a funeral pyre soon?” I ask, feeling relieved. I am ready to send these wolves’ souls to the goddess.

“We can. I have men gathering materials for it as we speak.” I thank Marco and turn to see the same relief I feel on the others’ faces. I give them all a reassuring smile and tell them that if they want to go help with something else for now, they can. The four wolves thank me before they finish their sandwiches and take off. I have a feeling they will be going to help with gathering materials for the funeral pyre.

“You surprised me when you offered to help with the dead,” Marco states when it is just the two of us. I sigh, looking towards the many white sheets that line the ground. Each one hides a body underneath it.

“It’s the duty of a beta to help take care of the dead. I am just doing what I am born to do,” I answer with a shrug, looking away from the scene before me to face Marco.

“Well, I am glad you stepped in. You don’t look more than twenty at best.”

“Actually, I am eighteen. My birthday was ten days ago.” I try to smile as I correct the man before me, but the pain of the rejection causes me to wince. I can feel the dam cracking. Feel the pain leaking through bit by bit.

“Happy belated birthday then. Have you met your mate?” Marco asks cheerily. His question though has my heart shattering, and the tears I have held in since being rejected and leaving Oak Fur finally fall. I find it hard to breathe as I focus on pushing back the pain. I can’t cry. Not now. Silver Paw needs my help.

“He rejected me,” I finally manage to whimper, looking up at Marco. A look of shock that then turns into anger crosses his face. He closes his eyes and takes deep breaths as well, and I wait in silence until he opens his eyes and sends me a sympathetic smile.

“Mine is engaged to another man. She told me I was too weak for her,” he admits sadly. For some reason, I laugh, and tell him how mine is also engaged to someone else, but he never told me any of that as we grew up together. I then learn that Marco is twenty-five, and that if I need a friend to talk to, he is here for me. I thank him, and ask him to stay with me until it is time to release the souls of the fallen Silver Paw wolves with the funeral pyre.

As the sun sets, I ask Marco about Silver Paw, and what their training regime is about. He groans and goes into detail that although the alpha and Luna were nice and great leaders, they sucked at planning any form of training, hunting, and patrolling schedules. That no matter what Marco did, no one would listen because the alpha and Luna were laid back.

I frown, thinking about how we have our work cut out for ourselves, as Silver Paw only has one week starting tomorrow torebuild and find a new alpha and Luna. It will be a challenge, but it is a challenge I look forward to.

As he and I begin discussing ideas for a schedule to start the day after tomorrow, a group of wolves slowly file in with wood and pine branches in their hands. Marco excuses himself from me, and I watch as the red-headed wolf begins to organize where to build the pyre. It will need to be large enough to fit the thirty-five wolves that passed away, and in a place that it won’t set fire to the remaining buildings.

Within an hour, the pyre is built and the pack gathers. Everyone is here, from the youngest pup to the three remaining elders. Marco is the one to lead the funeral, saying a prayer that the souls of the dead find their way to the Moon Goddess’ side and are one day able to reincarnate, before he lights the pyre. The flame grows as it consumes the bodies, and I send a silent prayer of my own, wishing for those who have passed to guard the happiness and survival of Silver Paw.

12

Lucas

The door to my office is once again thrown open, and Simon bursts inside. I groan, getting annoyed with my friend and his unwelcome visits. Ever since our talk in my office three days ago, our friendship has started to mend. He has helped me to keep Pearl, Ruby, and Prism in line when they try to harm a pack member under Marilyn’s orders, as well as helped me keep tabs on Marilyn.

Yesterday, I had to threaten her with destroying the only picture she has of her and her mother if she did not leave the omegas alone. They were not her slaves but the weaker members of the pack, that pick up the slack and perform the menial tasks needed for Oak Fur to function. She did not like that one bit, but Simon had the picture in his left hand and a lighter in his right.

After she conceded, I took the picture with me and told Marilyn she would get it back once we are mated. It sits in my safe undermy desk. I promised Marilyn I would send a picture of it every morning to her cellphone as proof it is safe.

Is it a harsh way of keeping her in check? Yes. But it is the only solution I can think of to stop her tyranny in the pack.

“What is it now?” I demand, as I turn away from the budget that has been set for my upcoming wedding, and turn to face him, ready to get whatever he wants to talk about out of the way.

“We just got a report that Silver Paw was attacked. Your dad is excited because the alpha family was killed,” Simon answers. Shocked, I return my focus to my computer and open up my email. Sure enough, Silver Paw was attacked by their rival pack, Shadow Moon, yesterday afternoon. It lists that there was a dispute over a piece of land that Silver Paw bought from the council to expand their pack. Shadow Moon wanted to claim it for their own pack, and the alpha of Silver Paw basically told him tough shit and to fuck off.

“It says here they have a week to find an alpha or the pack will be disbanded and the land seized,” I state, reading further down the email.

“Yeah, but who would want to lead the weakest pack?” Simon asks. The image of Kaylee crosses my mind and I smile. She would want to lead that pack and help it grow stronger. My aunt would do the same thing, too.

“We both know who,” I quietly whisper, shutting off my email and looking to my friend. He looks at me for a moment before smiling, most likely coming to the same conclusion I did.

“She would in a heartbeat,” he agrees sadly. It seems that Kaylee still hasn’t reached out to him, and something inside me breaks. Simon, Kaylee, and I would train together every day after our school and pack duties were completed. She was the light in our lives, and I stupidly listened to my father and rejected her. After ten days of dealing with Marilyn, I am starting to see that not marking Kaylee was the worst decision I have ever made. That telling my father about her being my mate was the second-worst.

“Would you tell me if she contacted you?” I ask him, watching as surprise flashes in his eyes.

“Unless she gave me permission, no. She is like a sister to me, Lucas. I would do anything to protect her.” Jealousy rises inside me, and I force myself to squash it down. I have no right to be jealous of her and Simon’s relationship. The scars that mark my face remind me of that every time I look in the mirror. When she attacked me after I rejected her, I was furious. She was my mate, and I was her future alpha. What pissed me off even more is that she did not get the betrayal mark like I did, all because I broke the mate bond first.

After three days of me brewing in anger and pain from the bond breaking had passed, I realized I deserved everything. I deserved the scars she left on me. Deserved the betrayal mark. I did everything my father wanted me to do, all for the good of Oak Fur, and now I need to sleep in the bed I had made.

“I won’t ask for it. I have a fiancée that I need to focus on,” I mutter. Simon stares at me, as if he wants to ask me something, but decides against it. I know he knows I regret what happened. He also knows I would do it all over again for the safety of the pack.

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