Chapter 4

ELLE

“It’s great to see you, my Goddess,” I said. It truly was. Having any interaction with her was a significant blessing. 

I submitted myself to her. I was not entirely certain about what was the proper protocol to observe when coming face-to-face with the Goddess. I was too young to remember what I did the first time around. I just hoped I did not look as unsure and awkward as I felt right now.

Her eyes twinkled before she closed the distance and pulled me into her arms instead. Warmth encased my entire body, relaxing it in a way that only her presence could. It was the best hug I ever had in my entire life. It was filled with pure and unadulterated love. Such love was willingly given instead of forced or demanded. It was a love that not even the strongest evil could overcome.

“You need not submit yourself to me, Elle. Please call me Selene as well. It is finally time that I can tell you the things that I need to. Come and sit with me,” she said, linking her arm through mine.

Being in her presence was the most peaceful thing that I could imagine. She was our eternal mother that brought out feelings of serenity and fulfilment. It was truly an amazing feeling. It temporarily erased every pain I had felt in my lifetime. Here was a place that the pain was not permitted to enter.

We walked towards a beautiful fountain that towered feet above us and sat down. The clearest water cascaded downwards before cycling back through to the top of the fountain to begin again. It was an endless cycle which was very calming.

“This place is beautiful,” I said, smiling as wolves raced around, completely oblivious to the two of us. It made sense that she would have wolves here wherever here was.

A cute little pup bounded up and jumped onto my lap. It was adorable with a cinnamon-colored fur. The pup nuzzled against me and watched me with the most intense green eyes I had ever seen. There was an intelligence in its eyes that made it seem much older than it looked.

“That is Kiera. She will be reborn soon enough once her human is ready for her to join them. Until the humans are ready, the wolves stay here with me. The wolves return here to wait until they are chosen again once their humans die. They live here with their families and return to them once they are no longer needed until they are needed once again as a counterpart,” Selene explained.

“I hadn’t realized that’s how that works, but it makes a lot of sense. That’s definitely a beautiful cycle,” I said, petting the pup. I wondered how many times Faye had been reborn like that.

Another pup yipped to catch Kiera’s attention, so I set her on the ground and shooed her to go play. Both of the pups turned towards me and yipped, so I gave them a wave. I smiled as I watched the two play a game of tag. They were really adorable.

This entire experience was very strange. It was an honor of the utmost importance to ever speak to Selene and hear her voice. This was the second time that she visited with me face-to-face. Then she brought me here to this beautiful place. I could not even wrap my head around it all yet.

“I was unable to explain certain things until now because it was dangerous for you to know. However, it is time for you to understand. First though, I want you to know how incredibly proud I am of how strong you were when facing Eric. Your refusal to back down sparked change in some of your pack member’s hearts. You will not see it right away, but you lit a fuse. I am truly sorry that you had to face that pain, but you will not have that pain after you wake up. It will be as if the mate-bond and his rejection were never there in the first place. That is the least that I can do for you.”

That was why it was necessary. I trusted that she would have a reason for that pairing. I never doubted that. However, knowing that it created sparks for change meant every agonizing moment of the entire ordeal was well worth it. There was also another part of me that felt triumphant that his attempt at humiliation was what caused that spark.

Compassion and understanding were the two things seen in her eyes. Every wolf-shifter wondered what Selene was like and especially what it would be like to meet her. The majority of us never got to, but we always hoped that we would. I was blessed to have met her before and also to meet her again now. She was the true mother of our kind. I did not remember my own mother, but I would always wonder if she would have been like Selene.

“You don’t have to do anything for me. You’ve already blessed me tremendously,” I told her truthfully.

She smiled at me and placed her hand over mine. “Yes I do because you are very special to me my sweetest Elle. Would you like to know why that is?”

My heart soared with her words. It was an acceptance that I never realized I desired. I was special to Gabriel, and he to me, but to be special to Selene was even more elevated. My pack treated me like an insect which needed to be squashed, but the creator of our kind deemed me special.

I nodded my head because I was insanely curious. I never understood what was special about me that would cause her to visit me when I was a pup. My mind tried and failed to come up with the answer over the years.

“You have immense power inside of you because of your lineage. You are my descendant Elle. You are my family, and I am proud to call you mine. That power will save others as you bring prosperity to your pack, making them unstoppable and help them to become the most powerful pack in history that will do ever so much good for our kind.”

My eyes widened with that bit of information. Not going to lie. I was completely shocked. I was related to Selene, and that she was proud of that. Part of me wanted to faint. Faye preened with pride, strutting around my mind. She felt like a rockstar.

“I don’t have any power though, and I know that Blue Crest would be unholy terrors with any type of power,” I said, shaking my head.

My heart hurt even thinking about them using whatever power to become even more vile than they currently were. There would be no way of stopping them if they had that type of power.

She placed her finger underneath my chin and raised it up high so that I had to look into her eyes to see the truth of what she was saying. Her eyes were soft but still firm and resolute.

“The power has not been unlocked yet because of Blue Crest. I agree that they would be monsters with power. They will not be your pack for much longer. I cannot tell you how or why because that would ruin the special surprise. The power will be unlocked at the proper time when you are where you need to be. This is your destiny because only you could accomplish this Elle. Only you will be strong enough for the power to not corrupt you. Only you will be strong enough to do what needs to be done. I wish that I could tell you more, but I cannot. What I can tell you is to not give up hope because things will soon be changing for you. This change is one you will love,” she promised.

I sighed in relief because I would be damned if I would give anything to them. It also meant that I would finally be free of them once and for all. That was something I never thought I would be able to accomplish. I had already come to accept that I would die in that pack, probably at the hands of Eric himself. Good riddance.

“If we’re family … do you know anything about who my parents are or where I came from?” I asked carefully. I was hoping that perhaps she could answer something that had ripped at me over the years.

Her lips turned downwards into a frown, and I could see the storm of emotions in her eyes.

“I am sorry, Elle. I cannot tell you that yet because it must be found out at the proper time, or it could ruin your future. You will know the truth soon though.”

“It was worth a shot. It’s okay. I was just curious, but I can be patient,” I assured her.

Her arms wrapped around me once again. I could feel her emotions while in her arms. She was conflicted and was pained by what I faced and would end up facing. However, she also had an unwavering faith in me. She was filled with hope and determination.

“I must send you back because it is not good for you to stay too long in my realm. I love you, Elle,” she said as she placed a tender kiss to my forehead.

One moment I was embracing Selene and the next I was lying in bed, curled up into Gabriel’s chest. I looked up and saw his eyes were closed. His even breathing told me that he was still asleep.

I took a few moments to myself in order to try and wrap my head around everything. The first thing I wrapped my head around was that she had been correct. I felt no pain, worry, or sadness regarding the broken bond.

‘It really is gone,’ Faye said in amazement.

I pressed on my chest where the pain and heaviness had been centered but again found nothing at all. It was like it never even happened. The only emotion I felt towards it all was relief that I never had to worry about being mated to someone like him.

I giggled because this gift was something I could never thank her enough for. She gave me control to a situation in which I had none before. He would still feel everything though, so that was also a bit amusing. I was sometimes petty, but I had every right to be with this. I heard that the emptiness from a broken bond never went away. Well, unless Selene took it away apparently. He probably should have considered that before he decided to be a total jackass.

“What’s got you giggling?” Gabriel asked, opening one eye to peer at me. His voice was still gruff and thick with sleep.

“Ask me how it feels being rejected,” I said. His eyebrows touched his hairline in surprise with my question.

“Umm. How does it feel?” he asked hesitantly because I had broken down last night and cried for what felt like hours.

I turned on my side to face him and propped my head up on my hand. A true smile graced my lips, and I felt amazing.

There was absolutely no doubt that the Alpha family would have tried to lord this over me in hopes of it torturing me. The joke would be on them though when they did not get the reactions they would have desired.

“It feels fucking fantastic. I had another visit from my special someone who insisted that I call her Selene. She took away the pain and all negative emotions from the rejection. She said it was the least she could do.”

Then I proceeded to tell him about the entire visit. He also propped himself up to listen, soaking up every detail that I offered. He was just as amazed as I was about it all. I watched as pure happiness overtook his features when he realized that I would not be stuck here forever.

“I want you to come with me whenever and however I do end up leaving. Well, as long as it’s what you want. I’d never want you to feel forced or obligated,” I said.

His smile matched my own as he said ‘hell yes’ that he would come. He had been such a big part of my life that I never wanted to lose him. He never protected me because he had to. I never protected him because I had to. It was just what you did for family. We were the only family that the either of us had for this past decade.

I yawned and got comfortable again, falling into a dreamless sleep. I got another couple hours of sleep and woke refreshed. Things were certainly looking up, and I was hopeful for the future again. After the rejection, I was wary of the future because I did not want to live with that constant painful reminder. However, that was no longer an issue.

“Gabe time to wake up,” I said, shaking his shoulder. He grumbled and tried to pull the pillow over his face to block me out. “Come on Mr. Grumpy. If you get up then you’ll get to see their attempts at baiting me about the rejection fail,” I tempted him.

Those words were all it took. His eyes popped open, and his eyebrows waggled. The two of us knew the truth, but nobody else would. That was what made the whole situation even more amusing. They would never know what we knew and did not deserve to know at all.

The other thing they would never know was that they treated Selene’s direct family member like trash. They always called me weak, but they did not know the truth. I had never been weak. I just never wanted them to know that fact.

“I’ll meet you in the kitchen,” he said before leaving.

Now, what should I wear? What said a loud ‘fuck you’ without seeming obvious? I looked through my closet, pondering just that, until my hand landed on a beautiful light blue sun dress which I paired with leggings and flats. My hair got swooped up into a low messy bun with a few strands in the front to help frame my face.

‘It’s perfect,’ Faye approved.

I skipped towards the kitchen, earning quite a few confused stares. There was no doubt that word had fully gotten around that I had been mated to Douchebag Eric before he broke the bond.

They probably expected me to feel broken inside and downright distraught that my soulmate did not want me. That I would cry my heart out before begging him for another chance. It was probably how many rejected mates felt, but thankfully I had a bit of divine intervention to help in that department.

“I promise that I’m really okay. I never wanted to be mated to him, and I’m thankful he rejected me. It’s so much better this way,” I said, giving them a genuine smile.

They all looked at me curiously before nodding in understanding. Every single person in this room understood how our kind was treated here. I would feel guilty for leaving them behind, but if there was anything that I could do to help out then I would. Nobody should be treated the way that they treated us. Most other packs did not do this.

Omegas, in some packs, were considered the bottom tier in pack hierarchy. However, most packs treated them with respect and kindness. Omegas helped a pack to function properly. The pack would fall into disarray without them. We were the worker bees in the pack hive.

“Well, I made you a sympathy muffin because I thought you’d need it,” Bethany said. She was our resident baker. Her muffins were amazing and the best I had ever tasted in my entire life.

“You should still give it to me because I didn’t see the tears he cried from the pain, so I need sympathy for missing that.” I pouted for effect.

She laughed and passed it to me. I inhaled and groaned because it was my favorite flavor too – strawberries and cream. I took a bite out of it, savoring the flavorful notes that grew and exploded as they collided with my tastebuds. It was made with real pieces of strawberries that we grew in our garden instead of the imitation kind.

Perhaps I could smuggle her into wherever I ended up with promises of orgasmic muffins to whomever the Alpha was. Nobody could say no to her muffins. Not even the most vile monsters would be capable of that.

“Got your coffee,” Gabriel said, beckoning me over to the table.

I split my muffin in half and handed it to Gabriel in exchange for the coffee. He never would have asked for it, but I knew that this was his favorite muffin too. I had no problem sharing it with him.

“What the hell? That’s so unfair. Why does he get part of your sympathy muffin?” Kevin asked, glaring daggers at me.

“Because he deserves it,” I said, sipping my coffee. Kevin looked at me incredulously. “Who do you think brought me home and consoled me last night? He earned it,” I explained.

Gabriel always took care of me but never made me feel weak while he did it. I always tried to keep the true depths of how things affected me from the rest of our people because they did not know the lengths I went to in order to protect them the best that I could. Gabriel understood since he did the exact same thing. We were a team.

“He’s just your favorite,” he accused and was not wrong there.

“Damn straight he is,” I said, patting Gabriel’s cheek. My best friend just looked smugly at Kevin as he bit into his part of the muffin.

Gabriel would be helping me to tear down the ballroom today, so here was to hoping that the Alpha family did not do anything to set him off on a murdering rampage. He was still furious with what happened last night. I could not fault him for that anger though. I would have been just as angry if our situations were reversed. I did not regret last night and would do it exactly the same way if I was ever given the chance to redo it. 

We headed straight in and got to work breaking down the chairs, tables, and stage. We had ten other helpers because this place was wrecked and would need a thorough cleaning. They definitely partied it up last night.

The guest rooms would all be cleared out by this afternoon, so we would tackle those after supper. Those were easier to clean because we could assign a few per helper. Teamwork truly made the dreamwork.

‘Bastard’s behind you,’ Gabriel linked without looking at me.

A hand wrapped tightly around my arm as he pulled me backwards to face him. Wow. He looked like absolute shit today. There were dark circles under his eyes, and it looked like he did not sleep at all last night. I wondered if he regretted any of it. I did not care one way or the other if he did or did not. It was just a mere curiosity.

‘His wolf is pissed off at him for rejecting us and kept him up all night,’ Faye supplied.

Oh. This did get better because now he would have to deal with an angry wolf for taking away his one true chance at completion. I hoped that his wolf never gave him a moment of peace. Our wolves could annoy the living shit out of us, but we were stuck with them despite how many which ways we both considered murdering each other.

“What was that last night?” he growled. Irritation, anger, and confusion swirled around in his chocolate orbs.

“It was you choosing to reject me because I was an unworthy Omega,” I said plainly.

He did not like my answer, and his eyes narrowed into slits in response. His response deeply amused me though. I embedded myself underneath his skin last night, and I was getting to him even though he would never want me to know that. He was confused about why I did not react the way he wanted. He was confused about how I could stand up to him without fear. He would never know the truth of any of it though. He would never find the answers he sought.

“Why didn’t you just accept the fucking rejection like I demanded?”

I tilted my head as if I had to think about this answer. As if I had not even considered that question last night. Why did I not do that? Hmm. Why indeed. 

“Because you chose to reject me without even taking what I wanted into consideration. My acceptance of the rejection had nothing to do with what you wanted or didn’t want. Now both of our wolves will never feel completed since you didn’t take his desire into consideration either,” I pointed out.

If steam could come out of his ears like a cartoon character then it would because I hit a nerve with that. His jaw clenched hard enough that I was surprised that it did not crack. He was not hiding his emotions, and that was a fatal flaw of his.

He was always easily distracted and thrown off kilter if he was slammed with something that he was not expecting. He certainly did not expect me to react that way last night and certainly did not expect me to act the way I was right now.

“My wolf wanted to reject you just as much as I did,” he unconvincingly lied. 

“Prove it. Let me talk to him. If that’s the case then I’ll apologize to the entire pack for my outburst and take whatever punishment they deem fit,” I offered.

He turned on his heel and stomped off, slamming the door behind him. He knew damn well that his wolf would tell me the truth. He also did not know that his wolf already told Faye the truth. I pitied whoever his future mate would end up being because he was a despicable bastard.

Gabriel turned my body around to face him. His hands rested on my shoulders, and the most amusing look flashed across his face. He and I both busted up laughing. He heard everything, and that just made our fucking day. I was still fighting back even now. I would continue doing it for as long as I could despite the future consequences of it.

“His wolf told Faye that he kept him up all night because he was pissed off at him rejecting us,” I explained.

I told Faye to let his wolf know that we were truly sorry for his suffering. We had nothing against him because he was always very considerate and kind unlike his stupid human. Too bad wolves could not get a do-over if they hated their humans.

It took a few of hours, but the entire room was cleaned up, and I assigned the crew to make sure that the room was mopped and polished. It would look brand new by tonight. It was always rewarding when things worked out properly.

Gabriel and I were on our way back home when Luna called my name loudly enough to draw the attention of everyone around us. They always had to be damn drama Queens. I rolled my eyes before turning around to see Luna, Alpha, Eric, and some she-wolf that I did not even know. It did not take a rocket scientist to understand what was going on here.

It was ridiculous that they were trying so hard to prove something that was completely inconsequential. It was like they were incapable of handling anyone not falling at their feet. They could not get over someone standing up to them and doing it with vigor.

“This is Charlotte from the Blythe pack. Her father is their Beta and saw how heartbroken Eric was last night. He offered her as his chosen mate. I just wanted to make sure that was okay with you. I would hate for there to be any petty jealousy,” Luna said.

She spoke as if she was trying to look out for me even though it was clear that she was not. If she wanted to break me then she would have to step up her game quite a bit. I spent thirteen years being tormented, beaten, and ridiculed. I still had not broken. There was nothing that she could do that would accomplish that.

“She’s a very attractive she-wolf from a good pedigree. I’m sure that she’ll give your son much happiness and many heirs. I wish you both the best on your union,” I told them honestly.

That was not the response that they were hoping for. An even bigger crowd was now forming, but it would be just like earlier when he tried to get a rise out of me. It would not work.

Eric grabbed Charlotte and kissed her deeply, but my bored expression never once changed. There was no longing, no heartbreak, or anything else.

Luna and Alpha both exchanged a look of confusion with my lack of reaction. Goddamn, this was amusing. Now the crowd that they gathered was just witnessing them act like idiots. They were getting angry at me since their dominance display was backfiring.

“Alpha, you have a call from the Alpha Kade of the Nightshade pack,” Beta Oscar interrupted.

The entire Alpha family turned around and left without a word. Gabriel and I just continued on home and waited until we were behind a closed door in order to laugh. I actually had a couple of tears leaking from my eye.

“I’ll be getting my ass handed to me for all of this shit, but you have to admit that it’s funny as fuck,” I said.

Gabriel agreed even though I knew he worried about me getting punished for this. They would be looking to prove a point, but I would endure whatever I needed to. They had not broken me before and would not now.

Things would change. I just had to wait it out. Knowing that this pack was not going to be mine forever would make anything they threw at me less problematic. It would be well worth it in the end.

‘His wolf thanked us for our kindness and apologized for what happened. He said that he’ll never stop making him miserable for how he’s always treated you and the pain he puts you through,’ Faye said.