Chapter 1: Rejected

Elva’s POV

“You are going to be his bride in a few days,” mother teased as I pulled my hair into a bun. I shrugged, Nolan had yet to mention anything about us getting married.

But knowing that he was going to become Alpha in the next three days, I was sure it was going to happen eventually. As his fated mate, I was going to become Luna beside him.

Just the thought of that was overwhelming, but I’d do it anytime because it was him. My fated mate.

“Let’s go,” I told Nolan who was seated and talking with dad and Jake as soon I stepped into the living room. After three years of dating, everyone was used to the both of us spending time together and so neither father nor Jake said anything as we held hands and left the house.

“Something about you seems off today,” I say, breaking the silence that we had maintained since we stepped out of the house.

Nolan stopped, leaning against a tree with his arms folded across his chest.

“I’m breaking the mate bond between us.” Nolan declares, surprising me.

Breaking the mate bond?

“What are you playing out?” I tried to search his face for any giveaway that he was joking about. That he was trying to get a reaction out of me.

But his face is blank and devoid of any emotions. My smile falters as I realize that Nolan isn’t joking.

“Using the power of the sky and forest as my witness, I Nolan Blackwell, son of Nathaniel Blackwell hereby break the bond with Elva Williams.” Nolan declared.

“What are you doing? You can’t break the bond!”

“Say that you accept the rejection, Elva!” Nolan growled, his eyes changing from the familiar blue to a darker shade I couldn’t pick out.

His words however were like a dagger piercing through my heart. Everything was fine between us. So why did he want to break the mate bond?

“Nolan..” I manage to call out, my heart clenched with pain from his rejection making it hard to breathe or even talk.

“You are nothing different from a weak human. How can my Luna be a weakling?” His words poked at my weak spot. My biggest insecurity.

“I...I would get my transformation soon. I’m a late bloomer, that’s all.” I grabbed his arm, surely he had to understand that I was just a little late.

My older brother already had his transformation and I was just a few years behind. There was no way I wouldn’t transform when both of my parents were werewolves too.

And as soon as I got my transformation, I wouldn’t be weak anymore.

“Nolan.. just wait a little more for me,” I rush to add, hoping that somehow, I would be able to change his mind.

I didn’t want to throw away my three-year relationship with him just because I was a late shifter. We were already mates and I was confident that my wolf was right on the way.

He scoffed like I was telling him something unbelievable.

“Late shifter? It’s been three years, Elva! Even if there’s some wolf in you. It would be an omega wolf. It makes no difference.” His words were laced with disgust.

“O..omega.??”

Before I can say anything more, Nolan’s hand grasped my neck and slammed my back at the nearest tree.

“You have risked so many wolves’ lives in saving anytime you are in danger. How can you be their Luna when you can’t even save yourself?”

“I would only say this one more time, Elva. Accept the rejection. I’m done with being your mate.”

My eyes got blurry from the tears that were building up. Staring into his eyes that were filled with scorn and irritation while his hands held me up, I gave in to his wishes.

“I accept your rejection, Nolan Blackwell. With the moon goddess as our witness, there will be no more mate bond between us from today.” Right after I said it, Nolan let go of me abruptly and I slumped to the ground while he also fell backward, clutching his chest and groaning miserably from whatever pain the bond breaking was causing.

Good for him.

If he wasn’t the future Alpha of our pack and how much I still loved him at this moment, I would have wished that he died in the pain.

The pain he brought on us both.

I didn’t even know where exactly my greatest pain was coming from and as I struggled to stand up, my knees gave out on me and I fell back to the floor.

Tears that I had been struggling to hide from Nolan fell down from my eyes as pain burst through my knees.

However, I wanted to be away from him more than anything. So despite the overwhelming pain in the lower part of my body, I stood up, wobbling a little until I got my balance.

Earlier, Nolan and I had walked into the forest which was a little distance from the pack houses but as father was an elder of the pack, our house was closer to the forest.

The full moon was already peeking out beneath the night sky and that had everyone in high spirits to celebrate the first full moon we were having in months.

No one noticed as I trudged ahead and when I finally arrived at the front of our home, I heaved a sigh of relief.

Instead of using the front door, I went to the back door because if my father and mother saw me in this state, they would raise definitely make me say what happened.

“John, don’t you think it’s weird that Nolan came asking about Elva the other day? He asked as if he knew already.” Mother’s familiar voice rang out.

I stop in my tracks, leaning against the wall to make sure that I wasn’t discovered while eavesdropping.

Knew what?

Father’s disinterested voice rang out next and I felt my world come crashing from his reply,

“How can he know, the only person that knows we aren’t her parents already died, he’s probably just worried since she hasn’t shifted…” he paused as if thinking of his next words.

Heart in my mouth, I listened, hoping that his next words would let me know that this was a joke, that he was just pulling my mother’s legs.

“….Also, her recent performance in the pack training has been appalling, everyone is getting suspicious.”

“What if she’s just human, John?”

“That’s impossible, the mate bond is something from the moon goddess, she can’t give it to a human. Elva is just a late shifter, you would see.” Father replied confidently.

My hands covered my mouth as I tried to fight the urge to cry out loud.

What was going on? I wasn’t father and mother’s daughter??

If I wasn’t their daughter then the chances that I was just human were very high. So high that I was sure about it now.

Nolan was right. I was no werewolf.

“Let’s join the pack for the celebration, I’ll try to see if Nolan knows something he shouldn’t,” father said and his footsteps allowed me to know that he had stood up.

I stayed glued to where I was. My mouth covered my mouth so that I didn’t alert both of them of my presence.

When the door finally slammed shut, my shoulders slumped in defeat as I allowed my already weak body to fall to the floor.

My Father and mother weren’t my parents. I pinched my wrists like my life depended on it. Because this had to be a dream.

Everything was just a big bad dream that I was going to wake up from. But the pain from my pinch was all I needed to know that this wasn’t a dream.

It was all real.

Which meant that I didn’t belong in this pack. In this world that is all, I have ever known.

Thinking of all the times that father and mother had cajoled me by saying I was just a late shifter, I felt so stupid.

So so stupid.

How did I never realize this? Not only did I not look anything like my parents, the strength that father and Jake had as shifters was one of the best in our pack.

It was hard to believe that as their ‘daughter’, I was such a later bloomer. Only, I had never thought about it because they truly treated me like their own.

Even if I wasn’t.

“Noooo!!” Another wave of pain tore through my body and I screamed out, allowing myself to express how much pain I was in. I held on to the staircase railing for support while sweat dripped from every part of my body.

I didn’t know which hurt more. The pain of knowing that everything, every single thing I had believed all my life was a lie or the pain from the mate bond that I had just severed.

But I couldn’t be mad at my parents. If anything, they had saved me when I couldn’t save myself and I couldn’t help but imagine how much danger they would be in if the pack discovered them for keeping me, a human.

While I was bent over in pain, howls of wolfs rang out in the air, informing me that the moon was out in the night sky already. Every night like this, I had always longed for my wolf. Prayed to the moon goddess to awaken my wolf.

But now, I knew there was no wolf to be awakened. I wasn’t a late shifter.

I was human. A human that was making people risk their life just to keep me alive.

Yes, Nolan was right, I had risked too many lives by making them save me several times when we were out in the woods.

I didn’t want to keep being a burden.

As soon as I stepped outside the house, I felt the pain from the mate bond rejection leave me, and my shoulders sagged with relief.

But I didn’t stop my steps.

Tonight, I was going to end all of this.

After now, father and mother would not have to worry about me not shifting. And no one would have to watch my weak ass anytime we were training in the woods.

Because, after now, I wasn’t going to exist anymore.