Once Upon A Rejection

Grayson and I slept for the rest of the morning and most of the afternoon. Even so, I was still tired when I woke up. I wanted to go back to sleep but my stomach was complaining loudly, I didn’t stand a chance.

Grayson was still fast asleep. I tried to remove his arm from around my waist so I could go into the shower but Grayson just g*****d and gripped me tighter.

“Why are you always trying to sneak away from me?” Grayson asked.

“I don’t want to go anywhere but unfortunately my stomach is being uncooperative.” I complained.

“Maybe we can get some food then spend the rest of the day in bed together.” Grayson said.

“Yes please.” I said.

He was kissing my neck softly, his hands were exploring my body. I leaned into his body, I wanted nothing more than to stay here with him. I could feel my arousal growing as his fingers reached between my thighs. I m****d but to my horror my stomach growled louder.

“You should get ready.” Grayson said, giving me one last k**s before letting go of me and getting out of bed.

I laid in bed watching him for a couple of moments longer before I got up and started to get ready myself. After showering and changing into a nice dress I felt a lot more human but still in desperate need of food.

We went downstairs and headed towards the kitchen. The house was bustling with activity. There was so much noise from people moving things around and cleaning almost everything in sight. I was amazed that we had somehow managed to sleep through all of this. I must have been more tired than I had realised.

We went into the kitchen and made ourselves a midafternoon snack. Coffee and a couple of ham sandwiches. It wasn’t a particularly exciting meal but neither of us felt like waiting for a full meal to cook.

We were still sitting at the table eating when Grayson’s mom walked into the kitchen. She was visibly flustered, her clothes looked dishevelled and her hair was sticking up in all different directions.

“There you two are, I have been looking for you everywhere.” She said.

She sounded as though she was moments away from a mental breakdown. I realised immediately that her stress must have something to do with what was going on in the house but we had only been asleep for a few hours. What could have happened in that time?

“We didn’t get any sleep last night, we needed to crash for a while.” I said.

“What’s wrong?” Grayson asked.

“The council is sending some representatives.” She said. Her face was pale.

That was understandable, my face was probably pale too. The council members never usually leave their figurative ivory tower. They were too preoccupied making rules for the rest of us to spend any time with their subjects. I couldn’t think of the last time I had heard of any of them visiting a pack personally.

“When are they coming?” Grayson said. His voice was quiet and I could sense his tension.

“They don’t give dates, it could be hours or it could be weeks. I don’t know but we have to be ready.” His mom said. She was tapping her foot and glancing over her shoulder every few seconds.

“How many are they sending?” I asked.

“There will be nine of them in total. Five members of the council, two of their assistants and two lycans to access our lycan issue.” She said.

They were only sending two lycans to look into our problem. That was so typical of lycan arrogance. They thought that two lycans would be able to succeed where a whole pack of werewolves had failed. They were probably just going to tell us that the whole thing was in our imagination then leave without doing anything.

‘I am not going to let them push us around like that.’ Scarlett growled.

My mind was spinning with ideas. Maybe if I could set the cameras to record then we could start to gather some evidence. That way we would be ready if they tried to trick us or double cross us.

“If the lycans are here because of our lycan issue then why are the other council members coming?” I asked.

“They want to make a judgement on your application.” Grayson’s mom said.

“What about my step father?” I asked.

I had been trying not to think about what would happen to him. That hadn’t been difficult, a lot had happened since then. I haven’t really had much time to sit down and think things over.

“They have already decided on that matter, they are not going to take any further action. I am sorry, I should have told you that first. I am a little stressed.” She said, followed by a nervous giggle.

Grayson’s mom gave Grayson a list of things that she needed us to help with. It was mostly just making sure that the guest rooms in the house were cleared of any personal effects in case our guests show up tonight. I wasn’t really concentrating on what she was saying. I was thinking about my step father.

I continued to think about it as we cleared the rooms. Grayson could tell that I was working things out and mostly left me to my own devices. Occasionally, when he was looking at something nearby he would squeeze my hand or lean in for a k**s to let me know he was still there.

I appreciated the time to collect my thoughts. I had spent so many hours over the last few years hating my step father. It was difficult to get out of that way of thinking, even though I know now that he was only doing it for me.

Maybe it was time I stopped hating him and tried to repair our relationship. Someone was going to have to make the first move, maybe that someone should be me.

“I think we should have dinner with June, Ezra and my stepfather tonight.” I suggested.

We had almost finished clearing the rooms. It was now upto the omegas to clean them and make the beds. We would just be in their way if we stayed anyway.

“Are you sure?” Grayson said. I could tell he still had some animosity towards my step father after what he learnt from him the other night.

“Yes, someone has to make sure that Ezra and June don’t kill each other.” I said, jokingly.

‘I am not sure if that is a good thing to joke about, June is pretty annoyed.’ Jade said.

Grayson laughed but he agreed that I was probably right. He seemed happy that I was trying to put the pain from my past behind me.

I mindlinked Ezra to let him know our plans and then went in search of June. She was still in her room. It looked as though she was staying here to hide from Ezra. I came into her room and sat on the bed next to her. Grayson stood beside me with his arm resting across my shoulders.

“How are you?” I asked.

She glanced over at her phone on the bedside table anxiously before looking back over at me and Grayson. She smiled at me but her smile didn’t reach her eyes.

“Fine.” she said.

“Come on, you can tell me the truth.” I said.

“Ok. On the way back here Ezra told me a lot of things about werewolves and mates. He makes it sound so magical and perfect but I am scared.” She said.

She looked down at her hands. She was rubbing her hands together nervously.

“He makes it sound like some kind of fairytale. Like he will turn eighteen then we will complete the bonding process and live happily ever after. It sounds like everything I ever dreamed about but if werewolves were so perfect then why are they in so many horror films?” June said.

“Werewolves who are part of a pack are generally very secretive. That means humans only ever hear about the werewolves that lose control and start killing humans.” I said.

‘Those fuckers give the rest of us such a bad name.’ June grumbled.

“We try our best to stop them from getting out of hand now but in the past that wasn’t always the case.” Grayson admitted.

Before social media and global commerce connected the world packs used to prefer to isolate themselves from the world. Rogue wolves were left to their own devices as long as they didn’t encroach on a pack’s territory.

That approach led to humans from nearby villages finding out about werewolves and taking action against them. Many humans and werewolves lost their lives, some packs even got wiped out in the process. This is what led to the formation of the council.

The council were originally only tasked with protection of the packs. They were given a small amount of money from each of the packs which they would use to pay rogue hunters. Their role has grown significantly since then but that is still part of what they do.

“What if I lose control and kill humans?” June said.

“That normally doesn’t happen except for in extreme situations, such as extreme grief. Even then it normally only happens when you don’t have anyone around to help you through it” Grayson said.

It was the main reason werewolves were uncomfortable with lone wolves. Without the support of a pack, they were more susceptible to losing control and becoming rogues.

“Like me, I don’t know any other werewolves. If Ezra left me then I would end up like that.” June said.

“Not a chance. Ezra would never leave you, that is not how the mate bond works. Also, you are now part of this pack and you will always have our support.” Grayson said.

June nodded her head in agreement although I could tell that she still had some doubts.

“Have you seen Ezra since we got here?” I asked.

“No. He keeps calling and messaging me but I haven’t replied.” She said.

“Why not?” Grayson asked.

“I hit him over the head with a bat. Twice. He is probably still mad at me and I don’t know what to say to make it better.” She replied.

“I wouldn’t worry about that. I spoke to him on mindlink before coming to speak to you. He is desperate to see you.” I said.

June smiled.

“Is it bad that I missed him? June asked. She nibbled nervously on her bottom l*p.

“Not at all.” Grayson said. He pulled me closer to him and kissed the top of my head.

“Ezra wants us all to go around for dinner.” I said.

“Really.” June replied, failing to hide her enthusiasm.

“Yes. So you should get ready.” I said.

June jumped up from the bed and ran to the bathroom. Letting out a small squeal as she locked the door behind herself.