Once Upon A Rejection

“Hurry up, I am wasting away out here.” I complained. How long did it take to have a showere anyway, it felt like he had been in there for hours.

Ever since I woke up this morning I have been so hungry. I am not sure if it is from missing dessert last night or the thought of the training I would be doing with Grayson later this morning. Either way I wanted to get down for breakfast as soon as possible.

I had woken up really early because my stomach was making all kinds of terrible noises. It was clear I wasn’t going to get back to sleep so I took a showered and changed into my workout gear. Then went back into the room and woke Grayson up. He was still sleepy and tried to pull me back into bed, I had to practically drag him out of bed to get him to wake up.

“Have I not been feeding you enough?” Grayson chuckled.

He had just walked out of the shower wearing nothing but a towel. He looked completely delicious, if I wasn’t so hungry then I would have him for breakfast instead.

“It’s not that but I do need to make sure I have enough energy for training.” I said.

Grayson nodded his head and went into his closet. He was out moments later and we headed down to breakfast.

‘Don’t you think he looks absolutely delicious in his workout clothes.’ Jade said. She sounded like she had been hypnotised, if she was in control I would probably be drooling right now.

Her assessment was accurate though. Grayson was wearing a tight sleeveless t-shirt and dark yoga pants. He was showing a lot more of his perfect body than he normally did and I was loving the view.

‘I know but so are all these other she wolves.’ Jade growled. Wow she was acting extra possessive today.

‘No, they are looking and you should scratch their eyes out to stop them.’ Jade said.

I blocked her out and sat down at the breakfast table. I started piling the plate in front of me with all different kinds of food. My mouth was already watering before I took my first bite.

“Whoa sis, leave some food for the rest of us.” Ezra said.

He sat down at the table opposite us with June by his side. He had pulled his chair close to June’s and he was keeping one arm wrapped around her as he filled his plate with food.

“I’m just hungry. I didn’t eat dessert yesterday.” I said, feeling a little defensive.

“I would hate to see what you would be like if you missed dinner completely.” June said. I smiled at her.

Grayson’s mom whispered something to his dad. They were seated a few places down from us so I couldn’t hear what she said. His dad laughed.

“I think you might be right.” He said.

“About what?” Grayson asked.

“Your mom thinks that Molly is going to go into heat in a few days.” His dad said.

“Oh.” I said.

Well that explained why I felt so hungry and why my wolf was being so possessive. I hadn’t ovulated since I turned eighteen but I had heard a lot about how different it was. Until it turned eighteen I was just like a human in that way but now my wolf would change things.

My s*x drive will increase over the next few days. Grayson will be able to smell the pheromones that release a few days before my ovulation. That will make Grayson’s wolf even more possessive and mean he won’t be able to take his hands off me even for a moment.

Grayson looked at me. He seemed a little concerned.

‘Don’t panic. I had an IUD fitted before I went to college.’ I mindlinked him.

An IUD was one of only a few birth control options available to a werewolf. Anything hormonal was out, our hormonal triggers are too different to humans. Condoms work but when a werewolf is in heat they aren’t exactly thinking rationally.

‘I wasn’t worried about that. I just didn’t want to get you pregnant without discussing it first.’ He replied.

I nodded my head.

‘No really, I would start a family with you tomorrow if you wanted to.’ Grayson mindlinked me.

‘You don’t think we are a bit young?’ I asked him.

‘We are not too young. We are perfect. Let me carry his pup.’ Jade whined. I blocked her out again.

‘The earlier we start the more pups we can have.’ Scarlett said. I blocked her out as well, I could already tell the next few days were going to be challenging.

‘No way but I will wait till you are ready.’ Grayson replied.

‘Once I finish college we can start thinking about having a family.’ I replied.

Grayson leaned forward and started kissing my neck and my cheek. I could hear people around the table giggling at his sudden display of affection.

“Oh Grayson. I am glad to see my brother got his happily ever after.” We all looked in the direction of his voice.

“Leyton. What the heck are you doing here?” Grayson said.

“Is that any way to greet the brother you haven’t seen in months?” Leyton said, feigning shock.

“You know what I mean.” Grayson said, rolling his eyes.

“The council sent me ahead with a list of their demands.” He said.

He handed an envelope to Grayson’s dad. He opened the letter and started reading. As his eyes scanned down the page he started to frown.

“They expect us to throw a party in their honour tomorrow.” Grayson’s dad said, still scanning over the letter.

“We don’t have that many bedrooms in the house. We arranged for some of them to stay at Thomas’ house, will that be ok?” He continued.

“No but I can share a twin room with the other assistant and the lycan’s can share a twin room. That should work, right?” Leyton said.

“Ezra and June will have to stay with Thomas but that should work.” Grayson’s father said.

“That will be fine as long as Carly isn’t there.” Ezra said.

Shit.

Did he realise what he just said and to whom? I glanced over at him. He had his hand over his mouth and his eyes were wide in shock. He had realised what he was doing now but it was too late, the damage was done.

“What?” Leyton shouted. His eyes had changed colour, his wolf was now in charge.

“He is her second chance mate.” Ezra said. I could tell that he didn’t want to tell Leyton the truth but he couldn’t lie to an alpha wolf.

Leyton growled. I had never heard an alpha wolf truly annoyed before. Leyton’s growl was so loud that it echoed around the room and made the glasses shake on the table.

Most of the people in the dining room were omegas. They instantly panicked at the sound of Leyton’s growl. Some of them hid under the tables while others bolted to the safety of the kitchen. Grayson stood up from the table.

“You need to get control of your wolf.” He said.

Leyton closed his eyes and took a series of long, slow breaths. When he opened them again they were back to their normal blue colour. Now that he was more relaxed most of the remaining diners quietly slipped out of the room leaving me alone with Grayson, Leyton and their parents.

Leyton sat down next to Grayson at the table. The anger had left his features now and was replaced by sadness. He was trying to hold back tears.

“I really messed up.” Leyton said.

“How so?” His mom asks.

“I rejected my mate so I could go and work for the council but that was a huge mistake. I gave up on my perfect other half for nothing.” He said.

“You are going to get your own pack though.” His mom protested, her voice was strained.

I don’t think Leyton had told anyone about rejecting his mate and nobody seemed particularly happy to learn about it. Rejecting your mate was a huge deal, it was almost as though you were disrespecting the moon goddess. I had heard that there were still some packs where rejecting your mate was punishable by death.

“No I am not mom, it is all a massive con. They only do that for their own relations or friends. I am neither.” Leyton said.

“To make matters worse one of the council members has taken a particular interest in me.” He said.

“That is a good thing, right?” His mom said. Leyton laughed.

“Not really, he says he will put me forward to get my own pack if I become his lover.” He said, the disgust was clear on his face.

I shuddered. All of the council members were incredibly old, some of them over one hundred years old. The thought of one of them trying to force a nineteen year old into a relationship with them was horrible.

“You can just stay here with us.” His mom said.

“I wasn’t sure if you would want me to come back as a failure.” Leyton replied.

“Don’t be silly, you will always have a place in my pack.” Grayson said, putting his hand on his brother’s shoulder.

“I wish I had never gone there and I wish I had never rejected my mate.” Leyton said, resting his head in his hands.

“Maybe there is still a chance to make things right, you should talk to Carly once you have calmed down a bit.” Grayson suggested.

Leyton looked at his brother and smiled.

“You always gave the best advice.” He said.

‘Now that is sorted we should probably get out of here before we get roped into organising this party.’ Grayson mindlinked me.