Page 6 of Losing My Rejection

“No prostitution, no drugs, and no fights.”

“I don’t think I’ll be hiring a hooker anytime soon,” I grumbled.

“That’s not what I meant.”

It took a second for it to sink in. “Oh. Yeah, not doing that either.”

“Good.” He gave me a simple nod. “Well, we can chat more later. Get some rest.”

With that, he closed the door behind him, leaving me in peace at last. As soon as the door was closed, I dropped my bag on the floor. I stepped up to the bed and just fell forward, letting gravity do the work until I landed face-first on the mattress.

“Home…” I breathed, feeling the anger and despair welling up inside of me.

It was all I had now, and there was no going back. My family, my pack, and my future were gone. All that was left for me to do was pick up the shards of my life and hope I could craft something tolerable with them.

But for now, I just wanted to sleep.

Chapter Four: Josh

When I awoke several hours later, the sky was pink and gold outside my window, the clouds highlighted by the setting sun in the opposite direction. I’d slept the entire day away. For one brief moment, I was confused, the window and the bed unfamiliar to me. But then my memories of the past couple of days came crashing back all at once. I was in Shifter Grove in a hotel for rogue werewolves because I was now a rogue werewolf.

I tried not to care and push it all away like it was no big deal. But even though I managed to force down my emotions and get a stopper on them before they got out, I knew it couldn’t last forever. That bottle was already full, and it wasn’t going to hold for long.

My stomach growled loudly as I turned over. I was starving.

Once again, I reminded myself that I could have a breakdown later. But right now, I needed to find something to eat. As much as I didn’t want to take care of myself, the wolf was back and he was ravenous. Skipping another meal wasn’t an option.

“Alright…” I grumbled, forcing myself up in bed, a hand patting my stomach. “I hear you.”

I stumbled into the bathroom, taking a moment to freshen myself up before I went downstairs. One glance in the mirror showed me how much of a mess I was. My hair was sticking up in all the wrong directions and there were dark circles under my eyes. Altogether I looked a bit like a feral racoon. And, if I didn’t get something to eat soon, that’s exactly what I was going to become, except ten times as big and with a lot more teeth.

My stomach growled again, but this time with more feeling.

“Okay, okay!”

I snagged my key from the table and headed out the door. Sam said something about a meal being included with my room, which was lucky for me because I didn’t have a lot of money. It needed to last me as long as possible. I took the elevator down to the lobby. As soon as the doors opened and I stepped out I saw Sam sitting behind the desk, a book in his hand and a smile on his face.

“Sleep well?” he asked, marking his place in his book.

“I guess.”

“Good. Hopefully the room is comfortable?”

“It’s a room.”

His eyes narrowed, but he didn’t comment about my complete lack of friendliness. In the silence stretching between us, my stomach growled again, this time loud enough for everyone to hear.

“You must be hungry.”

“A bit,” I nodded.

“I can make something for you.” He got down from his stool and walked around the desk, waving for me to follow. “Come on. I’ll show you the kitchen.”

I nodded, following him through a swinging door to the backside of the hotel. The moment I stepped through, the scent of grease, cleaner, and fried foods met my nostrils. I took a deep breath, savoring the familiar smell of a commercial kitchen. It was just like being back at school again. No sooner had the warmth filled my chest than it was replaced by icy realization.

This wasn’t school, and I couldn’t go back. My dad made sure of that.

“This is the kitchen,” Sam said as we stepped inside, his arms wide. “It’s not much, but it’s where most of the residents help out around here. It looks like they’ve already cleaned up for the night, so you might have to do your own dishes.”

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