Page 10 of Rejection on the Full Moon

“Remember that everything happens for a reason, Amberle. Whatever happens, means that it is meant to happen. The Moon Goddess has set your path on one that will make you stronger.” Her voice is soothing as she squeezes my hand in reassurance before turning her attention back to Claira. I know that Elder Sylvia is right, and that by the end of the night, my destiny will be revealed to me in some form.

“How about you go and get some food from Axel? He is manning the barbecue with a few of the Warriors and Hunters.” Serena intervenes, giving me a chance to escape and look for my friends. I say my farewells to the elders, receiving a bag from Elder Sylvia from the five of them with gratitude before heading in the direction where the smell of food was obvious. A few Omegas run around as they constantly replace the food on the table. Salads were refilled, and treats were swapped as a new tray takes the place of an empty tray. I was grateful for their diligence and smile at them in greeting before walking over to Axel, who is surrounded by a bunch of wolves his age.

“If it isn’t the birthday girl!” Axel exclaims, the Beta wrapping me into a bear hug of his own as my nose scrunches up at the smell of beer on his breath.

“Does Serena know you’ve been drinking?” I ask as I am set back on my feet, arms crossed across my chest.

“As a matter of fact, yes, she does. I have only had one so far, so don’t worry. I am on baby duty tonight since she’s been busy with her duties as the Beta Female and acting Luna. She really needs a break and some T.L.C.” He reassures with a smile. If there was one thing I have learned since having Axel and Serena in my life as the fun Aunt and Uncle, they were 100% committed to each other.

“I’ll be happy to take Claira off your hands for the weekend if you two want to get away for a bit.” I offer as I grab a plate and allow Axel to place a few kabobs and sausages onto it. All the guys around the barbecue comment on how caring I am to help the Betas out, and I explain that they helped raise me. That Claira was like a baby sister to me.

"Thanks, I may take you up on that offer." Axel chuckles, giving me another hug. He hands the tongs to one of the men before walking to a table and grabbing something hidden under the tablecloth. He has a large smile on his face as he hands me a black bag.

“I know Serena plans to take you shopping, but this is from me. I know you’re eyeing the Head Tracker position, so hopefully, these will help.” Excitement courses through me as I set my plate on a table and hand the bag from the elders to Axel to hold as I open his gift, a smile forming when I find a few throwing knives and braces for my ankles inside.

“Thank you so much!” I couldn’t help the shock while my hands caress the blades of a throwing knife, the craftsmanship beautiful and light. These would be perfect in dealing with a soulless.

“You’re welcome. Now, your friends from school are probably wondering where the hell you are. Go enjoy your birthday party, Am.” I take back the gift bag from Axel and wave to the other wolves before grabbing my plate, filling up the remaining room with a salad, and heading back into the crowd. Many wolves from different packs greet me and wish me a happy birthday before I finally spot my friends at a picnic table underneath a large oak tree.

“There’s our fiery redhead!” Dawn exclaims when she spots me, rushing towards me and taking the bags from my hand to place the gifts into a large box.

Any news on the mystery scent yet?” Ivory asks as I take a seat beside her, Kent passing me a bottle of water. A large sigh escapes my lips as I shove a large fork full of potato salad into my mouth and angrily chew it.

“Nope. I’m starting to believe the scent is something my imagination came up with just to play tricks on me.” I grumble with a scowl on my face. The music was starting to get louder, and my eyes wander over the crowd of werewolves. I couldn’t help but smile as pack members mingle with each other as well as the guests. But no one caught my eye. I knew my mate is here in this crowd, and eventually, I’ll meet him.

“How about we go and party the night away, Miss Amber before you ruin your mood worrying about some mate.” I feel myself being lifted off of the seat as I’m carried by Kevin into the crowd, who sets me on my feet onto the makeshift dance floor. He was right, though. Today is my birthday—my day. I shouldn’t be worrying about some stupid guy who may or may not be here right now. With a promise to my friends to shelf the whole mate situation aside until later, I focus on dancing with my friends and spending time with the pack members who care about me.

Time flew by, and the box Dawn had set up for me to receive gifts slowly filled up until no room was left. The sun had set hours ago as the full moon slowly raised high into the indigo sky. I always loved the night sky, especially here where the pack was located, far away from the cities where all you can see are the natural sparkling lights above.

“It’s time to blow out the candle and cut the cake, birthday girl!” Blue greets me as he walks up to the picnic table with Axel trailing behind him. It was close to midnight when the moon would be at its peak and a time to thank the Moon Goddess for the future that awaits the newly adult wolf. Excitement bubbles through me before I feel myself being lifted and hoisted onto someone’s shoulders.

“Axel, don’t drop me, you idiot.” I cry out in shock, my arms instantly wrapping around his head as he walks towards the dance floor.

"I won't." He laughs, his body shaking and causing me to cling tighter to his head. I hated being carried on someone’s shoulders. I was not afraid of heights, but being carried this way always made me scared for some reason.

As we reached the middle of the dance floor, a purple cake could be seen, and I could now see why I was placed on Axel's shoulders. The cake was about ten tiers high with the typical happy birthday, and my name scrawled on it in red icing. Roses made of red, orange, and yellow flowers of different shades cascaded down the cake in a way that resembled my fur in wolf form, and I couldn’t help but let out a chuckle. Leave it to Serena to make a statement with my cake. At the top of the cake sat a crystalline wolf figurine howling at the moon, its fur reflecting the moonlight in a dazzling prismatic effect besides a large eighteen candle. It made the cake stand out even more in the night. Everyone started singing happy birthday, even the jock crowd joined in, which surprised me. They even did the usual “how old are you now” song, and at eighteen, I blew out my candle, and the wolves gathered in the clearing erupted into cheers. A knife was handed to me by Serena, her blue eyes shining with pride, as I took down the crystal figurine and handed it to her before cutting a slice of cake for myself. Blue takes the knife from me as Axel catches me off guard to set me back onto my feet, causing me to stumble into someone. Shocks run through my body as a euphoric scent wraps around me, causing small shivers of pleasure to run along my skin where strong arms catch me.

MATE

The word runs through my head, and my eyes widen as I turn to look at who I was destined to be with, whose scent had been causing me to go stir crazy all day, only to be met with the shocked face of Leo.

"You're my-"

"Mate? Now, why would I want to be mates with a snivelling idiot like you?” Leo cuts me off, a sneer on his lips as his eyes glare down with disgust at me. I could feel my heart break—more like shatter—as the man who is supposed to be my everything looks at me as if I were nothing but garbage in his eyes.

"Give me a good reason why would I want to be your mate? You're nothing more than a stupid bitch that got her parents killed!" The music was shut off, and the crowd fell silent as his hurtful words hung over us. I could see Ivory and Dawn holding back Kevin and Kent as they look on at me with worried eyes and contempt for the wolf in front of me.

“My parent died because of hunters, not because of me!” I scream out, shoving my slice of cake into his face as rage courses through me.

“They died coming to protect us—to protect you because Goddess forgive us if his royal fucking highness gets captured or killed. It was your stupid idea to head into the cave. It was your stupid idea to be sitting ducks when we could have kept running.” I continue. The years of being suppressed by him and my siblings surface in my mind as hate and contempt for the man who is supposed to be my mate grows. I see the crowd slowly start to whisper as mocking eyes stare at the so-called future Alpha of Forest Paw. I watch as his muscles clench while he wipes away the cake and frosting off of his face, the purple from the frosting leaving a stain on his skin. Suddenly Leo grabs the collar of my dress and pulls me off of my feet.

"I, Leo Bloodsbain, reject you as my mate forever!" He sneers at me, his face inches from mine as rage fills his eyes. Something inside me snaps as the pain of his rejection spreads through my veins like a raging inferno. I knew I was on the verge of breaking down, but I would not give Leo the pleasure of relishing in it. With strength I never knew I had, my hands clutch at his wrists, and an unmistakable snap resounds in the air. Leo screams as I’m released from his grasp and find my footing long enough for me to send a roundhouse kick to his face and send him crashing into the cake.

[Your gifts are in your car, Amberle. The trailer is hooked up.] Serena’s voice enters the mind link meant for her, Axel, and I, as I catch Axel slowly stand beside his mate with a wink.

[Do what you feel is right, Amby Bamby. We will always support you.] Axel adds, his eyes showing pride as he stares at me. I smile at the two as I turn to look at Leo, his face contorted with pain as Blue tries to help him up. Leo never understood how lucky he is to still have his father to help him out of the shit he gets himself into.

"Get this straight, Leo.” I began as I stoop down to pick up the knife used earlier and make my way forward until I stood above him and Blue.

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