Page 11 of Rejection on the Full Moon

“Amberle, you don’t have to do this.” Blue pleads, and I hold my hand up, stopping the Alpha from continuing. Blue knew me well and knew that there is no turning back once my mind is made up. Leo had gone too far tonight.

“I, Amberle Crest, reject you as my mate and make a blood oath to the Moon Goddess, vowing to become a strong wolf and an ally to her in exchange that you never find your second-chance mate until you repent for treating me, your true mate, as nothing but worthless trash for all these years leading to tonight.” I hold my hand open and slowly cut a long slice into my palm. Blood begins flowing up into the air out of it and evaporates under the moonlight into the night. The knife drops from my hand onto the wooden dance floor with a loud thud, followed by an agonizing scream from Leo as I turn on my heels and begin to make my way out of the meadow. The crowd parted like I was Moses, and they were the Red Sea. All I wanted was to leave now, put this pack behind me and start fresh at a new life. I could hear Blue yelling at his son for rejecting me before yelling for help from the pack doctor present. His voice fades away the further I walk. I knew where I stood in Blue’s eyes.

No one stopped me or came after me as I walked past the spot my childhood home used to stand on. Everyone is either back at the meadow, probably talking about what just happened or on patrol. The moon shines brightly down on me. Its brightness intensifies as if to compensate for the fact I was rejected, rejected on my birthday and rejected on the night of the full moon.

I make it to the shed and pull back the doors wide open, seeing the top down on the convertible and the gifts from tonight situated in the back seat. I knew what I had to do the moment I climbed into the driver’s seat and start the ignition. I shift the gear into drive.

I drive away from the only place I knew.

I drive away from the life I’ve lived for the last eighteen years of my life from my friends and enemies, from the people who loved me, and the many who despised me.

The fresh air fills my lungs as the pain of rejection finally settles in once the rage simmers down. Tears slowly fill my eyes as the pack border comes into view, and a weight falls from my shoulders.

[Goodbye, everyone.] I send through the pack link for the last time before renouncing my place in this pack and crossing the border into neutral territory.

I was a rogue now, with no obligations to anyone but myself. It is time I start caring about myself and doing what is right for me for once.

Chapter 7 - Time Slowly Heals

The smell of freshly cooked pasta slowly fills the kitchen and extends into my living room as I pull a dish out of the oven and scoop a generous heap onto my plate. I do a once-over of the kitchen, making sure the oven and stovetop were off and that the dishes were in the dishwasher, ready to be cleaned when I’m done eating. I grab a bottle of water from my fridge and make my way into the living room. With a plate of food in one hand and the TV remote in the other, I settle into the plush sofa and surf Netflix, trying to find something entertaining to watch with my meal.

It has been three months since I left my old pack—a decision I do not regret—and I had been lucky enough to find a house that the realtor described as a “mini-mansion” just inside neutral territory but hours away from Forest Paw. The best part about this place is the large greenhouse that I began using right away to grow fruit trees and vegetables. Since being rejected and becoming a rogue, my life seems to have become easier. I had no one to listen to and no strict Head Tracker yelling at me and forcing extra training onto me at the end of the day. There were no patrol shifts or late-night tracking a soulless that slipped into the territory. Most importantly, I had freedom. I did not have to avoid Mia and Zack like the plague and rush to school. Actually, when I explained to the principal what happened before I left, I was happy to know that she would allow me to email my homework to the teachers, and now my high school diploma sat in a pretty black frame on the wall in my office.

Living on my own is easier than I expected, especially since I had enough funds saved up and my inheritance from my parents in my bank and the safe located in my walk-in closet. But there were some things that I needed which you could only get in a pack. Medicine and special clothes specifically created for wolves either by fellow wolves or witches were a few of these items that I needed to stock up on. But the thing about being a rogue is that no pack was willing to help you out. You were either chased away or killed.

After searching mindlessly for a good movie to watch, I soon give up on Netflix when nothing catches my eye and instead take out my laptop, going to the secret website meant only for us werewolves. Everyone had a membership in the werewolf community since the day that wolf was born. It is something that was created when the Internet first came out as a way for news in the werewolf nation to spread, as well as for ways other packs can connect and form bonds. Even rogues who still have their sanity left could still get onto the site if they had access to a Wi-Fi connection. After keying in my ID and logging in, the first thing I do is send a message to Axel and Serena. I knew that many people were worried about me after I left Forest Paw, but only my friends Kent, Kevin, Ivory, and Dawn, as well as Serena and Axel, knew where I settled and what I’m up to these days.

My screen soon flashes with an incoming video call, and I quickly click Accept. The faces of Serena, Axel, and Claira filling the large screen.

“Hey Amber, how are you doing?” Serena asks the moment the call connects. I couldn’t help but smile at the three of them, my eyes scanning little Claira’s face. I spend my time eating my pasta and talking to the two wolves I consider family, as well as the pup I called my sister, who I missed so dearly. The worst thing about leaving was leaving these three behind.

“Have you spoken to Blue yet, Amberle?” As always, before we hang up, Axel brings up Blue. It was only at this time that this question comes up because Serena has already said goodnight to me and left to put Claira to bed. After a moment of silence between us, I let out a long sigh before shaking my head no.

“I can’t, Axel. His son still hurts me to this day. Don’t think that I don’t know about the girls Leo fucks. I can feel the pain each time he does.” An ache in my heart throbs so painfully that it has me clutching at my chest. The ache, though painful, wasn’t as strong as the first month of being rejected. I remember nights I spent curled up into a ball in my bed sobbing from the throbbing of missing the other half of your soul.

“I understand, Amby Bamby. Let me know when you’re ready, and I’ll have him join our call one night.” Axel reassures, a sad smile on his lips. He could never understand the pain that I’m going through, but at least he never forced the issue of talking to Blue onto me. As always, Axel is patient with me.

“Thank you. I’ll call tomorrow as usual. Good night, Axel.”

“Good night, Amberle.” The call ends, and I’m left with the contacts screen. I had always set my profile to appear offline since becoming a rogue, not wanting to be bothered by others from my old pack. Those who I speak to know I will message them when I log on to the site. With a sigh, I turn to look outside into the forest. So much has changed in the last three months for me that the forest seemed to be the only constant in my life right now. Deciding to check the forums, I drag the mouse across the screen until I come across the news forum, with one post making my face light up with a huge grin.

"Fire Foot Strikes Again." I read the title of the latest post out loud. The large title to the article catches my attention as a slightly blurry photo of what I knew to be my wolf form takes up half the page. I couldn’t help the chuckle that escapes my lips as I continue to read on.

Fire Foot has been sighted many times in the Blood Moon pack during the night and even in the daylight, appearing and disappearing like a ghostly flame whose light vanishes into thin air. Many wolves cheer him on even though he is a Rogue, enjoying someone who isn't a Soulless makes the number-one pack look stupid.

"I saw him on patrol one day heading into Soulless territory." A witness says after I interviewed her.

"He was incredible, with fast reflexes and speed. It’s no wonder no one could catch him.”

Every time I read these articles, I couldn’t help but laugh at how the witnesses always describe me. Everyone automatically assumed that I was a male. It was rare for a female wolf to become a rogue and rarer for us to have unique fur. Statistically, for every fifty wolves turned rogue, only one would be female.

My eyes continue to scan the article about how I made the Blood Moon pack wolves look like idiots. It was common knowledge that before the current Alpha took over, the pack was always seeking to expand its territories and soak up any small pack in the area. That all stopped when the previous Alpha was killed in a Soulless attack, and the new one gave the land back to the small packs that his father once conquered unfairly. The pack was still not one to mess with, as it has helped their Allies attack against enemy packs, leading to a massacre of wolves. They were feared in Canada as one of the largest packs, one that did not mind bloodshed.

The article continues as it describes the multitude of items I’ve stolen, from throwing knives and training gear to medicine and bandages. I used to steal from smaller packs when I first started as a Rogue and realized the small-town north of neutral territory couldn’t provide what I needed. When I realized how close my house was to Blood Moon’s pack borders, I switched to stealing from them and would occasionally leave a box of goodies to the small packs I stole from. Most days now, I would just go into Blood Moon to practice my Tracker skills and get a good laugh out of messing with them. I was thankful for one thing about my raids.

One, I never had to worry about my periods being once a month like a human female would. Instead, we would get our “heat” and urge to mate with our soulmates once we found them. I had experienced it only once last month and having to rely on the “toys” I bought in the small town to make it go away as fast as possible.

And two, once the heat is over, and if I did need any form of materials to deal with my period, that would come only at the end of my heat. The town’s stores provided a multitude of feminine products that I could purchase, making it easier for me to continue concealing my identity as a female and fool these wolves. Thank the Goddess that my Heat didn’t happen every month, or I would go insane from the burning desire that courses through my body painfully.

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