Page 37 of Rejection on the Full Moon

“Many of you have noticed at least two hundred new wolves. They will be initiated into the pack this Saturday as new members. As of yesterday, Blood Moon and Forest Paw are no longer allies.” A collective gasp sounds in the room, with the Forest Paw wolves receiving glares from the Blood Moon wolves. I growl as a warning to my pack mates. Technically, these two hundred wolves are Rogues right now. It isn’t their fault their Alpha is a piece of shit. My growl silences the crowd, some wolves hanging their heads in shame at their behaviour. I motion for Dominic to continue.

“As many of you may know, my mate rejected me after betraying our pack when I turned nineteen. Well, the Moon Goddess blessed me on my birthday, and Amberle and I became each other’s second-chance mate.” He continues as many hoots, cheers, and a few “final-fucking-lees” were heard throughout the crowd. This time, Dominic was the one to growl to silence everyone before we can continue.

“Leo decided that yesterday, he would attempt to rape Amberle, wanting to claim the mate bond that is already broken. The worst part of this is that he was drunk on moonshine, and Amberle is pregnant with my pup. This is why we are no longer allies.” More shocked gasps follow suit, along with growls of anger towards Leo being directed at the innocent wolves from Forest Paw. Anger swells inside me at how disrespectfully everyone is behaving, and I release a growl that promised hell to those who continued. I can already see Avery and Silver writing a list of all those who will be punished. They had no right to treat innocents this way, especially when there are pups in the crowd.

“I gave an option to Forest Paw wolves, letting them know they are welcomed to join us or else become our enemies. I forgot to also offer them a chance to join an ally pack of ours. If they wish to join another pack, Blood Moon will gladly offer them support. I do NOT want any of you to discriminate against them as they are also wolves who grew up with Alpha Amberle, and they will not be treated with any less respect than any wolf of Blood Moon.” Dominic finishes, his eyes also glaring angrily at his wolves. Dominic goes to say something, his eyes staring at a particular group of wolves that continue to glare at our soon-to-be new members. I catch a look of fear in Lilly-Ann’s eyes as my niece clings closer to her mother.

“Avery, Silver, bring me the list of those who will need special training for being rude to our new pack members. I have a new training idea in mind.” I state, seeing the fear in many eyes. I may have an easy-going personality, but I also have a bottom line, and that line has been crossed.

“Just so you all know, my brother, his mate, and his pups are here. If any of you lay a hand on them, consider yourself Rogues.” I add to the threat. I see the wolves looking at Zack and the challenge in their eyes quickly diminishing as I motion for Zack and his family to come on stage. If anyone hurts my brother, there will be hell to pay.

“This concludes our announcement. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to come speak with us.” Dominic finishes, indicating that everyone is now free to go about their day. Many wolves leave the dining hall, some having patrols, others having business to attend to. My focus now is leaving the stage and making a beeline for the buffet table. I want food and orange juice, and I want it now. With a full plate and a large glass of the citrus drink, I make my way around the hall towards a table where Zack, Abby, Lease, Avery, and Camile sat, with Dominic trailing behind me.

“How does it feel to be home?” Camile asks as I sit down.

“I feel so relieved and happy. I gained a lot of closure being at Forest Paw, but I was homesick from missing Blood Moon.” I answer honestly. The smell of the forest here is sweeter, with the evergreen pines spreading their scent everywhere. The air is fresher, the water sweeter, and the way nature takes over away from civilization always brings me a sense of ease. On the other hand, Forest Paw was too close to the towns for me. Laughter from behind me catches my attention, and I spot Lilly-Ann and Claira running around with other pups, their faces full of smiles.

“How are you settling into Blood Moon?” I direct my question to my brother and his mate. Abby is preoccupied with eating a slice of toast with jam.

“It feels different. I think for once in a long time, Abby and I are able to sleep without having to keep one eye open since becoming mates. I feel at ease here.” Zack answers, chuckling at Abby, who moans with every bite of her toast.

“Babe, you have to try this. The jam is incredible.” Abby states, spreading more of the strawberry jam from a very familiar jar. Zack complies to his mate’s demand, taking a bite of the offered morsel, his eyes widening in surprise.

“Holy fuck, that’s good. Amberle, where can we buy it?” Avery starts laughing, her eyes twinkling with amusement as she catches my gaze.

“Amberle grows the fruits and berries in her greenhouse, and her and Avery make the jam.” Dominic answers. My brother’s shocked gaze meets my eyes, and I nod, stealing the sausage off of Dominic’s plate and scarfing it down. I watch as Abby tries the two other jams on the tables, blueberry and peach, moaning with each bite yet again. We all burst into laughter at the content she-wolf.

“Dominic, there’s a problem,” Christian states, coming up beside Dominic, his lips pursed in a thin, grim line.

“Zack, you should come too and link Blue to meet us up on the second floor,” He continues, a look of sympathy for my brother passing through my Beta’s eyes. Avery volunteers to look after Zack and Abby’s pups, and Camile follows behind us as the six of us head upstairs. Blue follows, a sigh on his lips when he sees us. Inside Dominic’s office, I take a seat in my favourite chair, everyone else finding a place to sit or a wall to lean on.

“What’s going on?” Zack asks, concern etched into his face.

“We had a distress call come in an hour ago. Forest Paw was attacked earlier today, and many were killed.” Christian answers, running a hand through his hair in exasperation. I see the look of panic in Blue’s eyes, no doubt thinking about his son and the wolves he left behind.

“Leo managed to free Mia, and the two fled with a few strong wolves, leaving the others to fend for themselves.” A fist breaks through the wall as Blue lets out a growl that sends tendrils of fear into my heart. Zack takes deep breaths, and Abby whispers soothing words to her mate, but I catch her skin ripple. I myself felt numb. We left a lot of wolves at Forest Paw, those who believed in Leo and gave him another chance. But that bastard ran away like a coward.

“What should we do?” Camile asks, her hand clutching mine with the shock of this news.

“We help them. If they want to join Blood Moon, we let them. If they want to find a new pack to join, we talk to that pack’s Alpha and bring them there safely.” Dominic answers. I agree with him. These wolves blindly followed a wolf who led them to their ruin. Even if they were idiots for being sheep following the herd, they were innocent wolves left in a ruined pack. Zack and Blue finally calm down enough for us to come up with a plan.

Blue looks like he aged another decade or so, with his shoulders slumped and eyes looking more tired than ever. A pack that his family had led for hundreds of years was ruined at the hands of his son. Fate is cruel. Wolves will be leaving tonight with vans and supplies, heading towards Forest Paw to help them. Whatever the rest of Forest Paw decides to do, Blood Moon will help, as they were packless and Alphaless.

Our meeting takes us well into dinnertime when all is settled, and Dominic decides that dinner is a great idea.

Walking into the dining hall, Dominic takes my hand and leads me away from the buffet table, determination in his eyes.

“What are you doing?” I question, irritated that he would take me away from the orange juice.

“You’ll see.” He chuckles. The dining hall grows quiet as the wolves notice their Alphas on stage.

“Everyone, I want you all to bear witness for a moment,” Dominic calls out, pulling me away from the podium where he falls to one knee, removing a box from his back pocket.

“Amberle, I have known for a while how much you mean to me. Even more so now that we are mated.” He begins as tears form in my eyes. The box is open, and inside is a gorgeous white gold ring with a sparkling blue sapphire embedded into the top.

“I wanted to do this when we were home, with our family watching us.” He continues, the tears now falling down my cheeks as happiness surges inside me.

“Fire, will you marry me?”

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