Page 25 of Rejecting the Future Moon Goddess

Slowly lowering his limp body to the ground, I feel a fist connect to the right side of my face and am sent sprawling to the ground. Surprised, I roll to my feet and turn to glare at Samule who has a smug look on his bloody face.

“Why so happy?” I ask chuckling, ignoring the sting on my cheek.

“I’ve already beaten everyone else. You’re just left for last,” His smug look falls from my taunting and the laughter from my wolves, his anger growing at the humiliation. Samule says nothing as he rushes to me and I to him. Then the unthinkable happens.

Samule leaps into the air shifting into a grey and brown wolf. He knows the rules to a fight. Unless told to shift by the Alpha watching on, you fight in human form. Samule just broke this cardinal rule. I drop to my knees just in time to slide under his huge body, the ground rough on my skin. In moments though I am up on my feet and twirl around just in time to send a roundhouse kick to Samule’s face, the wolf whimpering as he is sent sprawling to the ground. I waste no time in rushing to his body and grabbing him by the scruff of his neck, where I hold him down and send punch after punch to any part of his body that I can. Samule flails in my grasp, his claws leavingshallow cuts in my leg that I ignore as I continue to send punches into his body.

“Submit!” I order, allowing my Alpha blood to surface and bring power into my command. He fights it, sending me a growl, to which I answer with a swift fist to his snout.

“I said, submit!” My command is a growl as I fight the urge to shift and tear into this disrespectful wolf with claws and teeth. I wait for a moment as Samule has an inner battle until finally, his body goes limp, and he shows his neck as much as possible. He has submitted to me.

“Lace, time?” I call out for all to hear and the she-wolf chuckles as I drop Samule none to gently onto the ground and walk away.

“Thirty seconds left. You won the bet.” The Alpha she-wolf calls out, and I cheer triumphantly. I see the confusion in everyone else’s eyes for a moment as Ariven walks over and hands me a much needed bottle of water that I chug immediately.

“Mika, is Geminie here for you two to reconcile and mate?” A confused wolf asks, causing me to nearly choke on the water and send a glare in this wolf’s direction.

“No, I am not and never will be Mika’s mate. He lost that the day he rejected me on my birthday!” I answer cutting off whatever Mika was going to say. A hushed whisper crawls through the crowd of Hidden Claws wolves that I ignore, motioning for ten of my own wolves to come forward.

“Get these five to the infirmary ASAP. They won’t be able to train for the next few days.” I order. I allow silence to settle over the training field while my pack mates carry the injured wolves away, Mika standing under a tree as he stares at me. Annoyed, I walk over to where my ex-mate stands and glare at him, hands on my hips.

“What is your problem?” I ask in a low voice.

“Why did you deny us being mates?” He fires back, and I chuckle.

“Because we aren’t. You and I rejected each other, remember?” He looks away after my statement, sighing and running a hand through his messy hair. I scoff, turning around, ready to ignore Mika and begin walking away toward Lace.

“We could be mates again.” He calls out quietly, halting my steps for a moment. The wind ruffles the leaves in the tree behind me as my gaze stares straight ahead, a sense of melancholy washing over me. I could never look back, the past hurt too deeply for me to even consider taking Mika back as a mate. He never deserved me.

“No, we can’t.” I answer, closing my eyes and taking a deep breath. When I open them again, I see Ariven standing beside Lace and looking at me, his forest-green eyes locking onto mine instinctively, and I smile. I may be mad at him, but Arivenis home to me.

?Chapter 23 - A Bond Breaking?

“Riv, please go away.” I groan, throwing a pillow at the man’s head as I bury myself in the warm blankets, seeking the cover of darkness and more sleep. It’s been a week since arriving at Hidden Claws, the experience still bitter with the horrid memories from my childhood making fulfilling this request for aid hard. The second request sent by Amberle and Ira of looking for Soulless added stress to my already stressful job and for the last few nights I spent running around no-mans land outside pack territory to look for evidence of the Soulless caravan and their possible leader. Last night I had a lead that I had to chase down and in the end it left me coming to the guest house at four in the morning and exhausted with the need for sleep.

“Come on, Gem. You’ve been distant from me after the last few days. I just want to come cuddle with you and talk.” Ariven’s husky voice pleads, his hand finding my hair that he promptly plays with. I want to melt into his touch, allow him to explain his thinking of tricking me to accept Lace’s request. But right now I want sleep and to be alone.

“Ariven, leave me alone. I got in at four in the morning, and you wake me just to talk. Go find someone else to preach to or annoy.” I growl in warning, flicking my wrist in his direction and sending a blast of air at his body. His weight on the bed is gone as I hear him crash to the floor—packmates will wonder what is happening, but I don’t care. I just want to sleep.

“Fine, I understand you need your space. I’ll be back byeleven to wake you up for training.” He concedes as I snuggle closer under the covers, sleep taking hold of my body once more. His footsteps grow faint, and the door to the room is lightly shut just as I let sleep take its hold over me.

???

I jolt awake as the dream I was having ends abruptly, with the harsh feeling of ice-cold water drenching my body. I begin shivering, my bed completely soaking wet, with ice cubes littered around me.

“Hey Matt, Ariven was right about using a bucket of ice water to wake up the Alpha.” I turn immediately to the sound of the voice and catch Maddie and Matt leaning against the wall, fist-bumping each other and laughing.

“I guess so, Madds.” Matt answers laughing. I am going to kill these two for ruining my bed and sleep.

“One.” I growl, flicking my fingers as the water evaporates and the chill in my body fades away. The twins freeze, fear creeping into their eyes the moment they realize my anger is directed their way.

"Two." I continue, Maddie dropping the bucket and running out the room screaming as if a murderer is chasing her, Matt hot on her heels.

“Three!” I shout, bounding out of bed in pursuit of my prey - the twins. Doors open with pack mates poking their heads out only to spy me chasing after the twins, furious that they would ruin my sleep by dumping ice water onto me.

Their screams ring clear through the halls of the guest house, some of my pack mates coming out to watch the show knowing that although Maddie and Matt Bridgeare amazing Hunters, they are pranksters always causing a headache for me. Once the two run outside, I take the time to trip them by shifting the earth under their feet. Their tumble to the ground gives me enough of a start that as the two manage to climb to their feet once more, they are met with my fingers grabbing them by the ears.

“Who the hell told you two to wake me up the way you did?!” I demand, watching the twins wince as their eyes shift around. No one will help them though as they got themselves into this mess.

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