EASTON
I could feel my heart almost beat out of my chest as her words reached my ears. Slowly, I felt the pain start to grow until my entire being was enveloped by the excruciating pain that only seemed to intensify with each passing second. As if the sound of my own wildly beating heart filling my ears and head wasn’t enough, it was soon accompanied by Scar’s loud, painful howls and growls. He was in as much pain as I was.
I couldn’t believe that my mate, the one I had spent so long waiting and looking for, would look me in the eye and say the forbidden words to me. Those words of rejection were a sure death sentence for any werewolf who finds their mates and has the misfortune of hearing them.
I clenched my chest tightly as I stared at her. I might be strong and not scared of a thing, but the look on my mate’s face filled me with a different type of dread. I could see the hate and anger in her face, not even so much as blinking at the fact that I was undoubtedly in pain. I probably looked pitiful and pathetic to her. The pain I was feeling from her words was proof that she was surely my mate, undoubtedly meant to be mine, but why was she so unaffected, both by her own words and the sight of her mate in pain?
I felt another wave of pain hit me, and I lost my balance, staggering towards her unsteady, and just then, I heard the loud gasp of another person. A girl ran in, hurrying towards her, and immediately began to shield her away from me.
“Eleanor, are you okay? Who is this!? Did he try to do something to you?” The new presence asks, her eyes never leaving mine as she continues to glare and scan all over my face.
“Easton!!!!” I heard Laycon yell out, stopping for a bit when he noticed the state I was in before hurrying towards me, immediately holding me for support, “Hey! What’s wrong, you look terrible. Don’t tell me you got beaten up by two ladies?” He asked, and I managed to chuckle at his statement.
“I will give you time to think about it, Eleanor. I will not be rejecting you back. I will give you some time. Come look for me or I will raid this place and drag you with me with or without your permission,” I declared before storming out of the kitchen where I could briefly hear her friend telling her to take a deep breath. A smirk graced my features at that, so she’d felt it too, the pain when she rejected me, she was mine and I wouldn’t stop until I make her mine.
“What happened in there, Easton? Those ladies looked like they were about to kill you,” Laycon asked once we were out. I could see the concern written all over his face. He knew I wouldn’t hurt women, so the situation he’d walked into and the slate he found me in was still very unclear to him. I smile at his worried face, and he frowns, “Well? Go on and give me an explanation, I’m dying of curiosity here!,” he added impatiently, and I swallowed.
“I found my mate.” I finally replied, and his face lit up in excitement and amusement.
“Really!… That’s such great ne-”
“But she rejected me,” I cut him off, and he stared back in confusion.
“What?… that’s impossible. Why? Who would want to reject someone like you?” He asked, and I scoffed.
“Obviously, she would,” I answered, “Well, I never wanted to be a part of this party or whatever, anyways. I’ll be in the car.”
“Then let me inform the Alpha king that you are ill. Wait a little, please,” Laycon said before hurrying off. I managed to walk towards the car and got in, leaning onto the headrest and waiting for the pain to subside.
I wondered what it was that she was so afraid of, or was it someone she wanted to protect? Her actions and words may have been rude and hurtful, but her eyes told a different story. She was sad, desperate, and confused.
She was stubborn, and I doubted she genuinely didn’t want me. She was protecting something, probably dear to her, and now I had to know what it was. I won’t let her go just like that, never in a million years.
I knew the trauma I had passed through, having to rule the pack after my parents died, alone and without a mate, how the elders had gone out of their way to try to force their daughters on me, lest I step down and forfeit the position. All in a bid to have me quivering in fear and at their mercy so they could manipulate me as their puppets, but I was able to overcome them. Defeating them and making a mockery of each and every one of them, and since then, no one has ever tried to cross me or force me into doing something against my will.
I was going to wait for the right one, the one the moon goddess had written for me, and I was glad to have found her, but nothing could have prepared me for the encounter. I wasn’t sure what I was expecting, but it definitely wasn’t finding her in the kitchen, as a slave, dressed in their shabby uniform instead of clothes befitting for a Luna that she was. Not just that, but having her reject me with not even as much as a reason to hold on to and brood over.
Maybe she is being threatened by Zane? Maybe that was why she was so jittery and acted that way towards me. Whatever the case might be, I would have to find out on my own and bring her to me. I need her, and my pack needs her too.
The sound of the car door pulling open drew me out of my reverie, and I turned to look at Laycon, who sat in the driver’s seat.
“How’d it go?” I asked him the moment he ignited the car.
“All good. The alpha king granted you permission to leave and made me promise you would be fine,” he answers, and I hum as we drive out of Zane’s pack gates. The ride continues in a comfortable silence until Laycon clears his throat.
“What are you going to do now? Who do we have to kill? Does this mean we’re finally going to launch the attack against the Blood Moon Pack and get our Luna out of that hellhole?” Laycon shoots out all at once, and I shook my head, chuckling at his enthusiasm.
“No, not yet.”
“What do you mean not yet? The more time we waste, the more our Luna has to live there, in that godforsaken pack. You’ve been wanting to wage war against Zane for so long, now would be the perfect time, and you know I will stand with you on this one, ” Laycon assured firmly, and I nodded.
“Like I told you, she rejected me right then and there, and I’m thinking there must be a reason. I told her I would wait for her to come to me. I’m giving her time, Laycon and when my patience is finally worn out, I will then wage war and won’t stop until she is set free and if after that she still does not want to be mine, then I’d have no choice but to accept it as my fate,” I answered him.
“But….. she is your mate, how would you live without your fated mate?” he asked, concerned lacing his voice.
“I won’t set her free, just to have her become a slave to the mate bond. Once she is set free, she will have a choice to either stay or leave. She is my mate and I believe she will come to me, if it was meant to be. Till then, I will observe her.”
I rolled down the glass when silence set in again, allowing the cool breeze and sight of nature around us to lull me into a sense of contentment.
“Laycon, I need you to plant a spy in the Blood Moon pack. Make sure Eleanor is protected and find out about whatever weaknesses Zane might have. If so much as a single scratch is inflicted on her, I wouldn’t hesitate to lead my men to war.”
She is mine. Mine to set free and to protect, and whatever it was she was protecting was now mine to protect too. If this would be the push, I needed to finally act against them, then it was definitely welcome.