The Prophecy: Orphaned Princess (Prophecy Series Book 2)

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Kalea

I was still in a world of shock and disarray when Josh said those horrific words. Words that I expected to hear, but hoped would never be spoken. Even though he was my biggest tormenter for so many years, I was willing to look past it all because he was my mate. I was still lost at how I could feel the bond with him even though I had no wolf.

"Accept it," he gritted his teeth while squeezing my arms as he had me pinned against the wall. I was so heartbroken that I couldn't muster the words to accept it. "I said accept the damn rejection, mutt!" He snarled even louder while getting close to my face. His smell still had my body doing somersaults, and all I wanted was to be near him.

"Josh, please..." I begged and placed my hands on his forearms, hoping the fireworks from the mate bond would make him change his mind. Allow him to feel what I felt even though he already had his hands on me.

"Beg all you want, worthless freak. I would never take someone like you, let alone you, to be my Luna. I want someone strong and worthy of my time. You're nothing but a waste of space. You're not even worth f*cking and throwing away like some of these other wh*res in the pack." His words were like knives stabbing my heart. The tears I was holding back were threatening to fall. I stopped crying in front of everyone once I got used to the bullying, but this was different. "Now quit wasting my f*cking time and accept the damn rejection!" He gripped me harder and slammed me against the wall again to pressure me further. Stifling back the tears, I nodded my head.

"I ... I ... Kalea H-H-Hall, accept your rejection, Alpha Joshua Harding," I finally said. He smirked and stepped back. I could feel my heart breaking. When he released my arms, I fell to my knees in embarrassment, hurt, and disillusion. I couldn't believe that I had been rejected. I won't deny that I had half-expected it, but it didn't mean it hurt any less.

"If you tell anyone about this, I'll f*cking kill you." I snapped my head up in horror. Did he just threaten my life over this? "That's an order, mutt." The lump in my throat grew to twice its size, and the tears I held back finally fell. He turned his heel without a glance and walked away from me. Not even ten minutes later, I could hear the Alpha announcing Josh as his successor and the pack cheering for him.

I wasn't sure how long I had sat in the hallway of the packhouse wallowing in the misery of rejection, but I knew it had been a few hours when I started hearing the party die down. I figured people would see me, and I didn't want that. I forced myself to my feet and dragged myself home. I felt like a zombie the entire way. I was walking on autopilot and wanted to crawl into bed and let the world swallow me whole. Why was the world being so cruel to me? What did I do to deserve this? While on my way, I could see my house, and I was about to pick up my pace when I felt something stab my arm.

"Ah!" I winced and grabbed my arm. I looked at it under the streetlight but saw nothing. Strange, I thought to myself. I took another step, then the stabbing sensation on my other arm. "What the hell?!" I shouted. I was about to look down when, in quick succession, I felt the pain in my abdomen, neck, shoulders, the back of my head, and then finally, in my chest. The pain was so excruciating that I didn't know what to do. I didn't know what was happening either. I tumbled onto my knees, holding myself as the pain I had never experienced rippled through my body and back. "AHHHHH!!!" I screamed and cried at the top of my lungs as the most unimaginable pain tore through my chest again, and I ended up toppling over into the fetal position in the middle of the sidewalk.

"KALEA!?" I heard someone shout my name but couldn't register who. The pain kept firing through my body and chest like I was being shot repeatedly, dead center mass to the heart. "Kalea, talk to me Princess, what's wrong?" The voice asked. I couldn't answer. I was nothing but a whimpering mess as the pain continued. I cried and screamed, not knowing what to do. I felt strong arms pick me up bridal style. "I'm taking you to the hospital, hold on."

"Hurts. Hurts so much," I cried out before darkness consumed me.

My head was spinning, and my body was aching. I started to feel my eyes open and heard beeping all around me. I looked around with my eyes to get a sense of my surroundings when I realized I was in the pack hospital. My parents were asleep on the guest couch in my room, and I was surprised to see a familiar face speaking with the pack doctor.

"Ugh," I groaned as I lifted my hand to my head.

"Kalea!?" I heard my mother's voice. "Honey, she's awake!" my mother shouted. My dad stirred awake, and when he saw that I was, in fact, awake, he ran over to me and took my hand in his.

"Two … I mean, Kalea, sweetie, are you okay?" he asked.

"What's going on? Why am I in the hospital?" I asked them.

"You don't remember?" my mother asks.

"Remember what?" I ask in return. My mother was about to respond when I saw someone walk in. "Mr. Scout?"

"Kalea, glad to see that you're awake," he says with a genuine smile.

"What are you doing here?"

"Sweetie, he found you and brought you here. He's the one who called us to tell us what had happened," my father replied.

"What?" I was so confused.

"Kalea, your teacher heard you screaming, and he found you on the street right by our house. You were in so much pain and agony. He did the only thing he could do and brought you to the hospital. Dr. Masters had to sedate you."

"Sedate me?" I furrow my eyebrows. "How long was I out for?"

"Three days."

"THREE DAYS!?" I shout.

"Sweetheart, tell us what happened that night," my father demanded. I thought back to that night, and it all came rushing back. Josh, him being my mate, him knowing that I was wolfless, and him rejecting me. Tears tickled the back of my eyes, and I could feel the bulge in my throat.

"I … I don't want to talk about it," I answer.

"Kalea, you can either tell them in your own words or I can tell them for you," Mr. Scout threatens. I look over at him in shock. "Kalea, that pain, your screams and cries, there is only one explanation as to why you were feeling the way you were, and why no matter what I said to you, you couldn't ascertain what it was I saying," he continued. My bottom lip quivered at his words.

"Oh, baby girl, so it's true," my mom whispered. I looked at her and saw that she was fighting back her tears. Josh might have threatened me to keep this a secret, but he wasn't specific on which aspect of it. I wouldn't tell them that it was him who rejected me. I nodded to my mom, and the tears overflowed like a damn waterfall. "Oh, my sweet girl," my mom said and hugged me tight.

"Are you telling me that your mate didn't even bother rejecting you before he went and banged some she-wolf!?" my father exclaimed. I lifted my head to him and furrowed my brows. What was he talking about?

"Dad, what? No. My mate rejected me. I accepted it. Isn't that what the pain is from?" I asked. My mother, father, and Mr. Scout furrowed their brows at me in return.

"Kalea, honey, what are you saying? You went through the rejection process?" my mother asked. I nodded my head and wiped my tears. She turned to my father with wide eyes. "If she accepted his rejection, why she is being affected by this?" she asked him. My dad shook his head and shrugged his shoulders. I was so lost at that point. I glanced over at Mr. Scout, and I could see him glaring off into space, and it was like I could see the wheels spinning in his head. Seeing him realize something was in slow motion, he didn't say anything further.

"I don't understand, what does this mean for her?" my mother asked my father again.

"I don't know, honey," he responded.

"What's going on?" I asked them, annoyed that they were talking as if I wasn't present.

"Kalea, baby girl, the pain you were feeling that night, that excruciating pain that feels like it's tearing you apart," my father started; I nodded my head, remembering how I felt that night. "You feel that when your mate is being intimate with someone other than you, his destined mate."

"Intimate? As in s*x?" they nodded their heads.

"If you accepted his rejection, you shouldn't feel it though," my mom added. "We're not sure what went wrong, but we're afraid that until we figure it out, every time your mate has intercourse …"

"I'm going to feel it. I'm going to go through what I went through three nights ago. Every time?" They nod their heads. I huff in dismay. "Why?" I breathlessly say.

"Why what?" my mother asks.

"Why is the world being so cruel to me!?" I cried. "Why!? What did I do to deserve such hatred!? I didn't ask for any of this! I didn't ask to be abandoned! I didn't ask for these eyes! I didn't ask for people to hate me! I didn't ask to be wolfless! I didn't ask for my mate to reject me! I didn't ask for any of it! WHY DO THE FATES HATE ME SO MUCH!?!" I cried and screamed. "AHHH!!!" I bellow, bring my knees to my chest, and bury my face. I felt hands on my back, and I could hear sobbing next to me. I knew it had to be my parents. Who else would cry with me? I had no friends and no other family, I had no one except for them. I felt their arms embrace me, and I just cried even harder. My life couldn't get any worse.

Mr. Scout

I knew why. I knew exactly why. The reason behind Kalea feeling the pain of a cheating mate. It was just like what happened to his majesty so many years ago. The rejection was done incorrectly, but it wasn't Kalea's fault. Nor was it even her mate's fault. He may have rejected her for whatever reasons, but it wasn't his fault it was done incorrectly. But I couldn't tell them what I knew; even if I were to say to them why, it wouldn't help. It's not like I could give away her true identity. I was still waiting. It wasn't the right time, especially since she was rejected.

I scrubbed my face with my hands and knew I needed to report this. I looked back at her and quietly exited her hospital room to leave her and her adoptive parents alone. I left the hospital and made my way out of the territory. Thankfully, I was allowed to come and go as I pleased since I wasn't precisely a pack member. Being considered a lone wolf had its many perks. I didn't have to answer to that ridiculous self-absorbed Alpha, nor his son now, and luckily, I wasn't a supposed enemy rogue. Having followed the Princess around over the last 18 years has been difficult, but it has also been worth it. I've gotten to see her grow up into a beautiful young woman. Something I know that her family would have given their lives to see.

When I made it past the territory and away from prying eyes and ears, I took out my phone and dialed the only number programmed into it.

"HELLO!? Benny! Her birthday has passed! Has she found her mate?!"

"Your Majesty, she has, but it's not good news."

"What? What do you mean it's not good news?"

"It appears that she has been rejected."

"WHAT!?!?!" I pull the phone away from my head, hearing her majesty roar into the receiver. "WHY!?"

"I do not know. The reasons are unknown at the moment; however, it might have to do with the fact that she did not shift on her birthday.

"She what? She didn't?"

"No, she didn't."

"Oh, goddess. She must have to wait until she's twenty-one like we did. DAMMIT!"

"Your majesty, do you still want me to bring her back? She is eighteen, and technically, she has no mate now." There is a pause on the line. I look at the phone and see that the call is still connected. "Your Majesty? … Aimee?"

"No."

"What?"

"Don't bring her back, Benny. Even though her mate rejected her, there is still a chance she will find a second chance mate. And we have to wait until she is twenty-one to gain her wolf. She could still be in danger if we brought her back before she obtains her wolf and her powers. My powers."

"Are you sure the Prince and Ms. Renee will be willing to wait three more years for the Princess?"

"They won't have a choice. They brought this upon themselves, and now we all have to endure the pain of waiting another three years. Kalea needs to shift into her wolf and find her mate. If she has already had one, but that fool rejected her, then there is a chance the Moon Goddess will grant her another. A more suitable and deserving mate."

"Yes, your Majesty. I understand. I will continue to keep watch over the Princess."

"Benny."

"Yes?"

"You're not telling me something. I can hear the conviction in your voice."

"There is another issue at hand, and I don't know what to do about it."

"What is it?"

"The rejection, it wasn't done correctly. And the Princess felt the pain of betrayal that same night."

"Oh, goddess."

"Your Grace, I cannot tell her nor her adoptive family why it didn't work. It won't do any good without revealing who she really is."

"No, you can't do that yet. F*ck. My poor girl. She must have been in so much pain."

"She was. I found her screaming and crying in the street. Whoever this mate is seems to have wasted no time in taking another wolf to bed after having rejected the Princess."

"Who is this fool!?"

"I don't know, and I cannot press for answers. It would be suspicious for me to."

"Dammit!"

"Permission to speak freely?"

"Granted."

"Aimee, you do realize what this means, don't you?"

"What?"

"Every time her mate is intimate with another, Kalea will feel it. Every touch, every kiss, every time he f*cks another. Kalea will feel it. That is until the rejection is redone with her real name or …"

"Or until she is granted another mate and their bond is completed."

"Exactly."

The Queen says nothing more, and I listen to her sob on the other end. Aimee has so much on her plate as Queen of the werewolves, but she lives for her family. Hearing that Kalea will be in pain every time that scoundrel touches another she-wolf breaks her heart more than it already has. The line is still open. I hear the Prince and Ms. Renee enter, and everything Aimee and I spoke about is reiterated to them. The Prince is furious, and the news saddens Ms. Renee. I stay on the line a little longer as the royal family prays that Kalea finds peace soon.