The Rejected Male Luna

Chapter 4

MAX'S POV

Mate!Ruby was my mate. Moon Goodess be praised. Momentarily forgetting about my Omega situation and the fact that my father had just disowned me a few seconds before,there infront of me was my crush to put it lightly ,the love of my life if we were laying it thick.Luke, who was usually a quiet wolf, hummed in agreement. We had scored the most perfect mate. I was ready to give her pups on command,my omega side was already acting up. She had to be the silver lining to the dark cloud that was hanging above me at the moment. I maintained eye contact and in those few seconds saw a myriad of emotions flash across her face, the panic,the confusion, the fear and, lastly, resolution.

No!No! I tightly closed my eyes and pressed my lips together, waiting anxiously for what she would say.

"I, Ruby White, reject you as my mate," she said, while her voice wavered. It hurt, but it must have hurt her too. Its not everyday you get paired with someone that you had lived your whole life knowing to be bad."Say you got mated to a known serial killer," added Luke quietly. He was

trying to lighten the wave of sadness and the

pain of rejection that we were currently feeling.

I understood where she was coming from. It would have been nice to have someone on my court, you know. I suddenly felt like I was battling the whole world alone. With my father's announcement, it would be a matter of time before someone tried harming me. For now, everyone just stared at me, some in shock,others in genuine interest, but a majority in horror, especially the older wolves.

Small whimpers left my body, followed by a stream of tears. A warrior crying,something that we had been taught against during training. It was barely 24 hours since my last training and I had just opened the flood gates of tears. I could picture my father's face watching me. He would kill me himself, leave alone the pack members.At the back, the crowd parted as Ruby was led away by her mother. Now I waited for my verdict. Was I ex communicated from the pack?Would I be immediately killed? My fate lay in the alpha's decision. I looked up at him, a man who had watched me grow. Maybe I could appeal to the side of him, who was a father and not a pack leader, and he would pity me even a little.

'' As the Alpha of the Cresent Sun pack,I declare Max Moonstone no longer a member of this pack effective in 6 hours. Pack your belongings and say your goodbyes. Whatever happens to you after those 6 hours, I am not liable,"he announced as he fixed me with a hard stare. Slowly, I shifted back to my human form and slowly headed for my father's house as the crowd parted. I had no idea where I would go. Our neighboring packs were not the most friendly.I had only one solution, to head to the south which was covered by a thick forest mostly habited by rogue wolves. I was living on borrowed time. Rogues,hunters, other wolves, my wolf and I were about to be the primary target in a few hours and once news of a male omega spread it would be worse. I slowly trudged along the dark path that I had passed few hours earlier, the difference being I was now a completely different person altogether.This was probably the last time I would be walking down this path. The only home I had known for all my life. I made it to our house and was met by my mother at the stairs with all my clothes packed. I expected nothing less than that, considering the announcement my father made at the clearing. She gave me one sad look and went up the steps and locked the door.

I would not cry, I slowly kept telling myself. I would break down but somewhere in private. I had embarrassed myself enough before the pack, not again. Slowly I walked towards the pack border that was close to the forest. I could sense someone following me slowly,my wolf's senses heightened accessing the intruder who didn't feel threatening but familiar.

"I know you are there,show yourself," I announced in a tired voice. My youngest brother emerged from the bushes. Tim was 17 and had been my closest friend and my brother too. He rushed and hugged me. It's like the hug summoned all the tears I had left in my reserve. It meant so much that, despite everything, he came to see me off. "I am going to leave with you,its unfair how everyone is treating you," Tim said and I couldn't help but smile. I don't think he truly understood the magnitude of my situation. I loved my brother and the last thing I would do was lead him to his death. He deserved to live and enjoy life. I slowly drew away from the hug, wiping his tears and told him I needed him to live for me. I needed him to grow and name one of my nephews after me. It was difficult convincing him but before he left, he gave me a scent masking ointment which would buy me so much time. I could lie low as an unpresented wolf till I made to safety wherever that was. I gave him one last hug, probably my last, and turned away feeling slightly optimistic about my future.

LUKE'S POV ( Max's Wolf)

The minute we presented, something inside me clicked. I had gone through this before and several times more but the difference was this time I was an omega. It made no sense that Mary had not regained her memories otherwise she would have stopped Ruby from rejecting us.It was going to be completely impossible to speak to Mary before we left. Max was full of worry but something in me felt like things were going to be better. I had not regained memories from previous reincarnations for nothing. Something in the forest called to me. I would get help from there, but I needed to see my mate one last time.After that I needed to talk to Max as we needed a plan. God bless his brother for the scent masker.

Mate!What was Ruby doing in the forest this late? It was one in the morning. I expected, as she had been escorted home she would be resting but the stars were aligning in my favor. I could see Mary and maybe juggle her memory and see if she could remember me. Following the mate pull,it led me in the opposite direction of where I was going, but I was going to risk it. I had four hours remaining. Max allowed me to shift so I could cover more distance as well as getting our first run.It was customary for a wolf's first run to be in the company of their parents, but we found ourselves in a special situation. The cool breeze,the wind hitting my face,my paws scrunching into the soil gave me an illusion of freedom. This was truly the essence of being a wolf. Being one with nature. I had missed this. I slowly got closer to where Ruby was as her scent became stronger and so was a foreign scent. Who had she been with? Pack members shared a common distinct smell and whoever Ruby had been with was not from our pack. Had she rejected me because she had a secret mate? That had not crossed my mind at all.

As I got closer, I found her alone,her visitor having left. How was I going to approach this? Max refused to relinquish control, leaving me to steer the awkward conversation that was about to take place. She had already noticed my presence and before I could say something she jumped up and hugged me while apologizing through her tears. " I am so sorry Luke,am so sorry for what Ruby did,I didn't mean it. " This was Ruby's Wolf. I had not been introduced to Ruby yet, so only Mary,her wolf would know it was me. She could barely stop crying, had I thought Luke was a mess, Mary was even worse. I couldn't fault her,she was as powerless as we were and clueless too. She had no idea why she was so emotional over a mate she had discovered less than a few hours ago. "It's okay love,I don't know how, but I will come back for you. I assured her. I had promised to get Max his happy ending and that was a promise I was willing to keep. His happy ending meant a happy ending for me and Mary as well.

''I will wait for you,I always will," Mary said in between sobs before she captured my lips in an unexpected kiss which I reciprocated in equal measure. If I didn't make it and died, at least I made it out with a kiss, a virgin, but one that had been kissed nonetheless. That kiss carried all the what if's we both had, how different things could have played out for us and, most importantly, the future we could have if we made it through the storm before us.