The Rejected Male Luna

Chapter 3

RUBY'S POV

This was surreal. I was an Alpha. I could still feel the joy in the pack link after the overflow of congratulatory messages. My parents' tear-stained faces full of joy would not be leaving me any time soon. Being a source of joy and pride was something pretty new for me from my parents. My academic excellence had never elicited such a reaction from them. I wondered what Gerald would say.I couldn't help but look forward to breaking the news to him. Lucky for us, male alphas and female alphas could mate. Our pack was going to be one of the strongest, being led by two Alphas. The Moon Goddess has truly favored me.This was probably a gift for my perseverance through my 18 years of feeling like I didn't fit in and undeserving of all the things that were happening to me. Now I was in a position to make so many choices for myself and be truly happy.Mary, my wolf, had not recovered from the shock but her joy of finally being able to

shift could not be contained. I had promised her

we would go for a run immediately after the festivities before meeting Gerald, who she didn't seem keen on meeting.Regardless, this was the one time we shared in the joy of something and felt so connected to each other. Now Max had to present and I would go back to enjoying my night.

**

Max was covered in purple fur and we were all staring at him in shock. He looked beautiful and unique in that fur color, I couldn't help but think, but the confusion on his face as well as everyone could not be ignored. What was happening? What followed was a song like howl by Max that rendered us in more shock. An Omegas howl that strongly called to me.Was everyone feeling that? I looked around and the sneers on everyone's faces helped me register that he was a male Omega. I had never seen a male omega, just heard of the tales of them being cursed by the Moon Goddess centuries ago and were termed as a curse, the last one having been in the Blue Moon pack before my grandfather was born.Now we were all staring at one of our very own. How could something as beautiful as the wolf before me be a curse? Max was someone everyone in the pack knew and had watched grow. Would they suddenly believe he was evil and kill him?

Looking around, his father was seething with anger and his mother quietly huddled by his side. A bigger number of the pack members had moved further away, leaving him secluded in the middle. I could imagine his fear and confusion, but like everyone else, I was scared. Years of conditioning to fear something don't just get erased no matter what. The night had taken a turn for the worse. I felt arms hug me from the back and I was met with my mother's worried eyes as she moved me behind everyone, as I had remained rooted by my spot.

The somber mood was interrupted by a loud voice roaring into the night, ''You are not only a curse to this family and this pack, but also to the werewolf world. If the pack members don't kill you, someone else will. Leave,you are no longer my Son." Max's father had just announced it in the presence of the whole pack. Max cowered in fear and that is when we made eye contact and, like a whisper in the night, the word mate ringed through the clearing. In sheer panic and confusion, without really thinking twice, I found myself rejecting my mate. Mary's pleas falling on deaf ears. My mother rubbed my back in support and I looked through the crowd and was met with affirmative gazes. They all supported my decision to reject my mate, which I had done with little thought in fear of losing the new-found acceptance that I had just received. Mary called me a coward and quietened at the back of my mind.

What had I done?That was my true mate I had just rejected and no one had batted an eye.My wolf had just distanced itself again. I had not even given him a chance to digest his status and new normal. I should maybe have given him sometime and not flooded his cup of misfortune all in one day. My mother led me away from the clearing and I gave Max one last look as his wolf cries left him quietly. As I walked away, my heart hurt for him.I could feel his pain despite the fact that we were not mated. Something special about true mates, I thought. "You made the right decision, Ruby, I know it doesn't feel like it but you did. Choosing the pack is the best decision you made. He may be your true mate, but he is cursed and destined to die. You just saved yourself from an even worse future. Cheer up dear, leaders always make tough decisions for the benefit of others," If my mother thought she had just consoled me with those words she had just made me feel even worse than I was. I had lived through my childhood pleasing everyone but myself and once again, it seemed I was never going to be free of it. I could not confide in my mother about how I truly felt about my mate and how I was immediately regretting my decision. I now had to live with that choice. I suddenly remembered Gerald and I were to meet but I was not as excited as I previously was. I needed someone to talk to and he was the closest thing to a friend I had.

My mother led me to my room and left me to rest, obviously expecting me to be tired from all the turn of events that had taken place. Mary had itched for a run, but with how she was giving me the cold shoulder, I didn't expect she would want to shift. I changed into a pair of sweatpants and a hood and quietly opening my window, I slipped out like I always did when going to meet Gerald. I had so much running through my mind, the fear of being caught being my last concern. The following day was going to be the beginning of a new chapter in my life which I had just tainted.

MARY'S POV (Ruby's Wolf)

I had just gotten my mate and in seconds he had been snatched away from me.I had begged Ruby not to make such a hasty decision but she went ahead and ignored me. In as much as I hated Ruby for what she did I understood what she felt. She didn't truly understand the connection we had with our mate. Humans were strict followers of rules and order. Never questioned anything,if something was wrong it was completely wrong. There was no gray area of why it was wrong.She had grown up knowing Male omegas were something wrong and now we had one as our mate her immediate response being distancing herself from him.

I wanted my mate. Our connection was deeper than that of true mates. I could feel it but couldn't understand why. If Ruby had given us a chance to explore exactly what it was, maybe the rejection would not have been necessary. I was being irrational. The pack leader, Rubys' father, would have made her reject him either way. The pack probably demanding for her and her mate to be chased away or killed if she accepted him. The pack and the Alpha position be damned!The Moon Goddess and her curse too! Why give me a mate I wasn't destined to love and cherish for the rest of my life? I wanted my soulmate. Wanted to hold him in my arms and tell him it would be okay. If we died, let it be in each other's arms.Now I would be tied to a wolf I did not love. I still wanted to shift and run through the forest but talking to Ruby would make all my anger towards her seep through. To make matters worse, she was on her way to see Gerald, our future mate.I needed to weigh my options between remaining a dormant wolf for the rest of my life if Ruby mated Gerald, taking full control of Ruby and going rogue or co-habituating with Ruby with all the bitterness in me.

Wolf and human relationships were never this bad but me and Ruby just never got along. She never felt like my other half,always felt like roommates who couldn't stand each other and were forced to co-habit in one body. Let's not start with her parents, who never liked the fact that she was an omega but suddenly were overjoyed with her being an alpha today. The only thing that could have brought us together was a mate that we could both have enjoyed. Now we were stuck with Gerald, who I didn't like a single bit. Moon Goddess, exactly what was I being punished for?