Rejected and Regretted

☆ AVRIL ☆ “Avril Fletcher.” I froze as I heard the alpha call me, his voice sterner than usual. Just from the look on his face, I could tell I was in trouble. “With the power bestowed upon me, I, Alpha Rockwell, banish you from the Whispering Hills Pack.” My breath caught in my throat as I was overcome with dread. “No!” I somehow managed to scream. “No, please! I…I just shifted for the first time! I’m not strong enough to fend for myself yet!” I tried to argue, but it was useless. His decision had already been made. “We fed you and gave you shelter for seventeen years, in honor of the promise we made to your family,” he growled, as if he had the right to be angry. Bullshit. He wasn’t a generous man - he had been paid to take me in. “From today on, you will no longer be our burden,” he spat with palpable relief. My eyes roamed the crowd surrounding us, searching for mercy, hoping someone would stand up for me. Of course, none of them would; they probably despised me even more than their alpha and luna. Although Whispering Hills had been my home for my entire life, to them I was nothing more than an outsider; a useless omega. I had been given up by my birth parents. Not even they wanted me, it seemed. Thankfully, instead of leaving a yearling to be eaten by wild animals in the woods, they had the decency to look for a pack that would accept me. Rockwell wasn’t interested in doing charity, but he quickly agreed after being offered a large sum of money. Whether my parents were desperate to get rid of me, or simply wanted to thank the alpha for taking care of his problem, I’d never know. What I did know from the stories I heard while growing up as a cleaner was that, apparently, the deal was to provide for me only until I connected with my wolf, which had happened yesterday. As panic settled in, I glanced at the alpha’s son, Koen, searching for a single drop of mercy in his eyes. “Please! Just give me one more week. Let me bond with my wolf, then I’ll go. I’ll have no chance of surviving otherwise!” All Koen did was avert his gaze, muttering in a low voice with what I could only assume was disgust, “That’s not our problem.” My broken heart shattered into even tinier pieces as he disappointed me for the second time in the last twenty-four hours. Sharing my pain, my wolf whimpered at his indifference towards us. Of course, Koen didn’t care. Not only was he the next-in-line to become alpha, the son of the leaders who despised me, but he was also my mate. Or at least he used to be, for a brief minute before he rejected me shortly after my connection with my wolf was established. Last night, under the full moon, I had just felt the matebond between us when he broke it without thinking twice. The overwhelming pain was enough to push my wolf to take control for the first time. Instead of rejoicing and running with the rest of the pack, as most shifters would during their first transformation, my counterpart bolted away, alone. We spent the night mourning the love we could’ve - and should’ve - had in a den by the outskirts of the packlands. My wolf, Kea, was shocked by his audacity, but I was not. The moment I found out I was mated to him, I knew there was no way he would accept me, a dirty omega, as his fated partner. Especially not when he was already engaged to the daughter of a beta from an ally pack, a drop-dead gorgeous she-wolf from a strong, pure bloodline. An alpha would never take a mutt like me over someone with her pedigree. “Guards!” Rockwell called out, and in the blink of an eye, his men were by his side. “Since the omega seems to be deaf, throw her out of our lands.” Confused and scared and the guards marched over to me, I caught a glimpse of Koen standing beside his father. Even as he watched me, his fated mate, being sent to my death, he still held his future luna by the waist, pulling her closer into his arms. It was the last time I felt pity for myself. Suddenly, the pain I usually felt transformed into pure rage. I had grown tired of crying and pleading. Holding onto my last shred of dignity, I held my head up. A muffled growl broke through my lips, warning the guards to stay back. As they stopped, surprised by my reaction, I stared at the alpha, then shot my former mate one last glare. “No need. I’ll walk myself out,” I told them, already preparing myself to leave. And as I turned my back on the people who never really cared about me, for once I allowed myself to hate them for the way they mistreated me all these years. Dying alone would be better than humiliating myself for the rest of my life. “I won’t let us die, Avril,” my wolf whispered to me. I had yet to get used to sharing my mind with her. “And you’re not alone. We might not know each other well yet, but I am you, and you are me. From now on, we’ll always be together. No matter how tough the challenge, I’ll always have your back.” Amidst my rampaging emotions, her words offered me a sense of comfort. With a genuine smile, I replied, “Thanks, Kea. It’s nice to know I can count on you.” With that, I allowed her to take control, and she charged out of Whispering Hills territory, embracing our new rogue reality without fear. Kea was quite small, even compared to other omegas. She was skinny, barely having any muscle, which was probably my fault too. I rarely worked out due to not having permission to take part in warrior training. Still, I knew we had a better shot at surviving in animal form. Despite looking a bit like a teenage wolf, with long legs, big ears, and paws that were disproportionately large for her body, I thought Kea was beautiful. Her coat was entirely smokey gray, with long, shiny fur that was also softer than most wolves. Like me, she had electric blue eyes, though hers were more vivid than mine. Our first few hours in the wild weren’t as horrible as I had expected, but worry was always in the back of my head. The fear of being ambushed by other rogues, or even mauled by pack wolves looking for entertainment, kept me wary at all times. There were no laws preventing shifters from slaying exiled wolves; in fact, it was even encouraged, as they were considered nothing but savage beasts who stole food and other resources from packs. It was known that, without a family, any werewolf would lose his humanity over time, eventually becoming a feral animal. The thought of helplessly watching as it happened to me was certainly concerning, but there were more pressing issues keeping my mind busy for the moment. As night fell, I still hadn’t been able to find shelter. After running around all day, my empty stomach hurt, but Kea had no luck catching prey either. Most wild animals were hunted by surrounding wolf packs, making it hard to find food without stepping into their territory. Tired, I decided to shift back, simply because I wasn’t fully comfortable with being a spectator in my own body yet. Once my wolf’s fur retreated through my pores as I transformed back into my human form, I was astonished to find what looked like a nasty rash on my forearm. I had felt it itching and burning for a while now, but I thought it was just from my exhaustion. Upon a closer inspection, I realized it resembled the effect wolfsbane had on my kind. “Great,” I groaned, scratching the spot in hopes of relieving some of my discomfort. It barely helped, only irritating my skin and making it turn even redder. “Not even a full day packless and I already managed to get myself poisoned.” However, I had little time to worry about my condition. The rustling of leaves stole my attention, and my head snapped toward the sound, my heart stopped. As if they had materialized from the dirt, big, brawny wolves now surrounded me. Horror sank in as I realized I was about to become their dinner. There was no way Kea could fight them, and I doubt she’d be able to outrun them. The beasts were almost twice our size, standing as tall as beta or gamma wolves. Come to think about it, I had never seen rogues this big. Strangely enough, they all shared the same coat color as me. They were all gray, though some were lighter, appearing almost ashen, while others had darker fur. What do I even care what they look like? I scolded myself. Instinct kicked in at last, and I jumped to my feet. As the beasts all inched closer, growling menacingly, I desperately searched for a way to cheat fate, but there was none. I couldn’t escape them if I tried. It didn’t matter anyway. My whole life had been a waste. There was no place in the world for someone as unwanted as me. I was doomed to meet my end in the most miserable way possible - alone, devoured by feral monsters. I was ready to embrace my imminent death when the creatures suddenly ceased their advance. In a twist I could not have foreseen, they stepped aside, making way for a wolf who was even taller, as well as visibly older than the rest. Frozen in fear, I watched as it neared me. To my shock, when he was merely a foot away from me, the animal shifted into a man. A smile adorned his face as he stretched his hand out to me. “You’re one of us,” he announced, further confusing me. Regardless, I took his hand; I was in no position to deny help. As I did, he pulled me into an embrace, continuing, “We have been waiting for you, alpha.” . . . A/N: Hi everyone! Thank you for checking out my newest book. I would like to let you know that this story will remain free until completion. It would mean the world to me if you could read it and leave your thoughts in the comments! I always try my best to reply to everyone. If you would like to get access to extra content, such as character visuals, fun facts, games, and even exclusive giveaways, make sure to join my f@c3b00k group - Louise's Haven for Peculiar Shifters. If you're new to my work, I have other books on Dreame, as well as on @m@z0n under a different pen name - Louise Clement. My most popular books are My Mate is an Omega (Dreame) and Taming My Alpha (@m@z0n). Thank you for checking out my book, and I hope you enjoy this new journey!