After Your Rejection

Chapter 1 In the Blood Moon Pack

Alexis

'Nice job Alexis!' my brother Axel tells me. It's early in the morning, and I am sweating my ass off in training like I always do. I train hard every day. I don't want to be a warrior, but I want to be able to protect my pack and myself. Having Alpha blood, I am stronger and faster compared to other warriors, even without my wolf. I am 17, tomorrow is my 18th birthday, which means I haven't shifted yet, but my wolf is awake within me, giving me an advantage over other lower ranked wolves. Normally we shift at the age of 18, but our wolves are slowly awakening from the age of 16, sometimes even earlier. After the first shift, we can sense our Goddess-given mate.

My brother, being the future Alpha of the Blood Moon Pack, can beat me in sparring in a matter of a few minutes, but besides him, there are only a few people who can defeat me. Axel shifted when he was 17, which is uncommon even for Alphas. There was a rogue attack and my brother and I were cornered by two rogues that broke through our warriors. Axel shifted and killed both of the rogues, saving us.

'You were great yourself, like always.' I told Axel. Axel is a beast of a man. He is the exact copy of our Dad. The only thing we have in common are our dark brown hair and dark brown eyes, but other than that, I look exactly like our Mom. Regular height without even the hint of womanly curves. Axel and I have a pretty great relationship despite him being an overprotective brother. He is two years older and is still not mated. He has met his fated mate and future Luna, but she is not of the age yet and cannot feel the bond. When we meet our mate, the other half of our soul, the need for marking and mating is incredibly strong. Axel has to wait for now, though. He has never had a girlfriend nor has he slept around like most wolves of age waiting for their mates do. He doesn't see the point of being with somebody else when there is his other half not far away. It's easier for him, though, because he knows who his Goddess-given mate is, and he cannot wait for her 18th birthday. I, on the other hand, don't know sh*t about who my mate is. Maybe I will find it tomorrow after my first shift.

'Both of you were good. I am so proud of you. I cannot wait for your training tomorrow, Alexis.' My Dad, Alpha Kieran, compliments us. He is watching our training every morning, trying to guide us to improve our technique and to fight better. Today, Alpha Sebastian from the Blue Moon Pack joined him. All the neighboring Alphas are coming for the monthly Alphas meeting as well. Sebastian is a young Alpha who defeated his older brother in a duel for the Alpha position three years ago. He is one of the strongest Alphas in our part of the country despite not being born as an Alpha. He is 23 years old and looks like a Greek God. He is also built like one. With his dark blonde hair and mesmerizing caramel brown eyes, he is the most handsome man I have ever seen. I have had a huge crush on him since I met him for the first time, when he became the Alpha. We don't talk much, but when we do, he is always nice to me. When he looks at me with those eyes of his, it's like there are only the two of us, nobody else. It's like he can see me, the real me. In the last few weeks, I have dreamed a lot about him. In my dreams, he is almost always half naked, freshly out of the shower with a towel dangerously low around his body, so his six-or-how-many pack can be fully visible. Yeah, my imagination can get wild. It's even worse in the past few days. Maybe I should go and look for my mate the day after tomorrow, so I can satisfy my desires for men. For one man to be precise. The one that is standing not far away from me. Stop it, Alexis! He is older and he's Dad's friend! I take a last look at him and then avert my eyes before he could see me checking him.

From the corner of my eyes, I see Alpha Darius approaching us. I like Alpha Darius, he is always in a positive mood and knows how to have a good time. Of all our parents, he is the most laid back. He never scolded us for causing trouble. And that we do a lot. I think he was always hiding his amusement with us. He thinks we should learn from our mistakes and not repeat them. For him, personal experience is crucial, and that's why he lets us deal with our mistakes on our own.

His son, Damian, is nowhere to be seen, which means he's planning something. Another prank on me, I guess. There's no way in hell he didn't come with his father. He is like my second brother. I discreetly sniff the air. He is close, I can smell his scent. With my 18th birthday and my first shift knocking on the door, my senses are heightened. I look at Sebastian, who is looking behind me with a questioning look and that's when I got the hint. Before Damian could hug me from behind and startle me, I duck and step aside. So, instead of hugging me, Damian is hugging a surprised Axel. I cannot help myself and burst out laughing and so do all the other people around us.

'I didn't expect so much love from you, Dame.' Axel taunts him and shows Damian away from him.

'You are not Alexis!' Damian stated the obvious.

'No sh*t, Sherlock.' Axel says while laughing. Damian turns to me.

'Just you wait, Alexis!' And before I can comprehend what is happening, Damian throws me over his shoulder.

'Hope we don't need to stay for the meeting. I would like to have some quality time with this little minx.' Damian smirks at me and smacks my butt. I yelp, not from the pain, but from the surprise at what he did.

'It's my sister, you a**hole.' Axel punches Damian's arm hard.

'F*cker, that hurt!' Damian smacks his head back.

'Language!' Comes from both of our dads. Our parents don't like it when we curse like sailors, but our fathers have potty mouths themselves, so what's the big deal? Before they could say more, Damian starts running to the pack house with Axel following him.

'Bye Alphas.' I say my goodbye to the three Alphas left behind. I lock my eyes with Alpha Sebastian's for a while, seeing a whirlwind of emotions in his captivating eyes that I can't decipher just right now. When we are far from them and I cannot see him anymore, I turn to the boys.

'I need a shower first.'

'You totally do, you stink.' Damian says, waving his free hand in front of his nose. I slap him hard on his butt, eliciting a curse from him. Then she slaps my butt back. Two can play this game. I pinch his butt, making him hiss.

'If you touch her butt one more time, I swear I'm going to rip off your hand and slap you with it.' Axel warns Damian, making me smirk.

'Don't interfere with our business. You can't save her each time, Ax. She started it.' Damian complains.

'And I'm ending it!' Axel says with finality lacing his voice.