After Your Rejection

Chapter 2 Together Again

Alexis

After my most needed shower, I found the boys in our living room sitting on the couch, chatting.

'Finn!' I throw myself at our other friend, taking him by surprise. 'I miss you so much. Good to see you again.'

Finn is the future Alpha of the Winter Moon Pack. He, Damian, my brother and I practically grew up together. Since our fathers are best friends, we spend a lot of time together, mostly getting ourselves in trouble.

'We saw each other last month.' Finn looks at me with a raised brow. He is always like that, so cold and annoyed with us. But he likes us, otherwise he wouldn't spend so much of his precious time with us. I think his behavior has something to do with the way he was growing up. The whole Winter Moon Pack is closed to other supernatural species and even to members of the other packs. They are not very friendly and are almost always unapproachable and not interested in making friends. Like the name of the pack, they are cold. Alpha Flynn, Finn's father, was lucky to meet my dad and Alpha Darius at the Alpha training, since both of them are the complete opposite of Alpha Flynn. Their easy-going, friendly and welcoming personalities rubbed off on him a bit. The same way, as Finn is a better man since he has us. Not that he will admit it. That's not like Finn at all. He is the same age as Axel and both of them will be in the final year of Alpha training in the Royal Pack, starting in September.

He had a long-time girlfriend, but it turned out she was not his mate. She was on Omega, so the chances of her being his mate were practically non-existent. There is a strict hierarchy in every pack and mostly Alphas and Betas are mated to higher-ranked she-wolves. Finn wanted her to be his chosen mate, but she was mated to another Omega and chose him instead. It left him heartbroken, since he really loved the girl. I am encouraging him to travel more to other packs so he can meet his mate, but Finn being Finn, he preferably stays in his pack and leaves only for these monthly meetings of all Alphas.

Almost all of these meetings take place in our pack since we are conveniently located in the middle. We are currently facing an increasing number of rogue attacks on our packs. Thus, our Alphas are cooperating more and devising strategies to protect our packs together and help each other in the event of another rogue attack. We still don't know who is behind these attacks, who is gathering all the rogues and is acting as their leader. When our warriors capture a rogue, it is the same old song all along. They don't want to say anything. My Dad once managed to find out that they call their leader the King. The Rouge King. Seriously, who could let others call him the King? It smells of an inferiority complex or few others. But who am I to judge? I have my own insecurities.

We, I mean all werewolves, have our royal family, but they don't let us call them the King or the Queen. They are simply the Alpha and the Luna of the Royal Pack, even though they are above all the other Alphas and Lunas.

'Yeah, whatever, let's call Bri and go to the pond. I would like to go swimming and Bri is eager to get a tan.' I say while dialing Bri's number. This year's August is perfect for these activities. It's not usually this warm in August.

Brionna, or Bri, is my best friend and the daughter of the previous Beta. Her father was killed during the rogue attack three years ago. Yep, the one that triggered Axel's shift. Since then, Bri's mother has been struggling. It's hard for a wolf to lose a mate. Bri's mother rarely goes out or comes to the pack gatherings. She tries her best for Bri, but sometimes I think it's just too much for her. Some days are better, some are worse. My Mum visits her every other day. She is the only friend Bri's mother has now. She can open up to my Mum, and they can talk about everything and anything for hours. But she rarely talks to Bri. Bri prefers to stay with us at the pack house, only going home for a few days every other week. Her parents' house didn't feel like a home to her anymore and she couldn't wait to move away. My parents don't mind her living with us and Bri's mother is glad that Bri is trying to move on with her life and not grieving about her dead father constantly. They didn't have a good relationship. I am not sure if they have any relationship in the first place, so there's no need for Bri to grieve anyway. The previous Beta wanted to have a son to pass the Beta title to. He was over the Moon when they were expecting a firstborn, from what I've heard. Then they found out it was a girl, and the bubble full of happiness burst. Bri was born, and because of the complications during the childbirth, her mother couldn't have more children. Bri, as the only child of the previous Beta, could have claimed the Beta title, since it's hereditary. But she wasn't of age and most importantly, she was not interested. She still isn't interested. She wants to have her own small business one day instead. Her wolf feels like they should be Betas and is giving Bri headaches from now and then for not fighting for her rightful place. That's another reason why Bri wants to leave this pack behind. She can't wait to meet her mate and get the hell out of here. She is 18 already and hasn't met her mate yet. That gave Bri hope, because her mate is obviously not from our pack.

'What's up Alexis?' Bri asks when she answers her phone.

'We are going to the pond. Damian and Finn are already here. Are you coming with us?' I ask.

'Sure, give me fifteen. I'm on my way to the pack house. I will just pack a few things and then... I think I have my bathing suit somewhere in your room.' She says after a few seconds of the silence.

'I'll go and find it. See you.' I offer her and end the call.

'What did she say?' my brother asks.

'She said she needed fifteen more minutes, and then we can all go together to the pond.'

'More like fifty in her case.' Finn murmurs under his breath. He is not the patient type, but he doesn't have a choice with us girls. I am not the type to dress myself or apply different types of make-up. Hell, I can't even use it properly without looking like a clown. That's why I don't bother with it. However, the same is not true of Bri. She has a slim figure with perfect curves, and she can dress up to her advantage. Not that Axel let any man near her. He is overly protective of her, too. I am not sure if he will let our mates near us. But that's the problem of the future Alexis and the future Bri. For today, a trip to the pond it is.