The Rejected Life of Mala Luca

CH 2

Once dressed, Mala walked herself down to join her pack, was shoved about, expected it, just stood there at the very back of her pack, to hear how the next three days would go. Didn’t really care all that much, only needed to know when she had to fight and where. The minute they were all dismissed, she walked away, they were now out in the human world. This challenge was a game really, one where no wolf strength was allowed, only skill prevailed here, the only thing you could use your wolf for was healing.

Laughed internally, they all came here expecting to fight it out wolf on wolf, and now were denied that, had to fight as their human counterpart only, to find out who was the best without wolf. She nearly laughed aloud, that would be her. She was going to win this, prove to everyone that she was better than them all.

Then she was going to leave and provide some of the best protection for the rejected pack, a place that needed her and her skills. She was excited about the move, she was going to fit in there, no-one would judge her, they were all rejects like she was.

Tamala got herself a coffee at the local café and found a boy or young man smiling at her. “Hi there.” He said, was tall and nice looking for a human. She could tell that he already liked what he saw. When looking at her, she smiled back at him and he offered her to sit with him, saw her packs future Alpha and his unit coming through the window, sat herself down. “I’m Tamala.” She introduced herself.

“Ken, what brings you here?”

“The fighting competition.” She answered, enjoyed talking to humans, they were mostly nice to her. Rarely did she receive insults from them. She was a pretty girl to them, not a useless piece of trash to be discarded on the next full moon.

“Oh, you’re one of the competitors. That’s pretty sweet. Do you like fighting?” he asked her.

“Mm, it is what I am good at.” She nodded, as Hudson and his unit walked in. His eyes landed right on hers, looked ticked off in less than ten seconds. Didn’t like that she’d found someone to talk to; he could shove it, rolled her eyes right at him and his angry glare, turned her attention back to Ken, smiled right at him “You want to get out of here?” she asked him.

“Sure.” He smiled right back at her and got up.

So did she, only to find Hudson right in front of her. “What do you think you are doing?” he grated out.

“Making a friend outside the hometown, why do you care?” She knew he didn’t care, was just ticked off that she had smiled and looked happy, was not currently miserable and feeling dejected and despondent. She never smiled around him or at anyone inside the pack. Had a bland, I don’t care look, all the time inside the pack, because she no longer cared to be there, or for anyone in it.

“You’ve got a fight tonight.” He snapped at her.

“I know my schedule.” She commented, “Do you know yours? Or are you relying on him, to tell you when and where to go.” Glanced at the future Beta, Jet.

Hudson went nowhere without that man, couldn’t for the life of him go anywhere on his own. She had seen the future Beta lean up against a tree just last week looking board while the future heir to the pack had been a few meters away f*****g some she-wolf, couldn’t it seem even do that on his own.

Heard a low growl come from him for the disrespect she’d just shown him, but out here in the human world he couldn’t do diddly swat ‘Do you want to fight me?’ she shot down the mind-link to him ‘happy for you to challenge me. Do it officially and let's just see who gets the pack.’

She could feel his anger rolling off him now, she’d put him down many times, her fighting skills far outweighed his.

‘If you don’t show up for your fight, I’ll gladly enforce early banishment.’ He shot right back at her.

Tamala rolled her eyes and shoved right passed him. “Come on Ken, ignore the assholes, that are my teammates, I do.” Put her hand right in Kens and walked right outside with him.

“They don’t like you much, I see.”

“They hate me. I’m better than they are. All of them and they hate that fact.” It was true, they not only hated her because she was wolf-less, but because she was better than them.

“Jealousy is a curse.” He laughed. “So Tamala, that’s an unusual name, how’d you get it?”

“My father named me, it means dark tree.” She shrugged.

“Are you a dark tree?” he nudged her with a chuckle as they strolled along, hand in hand, until they came to a playground where they sat down and chatted on a park bench.

She did actually like the meaning of her name and when put together with Suki, they became a beloved dark tree. It was a nice feeling, only they were not beloved by anyone at all, more like an unloved dark tree.

Ken was 19 and had brown wavy hair, light brown eyes and was all smiles and charm. She didn’t even stop him when he leaned in to kiss her sometime later. Let him kiss her, kissed him back even, it wasn’t the first human boy she’d kissed, spent a lot of time in the human world over the past two years just to get away from her pack and the insults. To feel some sort of connection to anyone at all.

Suki didn’t much care for it, never did, but she couldn’t at this point do anything about it, not even so much as let out a growl. Even allowed Ken to walk her back to her hotel and said goodbye to him, made plans to meet up with him after her fight at six, she would fight her match and leave.

There would be no sticking around and socialising with her pack members. She was not allowed and didn’t intend to stay and watch any of them fight either. They also wouldn’t care for her to do so. She could do whatever she wanted afterwards.

All her packs wolves including the future Alpha, would sit and watch the fighting, to size up their competitors, to get an idea of what to expect. Tamala didn’t really care, she would fight and walk away. Her entire pack was expecting her to come undone here, and she had no intention of doing that at all.

She showered and changed, took herself to the fight, walked into the usual remarks about her being wolf-less and useless, ignored it. Found Hudson and his Beta right in her face yet again “Move.” She stated “Or you’ll make me late for the fight. I’ve registered, so your father will know it was you or someone in the pack that held me up.”

Saw his eyes move to her neck and smiled internally, she’d let Ken get a little on the handsy side, had a hickey on her neck, though it was only small it was there. Stood and stared up at him, as she felt anger roll off him as his eyes locked on to it.

“What? Now I can’t even play with humans when I am one.”

“You’ll obey and respect me, till you’re banished by me in a week.”

“Make me, Challenge me right here in front of all, I’d like that.” She smiled right up at him, it was a genuinely happy smile, because in one week she would be free of this asshole and his pack and if he was stupid enough to challenge her, she’d take his place and destroy his bastard of a pack, tear it down from the inside out for their dumb beliefs.

His eyes widened completely at the sight of her smiling up at him. “Hudson?” it was Jet, his Beta, and the warning tone implied he knew Hudson would want to.

‘You know Hudson, the first thing I would do.’ She murmured down the mind link to him all softly ‘banish your entire bloodline, one by one, till you were all worthless rogues.’

Hardness hit his eyes now, as rage filled him. “Now get out of my way or I’ll issue the challenge myself for all to hear.” She stated out loud as her name was called, saw Jet physically move him so she could pass. Needed his Beta to step in, like always.

She stepped up onto the mat and looked at the she-wolf before her, watched her snort with amusement “You’re kidding me!” she turned and looked at her pack, laughed and pointed at her before turning back to look at Tamala.

Tamala didn’t say anything, just stood looking at her emotionlessly, nodded to the official, an Alpha-blooded referee, who was overseeing their match, when he asked her if she was ready. He stared right at her for a long minute, and she rolled her eyes right at him. He also seemed to think she was a joke, she supposed.

She was not, had wanted to be in this very place all her life, had gotten to come and watch her father complete here once, when she was little, she had begged him at just four years old to train her and he had started her training at 5. He had been proud to have a daughter that wanted to take after him, and she had the skills, though he’d not trained her since she’d not shifted at 16. Nope, no more would he do that, he focused only on his 3 sons and his other daughter.

She was the middle child, 1 of 5 to be precise, and the biggest disappointment now, where once she had been his most prized child. It had hurt a lot to see that disappointment and then to have him turn and walk away from her, not to train her anymore. But with months of shunning and then years of it, nothing she did would make him turn back to her. She’d closed herself off to it, had to, to survive it.

She could still feel the great swell of pain inside her chest, but no longer showed it to anyone. No-one in this pack had seen emotion from her in 18 months, till today. That smile had completely shocked Hudson, he’d looked damn near dumbfounded by it, likely he had forgotten how much she looked like her mother, her actual beauty for all to see when she did smile genuinely.

She’d only smiled because she was leaving this pack, it was the only thing that made her happy, made her wolf Suki happy and it was just a week away. Hell, if she could tick Hudson off good and proper, she wouldn’t have to wait a week, could be out of here before then. He’d banish her, she knew it, was itching to. Might just see if she could get him to do it.

The fight began and that she-wolf, underestimated her completely was on the ground and pinned down in less than 30 seconds. Round two started with a fully pissed off she-wolf charging at her, using her wolf speed and though Tamala side stepped her, the match was halted.

Tamala had expected as much from the she-wolf, who got herself reprimanded by the referee, and reread the rules, told that if she used her wolf again for anything other than healing, she would suffer a silver bracelet to stop her from doing it again in all matches if she won this one. That her pack would be admonished and stripped of points for her lack of respect for the rules.

That she-wolf kept herself in check for the third round but could not hold her own, was warrior ranked, but not up to Tamala’s standard of fighting. Put her down, in all the rounds. Then she simply walked off the floor the moment she was declared the winner, could hear the she-wolf cursing her out, as her own pack yelled at her for losing to a wolf-less person. Hudson had made sure to register her name along with the fact she was wolf-less.

He'd smirked right at her when he’d done it, thought it would upset her, but it didn’t she’d known he’d been going to do it, wanted everyone to know she was useless, likely his way of trying to get one of the others to take her out.

Found Jet standing by the entrance to the arena, or her exit, barring her way. Glared right up at him “What?”

“Alpha Hudson stated you are to go right to your room and stay there, only to leave it for matches.”

“Did he now?” Tamala rolled her eyes “Like I care what he thinks.” And she didn’t.

“Tamala, please, just do this. He seems more ticked off than usual.” That was the first time the man had used the word please around her since she’d become wolf-less.

“So, maybe he’ll banish me already. I’d like that. You could do it I bet.” She was pushing his buttons, was going to push all their buttons until Hudson exploded and either challenged her to a duel or banished her from the pack.

She had just won that match and not one person in her pack had clapped or congratulated her. No-one cared that she was the best of them, no, they only cared she was wolf-less, a complete disgrace to the pack, and unacceptable to all of them.

“Tamala, I will not…Don’t tick Hudson off, you might not like the outcome.”

“Oh, spare me! You’re the backbone to that baby you call the future Alpha.” She shoved passed him “I have a date to go on. Piss off Jet.” She snapped and stalked away from him.

Could feel his eyes on her as she walked away, ‘Don’t say I didn’t warn you Tamala.’ He pushed down the mind link to her.

No-one had ever, even once, asked her how she could use that mind-link. It was wolf thing, one could only use it once you got your wolf. They just put it down to her coming from a strong elite warrior bloodline. Alpha Glenn was the only one to look at her often, sometimes he really looked at her, narrowed them, ice-blue eyes on her.

Like he knew she had a wolf but couldn’t figure out why she didn’t at the same time. Likely he suspected Suki was with her, but he’d not asked, and after her treatment she’d not bothered to tell anyone. The full moon after her 16th birthday had shown her the true nature of the Glimmering Moon Pack. Glimmering my ass, it should have been called the Heartless Moon Pack or the Blackened Moon Pack, though her favourite was the Dimmed Moon Pack, because they were all so dim-witted.