The Rejected Full Moon

Find Her

"Alpha."

Ruth steps uncertainly into my office. My mate's younger sister. Since Rain left, her attitude toward me has cooled considerably. She used to be excited when she saw me, always jumping around my neck and overwhelming me with compliments. Always ensured me how fortunate she was to have me as her brother-in-law, thanked me for treating her sister so well and bragged about it everywhere she went to anyone who wanted to hear it. But everything has changed now, Ruth is distant and doesn't quite know how to take her attitude.

And she declined my help to pay for her studies at a university outside the Storm Forest.

I had promised Rain to do that. But Ruth probably didn't consider me a family anymore and rejected my help. "Alpha, I come to ask your permission to leave the pack to study in Human Town," she says, fidgeting with her fingers. With a jerk, my shoulders straighten. "You turned down my help earlier. How are you going to pay for all that now? And will John leave with you?" I ask, watching her keenly. She swallows away a lump in her throat, unsure of the situation but knowing she absolutely dare not to lie to me.

"My sister lives in Human Town and has offered me to live with her. She will pay for my tuition and board until I can go on my own," she explains. She talks about her sister as if she were not my mate. This is new; previously, she prided herself on being related to the Alpha family. For me, that's going too far now. "You mean Rain is coming to your rescue, Ruth? You forget that your sister is my mate and when she supports you, that is also an effort on my part," I point out to her. "So my mate and I offer you the opportunity to study outside the pack," I corrected her sternly.

She lowers her head and nods.

"Yes, Alpha, you are. And John is coming with me, of course. He wants to study hydropower, which can help increase industrialization in the pack," she explains. I take out two forms from my drawer for her and John to fill out. On this, she has to mention all information about the person who shelters her, including the address. Ruth is an intelligent girl; she understands right away that when she fills out the form, she also reveals the whereabouts of my mate. But she can't do otherwise; stating false information is punishable. And she doesn't want my wrath upon her, especially in this case.

The girl takes the forms from me, reads one briefly and looks up at me.

"I'll ask my sister for the information and then bring it back. I don't have it handy," she lets me know. I nod. "When do you plan to leave then? I have to issue a general announcement," I keep her in mind but meanwhile control my own impatience. I need the form filled out in my hands as soon as possible, so I finally know where my mate is. My wolf and I yearn for her; every day is agony without her. With this new twist, my hope of finding her increases. "In two weeks, I have to sign in at the University. But I want to leave a week earlier to get used to the new environment. Besides, I haven't seen my sister for so long ...," her voice trails off.

"Good. Get your affairs in order. From me, you get permission, provided you come back after college. We will establish that contractually, as usual," I tell her. She respectfully bows her head again and leaves after a short greeting.

As the door locks behind her, I stand up from behind my desk.

Jax, my wolf, doubts whether he should be happy as we get closer to our mate's whereabouts. For months we have searched for her. That day, when I came from the business trip and saw the letter on the bed, I was devastated. I couldn't believe Rain had left me. Of course, I had felt the coolness of the pack over our mating. And I also know it's about the fact that we didn't have pups yet, the pack yearns for a successor, wants to ensure that the Alpha position will one day pass to the legitimate heir. I kept reminding them that the Moon Goddess owned that and Rain and I had had enough s*x, we were crazy about each other. And to protect her and have her with me more, I suggested that she take over some of my Beta's administrative work so that he would have his hands free to deal with pack matters more.

But to no avail.

Rain gave up, left, and I couldn't find her again. Her scent had faded by the time I got back to the pack, I needed to figure out which way to look for her. And now, after two years, an opportunity presents itself to at least visit her and try to win her back. 'No, Jasper, no. Mate abandoned us without talking to us about her problems and trying to solve them together,' I hear Jax in my mind, heartbroken. 'We're not going to beg. She has to treat us with respect, we are her mate. We loved her but she didn't trust us,' he continues, unable to keep the pain out of his voice. I know exactly what he means. That feeling of betrayal runs deep. We showered Rain with love; she was the love of my life even before the mate bond came in.

I first saw her at school and even then, she was a beauty. At fifteen, I already knew she would be my Luna, mate bond or not. I was willing to fight her mate to have her for myself if it turned out she was not paired with me. But luckily, the Moon Goddess was by my side, when I turned eighteen and she was only sixteen, Jax recognized her fondly. I went to my father's Beta, Kenston, asking for his daughter's hand. At first, he was surprised, but when I told him Rain was mine and I would claim her at eighteen, he merrily gave me his approval. We held an engagement party like the humans do. I had to let everyone know that the gorgeous she-wolf was mine. And the fairy tale began, the wait was unbearable but she finally turned eighteen.

The stolen kisses and experiments with each other needed to be more.

So our mating was a true redemption for both of us. We were surprised it was more incredible than we had imagined, with the mate pull in full effect, we couldn't get enough of each other. And with the years that followed that didn't extinguish. Until the harsh reality came, we didn't get pregnant. Rain took that harder than I did.

"Sweetheart, I have to go to the mall. Come with me to choose the right dress for tonight's prom". The voice of a woman behind me snaps me out of my musings.

Rachel, Rain's older sister, her spitting image. Unmated, she keeps telling herself that Selene made a mistake by sizing Rain for her and that I am actually meant for her....