Reborn: The Rejected Luna

#7 - One Day At A Time

Chapter 7 - One Day At A Time

"One day at a time."

Irabel exhaled, feeling a little happy. Her eyes went to her immediate surroundings. With her mother's help she had endured the walk from their pack house to a beautiful clearing in the woods.

Finally, seated on a large boulder, she felt a sense of peace that only the woody smell of the wet forest could bring.

Her body still ached from her injuries but she didn't let it bother her too much. She had decided to take it one day at a time and enjoy any small comfort that came her way. And right now, being in the woods was the best comfort for her.

She noted that despite how poor her new pack was, it sat on a very beautiful landscape. A beautiful dense forest with tall trees that towered over every other type of vegetation. The forest floor was covered in all sorts of plants. Some in full bloom while others simply displayed their healthy leaves and branches.

It was late in the afternoon and yet the late afternoon air smelt crisp and clean like it was still morning. Irabel inhaled and exhaled in contentment. She felt free after so long. Like the tiny birds that flew about without a care in the world. But maybe the best part of it all was staring out at the setting sun, which seemed like it was slowly being beckoned by the trees to join them down below.

The golden light made her think of the story told to her by her parents. About finding gold right at the place where the sun would set. She smiled at the fond memory and at how gullible her young princess self used to be.

"This is beautiful mother." Irabel beamed, but she was met with silence and when she turned to check on her mother she found the older woman smiling.

"What?"

"You always say that each time we come out here."

"I do?" Irabel couldn't hide her surprise. It felt odd to know that she had said the exact same words as her host. Of course, for her it made sense as she was seeing the place for the very first time. "All the time?"

"Every time." Her mother smiled. " And you always wonder how come such a beautiful place has come to be home to such a despicable pack." Her mother's tone fell.

"Come here mother." Irabel held out her hands. "This is our deserved break and we shouldn't waste it on being sad, remember?"

"I'm sorry." Her mother sighed.

"None of this is your fault." Irabel had found herself saying that statement often in the past few days.

Life in the Green Forest pack was terrible for an omega like her, but she had found her mother's dedication to picking up the broken pieces each day incredibly loving. It was probably the only thing she could do about the situation and for Irabel, it made the harsh treatment bearable to some extent. So she had made it a point to offer her mother some form of comfort of her own too.

"Your birthday will be in a month." Her mother suddenly lit up as she bent down to pick a few leaves from a plant in front of her. She dropped it in her basket of herbs before looking back at Irabel.

"Oh, I forgot about that." Irabel lied. She remembered her mother telling her that she hadn't turned eighteen yet, but she had not thought about asking when her birthday would be.

"Oh sweetheart, don't be like that. I know you are not looking forward to it but--"

"I'm not?" Irabel was confused. She had never heard of any werewolf girl that never looked forward to their eighteenth birthday.

"I know that you are worried about waking up to a mate from this pack and worse, a rejection, but your mother has been praying to the moon goddess day and night."

"What on earth for?"

"Of course, for you to get the most loving mate and one from a nice pack that is far away from this one."

Irabel thought of that alluring scent at the marketplace while her mother spoke. She had been sure it belonged to her mate, but she wasn't so sure anymore. Everything was a bit confusing. With her being over eighteen and Irabella having not turned eighteen yet, it left her confused about the encounter she thought she had had with her mate.

"You are certainly looking forward to it yourself." Irabel curled an eyebrow at her mother.

"Perhaps my daughter's luck will change."

With that, Irabel understood her mother's hope. It was a fifty-fifty chance though. Either she'd get a mate from this pack, get rejected and continue in her misery, or she'd get a charming prince and ride off into the beautiful sunset. Either way, she didn't wish to dwell on it any longer. Those thoughts had a fifty percent chance of dampening her spirits.

"When will the alpha be back?" Irabel asked, wanting to know how long the peace she was enjoying was going to last.

Her mother smiled knowingly. "I am not sure, but I hope their visit to the Crystal castle takes up most of their time. Their absence is like a breath of fresh air."

Irabel caught how genuine the smile on her mother's face was. The woman even seemed visibly relaxed, a first for Irabel to witness.

"Irabel!"

Mateo, the boy who had become the little brother she never had, came running out of the woods.

"Here you go. I found these for you."

A messy bouquet of assorted wild flowers got shoved in Irabel's face and if it wasn't for her quick reflexes, a few of those petals might have ended up in her mouth.

"Do you like them?" Mateo asked, out of breath.

"Awwww, of course, thank you Mateo." Irabel ruffled the little guy's hair, grateful for his thoughtfulness, and she was treated to the warmest grin.

"These are really beautiful Mat."

"Yay! You finally called me Mat." Her brother jumped up and down, elated.

"And why is that strange?"

"Well, you always hated saying the short form of any name," Mateo said with a pout.

"And I'm guessing you prefer Mat to Mateo?"

"Oh yeah."

"Well, you've been extra sweet to your big sister, so I think you should be rewarded. From now on, I'll call you Mat."

"Yipee! I like that and I'll call you Irabel too."

"I like that too." Irabel gave him a tight hug and the moment she let him go, he gave her one last huge smile before running back in the direction he went.

"Don't go too far Mateo," her mother shouted after him.

"Sure mom."

Irabel smiled up to the heavens. "Thank you," she mouthed, not sure if the moon goddess was even listening. Her life was not perfect but her new family was sweet and she was extra grateful to be a part of it.

Her eyes fell on the flowers and with a smile she rearranged them in a perfect bouquet. The mix of green, white, yellow, pink and purple flowers brought a calmness to her soul. And the more she stared at them, the wider her smile grew.

She lifted them up to her nose, wanting to enjoy what she expected to be a beautiful blend of floral scents.

"A hint of citrus and rain? What the--" Irabel bent down to smell the flowers again, a frown on her face.

Her eyes instantly lit up, thinking she was not wrong the first time she took a whiff of the flowers. Her bouquet smelled of her mate. The smell was pretty faint, almost disappearing, but she still picked up.

"Mateo!" Unconsciously, Irabel jumped from where she sat and started running towards where her little brother had disappeared a moment ago. Her hip was still very sore but the thought of seeing her mate had her too excited. She swallowed the lingering pain she felt even after taking her mother's herbal pain killer.

"Can you show me where you found these?" Irabel asked, out of breath when she came up to Mateo.

"What is it?" Her mother spoke right beside her.

"N...Nothing mother. I just love them so much and I think I want more for my room." It wasn't an outright lie, she just couldn't tell her mother the real reason. And even if she couldn't find her mate, she would pick more of those flowers that she would find with a stronger scent on them.

"Right over there." Mateo pointed to the field that was in front of them and Irabel scooted there without a word. Eager to find him, she frantically searched all around her but she was terribly disappointed. There was no sign of another soul anywhere in sight.

"What is it, my dear? I thought you wanted to pick more flowers."

"Yeah, sure." Irabel bent down to do just that and that alluring scent hit her, making her bend even lower. "On second thought, I think I'll just sit over here for now and enjoy them fresh. I'll pick a few for my room later."

Her mother looked thoughtful for a moment but let her be in the end. "Just be careful, okay."

"Sure mom." Irabel sat down hoping to take in that beautiful scent before it completely disappeared. She would have followed the trail to find her mate but the scent was already fading and being wolfless meant she wouldn't be able to sniff him out even if she wanted.

Irabel ended up spending the rest of the afternoon just dreaming about her mate. Seated among those beautiful flowers, she desperately held on to the last traces of his scent.

She had wondered if whoever that was had been there, watching her in the shadows. The thought was as exciting as it was confusing. If her mate had been there, why hadn't he come for her? Were they waiting for her to shift before they could approach and reject her?

She winced at the thought and hated being put through this much guessing.

"We should get going." Her mother announced, taking Irabel out of her thoughts.

The sun seemed to have accepted the invitation from the trees as it was gracefully dancing among them now. Its golden glow was casting the trees' shadows all over them too.

Her mother held onto Irabel's hand and pulled her towards the path leading back to the pack house. "Mateo, dear, we should get going."

Irabel followed silently. She was disappointed at having not found her mate, and more than that a worse thought lingered in her heart.

"My mate might just be from this pack."

She sighed unhappily. Just like her mother said of Irabella, that thought made Irabel unhappy too, because she was sure she would be rejected without a second thought. No one would want a pathetic omega like her after all. But then again another thought grabbed her attention. She hadn't been rejected yet. So maybe there was hope for her still.

"What if he is not from this pack and he was out there watching?" Irabel stopped abruptly before looking back. She did a last frantic search among the trees, but when nothing caught her attention she turned back around to resume her walk.

"Is something wrong?"

Her mother and brother had stopped right beside her, both looking at her with concern.

"Uh, nothing. I just thought I heard something, but it was nothing. We should keep going." Irabel faked a smile and if her mother caught on to it, she said nothing.

"I can't believe the jerk stood us up! All my products are wasted. Look at my hair, dad. I spent hours getting it done!" Ella was seething while her father tried and terribly failed to comfort his fuming daughter.

Irabel and her mother had just emerged from the woods when the father-daughter duo stepped out of the alpha's old car model. A few pack members had surrounded them. Irabel assumed they were there to welcome their alpha.

"He's the one that invited us, so how dare he cancel on us when we were already at his castle?" Ella spat, and Irabel had no doubt the girl would have skinned the culprit alive if he dared to show his face.

"I'm guessing things didn't go well with her highness, princess Ella."

Irabel let out a chuckle, somehow she found the whole thing amusing. A welcome distraction from her own troubling thoughts. There was just something about seeing the girl who was used to getting her way finally not getting her wish.

"I'm glad that you found something to make you laugh, but don't let her catch you." Her mother warned her and Irabel nodded without protest. That would definitely land her back in the cold cell.

"But you have to agree that the sight is so fulfilling, mother. I've got to hand it to whoever this guy is. He must be something."

"Oh yes, the alpha of the Crystal Moon pack is definitely something."