Her Rejected Mate

2 - Making Plans

Tamara

    I felt so excited when I heard about the Great Forest Pack asking our pack for help, but that excitement was quickly replaced with hurt and anger.  I didn't love Dustin, but I couldn't deny the fact that I cared about him and what he thought of me.

    It was one thing to call me a b***h to my face, but it was another thing to call me that behind my back, and to my family at that.  Instantly, upon hearing about it, I felt the need to confront him.  I didn't care that my older brother had already chased him down.  I was too mad at that moment to give a s**t.

    I stomped through our house with Teagan trying to talk me out of going to his room, but I was determined.  When I reached his door, my whole body was shaking in anger, and I felt like I was about to explode.

    I didn't even bother knocking on his door before I barged into his room.  When our eyes locked, I could see unshed tears pooling his eyes, but I didn't let that deter me from saying what I went there to say, then Teagan had a few choice words that she added.

    After that, I left his room and stomped toward the stairs.  However, the sound of Dustin's voice pleading for me to go back stopped me dead in my tracks.  If I had simply stopped myself from caring about him, I wouldn't be feeling the way I was right then, and that was a feeling I never wanted to experience again.

    I spun around and glared at him as I nonchalantly asked, "Why should I Dustin? You don't respect me or my brother.  You might as well get used to me not being around, because I will be leaving soon."

    Without giving him an explanation on what that meant, I spun back around and sprinted the rest of the way to the stairs where Teagan was patiently waiting for me.  When I reached her, Teagan draped her arm over my shoulder, then we walked together the rest of way back to our house.

    On the way there, Teagan curiously asked, "Are you sure you want to leave Dustin behind?  I know you're mad at him right now, but I also know you care about him."

    "Yes, I'm sure.  I might care about Dustin, but he clearly doesn't care about me as much as he claims.  If he did, he wouldn't go acting like a man-w***e and saying disrespectful things about me behind my back," I answered with frustration evident in my voice.

    "Fair enough," she mumbled as she squeezed the ball of my shoulder.

    "It's not like he's my mate, and if he was, I would probably run away from him even faster," I stated in all honesty.

    "What are you going to do if your mate ends up being at the Great Forest Pack?" she asked with curiosity.

    "I will reject him and put as much distance between us as possible," I adamantly stated.

    Teagan giggled at my response, then she playfully asked, "What if he's super hot and super sweet?"

    "I don't care how hot or how sweet he is.  I don't want to be tied down to a mate.  All they do is make you weak and vulnerable," I stated with conviction, as we walked up the steps to our front porch.

    Teagan reached out and opened the front door, as she teasingly mumbled, "You say that now, but I think you will be all over your mate if he is as cute or cuter than Dustin."

    I scoffed at my sister, then I stepped into the house as I defiantly replied, "f**k mates, and f**k hot guys.  I don't need either of them f*****g things up in my life."

    Suddenly, I heard my mum angrily ask, "What did I just hear you say, young lady?"

    "I don't need anybody f*****g things up in my life," I stated with conviction.

    Without another word, my mum grabbed my ear and pulled me to the living room where my dad was sitting with a notebook on his lap.  He glanced up at us and immediately asked, "What is the meaning of this?"

    "Your daughter is in a mood and talking nonsense.  You need to have a one on one with her," my mum stated before she released her grip on my ear.

    My dad flashed an apologetic smile at me, then he patted the seat beside him and insisted, "Have a seat, dear."

    I dejectedly plopped down and mumbled, "I'm tired of all this pressure about mates this and mates that.  I don't want to find my mate.  Not right now.  I have too many things I want to do before I even think about finding my mate and settling down."

    "Nobody says you have to go search for your mate right now, but if you happen to stumble upon him before you're ready, then there's probably a reason for that.  Most of the time, the Moon Goddess pairs us with the perfect mate," he calmly explained.

    "There's no such thing as a perfect mate.  All mates get mad at each other, and all mates get jealous.  How can that be perfect?" I asked in exasperation.

    "Honey, that's normal for everybody, mates, friends or otherwise.  You can't look at it like that.  Take me and your mum's situation.  She was battered and broken when we met, but having me by her side was all she needed to heal from the many physical and emotional wounds that she suffered from," he thoughtfully pointed out.

    "I know, and I think it's great you and mum found each other when you did, but I don't need my mate's help.  All I need is the freedom to find my own happiness," I sheepishly replied.

    "What is that you think you need to find your happiness?" he attentively asked.

    "I wanna fight.  I want to take out lots of rogues and help keep other's safe.  That is my purpose in life, and that's what I want to do," I stated with determination.

    My dad beamed a smile, as he excitedly informed me, "We will be leaving in a few days to travel south to the Great Forest Pack, where we will be helping one of their neighboring packs attack a group of rogues.  Do you want to join us for that trip?"

    "Hell yeah!  That's a must!" I enthusiastically chirped with a smile returning to my face.

    "Excellent!  We will be leaving at first light two mornings from now.  Be up and ready to go," he stated with a twinkle in his dark blue eyes.  My dad always got excited about a good battle against rogues, and we seemed to feed off of each other's excitement.

    "I wouldn't miss the opportunity for nothing," I confidently stated as I got to my feet, then I headed up to my bedroom, so I could fill Teagan in on everything.

    As soon as I stepped into our room, she nervously asked, "How did that go?"

    I flashed a triumphant smirk in her direction, then I excitedly gushed, "We are going to the Great Forest Pack with dad and mum.  We leave two mornings from now at first light.  Dad said to make sure we are up and ready to go."

    Teagan jumped up from the bed where she was sitting, then she quickly closed the gap between us while squealing with excitement the entire time.  When she reached me, Teagan engulfed me in a sisterly hug and exclaimed, "This is going to be so awesome!  I hope we meet lots of cool werewolves there."

    "I'm sure there will be lots of new people to talk to.  Whether they are cool or not is yet to be determined," I replied with a little giggle, and that had Teagan giggling with me.

    We hung out for a little bit after that and talked about our favorite attack and defense strategies.  We both wanted to be ready for the upcoming battle.  Not long after that, we killed the lights in our room and went to sleep.

    Teagan and I spent most of the next day packing up anything and everything that was important to us.  Neither of us had any intention of returning to the Forest Pack any time in the near future.  

    Plus, there was the chance that we might not want to leave the Great Forest Pack, or one of us might find our mate and not be able to resist the pull of the mate bond.  Regardless of what happened when we got there, we wanted to be prepared for any situation.