7 days till Heartbreak

~Wednesday ~ 4 days until rejection finalizes

Willow

Willow whimpered and placed a hand on her head, the pain pulsed inside of it as if it was trying to stage a breakout. What time was it? Her eyes remained closed in a stage of protest as her body slowly awakened. That was the last time she would trust generic sleep medication, taking in a deep breath she was suddenly aware of the fact that this was not her room. A different scent hung in the air, her eyes snapped open and she was faced with a red ceiling. Red, did she die? Another jab of pain, nope not dead.

Stiffening she slowly got out the bed, noticing that she was still wearing her pajamas from last night. Well, that is great whoever kidnapped her had the decency to not change her, how polite. That was a relief. She walked towards the door and opened it, they didn’t lock her in either. Terrible kidnapping skills, was she really judging their skills right now? Grimacing she shivered as a feeling of Deja Vue hit her as she entered the hallway. She knew this house as if to confirm her mental suspicions she heard shouting downstairs. It was muffled through the floor but as she walked towards the stairs it became understandable.

“-SOMEONE, are you insane? I leave you alone for one night! One, and you go off and do something this, this.” A pause, in between words as she moved closer to the sound. The scents hitting her nose and the tone of the voice confirmed exactly where she was. “Do you know what the pack is going to think if anyone saw you do this?” A snarl cut her off and the sound of something slamming into the floor was what greeted Willow as she entered the kitchen.

Beta Fray had her arms crossed in front of her chest, her blond hair was up in a bun and she was wearing a dress. Willow felt her lips twitch, she hadn’t changed. Fray could go from wanting to look like a delicate flower to looking like she tore the heads off people after training. Fray fought her way through all the ranks until she took the beta position from her brother. Fray’s brown eyes flickered to her “I’m not taking the fall for this if she gets the cops involved it’s on you.”

Drayn was standing across from her, his own eyes looking towards her for a moment. “I’ll deal with it.” Willow felt something pulse inside her, the same raw anger that was in her yesterday was filling her up today. “It? Is it safe to assume I am the it in this situation.” The look she received confirmed it, “You need to be dealt with.” Out of the corner of her eye, Fray groaned and facepalmed. “Idiots, everywhere just, Hi Willow, good morning, I am going to leave if you do murder him please do it on the carpet.” Fray left the kitchen.

Yep, she hadn’t changed at all. Willow pursed her lips as the silence grew a part of her did want to stab him with a fork. He had kidnapped her? She remembered her feelings when going through the separation week but never had it caused her to try and kidnap him. Go after his scent a couple of times and stare at him from a distance, yes. So she temporarily was a stalker, not her finest moment she admits, but kidnapping? “Dealt with?” She forced the two words out. “What exactly about me needs to be dealt with? Because we already took care of the mate bond. Do you plan to kill me now?” A cup was thrown onto the floor next to the remains of another one. He snarled as the object made contact with the ground.

He moved around the counter that was blocking him from her and stopped when she backed up a little bit. Willow blinked as he growled out “No. Why would you think that?” He looked at her like she was the crazy one but she wasn’t. He’s the one who is causing the issues right now. “Because dealt with aren’t exactly words of encouragement.” Came the retort. “We need to talk.” She tensed her mind flashing back to yesterday as her throat began to dry. “We talked yesterday.” He glanced towards the stove “Are you hungry?”

Willow took another step back is she hungry? What kind of, her hands shook as something within her began to twist. “So first, you come to my house after three years, and demand we start the mate bond up, then you send your sister to give me the whole we have a curse placed on us due to our own mistake please help. You proceed to have the massive ego of coming back to my house and giving me what was the worlds most terrible apology, excuses are not an apology. An apology is I messed up. I hurt you. I am sorry. Complimented with some cheesy personalized crap.”

Willow had snapped, somehow someway she had snapped. It felt so good to unleash her anger, even if it meant screwing with her chances of leaving. Of getting out of here. With each word the ember of anger turned into a flame flaring up enough to burn the house down, the further she got the more her voice grew a bit louder and more filled with hurt. “And to top off this entire week you kidnap me. Act like this is completely normal tell me I need to be dealt with then you ask if I’m hungry? No. I am not hungry. I am angry, hurt, and tired.”

Her breathing which had sped up during the rant began to slow, her heart was pounding like a drum. Her nails began to dig into her palm almost drawing blood, as her eyes glowed with an unknown power. He walked towards her stopping just a few inches away, Willow looked up at him hating that she was cursed to be short. Or he was just annoyingly tall, yes, that made her feel better. “You’re right, I’m sorry.” Short, simple, and his words seemed to sound like he meant them. And yet, she felt like he was mocking her. Her hand raised as she moved to smack him not realizing she was doing it until his hand caught her wrist. A glimmer of surprise appeared within his blue eyes.

“You do have a backbone.” The mummer was soft, as he eyed her a thin smile on his face. This egotistical confusing asshole. He wasn’t angry that she was about to smack him, in fact, he looked proud surprised and pleased. Frustrated she yanked her hand away she growled at him turning and storming to the back door. “I’m going for a run.” Slamming the door behind her.

~ Rejection day ~

Willow’s lip quivered as the tears went down her face, her heartfelt like they had thrown it in a woodchipper. She was currently standing outside the ceremony room, which was a wooden building next to the Alpha’s house. the moon hung in the sky almost taunting her about what was about to transpire. Rejections were a rare occasion when it happened the ceremony was placed at night, they would call upon the moon goddess and present their reasonings. She had spent the day hidden in her room questioning both what to say during this and what was wrong with her to cause this, what did she do to deserve this? Was something wrong with her? Her wolf whimpered as Willow placed her hand on the doorknob, she managed to pull together what little remained of her dignity to open the door.

There was an altar, wooden and in the shape of the moon. Etched into its design was a wolf howling at a silver moon. On top of the altar was an offering freshly killed deer. The Alpha’s family was here as well as the Beta’s they were discussing something huddled into a small circle. Were they talking about her? Of course, they were, after all, they were here to witness the rejection. A lump formed within her throat as her eyes landed on Drayn who was standing next to it. Spotting her he walked over and seemed to carefully watch her. He seemed to be waiting for something but she was unsure of what that was. “Are you ready?” She stiffened and nodded, he looked like he wanted to say something but decided otherwise.

Drayn took her wrist and led her to the sacrifice her wolf was whining loudly. Not wanting her to go through with it. But she had to, he didn’t want her so why force herself to stay. The two kneeled in front of the altar, keeping their heads down. Drayn’s father walked to in front of them, the sound of bones cracking as the rest shifted into their wolves. They lowered themselves down onto the ground in preparation.

Alpha Ashton cleared his throat “Lady Mayari, we call upon you to present the case for the separation of these two wolves.” He lit a candle and placed it next to the deer. “We offer this sacrifice in your name and ask that you appear before us to present our case.” There was silence the wind began to whistle, despite being in a building. Anticipation filled her as the wind sped up and above the altar a small tornado appeared the wind almost felt like it was going to carry them away into the sky.

A woman appeared as the wind retreated, standing on the table where the deer once was, her skin was silver like moonlight, her hair flowed and was a midnight blue but seemed to have little spots of white dots on it symbolizing the night sky. Her pupil was yellow while her outer rim was a green color. Her eyes swept over them, connecting with Willow’s. Her heart picked up as she quickly looked back down. But the gaze stayed on her, a beat of silence as she felt the dread increase with every passing moment. “You two may stand.”

She carefully pushed herself up trying to ignore the shaking that her hands were doing. Her mind began to run with how this was going to turn out, her heart was twisting within her chest. Did she already mess up? Was the goddess going to agree? Drayn stood beside her. Mayari looked at her and gave her a kind smile. “There is no reason to be fearful of me, child.” Willow bit her lip unsure of how to respond. “You’ve called me here to destroy the bond, this is not something to be taken lightly. I do not always grant the request, I take careful consideration with who I pair my wolves too. And yet you wish to cast aside your bond, to throw away what I have given you, why is that?” The question was aimed at Drayn.

Drayn straightened “She is not a fit for the Luna position. I find her displeasing in complimenting my wolf.” Mayari looked displeased her mouth formed a frown. “I hope you have a more proper response prepared than that, and choose your words carefully.” Drayn lowered his head. “My apologies Milady. Willow has shown on several occasions that she does not hold the strength to fight off feral wolves, she does not hold any leadership qualities rather taking the followers position. This leads me to worry that in an event of an emergency the pack would be unable to look to their Luna for help or guidance. Willow does not fight for what she wants and accepts defeat easily. These are not the qualities I want in a mate.”

Willow tried her best to not start breaking down again, just hearing the words caused her body to shudder. She knew it was true she wasn’t a fighter, the most she could offer Drayn was companionship. But that should be enough for mates, shouldn’t it? Why should he care if she isn’t a leader? Although, the truth to his words stung within her mind. The pack needed a Luna, a strong one, she wasn’t strong. Not physically or mentally. Mayari turned to her, “Tell me, Willow, do you have anything to say?” Something bubbled within her the urge to fight back, the urge to turn around and hit Drayn with all the strength she had. But it was useless, hopeless, she could feel herself begin to spiral once again. She finally manged out a small whisper.

“No, Milady.”

It came out choked her tone wavering as she attempted to stay still. Sadness appeared within Mayari’s eyes and she nodded. “Do you both understand this is permanent? the moment the bond breaks you will be mateless.” Willow barely managed to voice out her agreement, Drayn echoed her a moment later.

Mayari sighed regretfully. “Very well, I had high hopes for the two of you. I was not mistaken when pairing you together. You would have balanced well, however, I will grant the bond breakage. But it will not be a short process, I will give you time to come to your senses. Therefore I will slowly have the bond disappear over the course of 3 years. 3 years on this day if you managed to fight the after effects, separation week, and your wolves. You will no longer be mates. This is my final decision.”

Drayn looked a bit pale at her words but nodded. “Thank you, Milady.” Willow hesitated three years? How was she going to fight this thing for three years? “Thank you.” She managed but she didn’t mean it, she wanted something to stop this. You can stop it whispered a voice, but how? She wasn’t what he wanted and why did she need to fight for someone who didn’t want her? The room glowed as the wind picked up again, and within moments the goddess disappeared.

~ The next morning- 1095 days until rejection finalizes.~

Willow knocked on the door of the Alpha’s office, her fingers tingling in anticipation. “Come in.” She pushed the door open and stepped inside, the Alpha sat behind a desk with the Luna beside him. Two chairs were facing the pack leaders “Alpha Ashton, Luna Cynthia, I wish to speak with you regarding my position in the pack.” Cynthia smiled at her gently and motion to the chairs. “Sit.”

Willow sat across from the Luna, she felt more comfortable around her then the Alpha but that was a given. Omegas often worked with the Luna during events and making sure guests were seen to. “What about your position, Willow?” She glanced down at her hands which were picking at the end of her shirt. “I wish to apply to move to neutral territory and become a lone wolf.” The Alpha looked at her in surprise. “You want to leave the pack? I assure you Willow if this is about my son-” He was cut off by the Luna who seemed to do something that caused him to jolt.

“Do you have a plan for leaving, Willow?” She nodded she had spent the rest of the night coming up with it. She couldn’t stay here, not in this pack otherwise she might just go insane. Being this close to him, being under his command, it sent a chill down her spine that encouraged her need to leave. “I do, Luna, for the next 3 years I will work more shifts at my job in the human village and save up for an apartment in neutral territory. I will then look for a job once I am there and not bother any of the packs nearby, I’ll stay out of trouble.”

Cynthia smiled kindly at her, “I have no doubt you will, and you say you’ll wait 3 years?” Willow nodded, not knowing why she agreed to stay for 3 years. A part of her hoped that in those 3 years he would come to her in regret, or that she will prove to him that she was worthy of being his mate. “Yes Ma’am, I know it’s early to ask but the sooner the paperwork is done.” She tried to think of what to say next but it was left hanging. The Luna smiled at her “I completely understand.”

Cynthia turned towards her mate and looked at him expectantly. He locked eyes with her and they had a silent conversation before the Alpha sighed giving in to her silent demand and pulled out a stack of papers. Shuffling through them he handed a couple to her. “Fill these out and give them back, we will finalize everything before you leave.” Willow took the papers and gave the Alphas a thankful smile. “Thank you, Alpha, Luna.” She stood and left the room. Ashton leaned back in his seat and looked to his mate. “I still think this won’t end well.” Cynthia hummed her own worries filling her mind. “Don’t tell him, the only reason he should go after her is because he wants her, not because she is leaving.”