Beyond Beta's Rejection

(Harper’s POV)

Colton picked me up and put me on the bed. I laid there crying with him curled around me, stroking my hair and whispering that it was going to be ok. I was getting whiplash from his personality shifts, but even though he was the one who was making me so upset, his scent still gave me some comfort, and I clung to that comfort.

At some point in the evening, I fell asleep, and when I woke up again, it was pitch black. I stumbled around for a light, once again cursing the need for table lamps, and eventually found the wall switch. I had no idea what time it was and no idea where my phone was. I hadn’t taken it to the pack dinner and had left it in my room. But a quick look around told me that it wasn’t here anymore. I could only assume that Colton had taken it. I sighed and went to open the door to ask him. The handle turned, but the door didn’t move. I was locked in. I pulled on the door a few more times, just in case it magically opened, but I was locked in. I sighed in frustration, trying not to let the tears start again. I huffed and headed to the bathroom. I looked in the mirror and could see I looked pale, more than usual. My dark hair was a mess, and I was still covered in all the dirt from my escape attempt, and I was still wearing Tommy’s t-shirt. I put on the shower, turned it to hot, stripped out of my clothes, and climbed in. I spent as long as possible in the shower, allowing the water to beat down my skin. Eventually, I washed my hair and body and climbed out. Afterwards, I brushed my teeth and hair and put my hair up into a French braid while it was still wet, and found some comfy nightclothes.

I opened the curtains and looked out the window at the very beginning of daylight. I could see the pack house estate, and I surveyed immediately below my window. We were on the third floor, which, even for a werewolf, would be quite the drop. I guessed my only way out of here was through the door. I just had to figure out how to get it unlocked and get out. Colton had said that I would have either Alex or Greg on the door, meaning there was no way I was getting through unnoticed. I went and laid back down on the bed in frustration and soon felt myself drifting back off to sleep.

The sound of the door opening woke me up this time. By my guess, the room was now flooded with morning light, which made it around 8 am. This was confirmed when the door opened, and Colton walked in holding a tray filled with amazing-smelling food. I smiled as I saw the food, and Colton’s face lit up, and he smiled back at me.

“Good morning, Strawberries,” he said brightly, putting the tray down on the bed. I mumbled an acknowledgement as I briefly surveyed the full English-cooked breakfast before digging in.

Colton chuckled at me. “Quite the appetite this morning,” he said, sitting down on the bed. “I wonder what else you have the appetite for” his hand grazed up my leg and under the leg of my shorts. And brushed against my panties. I rolled my eyes and pushed his hand back down.

“Colton,” I said, my mouth full of food. “I’m eating.” He sat and watched me with a curious expression.

Eventually, I ran out of food and at least felt sated in the belly. I wiped my mouth with one of the napkins and pushed the tray away. I looked at Colton, waiting for him to say something, but he continued watching me. Eventually, I caved. I hated the silence.

“I can’t find my phone,” I said, and he raised an eyebrow. “Do you know where it is?” and he nodded.

“It’s in my room,” he said, all matter-of-factly. “Phones are a privilege. You’ll get it back when you earn it back.” I looked at him open-mouthed.

“How am I meant to talk to my family or my friends?” I asked. I was getting annoyed. This was my property, not his. He raised an eyebrow again and growled low in his throat.

“Careful Strawberries, I don’t like your tone,” he said. “I am your family now, and maybe a reassessment of your friends will be a good thing anyway.”

I wanted to argue, but I could tell by his sudden tense body language that things wouldn’t go well for me. I looked down and started picking at the bedding and felt as he leaned in and kissed my head.

“Good girl,” he whispered, and it took everything I had not to snap at him.

Thankfully, there was a knock at the door, and Colton got up to answer the door. The door opened, and on the other side, there was an Omega holding a white box and several bags. Colton let him in, and he placed the box on the table by the sofa and the bags on the sofa. While the door was open, I saw Alex looking in the room. Our eyes met, and he smiled weakly at me. I couldn’t bring myself to smile at one of the people holding me captive, so I just glared instead, and Alex eventually broke the contact and looked away. Colton saw the exchange and grinned as he closed the door behind the exiting omega.

“Don’t blame Alex,” he said, “he really did try to stop me finding you, took quite the beating, and still didn’t spill.” He walked over to the sofa. “I would have been impressed if it wasn’t for the fact that it was my mate he was keeping away from me.” He opened one of the bags and pulled out a pair of silver shoes.

“Now come over here and look at what I have bought you for tomorrow night.” He looked up at me expectantly, and I rolled my eyes but got off the bed and walked over. He spent the next hour showing me the dress, various accessories, and lingerie that he said I would be wearing later. I barely took notice. The dress was a beautiful silver silk piece, but I had no interest in wearing it.

“I have also allowed Louise to come by this evening,” Colton said, frowning, “She said that you should have a girls’ night before the party.”

“Thank you,” I said and smiled at him. “I appreciate that a lot.” I watched as his face lit up at my smile, and I wondered for a moment if he actually cared about me and thought he was doing the right thing for us. He pulled me into his body and kissed my nose before letting me go again.

Colton stayed until after lunch. After showing me the clothes, he told me about our new suite and how it had been decorated especially for us. He told me about the preparations for the engagement party and other random pack business. He seemed almost gentle in his manner, with the occasional touch now and then. Eventually, he excused himself to do some work and said he would come by with breakfast in the morning. He kissed me on the cheek and left with a smile. I felt confused at the exchange and spent the rest of the day trying to figure out my own conflicting feelings. I tried to talk to Maia about it, but I hadn’t heard anything from her since Wednesday night.

Later on, as it started to turn to dusk, Louise arrived with bags full of movies, with snacks and drinks. And lots of pampering products. She grinned as she walked into the room and started setting everything up. Despite her upbeat outer appearance, I could tell there was a nervous energy about her, and the few glances she shared with her brother seemed to convey some sort of hidden meaning.

“I tried to convince his almighty to let Katie come too, but he wasn’t allowing it,” she said as we sat down to watch the first movie.

“I don’t think he approves of Katie,” I said, and Louise frowned.

“Bloody snob,” she said. We both knew it wasn’t Katie. It was the rank she held that was the issue.

We settled into the movie, and I was starting to drift off to sleep when Louise suddenly jumped up.

“Harper, we gotta move now!” she said, pulling me up. She grabbed a bag that she hadn’t unpacked and passed it to me.

“Wait! What’s going on?” I asked. I had an awful feeling.

“We are getting you out of here, but we have to do it now.” She tapped the door and waited.

“No, you can’t, he’ll find me, and if no,t he’ll come after you,” I said. “I’m not putting you in harm’s way.”

“Don’t be silly. I’m the Gamma’s daughter. He won’t do anything to me.” The door opened, and Alex poked his head in.

“Seriously, if you are doing this, you have ten minutes before I raise the alarm,” he said, and I looked at him in shock. “Don’t look at me like that, Harper. I couldn’t stand by and do nothing, now come on.”

Louise pulled me out of the room, and Alex closed it and locked it again. We headed down the back servant stairs and into the now empty kitchen. We made it out of the house and off the grounds without seeing anyone.

“Tommy is waiting at the border, but we have to be quick,” Louise said as we rushed through the woods. “It would be quicker if we shifted, but I’m guessing that isn’t an option right now for you.”

I shook my head. “I can’t hear Maia at all. She’s too weak after Wednesday,” Louise growled at that as we continued.

I could see headlights in the distance. When Louise cursed. “f**k!” she exclaimed. “It’s too soon!” We burst into a clearing, and I saw Tommy and Katie standing by a car with someone I didn’t know.

“They already know,” Louise shouted, and Tommy nodded.

“Yeah, I already got a strongly-threatened link from the d**k,” he growled.

“Harper, listen to me,” he said, turning to me. “This is Aaron. He is a good friend from when I did warrior training at the council.” I looked at the stocky guy, who smiled brightly at me. “Aaron still works for the council, and he’s going to take you and hide you there for a bit. It’s the only place that Colton won’t dare to look, okay?” he asked, and I nodded. The council was the law for ours and other supernatural species. Most trials and punishments were dealt in-house for packs, but if it involved more than one pack or species or the council saw fit, they would get involved. They were known for being ruthless in their actions, and their word was law regardless of any pack law.

“I promise as soon as it is safe, I will let you know, and you can come home,” he said

“What if it’s never safe?” I asked, my voice breaking, and he pulled me into a hug.

He pulled away and looked at me. “Kid, you are going to have to renounce the pack, so they can’t lay claim on you” he then looked at Louise and back at me. “And you need to accept Colton’s rejection; otherwise, he’s gonna be able to find you straight away.”

“But Maia, she is too weak,” I cried, and he hugged me again as tears fell.

“I know, kid, I’m sorry,”

“Dammit!” Louise exclaimed, “Alex just linked. He’s got a search party out in the woods.” She looked at me. “Harper, I love you, but we are running out of time.” I nodded and hugged her. I turned to Katie, and she smiled even though she was crying.

“I am going to miss you so much,” she said, and we hugged.

“Harper!” Tommy said as he searched the woods frantically. “Katie, get out of here. They are close.” And with one last look, Katie shifted and dove into the woods. Louise pulled her clothes up and bundled them into a second car.

“Harper, it’s time,” Tommy said, and I nodded.

I took a deep breath and said, “I, Harper Kirby, renounce any loyalty and claim on the Midnight Moon pack and accept that I am now rogue until such time that I swear loyalty to this or another pack.” I felt the snap instantly. It felt like there was something in me that was set free. At the same time, I felt lost and like I couldn’t catch my breath. I glanced at Louise and Tommy, who both wrinkled their noses. I knew that to them. My scent would change. I took another breath and looked at Tommy. He smiled in encouragement as I began the next statement that would almost definitely kill off my wolf. My voice was shaking as much as my body was.

“I, Harper Kirby, acknowledge the rejection of Beta Colton Stokes and accept it now, breaking out bond in the eyes of the moon goddess.” I gasped as another snap jolted through my body, followed by a wave of intense pain. I screamed and fell to my knees. It felt like I was ripping away a part of myself. I curled into a ball as the pain raced through me and around me. I was vaguely aware of a harrowing howl and knew which wolf it belonged to. Colton had felt the rejection go through as well, and my only consolation was that he was probably in as much pain as I was.

I felt as a strong pair of arms picked me up from the ground, and I was put into the back of the car and a blanket put over me.

“Don’t worry, little pup,” the guy that Tommy called Aaron said. “I’ll look after you, I promised your uncle.” He closed the door, and I saw Tommy and Louise through the window. I felt the engine start and the view out of the window change as the car moved.

“Sleep, pup,” I heard the man say from the driver’s seat. “We have a bit of a trip ahead of us.” I didn’t want to sleep, but the intense grief I felt coupled with the pain that was still echoing through me was enough to send me into a deep, dark unconscious hole.