Rejected His Miracle Luna (Dorothy and Ignatius)

Chapter 31

-Ignatius -

Aside from the frequent night terrors that had Dorothy thrashing around at night, her integration into the Bielke Pack was going better than I had expected over the next few weeks.

Dorothy never spoke much on the nature of her nightmares. She described a creature stalking her in the woods but the dreams faded from memory almost as soon as she anvoke and she could only recall the vaguest of details.

Sometimes she would clash and twist in her sleep, other times I would awake to her screaming in terror and struggle to wake her up. She always apologized but I wasn't too bothered at the unrest - I had endured enough of my own vivid nightmares. to be understanding. I was worried about her though.

Dorothy herself seemed pleasantly content during her waking hours. After asking me about a dozen times "just to make extra extra sure" that I was okay with her decorating the house, she got to work sticking up her drawings and stacking her own worn books on the large bookcase in the living room.

She was at a loss on where to store her collection of sticks and stones and eventually decided to line them along the window salls of every rooms in the house.

It made me more than happy to watch her finally relax. 1 wanted her to feel at home in this place. I wanted it to be hers as much as it was mine.

While she gradually got comfortable enough to take over the house, Dorothy never once mentioned or set foot near the small study in the back. I knew why, I was Claire's room.

1 had been her little haven when life got too much. She would hide away in there and even lock me out-humorously apologizing through the door that she would be getting lost in her books for a few hours and I'd have to entertain myself

I had never been able to bring myself to enter the space after her death. Dorothy seemed to believe that it should stay as it was- A time capsule of a previous life and a memorial of sorts for a person she never got to meet

In between exploring the cottage and surrounding garden - as well as befriending Geranium who seemed to have quite fond of her-Dorothy insisted on exploring more of Bielke territory. grown

"I want to meet your friends," she had pouted "How am I supposed to convince everyone that I'm not a monster-ora nudist for that matter if I never get to see any of them"

She was disappointed to discover that, aside from Johan - whom we rarely spoke of - and Angie, 1 had none.

"And I thought I was the loner.

I used to have friends, quite a lot of them in fact. I had since grown apart from them when I had decided that I wanted to change. It wasn't that I had cut them off completely, but I rarely spoke to any of them outside of formal pack meetings and

the likes

ant too bothered by any of it. Before Dorothy, I had enjoyed any solitary life. Angie was the only other person I confided on occasion and even then, our congregations were bef.

Although we didn't speak much on the topic of Johan, I could tell Dorothy was still hurting I knew she blamed herself for what he had become Despite my best efforts, she was still of the firm belief that she had somehow tailed him.

Temats between Angie and Dorothy remained high, despite Dorothy's initial efforts to look past Angie's antics. Angie remained convinced that Durthy was the root of the issues between the Belke and Khall packs and she refused the olive Brand that Dorothy had attempted to extend

She had dature of herself from me as well, disgusted that I word put a guloses the safety of any pack. She was tou stoked. about nur malā ang tape at her house in wolt form and attacking her cather sandy to startte Anga

Ebetter to an outright brawd than through sitting

Chapter 31

down and having a conversation.

on. With my teeth and claws, the message was clear- stay away from my mate.

62%

Although she was yet to charm Angie as well as my stoic father, Dorothy had already befriended a number of other individuals of the pack. While we had been out and about she had struck up conversations with the local librarian as well as a few council members we ran into once on the beach.

Dorothy had been cestatic the first time I had taken her to the beach. I was used to my mate being hesitant and reserved, the last thing I had expected was to see her barrel across the sand and throw herself into the waves - clothes and all-with the biggest grin on her face.

I had no choice but to run in after her of course. She got dunked under the waves a few times and swallowed a healthy dose of saltwater and sand but I had never seen her quite so happy.

Her favorite part though had been exploring the rock pools, Just as I suspected, she came home with armfuls of seashells and pretty stones that she had swiped from the rocky crevices and proceeded to place them all over the house.

Our home was coming alive again. Dorothy had breathed new life into the building from the moment she walked through the front doors.

Pack tensions were growing between us and Dorothy's former pack, but we had time enough to enjoy ourselves before Serious measures were to be taken.

No more news had been heard from Johan but I was expected to attend a hearing bark on Khall territory in the next few days to explain my side of the story. Dorothy insisted that she wanted to come with me and I had hesitantly agreed.

The Khall agreed to hold off on further action until my hearing and a few skilled trackers from both packs had been sent to seek out Johan. Aside from that, life was peaceful,

That particular day, I kicked open the front door with bags and bags of new clothes lining my arms. Dorothy peaked down at me from the top of the staircase, tilting her head to question the packages. "Your new wardrobe," I proclaimed, dumping the bags at my feet in a grandiose fashion. Expensive fabrics of all colors and textures spilled out

Dorothy frowned. "What's wrong with my wardrobe right now!

"Dorothy, you own like ten items of clothing and most of it is lingerie

She narrowed her eyes at me before gliding down the stairs to inspect my haul. "You make a fair point. I suppose."

Her eyes widened when she pulled the first garment from one of the bags. It was a sweeping black dress made of the lightest wispy fabric. "You chose all of this?"

"G od no. Rita helped me. If it was left up to me I would have just bought you more lingerie."

She laughed at this and began delving through more bags. It made me happy, seeing her settling in and the joy on her face in lieu of all the gifts. She was trying to tone down her excitement but her eyes sparkled as she pulled out item after expensive item. "Rita's got taste, I've got to admit."

Dorothy and Rita spent a lot of time together. When they weren't pottering around in the garden talking about healing herbs, Kita was schooling Dorothy on Bielke traditions. I was grateful to the caretaker for being so kind to my mate

She had been with our pack for years although she never disclosed exactly where she had come from previously. Rita herself had apparently lost her ability to shift as well as all of the other shifter capabilities. In all except wisdom-Rita was human. I had asked her alsout it when I was much younger, a child sitting on her knee to which she responded that love and sacrifice went hund in hand. hadn't understood it ther and I still didn't now.

When she was done crawling through her new collection of garments, Dorothy picked up as many bags as she could and mashed upstairs to the bedroom I picked up the rest of her stuff and followed on after her. We spent the next hour or so with

clined on the bed and Dorothy trying on every single ouths and strutting up and

10:44 Fn, Jan 26

Chapter 31

down the bedroom like she was a model on a runway,

I wanted nothing more than to live in our little sanctuary together no exterior threats, no pack tensions. Just me and my mate in the comfort of our own home. Tor thought this was selfish of me and I had to agree with him. But I didn't mind. being a little bit selfish for once.

I had a duty to my pack and I cared deeply for all of them even the more vivacious ones but a part of me would always long to just be here with Dorothy and nothing else.

Some people saw having real love for ones mate as a weakness in an Alplsa, Over time, ideas had been skewed to convince people like my father that they were better off without their mate at their side. Elliot had a love once, my mother. I wasn't sure what had happened to her. No one was. She had vanished when I was very

young

The last thing I could remember of Morticia was her streaming white hair, her bare feet, and the sight of her back as she ran from us, further and further away through a field I couldn't recall while my father stood at my side.

I could still hear Elliot's words, "Good riddance."

I didn't see love as a weakness. I saw it as a strength. Possession is one thing- and I had felt the strength of possession - but love was another feeling entirely,

It was finding someone who was willing to grow with you. Not no halves of the same whole but rather two wholes that built something even greater.

I could feel Tor rolling his eyes at my sappy musings. "So it's love that drives you to pull her hair in bed? Amongst other derogatory things

"Shut up. She likes it.

"I do."

My head snapped up to look at Dorothy who had perched herself at the foot of the bed.

"Get out of my head, you pe rvert."

She laughed and crawled towards me, straddling my torso and burying her face in my neck

I played with a strand of her fiery hair and ran my nails along her back

The thing about soulmates, the mating call - all of it, is that it's transcendent. A shifier finds their soulmate when their inner wolf locks eyes with their past lover.

Our wolves are reincarnated souls, living lifetimes over and over again as they are born into and die with their human vessels, only to be born again in the b*dy of someone new,

But shifters themselves are more than just vessels, we are able to choose our own paths, choose our lovers and reject our mutes. Our wolves govern only our primal instincts for the most part

We exist in unison - our souls tied to that of our wolves, who in turn are connected to the earth itself. Nob*dy knows which nactly came first.

For a shifter to fall for someone new, after losing their mate be a through rejection or a fatal accident, is rare. It is a s hit that or curs not only in a single lifetime but alters the path of the wolf for many more lifetimes to come. Tor may never again serk out Yelena Claire's woll

While we had both mourned Claire to the point of near-fatal measures. Tor seemed alright with this tact Dorothy and her wolf were an anomaly, but we couldn't help but love her all the same the name of Dorothy's wolf, it was something she would have to discover for herself when they were hmally able to communicates

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Chapter 31

0231

I wanted desperately to help her get to that point, but I was also aware that it was something that took time. It was a personal experience that I could only witness from a distance. Dorothy broke me from my trance when she spoke, "Your hearing is coming up soon. Her voice was suddenly solemn and she kept her face against my chest, "Yeah."

"What are you going to tell them?"

I wrapped my arms around her tightly. I wanted to press her into my chest, fold her up and place her in my heart where she'd be safe forever.

"I'm going to tell them the truth.

B

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