Rejection Denied

“Finally.” I groaned as I took in a wooden chair in the back of the room.

After Jamie finished talking about…well, whatever the fuck came to her mind. It slipped her mind to mention that all of the champions were needed for a meeting in an hour.

So, I decided to grab my breakfast and head there early. The small room is on the first floor. There are two doors one in the front and one back here. A low platform stage is in front of the room. There are fake plants in the corners of the platform, and large red curtains hanging on the wall as a background.

I placed my plate in my lap and took in the beautiful sight: Bacon, a fresh glazed cinnamon roll, and fluffy eggs. I licked my lips and unwrapped my fork.

The back door to the room opened. And women with long red hair and a bright yellow sundress came strolling in. “Well, I guess we’re just a couple of early birds. Good morning Aviry.” Alpha Sams champion, Izzy, sat down in the chair beside me.

“Oh, no. Nope, I’m not saying that shit again.” I stuffed a forkful of eggs in my mouth and chewed slowly. “Sup, Izzy.” I nodded toward her, and a small clump of egg fell on the floor from my mouth.

“Mhmm. Indeed.” She unwrapped her granola bar and picked off the chocolate. “Well, you look nice today, the blouse is different. And your hair looks um…shiny.” She grinned and bit into the granola bar.

“Mmm, I washed it. It’s been a while. What’s with the snack? Are you watching your weight or something?” I stuffed some bacon into my mouth. “You’re already really skinny. But you have a nice ass.”

“I know that was maybe meant as a compliment, Aviry. But maybe don’t mention other people’s weight.” Mia said.

“Thank you. I guess.” The door in the front opened, and we both look forward.

Two females entered the room—Heather has a tan skin tone and brunette hair with highlights. Cory with her beautiful brown skin that glows. Her brown hair curls came down to her shoulders. They were both wearing patterned sundresses and sandals.

Izzy shot her hand up. “Ooo Heather, Cory over here.” She shouted, waving over the other champions. They walked over and they both took a seat in front of us.

Heather placed her hand over her chest, “You guys. Jessie’s funeral was so beautiful, don’t you think?” She turned back to look at us with puffy red eyes.

“I suggested to Alpha Kane that we’d appreciate it if we did at dawn. I gathered a small group to attend, nothing too big. I’m positive that she would’ve wanted it that way.”

I swallowed my food and looked up from my plate with narrowed eyes. Heather wiped a tear from her eye with a tissue and then folded it neatly. I shook my head slightly and finished the last bacon slice.

“You know I helped arrange the flowers. I’m sure she would’ve loved the colors I choose. Blue and green were definitely her colors.” Cory said, placing a hand on Heather’s shoulder.

I picked up my cinnamon roll and bit into it to stop my incoming words. I get it; they helped plan the funeral. But, did they do it for some type of reward or something?

“You ladies did a fabulous job today. Everything was perfect.” Izzy confirmed to the women. “But let’s just—”

“Yes, but who did a better job?”Heather turned to look at Izzy. “You know a luna must be able to organize an event even when it’s unexpected and unplanned. The timing must be perfect, as well as the scenery—”

Cory pouted. “But decorations pull the whole thing together. Without them, it would be boring. No one would remember the details of the—”

“Are you fucking serious?” I said while chewing my food. I glared at the two females before me and shook my head. “None of that shit matters at the end of the damn day. The sun rose, and the flowers died the second you picked them.” They looked at me with wide eyes and open mouths.

“Let me just say this. I’ll remember Jessie,” I said, wiping my hands on my shirt. “Not the damn flowers, or the time of day. Her funeral wasn’t a fucking competition for you, luna wannabes.” There was a brief silence between the four of us until Izzy cleared her throat.

“Aviry’s right, you guys. The point was to say goodbye to Jessie, and we should remember her. Not the details of the scenery.” Izzy smiled and nodded to the other two. They slowly nodded as tears formed in their eyes.

“Aviry,” Mia whispered. “Respect the living. Jessie is gone. Try to be nice to these women. They did take the time to plan something.”

“Mia, I spoke to what I felt. Why should I sugar coat my point of view for anyone? Why should I care?”

“Just try to consider their feelings, Aviry. You won’t get these people on your side if you continue being a total bitch.” Mia nudged our mental wall. “Be a bitch to your enemies, not potential allies.”

I huffed and set my plate on the ground. “Look, it was very…good-natured of you both to find the time to give her a proper goodbye. Everything was well planned and looked nice.” I stated. I looked up to find all three of them staring at me, surprised. “Let’s just remember her as a person, not a responsibility you took on.”

“Is that better?” I asked my bothersome wolf.

“Much better.” Mia nodded.

I crossed my arms and laid back in my chair. “Thank you, Aviry. Yes, let’s remember that we did this for her, not ourselves.” Izzy straightened out her yellow dress and tossed her red hair over her shoulder.

“You’re both right. This competition just brings out the worst in me. You two are true lunas.” Cory said, wiping at her eyes.

“Speaking of that, are ya’ll ready for the next event? I’ve been training with Alpha Sam every afternoon for the past two months.” Izzy chirped. She stopped smiling and scratched her head. “In a way, it doesn’t seem fair since he’s in charge of this event.”

“My Alpha has been way too busy. So, I’ve trained for months with the warriors of our pack.” Cory groaned. “I’m glad I’m done with it. The smelly men, the dirt, oh, and my hands are always so dry after fighting. Ugh, and all of the sweat is just ehhh.” She rolled her eyes and crossed her legs.

Are you serious? It wouldn’t be a training session without any of that glory. And training doesn’t have an end. There is no set maximum to be better yourself. Well, for me, there isn’t. But for them, it sounds like they did very little to prepare for this. Which is an advantage for me. I chuckled and crossed my legs, as well.

“What about you, Aviry?” Izzy asked.

I know I’m more than ready for the next event. I don’t need to explain my fighting resume to these women. I shrugged my shoulders. “I’m good.”

“Engage Aviry. This is part of being social. This is how we’ll get support,” Mia said.

I rolled my eyes and looked at Izzy. “I’ve been fighting for the past three years. I trained with a few people when I got here and kicked their asses. I trained a lot, nearly everday. But it was more like a refresher course. I know I’m more than prepared to win the entire competition.” I can’t mention my training with wolves for the first time.

“Wow! So much confidence, it’s so inspiring.” Izzy grinned and clapped her hands. “It makes me want to train even harder. I’m sure lazy Sam will hate that.”

“Aviry literally embodies strength. I mean, you dare to take on alpha Derrick and then challenge the other ones. That is amazing.” Heather leaned forward. “I would have never been that brave. What’s your secret? I want to be more like you. But you know less…”

“Bitchy?” I asked with a raised brow.

All three of the female’s eyes went wide. Cory shrunk back, and Izzy palmed her face. “Umm… yes, in a way, you are that. But…Mmm, that word is so…you know…” Heather stammered.

“It’s ok,” I said, stopping her rambling. “I’m aware that I’m a bitch. It doesn’t bother me that others see that as well.” I shrugged my shoulder.

“But I’d rather be a bitch, than be somebody’s bitch. My attitude is a nonphysical defense. A warning to anybody and everybody. But when it gets physical, I’m no longer a bitch. I’m all beast.”

“But not appearance-wise. You’re so strong, smart, and beautiful. Honestly, when you mouthed off to Derrick the first time, I knew you were strong. But when I saw you win the first event, I was completely amazed. This last event, and what you did for Jessie, just tied a big red ribbon on for me.” Izzy had wide eyes and a slight smile as she looked at me.

“But what about her…you know.” Cory leaned in and whispered. “Dire wolf situation.”

The door to the room opened and closed. And in came the damsel in distress from yesterday.

“What about it?” Nova’s bitchy voice filled the room. “Sorry, not sorry to interrupt. But really, who the fuck cares about it, honestly?” I exhaled and looked up to the ceiling.

Deep…deep…deep mother fucking breaths Aviry. Inhale every single particle in the damn room.

“Nova. It’s so nice of you to stop by.” Izzy said as she clapped her hands together. “You never seemed to care about our conversations before. It’s good to see you this morning.”

“Mmm, it is, isn’t it. Normally, I wouldn’t bother to be near any of you, but I hate to see people wasting their breath.” Nova leaned against the wall and crossed her arms. “You see, this, “it,” won’t be competing anymore. Therefore, I won the last event by default.”

“According to who? I don’t believe that for a second, why were we not told.” Izzy asked, surprised.

I was listening to Nova and Izzy. But I was more interested in who the fuck “it” was. I may be a lot of things, but that isn’t on the list. I really want to beat Nova’s face, but Mia is holding me back. She is in control of my arms, legs, and mouth. Right now, I’m fighting to stay in power against my wolf. I closed my eyes and rolled my neck.

I entered my mind space and glared at my wolf. “Mia, you’re doing the exact opposite of what we should be doing. We should be trying to fight back, not hold back.” I Snapped. “I just want to talk to her.”

“According to my Alpha Isabel.” Nova placed her hand on her hips. “You know the one who makes the decisions.”

“We are aware of your alpha’s status. But what were his exact words, Nova?” Heather asked with her head resting on her palm. She was clearly irritated with the new group member.

“Well, it was a private conversation.” Nova stood straight and leaned forward. “But since your so vested in what I have to say. On behalf of all of us valid champions. I asked My Alpha to eliminate the dire bitch. He agreed and called all of the alphas for a meeting last night.” Nova looked over at me with an ugly sneer. “I will not allow a filthy dire wolf to compete in this competition.”

I canceled that bullshit, you stupid, stupid girl. I can’t wait until I tell you about my new status. I just have to get control of my mouth.

“Mia, I’ve been tolerant all morning up until now. Please tell me that you don’t expect me to allow this bitch to continue speaking.” I struggled against the hold. “I just want to talk to her. Release my mouth.”

“Aviry, don’t!” Mia shouted; she continued to push back against me. “There’s a better way—”

“On our behalf?” Izzy questioned. “Who nominated you to speak for us?” Izzy slowly rose and crossed her arms. “Speak for yourself when it comes to your opinion about things. If you feel threatened by Aviry, quit the competition.”

Cory stood up from her chair. “Exactly, Aviry offers us a real challenge. Before her, this whole thing was only about becoming a luna for our alphas. It still is, but now we have an actual reason to try to win for ourselves. We can prove we have real strength, something our alpha’s think we have little of.”

Heather stood. “We all have strength to show. We just need the perfect challenger to bring it out. And that is what Aviry will do. Whether we win or lose, we get to show our worth.”

Heather walked over to Nova and crossed her arms. “Nova, ass-kissing is the only challenge you’ll win against us. And we’re not interested in taking your title, so enjoy it bitch.”

Nova growled, “You’re going to screw everything up by taking her side. None of you are luna material.” Nova stomped her foot like a child. “My alpha will hear about this. None of you deserve to be here.”

“Well, you just go on ahead and tell him. And be sure to mention that Aviry will compete or none of us will.” Izzy looked at Cory and Heather as they nodded their heads. “Now hurry on. The door’s behind you, Nova. Don’t let it hit your flat ass on the way out.” Izzy flicked her hair and retook her seat.

Nova huffed and looked over at me. Mia released my mouth, and I grinned wickedly. She growled and left the room. All three women burst out laughing and high fived each other.

“That breed of bitch is the worst.” Cory laughed.

Heather sat back in her chair and crossed her legs. “Nova is stuck in a time loop of her high school days. She was the popular type in school and the biggest bully to humans and werewolves. Such a goddamn cliché.”

“Well, that won’t work here.” Izzy reached over and squeezed my shoulder. “Nobody’s allowed to take a shot at Aviry without us there to take the bullet.”

I was stunned by this response. I usually have to defend myself, but these women stood up for me without hesitation. And I couldn’t help but smile at them as the room filled in with the rest of the champions and other pack members. e continued talking about the upcoming events, and I enjoyed the drama-less conversation.

Mia chuckled nudged me from our Mindspace. I nudged back and smiled at her. A smile, something that used to be impossible for me, but it is becoming more common now.