Rejection Denied

Aviry

“Holy hell! How much longer!” I stretched my legs out and laid back in my seat. Nix and I are still in the damn car.

“It’s only been fifteen minutes. We’ll be there soon.”

“Not soon enough with your driving. I swear I could’ve walked there faster if I knew where to go.”

“I’m going the speed limit!” Nix’s grip tightened. “You know most people express compassion after hearing a story like that.” Nix looked at me. “Instead, you dozed off while I was speaking.”

“SURPRISE! I’m not a compassionate person. Apologizing for your situation won’t make shit better. I got the gist of your story, so I stopped listening.” I shrugged and looked out the window. It was dark out now, and we were no longer on the highway.

“My father was blood bound to Cay’s mother.” I took in a sharp breath and turned to face Nix. “Tsk, oh so you care if it involves him.” Nix shook his head.

“I dislike him far less than you. Now, what happened.” I pulled my legs into the chair and sat up.

Nix scoffed and turned the car to the right. The road was bumpy now, and the lights to the mansion were on in the distance.

Nixon

After the attack....

“How long will he be out?” A voice brought me back to life.

“Alpha, he’s been through a lot of trauma. It’s not a physical wound; it’s mental.” A female voice said sternly.

The door opened and shut. A loud crash and items clattering on the ground startled me. My eyes shot open, and I winced. I was lying on my back; a bright white light shined above me.

“Where…Where am I.”

“You’re in the hospital, kid.” I felt the side of my bed sink in. A man I recognized as Alpha Mark was here with me. He was the Alpha of The Blood and Moon pack and is a close friend to my family.

My dead family.

“What happened?” I closed my eyes tight.

Mark gripped my leg and squeezed gently. “Local hunters attacked and killed a lot of members from your pack. There were very few survivors. They’re being healed now. Every child survived, but most of them are orphans.”

I opened my eyes and sat up. “That’s impossible! Our defense was tight. My father and his warriors were strong. Their wolves should’ve—”

“Overtaken and destroyed. Each wolf got shot and incapacitated with this.” Mark pulled out a bullet casing and passed it to me.

I shook my head as I examined the metal. “Silver can’t stop us. It hurts but—”

“It’s not just silver.” Mark exhaled deeply. “It’s a new experiment the hunters have been working on. They call it Bane. It suppresses our inner wolves, rendering us human.”

“How the hell do you know all of this!? Are you working—”

“WATCH YOUR MOUTH BOY! I LOST PEOPLE TOO!” Mark took in a deep, shaky breath. A tear fell from his eye, As he stood up and walked to the window.

I bowed my head. “I’m sorry. I know you and my dad grew up together.”

“Your father was my closest friend. But I also lost my mate. She was blood bound to your father.” My head shot up; my eyes were glued on Mark.

“I got a distress call from him during the attack. When Janice died suddenly, I knew the bond had broken.” He pulled the curtain close and turned to look at me. “We were a two-day run away from you all. When we got there, we found you alive, thank the goddess.

“Who did this Mark?” I asked. My heart was pounding. “I want to kill whoever it is.”

“I already did. I had a favor from my allies, and I cashed it in. They informed me of the bullets that were used and helped me find the guilty party.” Mark walked over to me.

“The local hunter in your town, his name was John Locke, a werewolf allegedly attacked his son. The boy—”

“Wait, Locke? Is his son Ethan Locke?” My eyes went wide, and I gripped onto the bed covers.

“Yes, do you know him?” Mark asked with a raised eyebrow

“YES! I did this! This is all my fault; I killed my family. Oh, goddess, I killed your mate!” I pulled the cover off my legs and jumped from the bed. Tears fell from my eyes as I ran to the window. I snatched the curtain open and unlatched the lock.

“Nix…What—What are you...”

I pulled the window up; I was a good twenty feet in the air. “I’m so sorry Mark.”

“LISTEN NIXON!” Mark’s voice boomed. He grabbed my arm and pulled me into his chest, embracing me. “Dwelling on this will only kill you. This isn’t your fault. That hunter was a mad man who wanted to test his experiment.” I was sobbing into his shirt as he rubbed my back. “We will both move on from this. Starting with you coming to live with me.”

Aviry

Present

We were approaching the eight-car garage on the side of the house. I was more than ready to head inside and go to sleep—no more damn stories for me.

“Well, I don’t have much to say. So, damn Nix.” I sighed and looked out the car window.

Nix pulled the car into the garage “Yeah. So now you know—”

“That was all your fault.” I pulled my seat up and unbuckled.

“Aviry!” Mia shouted

“What the fuck Aviry.” He turned the car off and looked over at me. “That’s not what you’re supposed to say.”

“What am I supposed to lie? I’m just telling you the truth. Clearly, Mark didn’t want to.” I reached for the car door handle, but it wouldn’t open. I pressed the button, but it still didn’t budge.

Nix scoffed, “I know my actions had some role in it. But it wasn’t all my fault.”

I shoved at the car door. “Well, I don’t see it that way. If I had done any of that shit, I’d be crucified.”

I pulled the handle again. “The fire, the death, the new mysterious poison. Hell, you guys would think it was the start of the apocalypse if I was involved.” I tried to open the door again. “Your damn door is broken, and it’s pissing me off.”

“It’s on child lock,” Nix said. “I’ll open it when you apologize.” I looked over at Nix and rolled my eyes, annoyed at his childish behavior.

“Open the damn door Nix.” I sighed.

Warning number one.

“Aviry, just say sorry. Then I’ll release you. You need to learn that when you’re wrong you—”

I grabbed the back of Nix’s head and slammed it down on the steering wheel.

BEEEEEEP!

He groaned and fell limp on the back of the seat.

“AVIRY! Why…why did you—”

“Mia, listen. I warned him, and he didn’t comply. I’m tired, and I want to take a damn shower.”

I climbed on top of Nix and pushed his hair to the side. Why does he look so fantastic, unconscious? I really hate this mate bond, and I’ve tried rejecting Nix several more times since we found out. Each time he ran in the room yelling and screaming, “Rejection Denied!” I swear, sometimes this guy is two people at the same time.

I opened the driver’s side door and slid out of the car. Today has been the longest day of my life, and I’m glad it’s finally over.

I walked out of the garage and made my way to the house.

“Are you just gonna leave him there?” Mia whimpered.

“Mia, get the FUCK over Nix. And do it quickly. We have a competition to focus on.” I crossed my arms and looked at the night sky. “And what’s this dire wolf shit about Mia?”

“How would I know? I wasn’t given a manual when I entered your headspace.” Mia huffed.

“Well, we need to figure it out. That’s the biggest clue we have to our family history.”

I climbed the stairs to the house and opened the front doors. I really needed a shower, so I climbed the stairs to my room and freshened up.

I walked back into my room. “What the hell—”

“I’ll sleep on the floor.” Cay was standing in my room in a white t-shirt and joggers. His hair looked damp from his shower, and he smelled soooo good. He had a pillow in one arm and a white “Thank you” bag in the other.

“I bought us Chinese food. And…” Cay pulled out a DVD from under the pillow. “I thought you might like to watch a movie to clear your mind.”

“Cay…I don’t think—”

“One last thing.” Cay set the pillow and the movie on the ground and pulled something out of his pocket. “A truffle chocolate bar—”

“You fucker. Fine! But you’re sleeping on the floor.” I pulled my hair into a ponytail and snatched the candy from his hand. “Is that why you smell like chocolate all the damn time?”

“What? Oh, is that the scent that you smell.” I nodded and sat on the couch. Cay sat beside me and opened up the bag of food.

“Well, I guess that’s a good thing. You smell like hot, fresh, sweet vanilla cookies. With a hint of fresh salted caramel.” Cay licked his lips and passed me a container.

“Well, damn Cay. That’s mighty damn specific.” I laughed and opened the tray. I was drooling at the sight of honey braised wings and fried rice.

“Do that again.” Cay said, grinning at me.

“Do what?” I chuckled, mixing in soy sauce.

“Your smile. It’s addictive, and I want more.” He opened the DVD and placed it in the player. “That’s why I picked a comedy movie.”

“This cheesy shit isn’t going to make me laugh.” I stuffed a spoonful of rice in my mouth.

Cay gasped and placed a hand on his chest. “Well, I’m appalled. Jim Carrey is bound to make you laugh. Let’s make a bet.”

“DEAL! If I win, You have to convince Nix to reject me.”Cay shrugged and sat back down on the couch.

“That sounds like a win for me, but ok. If I win…I want you to smile genuinely every morning and every night for me only.”

I laughed out loud and took a bite of the chicken. “Just like that, Aviry.” He smiled gently and pushed a strand of hair beneath my ear.

“You’re going to lose, but…ok deal. Now play the movie so I can win.”

What is this man doing to me?