Chapter SEVEN-HEADING TO DARK MOON
Side Note: This is the part where Ace left Rachel before everything happened with Silas. Everything will fall into place after this.
Ace POV
After I left Rachel's room, I walked outside and shifted to Apollo. I just needed to run and get my anger out.
"She fucking rejected me!" I growled out as Apollo howled.
"Her wolf was trying to stop her. We should go back and let her explain," Apollo said.
"NO! She has her mind set on her boyfriend. Let him deal with her!" I snarled as Apollo ran faster into the forest.
Apollo howled as we stopped at the lake behind the castle. We watched the scene as Apollo whimpered and howled to the sky. My wolf was sad, and I couldn't do anything to make the pain disappear.
I did feel the effects of the rejection, but I wasn't going to show Rachel that it did. I was mad and raged. I felt the wind against our fur. We shifted back, and I roared to the sky.
"Ah!" I looked up, and the water was floating mid-air.
"What the..." my eyes widened.
"We have powers, Ace," Apollo said.
"Move your hand and watch," I did what he said and moved my hand as the water swooshed around the air.
"Cool," I said, and Apollo barked.
"Try something else, like fire," he said.
I held my hand out and concentrated on the fire, and when I opened my eyes, I was holding a fireball.
"Wow," I shouted.
"What else can we do, Apollo?" I asked my wolf.
"Well, our Mother can control all four elements."
"Let's see if we can. We already have the water and firepower."
"Let's try air next," I nodded. A breeze flew by, and I raised my hands. I watched the air move with my hand motions. The water in the lake rippled from the air.
"This is awesome," I said.
I wanted to try something, so I concentrated on the earth. Before I knew it, the empty field was full of blossoming honeysuckles. I picked the flower and sniffed it. I groaned and sighed as I lifted it to the sky, and the wind blew it away.
"You were thinking about Rachel," Apollo said as I sighed.
"Yes," I told my wolf as he whimpered.
"Ace, where are you?" came my Mother's voice in the link.
"At the lake behind the castle," I told her.
"Honey, what's wrong? The guards on patrol heard your wolf howls and screams and alerted us."
"Are you okay?" I sighed as I tried to find a way to explain to my Mother about, Rachel.
"Is Dad awake?" I asked and waited.
"Yes, we are in the office, honey," she replied.
"I'm on my way," I told her and closed the link.
I found a pair of shorts we kept hidden in the forest and jogged back toward the castle. My parents were in for a rude awakening. I quickly entered the castle and used the downstairs bathroom to freshen up and brush my teeth. I wore a fresh set of clothes and headed upstairs to my parent's office.
"SHE DID WHAT?!" my Father growled as I stood before his desk.
"Let me get this straight. She is promised to another guy."
"Supposedly another Alpha."
"And she came here intending to mate and reject you?" my Father asked, and I nodded.
I noticed Chloe leave the office after she answered her phone. My Father let out a massive growl, and my Mother sobbed. She looked up at me.
"Honey, I never wanted you to experience what I did."
"I've always wanted you to be happy with your mate," she sobbed harder as my Father fumed.
"Who is this promised boyfriend?" he asked, and I shrugged.
"Did she leave the pack?" my Father asked.
"Yes, Alpha."
"Chloe and Amber took her back to Lotus Shadow while we followed," Carlito told my Dad. I watched my Dad sigh and rub his hands down his face.
"Son, I..." I shook my head.
I heard the door open, and Chloe walked back inside and reached out to me with her iPhone.
"Who is that?" I asked.
"It's Rachel," she whispered, but I knew my parents heard her, and I growled.
Lotus Shadow Pack:
Rachel POV
I quickly packed essential things while Mom went to her room and packed after I finished packing.
"Mom? Are you done?" I linked her.
"Just about, dear. I need to grab some things from your Father's office first," she said as I sighed.
"Don't worry, Elizabeth said he left with Silas an hour ago," My Mom linked. I sighed with relief and left my room.
"Rayne?" I called out to her, and it was still silent in my head.
I left my bedroom and walked toward the stairs. A few minutes later, I heard my Mother come out.
"Come on," she said as we took the stairs to the second floor and walked toward my Father’s office.
I heard my Mother whimper and turned to look at her.
"Sorry dear, Sage is acting weird because we're leaving, and she doesn't want to reject Boulder," Mom said.
I nodded as I watched my Mother turn the knob.
"Shit."
"He locked it, no matter. I have my ways," she grinned.
I watched her reach behind a painting and pull out a key as she giggled.
"How did you..." she smiled at me.
"Your Grandfather played treasure hunt games with me all the time when I was a young girl."
"Paintings and bookshelves were his favorite spots to hide things in," she giggled, and I smiled.
I watched as she inserted the key and unlocked the door. We walked inside and closed the door quietly. My Mother didn't want to raise suspicion to any omegas my Father might be having affairs with. Elizabeth seemed to be the only one my Mother trusted.
"What are you looking for?" I asked as my Mother rummaged through the cabinets and drawers.
"The deeds to the Lotus Shadow pack. In case your Father gets any bright ideas."
"Good thing your Grandfather left me as the sole heir to everything," she said, smiling.
She finally found what she was looking for, stuffed everything into a yellow envelope, and put the envelope into her bag.
"Let's go," she said as we left the office, and she locked the door back.
She put the key in her pocket as we walked down the stairs and to the foyer. The house was quiet, but a few omegas worked and did their daily routines.
My Mother and I quietly walked outside and towards the forest behind the pack house.
"Elizabeth?" my Mother called out.
"Luna, I'm over here," Elizabeth waved at us.
"She's coming with us?" I asked my Mother.
"Of course she is."
"After your Grandmother died, she was the only one my Father trusted to care for me when he had Alpha duties to attend to," Mom said and hugged Elizabeth.
"We can't take any cars, so we will have to shift and..." Mom said as I sighed.
"What's wrong, dear?" she asked.
"I can't shift," I said. Mom and Elizabeth looked at me.
"Why? Where is Rayne?" my Mother asked.
"After I rejected Ace, she just kind of blocked me out," I said as I looked at my Mother.
"She's weak, dear."
"Once you reject your fated mate, the wolf half becomes weaker unless the mother goddess grants you a second chance, mate, or you take back your rejection," Mom says as I sigh. Tears filled my eyes as Mom touched my cheek.
"Don't cry, honey. Maybe she will return once we get to the Blue Eclipse pack."
"I'll carry you on my back. Give me your phone, and you too, Elizabeth," I looked at my Mother as I gave her my phone, and Elizabeth passed hers too.
My Mother took her phone out, and I watched her throw the phones on the ground and step on them, crushing them.
"Again, I don't need your bastard Father knowing where we are," she said as she stripped off her clothes and stuffed them into one of the bags.
I watched my Mother shift into her dark gray wolf, Sage, as she let out a whimper. Elizabeth stripped next and turned into a chocolate brown wolf. Sage lowered herself so I could climb on her back. Sage grabbed our bags in her mouth, and Elizabeth's wolf grabbed hers. My Mother and Elizabeth sprinted toward the northern border.
"Once we reach the edge of the border, we have to renounce our claims to the pack, and I have to reject Blake," my Mother told me.
We finally made it to the edge of the north border, and Sage lowered so I could get off. She shifted back, and Elizabeth did too. I went first.
"I, Rachel Lynn Sullivan, renounce any claim to the Lotus Shadow pack," I felt the bond break as wolves howled.
"I, Sarah Louise Sullivan, now renounce any claim to the Lotus Shadow pack."
"I also renounce my title as Luna." I watched her sigh as the tears came.
"I, Sarah Louise Sullivan, reject you, Blake Adam Sullivan, as my mate and Alpha," I watched my Mother sob as the rejection hit her.
"I, Elizabeth Diana Vera, now renounce any claim to the Lotus Shadow pack," I heard Elizabeth say.
"Mom?" I called to her as she steadied herself.
"I'll be okay," she said as she turned, shifted, and lowered herself again.
I climbed on her back as Elizabeth shifted, and we took off toward Dark Moon.
Ace POV
I was heading toward the Dark Moon pack with my Father and Beta Carter while my Mother and everyone else stayed behind. Apollo was pacing back and forth in my head.
"What's with you?" I asked my wolf.
"Something is wrong with Rayne," my wolf said as my eyes widened.
We pulled up to the guard post as one of the warriors stepped out.
"Pack name?" he asked Carter.
"Blue Eclipse, here to see Alpha Miles," he said as the warrior nodded and let us through.
Carter drove to the pack house as Alpha Miles, his Beta Mason, and his Luna Michelle stood outside to greet us.
"Alpha Antonio, Beta Carter, and young Alpha Ace, Welcome to the Dark Moon pack," he said as my Father shook his hand.
I watched as Luna Michelle looked at my Father. I chuckled silently, as my Father could be very intimidating. He radiated power and was tall like I am. He could be a bit scary.
"Any word?" my Father asked Alpha Miles.
"My warriors are watching the borders closely."
"If they are coming from the Lotus Shadow, it would take an hour by car and forty-five minutes in wolf form," he said as my Father nodded.
"Please come inside. We have refreshments set out," he gestured toward the pack house.
I followed my Father inside as Beta Carter walked beside me.
"I hope she's worth the trouble, Ace," he whispered as Apollo growled.
"No offense to your wolf, but she did reject you, and now she's running from the promised boyfriend," I sighed.
I grabbed a muffin and a bottle of water off the cart as I sat by the window. A few minutes later, Matthew and Carissa walked into the room.
"Hey, Ace," he said to me as Carissa waved.
I waved back and noticed the marks on their necks. I sighed as I wished it was me with my mate.
"We are going on a date. See you guys later," I watched Carter smile at his daughter as she waved at him.
"Bye, Daddy," she said as she and Matthew left the room.
"They have arrived," Alpha Miles said as he stood.
"Are you sure?" my Father asked as he stood up, and I did the same.
"My warriors scented three wolves coming from the southern border."
"He said they didn't have a pack scent, and the scent was too new to be rogues," I sighed.
"That has to be them, Dad, but who's the third wolf?" he shrugged.
"Let's go find out," he said as we left the family room.
We walked out the side patio door and into the forest.
"This way," Alpha Miles said as we followed him toward the southern border.
We walked for about twenty minutes until we stopped, and six warriors stepped out.
"Alpha," they all bowed.
Dark Moon was half the size of Blue Eclipse, but Alpha Miles still had some of the best fighters in his pack. I smelled her before I saw her. Her honeysuckle scent was close. Apollo was howling in my head as Rachel's scent got closer.
"Ace?" I heard her voice and saw a dark gray wolf and a chocolate brown wolf in wolf form.
"Why isn't Rachel in wolf form," I thought as the dark gray wolf lowered and Rachel slid off her back.
"Rayne is weak."
"The rejection weakened her, so she needs us to help her heal," Apollo said.
I saw the other two wolves drop bags and walk behind trees as Rachel approached me. Her scent was still intoxicating, and I stared into her beautiful, deep forest-green eyes. She wrapped her arms around me and cried.
"I'm so sorry, Ace, please forgive me," she sobbed as I rubbed her back.
"Shh, it's okay, Rachel. I'm here now," she nodded and held me tighter.
"Alpha Antonio," a voice said.
I saw a tall blonde woman who resembled Rachel and another older woman stepping out from behind the trees, fully clothed. My Father walked forward.
"And you are miss?" he asked as I watched the woman tremble.
"My name is Sarah Sullivan, and this is Elizabeth."
"We come seeking peace," that's Rachel's mother, I thought. She looked like she had been crying.
"All of us renounced Lotus Shadow as our pack, and I renounced my Luna title."
"I heard things that my soon-to-be ex-husband and that piece of shit Silas Cartier say what they planned to do to us," I heard Sarah say as my eyes widened.
"Who the fuck is Silas Cartier?" my Father asked. I felt Rachel turn in my arms.
"Silas Cartier is the Alpha of the Red River pack."
"His father died during a rogue attack two years ago, so Silas took over as the Alpha. He planned on marrying me to take over the Lotus Shadow pack from my Father after he retired and found a way to get rid of my Mother," Rachel said.
I heard my Father growl, which caused some of the people present to sweat and whimper.
"I am sorry, everyone, my wolf doesn't like power-hungry and abusive Alphas," he said and turned to look at Rachel.
"I do apologize, Rachel, for my previous behavior."
"I love my son, and I always want to see him happy," my Father said, and Rachel nodded.
"So I'm going to go on a limb here and say that the Alphas of the Lotus Shadow and Red River know that all three of you are gone?" my Father asked Sarah.
"I'm quite sure he felt my rejection and is at home trying to figure out what is going on," she said as my Father nodded.
"Alpha Antonio..." my Father waved her off.
"Please just call me Antonio, Mrs. Sullivan," she smiled.
"Well then, call me Sarah," she said as my Father nodded.
"I am the rightful heir to the Lotus Shadow pack, as my Father was the Alpha before I mated with Blake."
"Blake used to be a warrior in the pack before we mated, and when my Father found out, he made Blake the Alpha, and I became the Luna."
"So, I have the evidence stating that Lotus Shadow and everything that comes with it belongs to me," Rachel said as our eyes widened.
My Father turned to his Beta and signaled him forward.
"Beta Carter," he said.
"Alpha," Carter responded.
"Make sure the warriors are prepared for a battle in case we should be attacked."
"I will do a introduction ceremony for Rachel, Sarah, and Miss Elizabeth to join."
"When we return to Blue Eclipse, we must also notify the elders and the pack lawyer about Sarah's evidence," my Father said.
"Ace's Alpha ceremony?" Carter asked.
"That will still go as planned in two weeks," my Father said as he turned and winked at me.
"Okay, let's get these ladies packed up and ready to go," my Father announced as Carter and I picked up their bags.
Rachel was clinging to me, which made Apollo happy as he howled. I looked over at her and saw her eyes glow for a split second before it disappeared.