You Rejected Me. Remember?

Leo

As I rushed outside, I noticed Sarah was hiding behind the door. I was in a hurry so I didn’t stop to talk. I offered a smile and dashed out of there. I didn’t have time to chat. Maybe she had come back to see Astrea – my Rea. They had grown pretty close and she seemed to be a good friend. So I couldn’t care less if she saw us together as long as she kept it a secret.

I hastily left the place because I had to leave before I did something stupid. Rea was perfect and she was mine… almost. I wanted her to be mine. I wanted to claim her then and there. I wished to explore every inch of her divine body. I had been yearning for her for a long time and I wanted to do so much more than a little k**s, but that would have to wait.

We had a lot happening in our lives and I couldn’t afford to add more drama to it. Besides, I needed my lycan with me to claim her. I wouldn’t be able to mark her before I completed my transformation. Nonetheless, being close to her didn’t help me at all. I hastened towards my room and closed the door shut before glancing at the bulging tent in my pants.

“Fúck,” I hissed under my breath. I sure hoped that she didn’t notice that. I tried to keep this naughty guy tamed but dàmn. Kissing her woke him up. Holding that little vixen in my arms made it impossible and now I had to deal with this. The way she looked at me… those innocent brown eyes, taunting me…

Groaning, I held my crótch down as I leaned my head against the door frame, and closed my eyes. Images of her wide eyes and luscious lips flashed in front of me. The seductive smirk on her lips and the way she crashed her lips on mine… I never thought anyone could be innocent and sensual at the same time, but she was exactly that.

She had no idea what she did to me.

My member twitched in my pants. Ugh. It wasn’t helping.

I looked down. Maybe I should finish the job. Maybe then this guy would behave.

***

As expected, Astrea and her friends had their schedules packed. We barely saw each other as she had once again temporarily moved to the dormitory with the other recruits. After a week, the new trainer moved the camp to the mountains in the east of the kingdom. The Queen and the Royal Prince allowed them to camp there with a group of warriors patrolling the area for extra security.

That took her further away from me, but I guess that was for the best. If she was around, I wouldn’t be able to focus on anything else.

With her gone camping, I concentrated on my drills. I pushed myself and soon, the most exciting days began. One by one, our friends’ lycans awakened. I also hoped that I would soon hear from mine. Every day I woke up hopeful, optimistic that this could be the day he aroused from his slumber, but no. It wasn’t time yet. As days passed by, I felt my heart sink. Why wasn’t mine waking up already? We were already halfway through the year and I was older than some of my friends. But there was nothing.

My mom told me about a curse which she had to overcome when she was younger. The silence in my head made me wonder if I was also affected by that? When I called my parents, I inquired about it, but they brushed it off by saying that “he isn’t late yet,” and that “there is still time.”

Perhaps I was being impatient. I wanted to do nothing but complete my transformation so that we could join Astrea and the team.

I missed her so much.

***

Weeks passed and we were given a day off. Xander and I were free, however, unfortunately, Astrea and the gang weren’t. The new trainer was very strict and wouldn’t let them out of their camp, even during their break. The only connection we had was our phones.

But I craved to see her. Even if it was a little glimpse of her from afar.

“Come on,” I huffed out a breath as I climbed the rocky mountain. “I think they have camped up there.”

I was already panting but I was determined to see her.

“You better love me for this! I can’t believe I’m doing this for you,” he grumbled as we climbed higher.

I had gotten Xander to beg his parents to let us go hiking. When he pointed out the added security in the area, his parents gave in and allowed us to do what we wanted.

Wiping away the streaking lentils of sweat off my face, I squinted into the distance.

“I wasn’t expecting that they would be camped so high up,” I breathed out a puff of breath.

“Come on, we aren’t lycans if we can’t climb a mountain,” I added.

By the time we reached the area, we were soaked in sweat. Panting, we leaned against the trees to catch our breath.

“Remind me to… to never listen to you again,” Xander mumbled in between his gasps for air.

“Hey…” I breathed. “I’d do the same for you.”

He rolled his eyes.

Straightening up, “come on, lover boy. Let’s sniff them out,” he uttered.

“Can’t you ask your lycan for help?” I asked. His lycan had woken up a couple of weeks back. Xander frowned.

“Hugo says that they were near. I could sense their presence close by,” Xander explained.

Nodding my head, I focused on my enhanced sense of smell. Although I hadn’t heard from my other half, my senses had grown sharp. A certain scent that faintly hung in the air made me smirk.

Oranges.

Oh, she wasn’t far away. Crouching under the bushes and making sure that I was hidden among the trees, I crept towards the scent. Soon enough, the sound of her melodious laughter hit my ears, perking up my senses.

“Happy birthday!” They screamed and poured some coloured water on Rafael’s head, while Sarah dumped powder on him right after that.

I snickered under my breath. So it was his birthday.

“Gotcha!”

I felt my breath get caught in my throat as a rough hand grabbed us by our collars.

Startled, I looked at Xander who had followed me and looked just as petrified as I was. I tried to move, however, whoever it was had grabbed our collars.

“Who are you? And why are you intruding on our camp?” A strong, deep voice demanded as he dragged us out of our hiding spot.

“Uh…” I stammered.

“Xander? Leo?”

Astrea’s face was contorted in astonishment as she stepped forward.

“Do you know them?” The stranger asked her.

Nodding her head, ” Yes, Grandmaster. They are our friends. And he is the Crown Prince, Alexander,” she started, pointing towards Xander.

Oh, so this stranger was their trainer.

“Crown Prince? Why would the Crown Prince sneak around behind the bushes and spy on you?” The stranger demanded, yet he let us go.

“We were not spying,” Xander retorted. “You can ask any of the Royal Guards dad had sent as security. They didn’t mind us being here when they saw us. We have asked for permission from my parents and go hiking on our break,” his statement was firm and he looked straight into the trainer’s eyes, just as he should.

Seeing his confidence made me relax. The trainer, too, seemed to like it.

“But why are you here?” Astrea cócked her eyebrows, eyeing me suspiciously.

Smiling sheepishly, I scratched the back of my neck and looked at Rafael.

“Happy birthday!” I said, my lips stretching wider.

***

Their trainer was cool. Once he was certain that we were not intruders, he let us stay for a while. We found out that he had allowed them to celebrate since it was Rafael’s birthday.

Talk about good timing.

We had some fun but then realised that Elena wasn’t around.

“Hey, where is Elena?” I asked when I didn’t notice her around.

“She wouldn’t come out of the tent,” Sarah shrugged.

“But why?” Xander frowned.

“She is hesitant,” Astrea mumbled.

“She didn’t even wish me. She is hiding from me,” Rafael sighed. “Just tell her that I won’t bother her. I… I’ll step away,” he mumbled.

“I’ll get her. She can’t do that to a friend,” Astrea walked towards the tent. We waited for her to return. Soon enough, both girls came back. Elena looked slightly upset about something. I wondered what the reason was.

At first, Rafael didn’t acknowledge her presence. He didn’t even look at her, but it was apparent that he was fighting his desires. After some time, Elena approached him.

Pursing her lips, “Rafael,” she called. “I’m sorry. I was just… ” she sighed and forced a smile. “Happy birthday, Rafael,” she said and held out her hand.

He smiled. None of us understood why Elena was acting so strangely but she must have had a good reason for it.

Looking up at her, he took her hand and shook it, but then, he got tense as their eyes made contact. His eyes dilated as he gaped at her.

“Mate!” He growled, making the colour drain from Elena’s face.

***

After spending a few hours with them, Xander and I made our way back to the Palace. We were excited that Elena and Rafael turned out to be mates.

After speaking with Elena, who seemed to be intimidated when they found out they were mates, we learned something new about her past. Her childhood wasn’t colourful, because of her abusive father.

When we found out that the reason for Elena’s anxiety was growing up in an abusive home, we understood. She grew up witnessing her mother being beaten up by her mate, Elena’s father until her mother had enough and fled with her. They sought asylum in the Dark Howl pack and settled down, but her experience had haunted Elena. She dreaded meeting her mate for that reason. She told us that she was secretly hoping that she would never meet her mate.

However, we were all glad to hear that she was willing to trust Rafael, when he vowed to never hurt her, physically or emotionally. Tears were shed, but they ended up together and it was heartwarming to witness it. Especially since Rafael had been having his eyes on her for a long time.

We had a wonderful time up in the mountains. Seeing Rafael and Elena made me wish that I got to experience the mate bond with the love of my life. The trainer shooed us away after a couple of hours. The time for their break was up, so we had to leave.

After a day spent well, I washed my body and lay on my bed, feeling elated after a long time. It was tiring, but the best break I’ve had in a while. Just as I was about to fall asleep, I felt a nudge in my mind.

Furrowing my eyebrows, I concentrated on it. I suddenly felt my head itch, which I tried to ignore, but it only annoyed me more.

“What the hell,” I grumbled, finally sitting up on my bed and running my fingers through my shoulder-length waves.

“Hey,” I heard a gruff voice. I froze and squinted into the dimly lit room. No one was around. I couldn’t go insane, could I?

“Umm, hello? How rude! Say something already!”

“What the fúck!” I exclaimed, startled. “Who?” The creases on my forehead deepened.

“Hello human. I’m Zoro,” the voice spoke again.

Zoro? It took a moment for me to register what was going on.

“My lycan?” I exclaimed, a broad grin brightening my face.

“Yeah. It is good to meet you too,” he snickered.

Yes!

This was most certainly the best day of my life. Another thought crossed my mind. What did he think about Rea?

“Hey, Zoro? I was thinking…”

“If you are going to ask me about our girl, yeah, I like her. She is perfect.”

His response was a little surprising to me. Wasn’t he hibernating the whole time?

“How do you know?” I expressed my curiosity.

“We share the memories. I can’t wait to mark her,” he said. “But that would take another six months or so because we still need to shift.”

Groaning, I face palmed. Six months! That’s a long time if you ask me. I would have to wait six months before I could officially make her mine.

“Sheesh! Focus on growing first! And I thought we lycans were amorous,” Zoro cackled, making me roll my eyes.

“It’s just that… I hope she doesn’t meet her mate before that happens. She had promised that she wouldn’t leave me, but it takes a lot of determination to overcome the incredible pull of the mate bond. Call me selfish, but I want her to be mine,” I told him.

“Ours, she will be ours. Don’t worry, dude.”

I nodded.

I sure hope so.