His Rejection, page 11
“What surprised me is that Maxon actually let you sit here alone. You two have been attached to the hip since we got here,” Noni added.
Have you been keeping tabs on the guy, I asked her.
Yes, but you’re not going to like it.
Try me, I said.
OK. He’s a Vampire, and he’s in love with you. He’s using Natalie in some sort of plan to steal you away, she explained. I growled. What the hell could a Vampire want with a werewolf? A mating like that was an abomination not to mention just downright gross.
That’s not even the worst part.
What’s the worst part?
He thinks he can change you into a human first and then a Vampire.
I was speechless. What was the world coming to when Vampires wanted werewolves? I had never seen him before so how could he love me? Something was telling me that he had been the source of all the eerie feeling I had been having lately.
He was the one who had been watching me. I felt like he was a hunter and I was just his next kill. The hell man…
So, let’s go take him out, I told her getting up. She quickly gripped my arm and pulled me back down.
He has the party surrounded just in case that happens. You should go find Maxon so we could leave. I’ll distract Alex. Go, she urged.
“Haha. I'm not alone, you guys are right here.” I gestured to the two of them. They both looked at each other then looked back at me sweetly, trying to avoid my gaze. “OK. Where are you guys going?”
“We're only going to the dance floor. We sat the last few songs out so now it's time for us to boogie,” Noni said excitedly. She looked at me and I knew what she was doing. I had to move fast.
“Boogie huh,” Alex asked her.
She blushed and giggled kissing him on the lips. I cleared my throat, and they looked at me sheepishly. They were both silently begging me to let them go with their eyes. I laughed and looked away.
“Fine. Go ahead,” I said. They both jumped up. Noni squealed and hugged me like I had just given her the answer to Global Warming.
“We'll be back in like 10 to 15 minutes,” she said.
“I'll be here, and if not, that means Maxon came for me.”
“If something and I mean anything goes wrong, link one of us and we'll be right here,” Alex said going all big brother. I nodded and waved them off. Noni turned around and gave me a look.
Hurry up, Nova. He’s coming to talk to you. Hurry and go, was all she said until her thoughts were completely shut off.
I nodded as I watched them walk off and start dancing together. Alex whispered something in Noni's ear, something sweet I'm sure, causing Noni to blush and smile widely. They looked so happy and so in love. I wanted that. I wanted to feel what Noni felt when Alex looked at her, when he touched her, held her, kissed her.
What Maxon and I felt was only half of what they felt. I wanted it all. The eternal love, forever wanting him to be around and never want another person. Usually, when a girl talked like this about a boy, he would run. Hell, if it was a couple of months ago Maxon would've run for the hills too, but now he was just as in love with me as I was with him.
I got up to leave and find Maxon, but before I could get too far someone stepped in my way blocking my path. I looked up at him only to find that Noni was right, again, it was the guy from earlier. The Vampire. I knew he was too pale and red-lipped to be human. What I couldn’t understand was that he went through all that trouble just to block his scent but not change his appearance. Something was up with that.
“You know if you stare any harder, you'll make them melt.” I cocked my head to the side as I took in his scent.
Just like Natalie's, it was off. I don’t like this. Get away from him, now, my wolf shouted at me.
“Was that your lame attempt at humor,” I asked, trying to appear standoffish.
“Ouch. That was harsh,” he said.
“It was meant to be Vampire. Now move,” I told him, brushing away from him. I wanted to put some distance between us. I didn’t like the feeling he was giving me or my wolf. We were almost genuinely terrified.
“See,” he said clapping his hands, “my lower in commands didn’t think you were smart enough to figure out, but I did. I'm Charlie,” he said extending his hand. I looked at him up and down. I didn't touch him. I just wanted him gone. He was giving me nervous chills, and I was feeling on edge and so was my wolf.
“I'm not interested. Go away.”
“So, your parents named you Not Interested?”
“Get lost.”
“Come on. You can't spare conversation,” he asked. Begging me.
“No, I can't. Not for you anyway. I'm actually waiting on someone,” I said looking around for Maxon. What was taking him so long to find a room? I'm sure there were sure of empty rooms. He was probably trying to do something sweet. I smiled at the thought, the Vampire stepped closer thinking that the smile was for him.
“Dance with me.” He said pulling my arm. I resisted, snatching my arm back.
“Do Not Touch Me,” I said through my teeth.
He grabbed me roughly and pulled me to the dance floor. I was struggling to get out of his grip until I just said forget it and sagged in his arms. Being this close to him was driving my wolf crazy, a bad crazy. My nose was completely on fire. It felt wrong to be in anybody else's arms but Maxon's. I was searching the crowd looking for Noni or Alex, but I didn't see either one of them. I was just about to link one of them when I felt the pale guy bite me.
“What the fuck was that,” I shouted at him, using all my strength to push him away. The music stopped and everyone was looking our way.
“Chill baby, it was just a love bite,” he said blowing it off and grabbing at me again. I slapped the shit out of him and ran off to find Maxon.
“You're going to regret that Nova,” he shouted. I guess he was trying to save face from the embarrassment I had just caused him.
Where the fuck was Maxon and why was it taking forever for him to find a fucking room? He had left me like at least ten or twenty minutes ago. I walk into the house and up the stairs where I last saw Maxon go.
I was checking every room that I came across. I ended up walking in on three couples, two guys, one girl that was passed out, and lucky for her I walked in and kicked those guys in there out or that would've been Gang-bang central. In the last room, I heard people talking. I recognized Maxon's voice and decided to listen in on the conversation.
“Damn baby I love you so much,” he whispered roughly. His voice was husky and dripping with desire, a desire that was only for me.
“I love you too Maxon,” I said. Wait what? That sounded like me, but it couldn’t have been me. That wasn’t me. That was somebody else's voice. What the hell? Fates, please don't let this be what I think this is.
“Do them both at the same time,” the extra voice said. I began to cry.
Something was telling me that if I opened this door, I was going to see something terrible, but I had to see. I thrust the door open to see Maxon with his package deep in Natalie and him just inches from marking her.
“Maxon,” I asked.
My heart was completely shattered again. You could hear the pain in my voice. He looked up in my eyes. For a second it seemed as if he was in a trance-like state but when I blinked and looked again, it was gone.
“Nova?” he sounded shocked. He looked down and then at Natalie. “What the fuck? Natalie, what are you doing,” he shouted, quickly pulling himself out of her, and trying to stand up and come towards me. I backed away.
“Nova, it's not--”
“It's not what it looks like,” I asked, sarcasm pouring from my words.
“You know why females hate that line, Maxon? Because nine times out of ten it's always what it looks like.”
Tears were pouring from my eyes as I ran away. I didn't even bother to try to find Alex and Noni.
I decided to walk home. What the hell am I saying? This wasn’t home, and it would never be. So, I decided to walk back to the pack out. I pulled out my cellphone and dialed the one person I knew would be there for me besides Noni.
“Hello,” the sleepy voice answered on the first ring.
“It's me.”
“Nova! It's nice of you to call, but you know there are time differences right,” he asked. His voice had instantly perked up. I sniffled a laugh and tried to contain my cries, but I failed.
“Hey hey, hey. What's wrong Nova?”
“I'm coming home Marc,” I cried hanging up.
I ran the rest of the way to the packhouse and started packing. I just couldn't be here anymore. Maxon and I were completely and totally over. No more mates for and eternal love for me; that was for the birds.
chapter 16
Nova
I was already back at the packhouse by the time the first of Maxon's phone calls and desperate outreaches in my mind started. I ignored them all. I didn't want to talk to him; I couldn't talk to him. I was afraid, afraid that if I did, I would take the excuse he was going to give me.
No matter how stupid, lame, or just downright dumb it sounded. I didn't know if he knew it or not but Maxon was my soft spot. All he had to do was give me the slightest toothy grin or brush a finger gently against my cheek. Maxon could get away with murder if he was close enough to me, so I decided just to ignore him through and through.
I wrapped my arms around my upper body. I needed comfort and the only person who was here to give it to me was myself. Twenty minutes later, I was laying down in Maxon’s bed crying when I heard people entering the house. I could hear from the room that they were already talking and whispering. They were all talking about Maxon's fuck up. I decided that now was the perfect time to leave, so I got up and picked up my bags and began to walk downstairs, dreading the walk of shame that I knew was coming.
As soon as I walked into the living room, the constant whispers and laughs stopped, they just watched me, and I watched them. I stood there for a minute watching them watch me.
What are they staring at, my wolf asked. She was clearly irritated and was not in the mood for pleasantries. I don't know. Let's ask them, I replied.
“What the fuck are you staring at,” I shouted at them. They all looked away hurriedly. I laughed bitterly and headed out of the front door. While I was walking, I decided to make sure that I had a ride back to Michigan.
“Nova, I'm getting dressed as we speak. I'm coming to get you,” Marc said deeply into the phone. I involuntarily smiled.
“I was just calling to check. I didn't want to have to go back and get my truck.”
“No, I'll be there in a few hours, OK,” he asked.
While my wolf thought it was a nice gesture, I thought it was a sweet thing he was doing. Here I was waking him up in the middle of the night crying, telling him that I was coming home, and he offered to come and get me. The thought of being more appreciative crossed my mind but my wolf quickly ended that. She loved her mate, even if he was a cheating dog.
“Wait, you're not going to drive home alone are you,” I asked concerned.
“No Conner is coming with me. Where is Noni?”
“Probably still at the party with her mate,” I grumbled.
“What she found her mate and you are just now calling me?! Who is he,” he bellowed through the phone.
I flinched back. He had let all his Alpha tone come out, but that wasn’t what caused the flinch. It was the pure anger that radiated through the phone. Why was he so angry about it?
Marc wasn't the kind of guy who always used his Alpha tone to get him what he wanted, or even to command people. He talked to everyone as equals and he never commanded people to do things. He always asked, and that got him a lot of respect from the older members of our pack. Even though he was young, he ran the pack better than older Alphas have in the past.
The only time when we really heard the Alpha tone was when he was upset or trying to defuse a situation. It was no secret to the people of the pack that Marc held a soft spot for Noni and me. We were practically family, especially when Julie died. And we were basically his second and third in command, but I couldn't help feeling that there was almost something more there.
“It's my brother, Alex,” I whimpered.
He sighed, “Nova, I'm sorry. I didn’t mean to shout.”
“It's OK. You're right, we should've called like we said we would.”
“What about you and that idiot of a mate? Did you guys—um ah finish,” he stammered.
“No, thankfully,” I whispered.
My phone beeped in the small moment of silence. I looked at the screen and sighed knowing that this was going to be the start of a really long night…
“Marc, Noni is calling me. I'll talk to you later,” I rushed.
“OK I'll be there soon,” he said before he hung up the phone causing my phone to instantly pick up Noni's call.
“Nova,” she breathed. I could hear the relief in her voice.
“Noni.”
“Are you OK,” she asked.
“No,” I cried.
Alex
Hey Maxon. Are you guys done yet, I asked. I hinted at a bit of humor. They had been trying to finish the mating process all day, so I decided to tease them about it much to Noni's chagrin.
I can't find her, Maxon said.
His voice was filled with panic and it radiated through the link. As soon as he said those words, I tensed up. Noni felt it and mouthed what's wrong. I just shook my head and focused back on Maxon.
What do you mean you can't find her!
She left. She ran out and disappeared.
Why the hell did she run out? Maxon, what did you do, I asked. I could feel myself getting worked up. Noni grabbed my arm.
“What's wrong Alex,” she asked.
Her tone was neutral. I knew she could feel my panic through our connection, but I knew she was trying not to jump to conclusions. I looked into her green eyes and I knew that I couldn't lie to her.
“Nova is gone. Maxon said she ran out, and he doesn't know where she went.”
Her green eyes immediately turned into an amber color and her face reddened. I was really regretting telling her. She had been telling me what she would do to Maxon if he broke Novas’ heart. She was even more protective than I was. Right now, I was terribly afraid for Maxon.
“Where is he,” she asked. Anger seemed to pulse off her like body heat. I flinched back a bit. Noni could really be scary when she wanted to be.
Maxon, where are you?
By the truck waiting for you guys, he sent back. Panic completely gone all that was left was regret and sadness.
Damn it, Maxon. Not again, I thought.
“He's out by the truck,” I told her.
Before I could even get everything out, she had taken off and was headed towards the car. I ran after her not being able to keep up. I just hoped that she wouldn't do anything crazy before I got there.
“Noni wait,” I shouted after her, but she was already there, and already on Maxon.
“What did you do to her?”
“Nothing. I don't know. She was there. It was her, her scent. I saw her I smelled her. It was her. But then in the door — I don't know,” he said not making any sense. That just upset her more.
“What the hell are you talking about Maxon,” she shouted at him.
Maxon and I both flinched. Tears were rolling down his face, and he was mumbling, not making any sense. Not that we could hear him anyway, and Noni's angry interrogation wasn't helping either.
“What the fuck are you talking about Maxon? What happened?”
“She saw me having sex with Natalie. I almost mated her,” he said. His voice was filled with pain and regret. Something was wrong with this picture.
“She saw what?! I had just warned you earlier about not hurting her, and you go and sleep with that grade A bitch?”
Noni started to hit him. She was really upset. Something was going on inside of her and I could feel it. So much rage and hurt. What was happening?
“Babe calm down. This isn't right,” I said to her, grabbing her hands to keep her from hurting him unintentionally.
Truthfully, I think at this point she wanted to kill him, but I wouldn't and couldn't let her do that. Not because he was the Alpha and my best friend but because she would hate herself later for it.
She stopped and turned to me with hurt, anger, and betrayal in her eyes. I cowered away from her gaze.
“You're siding with him.”
Even though it sounded like a question, I knew it wasn't. She had decided upon herself to tell me how I felt about the situation. In retrospect, I wasn't siding with anyone. I was the peacemaker. I wanted to find out the truth for Novas’ sake and even though, yes, Noni mattered Nova was still my baby sister so if she hurt Maxon she would hurt Nova and I couldn't have that.
I shook my head at her sighing, “Babe I'm not siding with anyone. I just want the truth. Nothing is adding up. He hasn't touched or looked at another girl since Nova left, so why would he do it now,” I asked her.
For a second, I saw the consideration in her eyes. I could see her remembering all the stories we had shared about Nova and Maxon. Neither one of them had really had a serious fling, but then as quick as it came it left.
“He's an idiot, and so are you if you believe him,” she shouted at me.
“It doesn't make sense Noni! You're a wolf for fuck's sake. Do you smell Natalie on him or Nova?”
I was becoming irritable. I was always the calm one for a reason and even though I loved her with all my heart Noni was about to figure out why I never truly got upset.
“Nova. So, what,” she said.
It only took her two seconds later to figure out what she had said. She did smell Nova on him. Which means he didn't knowingly have sex with Natalie. She was up to something and that something was going to ruin all our lives.
“I'm sorry Maxon,” she whispered. I pulled her into my arms and kissed her head. I could never stay mad at a face like that.
