Rejected Academy, page 1
© Copyright 2021 by Lilly Wilder All rights reserved.
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Rejected Academy
Wolf Shifter Menage Protector Romance
By: Lilly Wilder
Table of Contents
Come Stalk Me!
Foreword
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Epilogue
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Carol Has Never Been Able To Keep A Single Man... But Maybe She Can Keep Two Men
Carol Burton had always been unlucky in love and she had no idea what she was doing wrong. She may not have been for everyone, but surely there was somebody out there that wanted her for who she was and not what they wanted her to be.
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Foreword
Outcasts are to be rejected. Shunned. Spurned. Not protected. Yet, I was.
We all knew that my father challenging the Alpha would get us punished. He died doing what he thought was right. My own fate? Sometimes, I think it’s worse than death. My mate rejected me. My clan exiled me. I was forced to seek refuge at the Hermitage, the only place for outcast wolf shifters.
Ours is a world of old values. Old magic. Old rules. If you break them, you’d better be ready to pay the price. This is what everyone knows. But what I couldn’t have known was that two brothers I meet would end up being my confidants, my protectors, my everything.
Our bond will be stronger than the old ways. It has to be... because my life depends on it.
Rejected Academy
Chapter 1
Cat
I watch with horror as the Alpha digs his bloodstained canines into the body of the wolf lying on the ground, whose every breath could be its last. Its grey hair is entangled with mud and blood. The body whimpers in pain, barely audibly. I can’t look away, no matter how much I’d like to. The faces around me are all familiar. Now, that familiarity has transformed into hate, cutting sharp as a knife.
I don’t even feel the claws digging into each of my upper arms, rendering me frozen and helpless. It was actually the sight before me which left me paralyzed, not their grip. My entire body is a lump of nerves, and every breath I take makes me twitch painfully.
If I didn’t know any better, I’d think this was all just a dream. A horrible nightmare which wouldn’t let me open my eyes and wake up into the safety of reality. This is my reality now.
The Alpha spits a piece of flesh onto the dirt before my feet, and I gasp silently. I stare at him, forcing myself not to look away. Above him, the full moon is peeking out from the clouds, like a shiny coin. My mother always told me the moon would guide me, protect me.
The moon is the guardian of all wolves. Just look up to it when you’re in need of help, and it will lead you even through the darkest of nights...
My mother’s words echo inside my mind like a bell in an empty church, with no one to hear it. Without even glancing up at the moon, I curse it silently. How can it just stand by while my father is being mauled to death? The moon is no friend of mine, no protector. My mother was wrong.
A few moments later, we all witness the Alpha changing back into his human form. The initial, dull pain is evident on his face. We all know it. We’ve all felt that promise of a torment to come, slithering down one’s back, then spreading into the limbs. It always starts slow, almost toying with our hopes that maybe, just maybe it won’t hurt as much this time. Only, it always does. It tears us apart from the inside, breaking bone and pulling apart flesh, only to readjust into a new form. Our true form.
Naked and bloody, our Alpha walks up to me, stepping through a puddle of my father’s blood. I hold his stare, defiant not to look away even for a single moment.
He bares his teeth in front of me, crystalline and razor-sharp. His arms are long, muscular. His nails are as sharp as his fangs. A dark tuft of fur rests in the middle of his carved chest, a reminder that his true self could emerge once again at any moment and smite me. It would only take one blow. No more than that. I allow myself to drown in the hatred of his stare.
“Let it be known now and forevermore,” he starts speaking as if the entire woods were his stage.
In a way, it is so. The Wailing Woods are his playground. Other clans know to keep away from here unless they want to return with a limb too short, if they are allowed to return at all. It is a cold, hard place ruled by an even colder and harder Alpha. My father hoped he could change that, but...
He has warned me this might happen. He told me to control my pain, to steady my breathing, not to lose control no matter what. He believed Kaige won’t kill me, but looking into those dark pools of loathing, I’m not so sure.
“Whoever dares challenge me, will meet the same fate as Rumlar!” he shouts, and a loud echo of roaring and howling explodes all around me.
He is a handsome man, more so than many others who are his age. He oozes authority, which is why most wolves fear him instead of respecting him. Kaige doesn’t seem to care, as long as he’s got everyone under his thumb. Fierce and competitive, all he cares about is power. Not us, not his clan.
He gets into my face so close I can feel the stench of blood on his breath. My father’s blood. My hands curl into fists, although there isn’t much I can do with them. My teeth grind against each other. The pressure persists, slowly converting into bearable pain. My skin crawls at his presence, at his closeness.
“If you’re going to kill me, then get it over with already,” I growl at him angrily.
“Kill you?” he looks away at the crowd that’s gathered around us. To my right, the fire crackles softly. “I would never kill my sister’s child.”
The noise dies down, and a few heads turn to the people nearest to them, to whisper something. I manage to catch a glimpse of people I once considered friends, but they look away.
“Tidus!” he shouts at the crowd. “Come forth!”
A young man stumbles forth. He doesn’t even look at me. The moon glares from above us, the shadows around us menacing, but not more so than the faces I can actually see.
Tidus stops, unwilling to come closer. His ginger red hair now looks dark, almost black, while his face is illuminated by the firelight. His eyes the color of blossoming woods are hidden beneath his lowered eyelids. His hands are behind his back, his fingers which were more than once intertwined with mine. A distant echo of the words he told me rings inside my mind.
“I usually wouldn’t bestow this chance upon the daughter of someone who tried to kill me,” Kaige snarls, “but, you are still family. So, I will allow you to take your promised mate with you.”
“I don’t want to go!” Tidus’s voice scrapes against my ears like rusty nails. “Don’t make me!”
I watch his sniveling face still unable to look at me. His fear of dying is so strong it reeks. Disgust takes over me, and I can’t believe that I ever thought this man could be my mate. Hatred washes over me the likes of which I never thought possible.
“I don’t want him,” I growl back at Kaige.
I’m going to survive this night. I will do so without any dead weight.
“Suit yourself,” Kaige replies, dismissing Tidus with one flippant wave of the hand. “But, remember one thing, Ecaterina. I am not giving you freedom. This is to honor the memory of your late mother, my sister, and it shall not be repeated. If I ever see you again, I will slit your throat with my own teeth, do you understand?”
I don’t dignify that with an answer immediately. My nostrils are flaring up at him, hot air oozing out of me like molten lava. I feel like my one breath could smite him.
He gets in my face once more, and I’d like nothing more than to lunge at him with my canines out. But, I know better than to act upon that need. That would only get me killed.
“Do I need to repeat myself?” he snarls.
“No,” I manage to squeeze through clenched teeth. “I heard what you said.”
“Let her go,” he instructs the two men by my side, and suddenly, the grip is gone.
Immediately, I turn around and start running. I don’t need to turn around to know that no one is following me. Not thi s time, at least. I keep running, paying no heed to the fact I’m barely breathing. My own hatred and tears streaming down my face are trying to suffocate me, but I keep going. I need to. There is only one way and that is forward.
Kaige was right. It wasn’t the path to freedom, but rather to self-imposed prison. Wherever I end up, I will need to stay there indefinitely.
You say that as if you don’t know where you’re going, my mind tells me.
I keep running towards the western side of the Wailing Woods. There is dirt and grass underneath my bare feet. Musk and moss. When I reach the Raven Caves, I have to go around, and follow the stream. Fresh water revives me and provides strength to go on, for this will take all night. It will take me out of the Wailing Woods and up the Malefic Mountains. When I finally reach the top, that is where it is. The Hermitage.
It is the only place where outcast wolf shifters can find peace, or any semblance of it. It was established by the first ever pariah, who stumbled onto the ruins of an old monastery. Over the course of following centuries, what he started others have finished, and now, it stands tall, its ancient gates and walls offering shelter to those who have been left shunned and exiled from their own homes.
I never even imagined that I would end up there. It all still seems like a horrible nightmare, but I know it’s not. My ears prick up at every sound around me. I’m famished, but I won’t hunt. Not now. Instead, I keep climbing the difficult ridge, already seeing the first morning light illuminate the outer walls of the Hermitage.
Jagged rocks slice into my flesh as I keep climbing. I feel like every breath I take is the penultimate one. I still keep going because forward is the only way to go. Going back would mean certain death for me. I drink in the sight before me, the heavy gates propped up with thick lumber. There is no way inside other than through the open gates. It provides some peace of mind. I know I won’t be completely safe anywhere, but this is as good as it gets.
When I finally climb up, every subsequent breath feels like a stab in the abdomen. I take a seat, my throat completely dry, despite having drunk from the stream. The thought of that ice cold water makes me feel even worse. I whimper quietly, forcing myself to get up.
“What are you doing here?”
I suddenly hear a voice come from somewhere behind me. I jump to my feet, ready to explain or defend myself, whichever comes first.
Before my eyes fall on the intruder to my solitude, I catch his scent. Their scent. There are two of them. The little, invisible hairs on my back stiffen. Friend or foe – I’m still not sure which they are.
I finally see them. One of them is closer to me. His eyes are bright blue, curiosity glimmering in his gaze. His ruffled, black hair falls to the side of his face. His lower arms are bare, revealing an intricate tangle of healed scars, almost creating a purposeful image. The one next to him has the same gaze, the same jawbone structure, the same forehead.
Brothers?
He inches closer to me, and I see that the man next to him has a basket filled with herbs and mushrooms. I’m still on guard. I don’t know if I can trust them or not.
“I seek entrance to the Hermitage,” I say.
My stomach reminds me of the merciless hunger threatening to overtake me. I’m on the verge of grabbing that basket and stuffing myself full of mushrooms, even though I know they might not be picked for eating, but rather for making potions and balms. I can’t think about that now. I have to figure out what to do.
They both look at me inquisitively, then give each other a meaningful glance. Their eyes fall on me once more, with even more curiosity, and something else, something I can’t quite put my finger on.
Just like that, they walk over to me completely doing away with the distance between us, and I don’t back down. A flame flickers inside of me. Dare I call it hope? Or, maybe it is something else, something completely different, as I gaze into the eyes of these two men, feeling a strange bond already start to form.
“Come,” the first one tells me, smiling. “We’ll show you the way.”
Chapter 2
Cat
The endless sea of night shadows has disappeared, as I feel my fate separating from the original design, and twisting like rivulets, streaming in strange new directions I know nothing about. I follow the two men in front of me, who don’t even turn around to check and see whether I’m following them or not.
I only see the one walking right ahead of me clearly. There is a typical wolf-man handsomeness about him. He is rugged and strong, with intertwined ropes of muscle visible underneath his clothes. His legs are long, made for running of course. Yet, he doesn’t run. He walks much faster than I ever could have, especially under the conditions.
My insides hurt. I feel exhausted and weakened by hunger. I barely recognize myself when I glance at a puddle underneath my feet. There is a huge, gaping nothingness inside of me which is only inhabited by hate and a desire for vengeance.
We finally reach a tall wall made of stone. The rocks are so smooth that I doubt even the most skillful climber could reach the top. The first man knocks loudly on the wooden door with his fist. A few moments later, a small window opens, and two curious eyes peer at us.
“We’re back,” the man says, then turns to me. “And, we found her wandering the woods. She says she wants to join us.”
“That’s for Taarus to decide,” the voice on the other side of the door replies.
The window swiftly closes, and I hear a heavy latch open on the other side, resembling some sort of a machinery. There is a clicking, then loud screeching, and finally, the door opens slowly and heavily, granting us access into what I can only assume is the Hermitage.
The two men walk inside, and I immediately follow. It feels like I’ve entered into the previous century. The ground underneath my feet is hard. There is barely any dirt, which seems to be piled up in the corners.
A small group of people are already huddling together in small areas of the yard. There is a group by the well, also one by a small garden which seems to be filled with underground vegetables like carrots and potatoes. A small flowerbed rests just before the entrance to the mountain itself.
Their curious looks don’t escape me, but I don’t see judgment. I don’t see hatred nor fear. Maybe it’s really true what I’ve heard of this place. Everyone is the same here. No one is better or worse.
“Try to keep up,” one of the two men turns to me.
I just nod and hasten my step. We reach the mouth of a cave, which I can only assume is the entrance to the Maleficent Mountains. I have already forgotten all about the thick forest behind me, as a silent welcome threatens to swallow me whole. The men before me don’t hesitate to enter, and neither do I.
The passageway is dark, illuminated by what appear to be hundreds of oil lamps hanging from the sides of the walls, providing enough light for us to see where we are headed. I can barely keep up, after running all night long, and that exhaustion is the only thing which has its arms around me, reminding me of what had happened.
As we continue to walk, I sense the faint smell of mold. Somewhere in the distance, water is dripping. Perhaps there is a source of water coming from inside the mountains as well. I click my lips together at the thought of water.
I have no idea how long we’ve been walking, when finally, they turn right, and we enter a room that looks like an enormous amphitheater, with the stage set right at the end. The acoustics are amazing. I can hear my own breathing as loudly as if I were talking, so I try to breathe less audibly. We approach an elongated table, at the end of which a man is seated, his eyes seared into mine.
“Taarus,” one of the two men addresses the old sage, “we bring a newcomer.”
The old man doesn’t say anything at first. He stands up, and his old grey beard drops almost down to the floor. His hair is of the same color, and there is as much of it as there is his beard. I wonder if it wouldn’t be easier to just chop it all off, but I guess then the wise old wizard look would be gone.
He is wearing a long dark robe falling to the ground, trailing behind him as he approaches me. His eyebrows are thick and bushy, like a roof over his eyes, which are strikingly green, the color of new buds in the spring.
