Rejection on the Full Moon (Rejection Series) Chapter 31

I stay silent while he treks up the stairs, with me in his arms and the box of cheesecake in mine. Pack members give us amused looks, and a blush of embarrassment fills my face. I was never more thankful for the safety of his office while whispers about Dominic and I are spoken in our wake. Setting himself down into the La-Z-Boy recliner he loves, Dominic places me on his lap, a smug grin on his face. Why did the Goddess have to make a devilishly handsome man like Dominic and put him before me?

"Now, are you going to share, Amberle?" Dominic asks in a parental tone used for pups. I hold the box closer to me, the fork clenched in my fist, internally debating the pros and cons of sharing the cake versus stabbing the fork into Dominic's thigh. Dominic lets me think in silence, resting his head atop mine with his eyes closed. He had me trapped with nowhere to go.

"What happens if I don't share?" I question boldly, with a hint of rebellion in my voice. I learn quickly what punishment of not sharing would await me. Dominic straightens in his seat with a mischievous grin. His hands move from encompassing me in his embrace to my sides. His fingers move rhythmically against me, sending my ticklish body into a state of thrashing while I fight against his hold, squealing and laughing. I had read somewhere that tickling someone is a form of a panic attack, and at this moment, I felt panicky. I hated my ticklish body. I try my best to keep the box steady so as not to ruin the cheesecake held within until sharing becomes the only option out of this predicament.

"Okay, okay, okay." I concede with tears in my eyes, focusing on catching my breath. Dominic had quickly learned my weakness of being ticklish on our first Halloween together. I remember getting drunk at a costume party and wanting to flirt with the guest from another pack. I had decided that since I was single, I had every right to find some form of companionship. I don't remember much from that night other than a possessive Dominic as he carries me away from an equally drunk Alpha—or Beta since I can't remember that wolf's status—and leading me into his own room in the pack house reserved for when he has to work late. I remember feeling his hands on my side, causing me to squirm from the ticklish sensation. This eventually leads to me being underneath Dominic as he tickled me, tortured me into agreeing not to hook up with any wolf drunk. I don't remember much after that because I quickly fell asleep, but I did wake up to swollen lips, Dominic's shirt draped over me, and a passed-out Dominic quietly snoring beside me.

The fork being taken from my grasp brings me out of my thoughts. I notice Dominic carefully opening the cake box to reveal the pristine dessert. Part of me hated that I had gotten Dominic equally addicted to this treat as I am. There were times when I would come home from work to find Dominic lounging around the living room, watching the Raptors play while digging into a hearty slice. I soon learned to get creative with hiding places to stash away the treat for my own consumption and out of Dominic's hands. Digging into the side of the treat, Dominic places a fork full of cheesecake in front of my mouth. I take the offered bite happily, watching as he forks a portion and quickly stuffs it away inside his own mouth.

Ever since my birthday a year and a half ago, Dominic and I have slowly gotten to know each other. We spent hours training and racing through the forest, or lounging about in my house or his office. Our bond only grew stronger one night, when the two of us were by the lake I had encountered him at. He asked me to become his Head Tracker, and explained his own past rejection and how he has been waiting patiently for his second-chance mate. Part of me hoped that in six months, when the final wisps of the mate bond tying me to Leo vanish, Dominic will be the mate I end up with as my happily ever after. Some pack members have already voiced their opinion about me being their Luna, but I hated that word. I felt that a Luna has to be calm and collected with a pure and innocent disposition. I would rather be called an Alpha if Dominic and I end up mated in the future—that's if the Moon Goddess pairs us as each other's second chance.

For the next hour, the two of us enjoy the silence the office has to offer, chipping away at the cheesecake. Today, we are discussing which wolves are ready to become Hunters- and Trackers-in-training. We refer to these wolves as HITs and TITs, and honestly, I hated these nicknames. Since I begin training these wolves, both Hunters and Trackers have been training together, sharing their knowledge and working towards becoming stronger with new skills. It is why we have been debating on a new name for our wolves—Warriors. Dominic and Christian kept throwing in Fighters, but something about the nickname, WITs, for Warriors-in-training, sounded better than FITs, although Christian does like to throw a fit when nothing goes his way.

"Dominic, we have a problem!" Speaking of throwing a fit, Christian's frantic voice flits in through the door from the hallway before the Beta rounds the corner, gasping for breath. It seems like he ran from his office on the first floor all the way here to talk to Dominic about this problem.

"An ally pack just called. For a month now, their pack has been attacked and ravaged by rogues. They need our help with instilling a new training program." This is normal for us. Every so often, a pack will ask for help in being trained. Most of the time, we send my assistant Avery and Miles' assistant Stephan to train those packs, as they have trained Blood Moon on occasions where Dominic, Christian, Miles, and I are unavailable to train. Maybe this time, we can send those two along as well.

"Who are they requesting for help, what kind of rogues are we dealing with, and how many rogues are there in total?" I feel a shift in Dominic as what I like to call his 'Alpha Mode' kicks in. I see Christian rummaging through his pocket, searching for Goddess only knows what. Leaning into Dominic's embrace, I feel his fingers draw lazy circles on my back, a tick he has when annoyed with Christian or Miles. Sometimes I question why Christian is his Beta, with him being so unorganized and Dominic almost borderline OCD, but the two complimented each other well. My thoughts drift back to the lazy circles being drawn on my back, and I start wondering what it would be like to be with a mate—my own mate. The pain of rejection instigated by Leo still lingers, but it still shoots small tremors of pain through my heart.

"They are requesting the top members of the pack, including the two of us—our Head Hunter, Miles, and our Head Tracker, you, Amberle. They also asked for as many Hunters and Trackers that can help with defences." Christian's words bring me out of my thoughts. I sigh, making a mental list of what Avery will have to do to keep the training going in our pack while the four of us are gone.