Rejection on the Full Moon (Rejection Series) Chapter 75

"I spilt water while in a rush to serve dinner. They beat me in the middle of the dining room as punishment, then made me drag myself out to the foyer while everyone else ate and chatted away like nothing happened." I explain, tears forming in my eyes at the pain I felt while fifty wolves surrounded me after Beta Bastien grabbed my hair and dragged me to the middle of the room. His steel-toed boots connected with my rib cage as he screamed at me for being a clumsy, useless idiot that could do nothing right. Everyone mocked me and laughed while I rolled into a ball and covered my head, silent tears streaming down my face. I learned long ago to not make a sound, since the crowd loses interest when the wolf being beaten as punishment is quiet and accepts reality.

"When Lilly and Misbah rushed to my side and helped me to clean and bandage my wounds, it was already late and it took a little longer to finish chores. That's why I was late," I continued, feeling my friend take the sword still grasped in my hand and throw it behind her.

"You don't have to explain everything to me, Little Wolf. Just cry it out," And with her words, I cry. My sobs fill the air while Lizaria cradles my body to her, my hands clutching at the pastel pink tunic she wears, while her hands pull down my hood and run through my curls. She hums a lullaby while my heart twists with pain and grief.

Almost everyone in my pack hates me, blaming me for the death of Alpha Sorus and Luna Reena. That and being a weak wolf who never shifted at age sixteen like the rest of my peers, I became an easy target for their abuse. It's why Lizaria agreed to train me in the Elven way, as a way to protect myself against any sneak attack unjustly thrown my way inside the pack house. Between my exhaustion, tears, and pain in my heart and body, my sobs soon turn into sniffles, the little energy I have left leaving me even more weak. I hate this feeling. The feeling of weakness and helplessness. My life revolved around this feeling since that day eleven years ago.

"Feel better?" Lizaria asks, worry still evident in her voice. All I manage is a nod, her calming scent wrapping around me, making me drowsy. I felt safe in her arms, something akin to motherly love from her.

"Come on, Geminie. Let's get you into the hot springs to heal, Little Wolf," She sighs, pulling away and giving me a soft smile. She helps me to my feet, her arms wrapping around me while I lean on her six-foot frame for support. The hot springs located fifteen metres away from the entrance are surrounded by moonflowers, the magic within a welcoming warmth. Lizaria frowns as she helps me to undress, leaving only my undergarments on and the multitude of bruises and scars littering my worn-out body in her view. She stays silent, her forest-green eyes giving me a once-over before helping me crawl into the shallow basin and laying me down gently. A comfortable feeling washes through every pore of my body as the healing effects of the water take hold quickly. My prism-coloured hair floats out around me as I stare at the silver-white moon above. I did not heal the same as normal wolves. Being unable to shift when I turned sixteen effectively left me as a strong human, an even more disappointment in the pack. I have no wolf form, meaning the quick healing every wolf is born with never took effect for me, leaving my curvy body littered with bruising and scarring that took days, sometimes weeks or months, to heal. If I could get to Lizaria and the hot springs, then my body would be blemish-free. Sometimes that took days or weeks to happen if my punishment was severe.

"Gem, when will you leave the pack? We both know you're not safe there, Little Wolf." I look to Lizaria, her statement filled with sadness and her eyes shining with unshed tears for me. At three-thousand-and-some-odd-years-old, Lizaria looks no older than thirty. Her lithe body is filled with muscle meant for fighting, and long hair that splayed out around her made many envious. If it weren't for her long pointed ears, she could be a model in human society.

"My high school graduation is tomorrow, and my eighteenth birthday. If I find my mate then, I'll stay. If not, then I… I will leave." Lizaria is right, I have spent eleven years being abused for a situation out of my control. One of these days, I'll end up dead without knowing how. The problem is leaving Lizaria and the Unicorns behind. It's the only reason I was hesitant to leave in the past. But once I graduate, I have no more ties keeping me here. Alex already stated he would leave, and so would Lilly and Misbah. If I could convince Lizaria, then we could find a place to settle down outside pack territory, where the Unicorns would be safe.

"I wish I could watch you walk across that stage tomorrow, Gem, but I have to stay here and protect the Unicorns," Lizaria sighs, holding out a towel for me. I smile at my friend and accept the towel, wrapping it around my body and sitting on the edge of the hot spring as we stare up at the moon.

"If it weren't for the school being shut down for renovations after exams back in June, I would have walked across the stage already," I chuckle. Lizaria will be busy with both protecting the unicorns as well as dealing with the magic the Harvest Moon will provide. Even if I asked my friend to join me for my graduation, being isolated from the world for hundreds of years would be a huge culture shock. After an hour of chatting and Lizaria promising me a graduation gift tomorrow, we watch as the moon floats across the sky. After two hours have passed, I dress in my black clothing with a sigh and bid farewell to Lizaria and the unicorns before making my way back to the pack house so that no one notices my disappearance.