You Rejected Me. Remember?

“Why didn’t you arrest him and lock him up?” Ava asked Cassy as they gathered in the dining room the next afternoon. They had slept late and ended up sleeping the whole of the forenoon, missing their breakfast.

“I wanted to give him a chance to redeem. I hope he changes. And of course, I am sure that several pack members would now realise that Baron was wrong the whole time. He could have masked whatever he was doing to the whole pack. Whoever wants to leave can leave now.” Cassy munched on her food as she replied.

“But what if he attacks again?” Ava voiced her concern.

“I gave him a chance. Now he can’t say that I didn’t warn him or didn’t allow him to change,” She frowned.

“I sure hope that his wolf knocks some senses in that head. If he attacks again, next time, there will be no mercy.” She looked around the table. Miles and Calli silently munched on their food. Their daughter Astrea was having lunch with them. Nolan and Ava were seated in front of Elliot and she. Their son, Leo was silently having his food.

Leo was older than Astrea by a couple of months and they were growing up as best friends.

“Leo, how is school?” Cassy asked her nephew.

“Great. But the teachers are saying exams are coming,” he wrinkled his nose. “I don’t like that,” he mumbled.

“You are too lazy to study for the tests. That’s why you don’t like them.” Astrea kept her eyes on her plate as she commented.

“Why don’t both of you study together after you finish eating? That should be fun,” Calli suggested.

They nodded in agreement. Smiling Cassy shifted her gaze to the fated lovers who sat side by side on the far end of the table.

Her lips curved upwards when she saw how relaxed Monica looked. Cade was trying to feed her from the various dishes on the table. Monica seemed to be genuinely at peace. Cassy found it fulfilling to watch the fated lovers feed each other, not caring about what anyone might say. Her eyes travelled towards her neck. Her marking spot was still bare.

She looked away from them. They haven’t mated yet.

“She had gone through a lot. I think Cade is trying to give her time to get comfortable,” Izzy told her through their link.

“Yeah. They seem to be in so much love. It is so comforting to see that,” she sighed in contentment.

“It is time for us to leave.” Cassy smiled at the pack leaders. “I can’t leave without paying mom and dad a visit. So let’s go,” she gestured to Elliot.

After they left, Miles and the others went to the office and to attend the pack duties. Since the warriors had fought a war during the night, they had given the day off for them, so that they could rest while the injured got enough time to heal.

“You are going to rest, right Cade?” His sister asked, hopefully.

“Uhh….” Cade glanced at Monica. Usually, he would insist on joining Miles and the others to help with the paperwork and other minor tasks. However, this time, he wanted to spend time with his mate.

“Sure,” he mumbled.

Smiling, Calli glanced at Monica. She was grateful that her brother was finally changing the way she hoped he would. If it wasn’t for her, he wouldn’t have agreed to get some rest.

Calli went on her way while Cade and Monica walked back to their room.

The days that followed were peaceful. Several families who left the Red Wings pack came to the Dark Howl pack. As promised, Miles welcomed them with open hands. The warriors resumed their regular training sessions. Those who desired to join the army were allowed to enrol. Miles was pleased with the newcomers. It reinforced his already strong army.

Monica was slowly growing comfortable around her new family. The bruises on her body faded away and slowly her shattered heart started to heal.

Asena also has grown stronger. Monica felt that her senses had heightened despite not having shifted yet. She visited Philip every day and was satisfied with the progress he showed. However, she couldn’t wait for the day he would wake up. She had so much to tell him. She wanted him to know that his efforts were fruitful. That the ruthless, one-eyed alpha was finally denounced from his position. And that she had found her mate. She had a lot of exciting news to share with him.

Five days had passed after the war. Cade went to attend his duties after breakfast. As usual, Monica went to the infirmary to visit Philip.

“Hasn’t he woken up yet?” She asked the nurse in the reception, who shook her head.

She walked inside the room he was kept in. Seeing him lying on the hospital bed was hurtful. Sighing he gazed at his motionless body. At least his wounds had healed and the internal bleeding had stopped. He looked several times better than he used to. She was grateful that the doctors had seen enough progress in him to shift him to a room instead of keeping him in the Intensive Care Unit. If only he would wake up….

“I hope you wake up soon, Philip. I need to show you how your efforts have brought peace and calm to my life.” She whispered and turned around to leave.

She was still new in the pack. However, the pack members and all the leaders were extremely friendly. Hence she didn’t have much trouble adjusting to her new environment.

She was about to open the door when she thought she heard him grunt. Surprised, she glanced at him. Her heart skipped a beat when she realized that he was wincing.

He was waking up!

She thought, feeling elated. Gasping for breath, she hastened to look for a nurse.

“He is waking up!” She exclaimed in her excitement at the first nurse she saw in the corridor.

A smile spread across the nurse’s face. Philip’s and Monica’s case was well known by every staff of the hospital. When she expressed her excitement, the nurse instantly realised who she must be talking about.

“Come!” Monica rushed towards the room with the nurse hot on her heels.Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

When they entered the room, they saw Philip was staring blankly at the door. He was confused, however, when his eyes landed on Monica, his face brightened with a smile.

“Kid! You made it!” He croaked.

Her eyes welled with tears of joy as nodded. The nurse checked his pulse and b***d pressure before smiling in satisfaction.

“Everything looks normal to me,” she said as she packed up the medical equipment she used.

“The doctor will check you and tell you when you can leave. And I think the alpha also would want to speak with you.” She smilingly added. Philip gaped at her, stupefied.

“The alpha… where are we?” He frowned.

“You are in the Dark Howl pack. You have survived a horrible encounter. It is our luck that the alpha’s daughter donated b***d to you. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have made it.” The nurse informed him.

The creases on his forehead deepened and Monica bit her inner cheeks. What would he say if he learns that she was his descendant?

“The alpha’s daughter?” His confusion had undoubtedly increased. “Why would your alpha’s daughter match mine? I haven’t been accepted in this pack yet.”

The smile on the nurse’s face stretched further.

“Not the alpha of this pack. The alpha of your original pack.”

She was trying her best not to laugh, as she didn’t want to sound rude.

“My pack….. This doesn’t make any sense… Baron doesn’t have a daughter.” He shook his head.

The nurse’s gaze shifted to Monica who bobbed her head at her.

“I’ll explain.”

The nurse left the room and gave them some privacy so that they could talk.

“What she said is true.” She spoke. “His daughter gave you b***d. Can you guess who that is?” She asked softly.

Philip gulped. His eyes never left the girl in front of him. He didn’t want to believe what his brain kept telling him. However, that was the only possibility.

“Wait… I need water.” He mumbled. He needed something to calm his racing heart.

Monica poured a glass of water from the bottle on the table. She knew he most probably knew the answer, yet didn’t want to say it out loud.

“Okay. Tell me,” he said, facing her after he drank the contents of the glass.

“Baron’s daughter. Who is she? I don’t want to guess. Just save the suspense and tell me.” His gaze was fixed on Monica’s eyes.

“It is me,” she said and waited for him to react. Yet all she received was a blank stare.

“You mean…what? Your mom… she….”

“She was r***d. Baron admitted the night I fled. That’s how I realised that…..” Her throat tightened and suddenly she found it hard to speak. The memories of her mother still hurt, especially after she learnt that the hard life she had led was because of something that wasn’t her fault.

“She deserved better…. So much better…” Monica managed to whisper through her tears.

Closing her eyes, she looked away. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she hugged herself. An eerie silence filled the room.

“I think I understand now,” he whispered after some time. “Don’t force yourself to tell me more,” he relaxed on the bed.

The new revelation was appalling. Philip laid on his bed in silence. He believed that he was stupid to trust a wolf as vile as Baron. He couldn’t believe that he had worked as his beta for so many years. A deep feeling of melancholy washed over him. He felt as though he had been part of all the crimes Baron had been committing.

“We must call the Queen! Now!” He gasped.

Chuckling through her tears Monica shook her head.

“No need. The Queen has visited already. She knows. A lot has happened, Philip. Baron declared war on this pack but he was shown his place. The Queen denounced him from the alpha position. The Red Wings pack is no more, now. Several families have joined this pack.” She explained.

Philip was amazed by all the news he heard. The corners of his lips crooked in a genuine smile.

“That’s…great!” He paused. “But where is that dumbhead now?”

Shrugging her shoulders, “don’t know. He ran away. The Queen gave him a chance to redeem.”

Philip furrowed his eyebrows. “I don’t trust that jerk,” he mumbled, but then didn’t say anything on the matter.

The door to the room opened. Monica beamed at the familiar wolves who entered the room.

“I was informed that Philip had woken up,” Miles spoke. Cade walked towards Monica and snaked his hand around her waist. He kissed her crown, not taking notice of Philip’s confused glance.

“I am Miles. Alpha of this pack. I want to accept you in this pack. If you are willing to.” He waited for an answer from Philip.

Smiling, he nodded.

The formalities of accepting him in the pack and the introduction of the pack leaders were completed within a few minutes.

“It is a pleasure to have a talented and honest wolf in my pack,” Miles asserted.

“I am too glad to be part of this pack, alpha,” he responded. His eyes quickly shifted to Cade who held Monica close to him. It took a while for Monica to realise that Philip was staring at them in confusion.

“Oh, Philip, this is Cade. A warrior and the luna’s brother. And umm,” his cheeks flushed. “My mate,” she whispered out the last part as her cheeks tinted a light shade of pink.

***

“What are we going to do? We are too few. We can’t attack them like this,” Elijah leaned forward over the table. They were discussing what they were going to do.

Without a doubt, they wanted to attack and cause as much damage they could. However, not before they took proper precautions.

“We will get help, of course,” Baron smoked on his cigarette.

“But who would want to help us? No werewolf pack will agree to join us. They must have informed everyone about us by now.” Elijah pointed out.

Laughing, Baron blew a puff of smoke.

“Who said we will join forces with werewolves?” A sinister smirk spread across his face. “I’m done with wolves. We aren’t making deals with them anymore.”

Frowning, “then whom do we seek help from?” He asked.

“The vampires.”