“Now, back to my question.” My father says. “Son, do you have any idea what you have done to yourself and our pack?”
“What do you mean, dad?”
“Do you know what happens to any wolf that rejects his mate? Especially an alpha wolf?”
“I thought nothing would happen to me or Convel. I mean, I still chose a mate for Convel.”
Every wolf in the building with us looked at me with shock. Like I just gave the dumbest answer anyone could give.
“You did,” Convel says.
“I don’t know where I went wrong.” My father says, holding his head in his hands. He looks at my mom and says. “Times like this, he is your son.” My dad says to my mom.
“Nope baby, he is all yours. My son would not be this dense.” My mon says back to my dad.
I can’t believe they are discussing me like this. Don’t even bother commenting Convel. I already know what you think. I think to my wolf.
“Son,” My father sighs. “When a wolf rejects its mate, that wolf either becomes very weak and fades away or the wolf goes feral and must be put down. The risk of going feral is stronger in alpha wolves because we are already volatile. It takes our fated mates to calm us and balance us. So by rejecting Seleste, you have condemned this pack to have to kill you one day or to having an alpha who cannot access his wolf. Either way, it weakens our pack and leaves the pack vulnerable to attacks.”
“But Dad,” I tried to argue my point again.
“Hold on, I’m not finished.” My dad says. “Then you tried to get rid of Seleste. Do you have any idea how important Seleste is to this pack and the werewolf kingdom?”
“I am so tired of hearing about how great Seleste is,” I say.
I tried to walk off. I need to be by myself for a while and figure out my next step. Gamma True started growling. I think he is ready to grab me again. I admit, I am afraid of him. I step closer to my dad.
“You will stand here and listen so that you will understand how royally you just fucked up!” My father yelled.
I don’t think I have heard my father cuss in a long time. He must be angry with me.
My dad takes a deep breath and then looks at Seleste.
“Seleste, will you come up here please?”
Seleste walks up and stands in front of my father. I must admit, she is looking very nice in her dress. It is a one-shoulder number that fits her curves perfectly. Unlike me, Seleste is looking calm and composed. Looks like things are backfiring a little. She should be the one that is flustered and angry. Not me.
“Son, do you see that mark on Seleste’s right shoulder?”
I look closely. There is a crescent moon with a star on her shoulder. I have read something about that symbol before, but I paid little attention to it and what it means.
“Yes. I see it, So?” I asked
“I’m losing my patients with you, pup. Disrespect my Sweet Pea one more time. I dare you. “Gamma. True says through clenched teeth.
My father sighs. “Son, that mark is the mark of The Protector. The Protector is a direct descendant of Fenroe, the Original Protector. This honor has passed down through the True family since the moon goddess created the original six werewolves.”
“Wait dad, are you telling me, Seleste is a descendant of an original werewolf?” I ask in shock.
“I told you mate was special.”
“Yes, son, Seleste is a direct descendant on her father’s side and a distant relative on her mother’s side. She is a pure-blood gamma and chosen by the goddess herself to be the Protector of all supernaturals. As a reward to our pack for being the chosen home of the protector line, the moon goddess has kept a protection around our pack. She has also blessed an area in the middle of the forest so that our wolves, especially the protector, can be close to her and recharge. I noticed our blessed place has not been the same over the last couple of days and now I know why.”
“Are you saying that because I rejected Seleste, our pack is not blessed anymore?”
“That’s exactly what he is saying idiot.” Convel sneaks in.
“As long as the True family freely stays with us, the blessing of the moon goddess remains, but if they choose to leave, they take the blessing with them. Every pack in this country, including the royal pack, would accept them with open arms and you, my son, told them to leave.” My dad says and shakes his head.
“Alpha, just so you know, I was already planning to move my family away from here. Seleste is my only child and my number one priority. I will not stand for her to be disrespected. I will find a pack that will appreciate who we are and what Seleste adds to a pack.” Gamma True says.
“How do you know my father would grant you permission to leave?” I cut in.
“Seriously, Trevor, stop talking. I can't believe you have not understood anything your father has said to you so far?” My mother says.
"Son, did you not hear what I said. The True family have a choice to stay with a pack or not. Don’t you remember any of the history lessons you learned? The Original and their descendants are all alpha wolves. The original beta and the original gamma respected the original alpha enough to lead with him. They always have to choose to submit. It is not a compulsion for them. They could leave and go form their own pack or align with another alpha. We were blessed to have had them with us for generations and you threw it all away out of a petty temper tantrum.” My dad says sadly.
My heart sinks when my father says that. I remember hearing about the originals, but I paid little attention. I know that Seleste's family was here from the beginning of this pack, but I didn’t think it was that serious. There are a lot of families that were here at the beginning.
“Son, your ancestor and Seleste’s ancestor allied when this pack was created. The families agreed to lead together and work with the council to ensure that the protector received the right training and growth to fulfill their duties to the supernatural community. For over 1000 years, we have honored that alliance, but you broke the alliance without a thought.”
“But dad, I didn’t know. I thought I was doing the right thing for the pack.”
“Son, you should have known. We covered this in alpha training. You say you were thinking about the pack, but you were only thinking about yourself, your pride, and your selfishness. While you were trying to strengthen your body, you should have been expanding your knowledge. It takes more than physical strength to lead a pack. You obviously are not ready to lead the pack. We will not be having your alpha ceremony anytime soon. I will remain alpha for the foreseeable future.” My dad say.
He then turns to Seleste, “I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive my son. I don’t know what made him turn this way, but the pack needs him. Do you think there is a chance for you and him to reconcile?”
Why would my dad ask her that? I don’t think that will ever happen.
“Alpha, I asked Trevor to take time and think about the rejection; to be sure that rejecting me was what he wanted. He told me he was sure that this was what he wanted. I tried to reason with him, but he was determined to reject me. All because he was upset about our fight in training. This was his choice.” Seleste said,
“See Alpha, Connor. Trevor had it in his mind that I made him look weak because I didn’t fight him at full strength. What I never understood was why he would think that I would use full strength while training. So, he was mad at me for not treating him like an enemy. He purposely hurt me, while I tried to be a friend to him. Not only did he hurt me, but he also made my wolf cry twice. I don’t see a way past this at all. Not for him and I.” Seleste said.
I could do nothing but drop my head. What she said is true.
“Wait,” My dad said.
“You mean to tell me, this whole situation over the past year was about the training match you had? The one that everyone was bragging about how well Trevor fought against you? The one that I was bragging to the warriors that my son lasted a whole round with you?” My dad asked and looks at me with an unreadable look.
“Trevor, I can’t believe that this was your issue. Do you not understand that the purpose of training is to test your skill and learn areas you need to improve?
Seleste usually continues the fight long enough to test us, then she ends it by either taking the opponent down or in my and her parents’ case, taking a fall and letting us win.”
“Dad, did you just say Seleste lets you win?” I asked.
“Of course she does. She does it out of respect. We are not in an official challenge, so why would she want to win against her alpha in front of everyone? The purpose of training is to improve. Each time I train with Seleste, she pushes me a little further and fights a little harder. I measure my progress by the degree of increased fighting we do. That's her job. She does it well and we are a better pack because of it.”
“I never knew that she lets you win against her. The fights look so real.”
“They are real, Trevor, but the point of the fights is for training, not hurting or killing each other. There is so much more for you to learn about leading a pack.”
My dad returns his attention to Seleste.
“I hate to seem like I’m pressuring you. Seleste, you know I love you like a daughter. Is there anything Trevor can do to make you consider giving him another chance?”
“Alpha, Trevor has never even apologized for what he did, nor has he asked for another chance. I don’t think there is any hope for us being mates. He chose another female, and he has already been intimate with her. I’m ok with that. I was angry at first, but I know I will be better off in the end. I will still have an experience that he never will. I’m sorry if that sounds petty alpha, but it is how I feel.”
I wonder what she means by that. What experience will she have that I never will?
She continues talking while I’m taking everything in. I realize I made a huge mistake. Everyone tried to warn me that I was going to be the downfall of our pack with my grudge. Yes, I can admit it now. It was a grudge. I see now that Seleste was born to be a warrior and if I would have listened, she could have made me better.
As a protector, she works to make all of us better. Now it makes sense why my father started letting her travel the world to train at such an early age. How could I have gotten everything so wrong? I should have taken her advice and thought about it, or maybe even talked to my dad or mom about what I was feeling. Now I know why I’ve been feeling so drained lately and why Convel has not been talking to me.
“I’m sorry Convel.” I link my wolf. “I will try to make our last days together better. I love you Con and I’m sorry for ruining things with our mate.”
“Alpha, because I love this pack, I will not let Trevor loose Convel. Although he hurt me and made my wolf cry, I released him from the bond. I did not want Convel to suffer because of him. I stayed home over the past couple of days because I was letting Tamaska completely break the bond and heal. He will not lose Convel.”
“Convel, did you hear that? I will not lose you. Seleste is truly a better person than I am. She would make the perfect Luna. She always puts other people first,”
“I know. I felt my strength coming back this morning, but I was mourning the loss of my mate. I knew that me getting my strength back meant that Tamaska completely broke the bond. She really is not our mate anymore and soon; we will have to watch her be happy.” Convel says with sadness.
Seleste continues talking to my dad, but I feel every word she is saying now.
“After the things he said and did to me, I can never be with him and I’m ok with that. You know of the agreement the protectors have with the moon goddess about our mates. We can free them from the effects of breaking the bond and the moon goddess will grant us, protectors, a second chance, mate. I have freed Trevor and I am waiting for my second chance mate. Trevor gave his first to someone he chose, even after knowing I was his fated. I am saving my first for my second chance. Tamaska and I deserve to be cherished and Trevor showed me that won't happen with him.”
“What do you mean, second chance, mate?” I asked Seleste, but she just kept talking like she didn’t hear me.
“Convel, was that what you meant when you said we will have to watch her be happy?” I asked
“Yes,” Convel whimpers.
“Since Mona is mated to Ben, I will ask my family to stay allied with this pack. Alpha Connor, I love you like a second dad and I want to see the Blue Moon pack flourish. I just can't remain here,” Seleste said to my father. “Since I am 18 now, the council will call on me more to serve and train, therefore, I will travel a lot and be away from the pack. You have my allegiance, but not my presence.” Seleste finishes.
I don’t know why it took all of this for me to see how perfect Seleste would have been as my mate, but like Convel said, I ruined everything.
“Thank you for having mercy on Convel, Seleste.” My father says.
“I just have one request. While you are traveling and training the other packs, can you return home every three months to update the training for our pack and renew the protection around the pack? It is always stronger when you are here.” My father says.
“Yes alpha, I can agree to that.” Seleste bows her head to my father in respect.
“See, son, respect is earned. After tonight, you will have to work on earning back the respect and trust of the pack.”
My dad is right. I messed up, and now I have my work cut out for me. I have to mend fences and rebuild bridges. I’ll start by actually apologizing to Seleste. I owe her that and more.
“Seleste, I hope one day, you will forgive me. I am truly sorry for hurting you and Tamaska. There is no excuse for my behavior other than I let my pride impede my judgment. I know we are not mates anymore, but I hope we can grow to be friends again.”
“Honestly, Trevor, I don’t know if we will ever get to that point. For almost a year, I tried to bridge the gap between us, but each time, you were harsh and insulting to the point that I just gave up on us and our friendship. For now, I would prefer that we continue like we were. By that I mean us having separate lives and spending time with our friends away from each other. As for forgiving you, I did that the day after you rejected me. You have my forgiveness. I just chose not to give you my time, thoughts, or energy anymore.”
“I will make it up to you Seleste,” I say as she walks back over to her parents.
Her father wraps her in a big hug. He is still glaring at me.
“Um, Son. What are you going to do about this young lady?” My mother asked, pointing at Shana.
“Shana, I’m so sorry, you got caught up in all of this. I will take you home. We have a lot to think about.”
“Let's all go to our respective homes and try to get some sleep. We have a pack meeting tomorrow. I’m sure the pack will have a lot of questions.” My father says. We all get up and walk out. I just realized that all of my friends were still there. They were extra quiet, which is unlike them. I guess they were in shock. I know I will also need to rebuild my relationship with them. I know they are mad about me rejecting Seleste.