Cruel Rejection (Completed)

Epilogue

Rosalina's POV

Life is sometimes so cruel and unfair but there is nothing we can do about it. We try to move on as best as we can but I can't, I just can't.

"Nana Rosy! Do you know where Dad is?" I asked as I ran into the kitchen where she was preparing her famous blueberry pancakes.

Today was the day Nana and Papa Ryder were going back to Italy, they welcomed me to join them but I couldn't leave my home and I couldn't leave my parents. Not yet.

"I dunno dear, I think he might be up at Cherry Hill with your mother." She smiled.

As I turned to leave I bumped into Beta John and his wife.

"Hello Beta John," I greeted politely.

He looked down at me and frowned as his wife looked like she was on the verge of tears which was weird. I never really talked to them, in fact I never really talked to anyone in the pack except for my cousin Archie. Apparently I was the most popular kid in the pack but I always kept to myself.

"Grazie Nana, ciao!" I kissed her on the cheek and ran up the steps to get my jacket and necklace. I never left anywhere without my necklace.

I ran into my bed room and looked around for my locket. As I searched on my dresser I gazed into the mirror and frowned. Most people said I looked like my mother, except for my blonde hair, I don't know who I got it from. Sometimes my dad can't even look at me without having a mental breakdown, he's just hurting too much.

"Hey kiddo," I heard a voice say from behind me.

I turned around to see Archie and Aunt Gabby standing in my doorway.

"Where ya headed?" Archie asked me.

We were only a few months apart but I was still older than him. I was 16 and he was still 15 but he always seemed to act younger than his age.

"I'm going up to Cherry Hill," I said.

"Archie, why don't you leave Rosalina and I alone?" Aunt Gabby asked as she shooed him away.

"How's life kiddo?" She asked as she sat on my bed.

"That's the weirdest question to ask a person." I raised an eyebrow.

She chuckled. "Just answer the question."

"No, what does that even mean?"

"It means what it states."

"That tells me nothing."

She shook her head. "You're so stubborn like your father."

Instantly she tensed up and looked at me with a fearful expression.

"Dad was stubborn?"

She nodded her head and stood up. "I'll let you be on your way, tell Anaïs I said hi for me." She smiled.

She walked out of my room, leaving me alone. I noticed my necklace on the bed and grabbed it. I twirled the ring around on its chain and looked at the words always my daughter.

I didn't understand the words, of course I would always be his daughter. I walked out of the pack house and headed toward Cherry Hill.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I walked up to the gate that said Cherry Hill Cemetery in intricate Gothic styled letters. I sighed and walked through the gates. I weaved around rows and rows of tombs until I got to the special place where all Alphas and Luna's were buried. I sat down in front of my mother's grave.

Felicity Anaïs Blackwood

•Respected Luna
•Caring mother and loving mate

"Hey mom, it's me Rosalina. I just wanted to update you on what's happening." I sighed and began digging my fingers into the dirt.

"Nana and Papa Ryder are leaving to go back to Italy, I'm not going with them because I can't leave you and dad, it'll be too painful. Dad misses you a lot, I hear him at night sobbing, begging for you to come back." I paused to wipe away a tear sliding down my cheek.

"Mom I miss you so much, sometimes I feel like you were being selfish when you left me and dad. Life feels so lost without you and I never got a chance to tell you I loved you. Dad's here but it's not the same, you're not here to teach me about love or boyfriends or how to deal with emotions because right now I don't know what I'm doing." I brought my knees to my head and bury my face in them to stop the tears but they just kept flowing.

"Why didn't you just stay." I cried out.

"Rosy?" A voice called behind me.

I turned around to see my father holding a black rose with a sincere expression. He walked up next to me and sat down as he placed the rose on her grave.

There was a silence between us as we looked at the tombstone and nothing more.

"You know those are extremely rare," I finally said, breaking the silence.

"I know," He said quietly.

I looked over and noticed fresh red marks all over his forearms. I grabbed his arm and traced my fingertips along them.

"Have you been hurting yourself?" I asked with a glare.

He shook his head. "Physical pain no longer means anything to me. At one time in our younger lives your mother ran away because of me and I did nothing but inflict pain on myself, I once took fifty wolfsbane laced lashes for your mother, I don't feel anything anymore," He said, his eyes still on the engraving.

"What happened then?"

"I shifted and my wolf almost killed us, he's still in pain and will never get over her death so shifting is no longer an option for me." He sighed.

"What did you do that night she died?" I asked.

He always told me the story of how and why she died but never what he did.

"She died in my arms, there was nothing I could do. After that night, I lost myself in a world of immense grief. I was a danger to myself and others so they locked me in the cells for two weeks until Nana Rosy brought you down with her for a visit. As I gazed into your beautiful innocent face and saw the impeccable resemblance you and your mother shared, I realized you are the last piece I have left of her and I need to protect you with my life." Silent tears began streaming down his face. It was a shocking and beautiful thing to see a father not afraid to cry in front of his daughter.

"I don't want a mate, I'm gonna reject him to save us both heartaches." My father let out a loud growl, scaring me into silence. He never growled at me.

"You will do no such thing. He will do nothing to you but love you endlessly and risk his whole life for you. Don't leave him with a cruel rejection like I did your mother. You will regret it until the day you die and long after." He sighed.

I looked at my father and realized he was broken. He needed someone to stay strong for him. I scooted closer and laid my blonde head on his shoulder as we looked at the dark cloudy sky.

This was not a happy nor sad ending, it was realization that life is sometimes unfair and you have to prepare for the unexpected.

My mother may be gone but the light she shone on this world and our hearts will never fade.