Cruel Moons

Chapter 3

After telling Liam and Zac every detail of my encounter with my ex-mate Jax, I quickly went to bed not wanting to relive the heart break anymore.  Zac said he is expecting his Beta back in a few days which is when we can start discussing strategy for the upcoming war.

In the mean time Liam and I have have started to train with the Silver Heart pack warriors.  I have done my training in human form only because I know my wolf is weakened.   

Alpha Zac has been trying to spend most of his time with Scarlett but I warned him to take it slow so he doesn't scare her away. I usually get a breakdown of their encounters from Scarlett at the end of the day. 

"Scarlett you have been reading and talking about mates for as long as I know you. Why are you so shy now that you've met yours", I ask Scarlett while we are getting ready in our room for the night. 

"Honestly, I didn't think I was going to be matched with an alpha. I'm nervous from how strict and possessive they can be.  I don't want to be locked up again like my father did to me"

"Listen having a mate is different. Trust me you have more control this time. Especially with Alpha Zac who is already in love with you"

Scarlett blushes from my comment and agrees to be more open with him.  I bit my lip getting nervous from what I have been meaning to ask her.

"So I've been talking to some pack members around her and this one girl was having a hard time with her mate. I want to give her some advice.  What have you read about mates rejecting each other"

"I did read this sad book about rejecting mates.  If your mate rejects you and you accept your rejection it takes a toll on your wolf. There hasn't been a lot of studies so can't be too sure what the damage is.  But good news is that there is a possibly of second change mates"

"What do you mean?"

"Well if your mate rejects you or passes away, the moon goddess has been known to create second mates as another opportunity to have a soul mate"

"But it doesn't happen for everyone, right?"

Scarlett nods her head so I end the conversation soon so she doesn't get suspicious. 

After Scarlett goes to sleep, I sneak out of the house to run in my wolf form. I have been too afraid to do it in from of the pack since I don't know the damage of the rejection yet.   I run through the forest to find a small pond where I transfer back in human form and put on an oversized shirt that I was carrying.  

I sit near the pond letting out a cry that is long overdue. I cry for Scarlett being taken away under my watch.  I cry for the moon goddess making my mate a deranged alpha who already declared his mission to kill me.  After sobbing for a few minutes I clean myself up and determine to stay strong.  I am a badass female warrior and will stay to protect Scarlett.

I start walking back through the forest taking my time to clear my head.  I stop in my track when my wolf starts to stir inside me.  I hear footsteps from behind and go into an attack stance.

A second later I see a man approaching me. From my training I know he is Alpha Zac's beta, Nathan. My wolf keeps acting excited and then I figure out why when Nathan comes clear in my view.   I feel my heart stop and my breath quicken.  I don't want to admit it because I can't believe it would happen so soon.

I remember from our warrior studies that Nathan's first mate died two years ago in a battle.  He has been harsh ever since while Zac has stayed calm to balance the pack.  I bit my lip and lean against a tree to keep from collapsing as Nathan walks closer to me.

He has an angry look on his face that is giving me horrible flashbacks from the way Alpha Jax looked at me. 

He steps toward me and learns forward and runs his finger down my arm.  I feel the sparks from his skin which makes this more real. 

"I can't do this" he speaks.  I continue to bit my lip to control my shaking.

"I can't do this again" he whispers to himself.  I look down on the floor already knowing what's going to happen.  The few rumors I have heard about second chance mates is that they take more work to last because the two souls have already been damaged.

A few moments pass by but I can't get myself to say anything. I feel my body go numb.

"I reject you as my second mate", Nathan speaks after a long silence.  I look up into his eyes not believing that this is happening again.  Surprisingly I feel more angry than sadness. 

"I don't accept it" I spit out.

Nathan gets angry and throws his arms on the tree to towers over me which does frighten me a bit.

"Listen mate, you will have to accept it eventually. Do not tell anyone about this. I guarantee I will not change my mind" he threatens me and then walks towards the pack house.  Once he is far enough away I fall on the ground and let out more tears.

I let myself be weak for a couple more hours before managing to walk back to the house.  I am determine to get Nathan to talk to me again. I know he is scared since he already went through the loss of one mate.  He wants to continue being angry at the world.   What sadness me the most is that he doesn't even care what I have been through or what I want.

But I didn't accept his rejection yet. I raise my head with confidence as I sneak back to the room and shower before Scarlett wakes up. I feel determined to get Nathan to accept me as his mate.

Alpha Zac stops by to walk Scarlett and I to his office in the main pack house.  I noticed they were holding hands which made me smile.  At least one of us was enjoying finding their mate.

We walk into the office and my heart stops when I see Nathan inside. Alpha Zac starts to introduce us to him and my heart breaks again when he asks like he has never met me before.  I follow along not wanting to anger him.

Alpha Zac begins to speak about the updates from Alpha Jax.  My stomach drops from hearing his name and I try not to get nauseous.

"Scarlett's father Sam and Alpha Adrian from the Crimson Pack are coming here this week to prepare for a war.  We have heard Jax is preparing his pack to attack. We believe he knows that Scarlett is being kept here"

Alpha Zac casually looks at me knowing he is keeping my secret. Even though Jax rejected me, his wolf would still be able to sense my wolf as first mates so he would be able to find me if he wanted to.

I bravely look up to see Nathan staring at me suspiciously knowing he catches the look that Zac gave me.  I take his curiosity as a good sign that he is interested in me. 

The next moment Liam and a few more warriors enter the office. Zac introduces then as the top male and female warriors. I notice a couple of the females stare and giggle at Nathan who doesn't return any kind of gesture.  It would make sense if he is a playboy around her considering he's one of the best looking and obviously doesn't want to be committed to his own mate.

I decide to plan the next stage of my mission and befriend these women to learn more about him.  I put on a fake smile and start planning training sessions with the females, Rose and Julia.  I hope this works.