Rejection Trials

Remembering Her

SYRUS POV

I remember running. I remember climbing up the boarder wall. I remember sitting on top of the wall to briefly look back. I remember sighing and jumping down into unclaimed land. I was really doing this. I hardened my resolve and began to run again. I was lucky no one seemed to notice me. That or they just didn’t care.

I remember running through the trees. I remember having no direction, just running. I remember the putrid stench of rogues. I knew I would encounter them eventually. I did not expect it to be so close to the pack line. What had I gotten myself into? There were multiple rogues running alongside me in the shadows of the trees. I could smell them. I could hear them. I could see their heat signatures moving swiftly. I should be afraid. I should be worried. Despite my situation, I remember feeling my lips curl into a smirk.

Somehow, I managed to run faster than these beasts only in my human form. But my legs were burning. My legs were slowing. I could feel it. They were becoming heavier like I was running in wet cement. The thoughts in my head were frightening me more than the rogues. I could feel the excitement of the hunt coursing through me. There is no way I want to get caught. Some part of me wanted to fight. Needed to fight.

The internal struggle was taking control over my senses. That’s when I saw a black bird flying above me. For some unknown reason, I decided to follow the bird as it darted between the trees, going deeper and deeper into the endless sea of trees. My legs were beginning to shake violently. Each movement forward starts to hurt immensely. The odd feeling of joy was ripping through my being.

Shift. A faint voice pushed through my mind.

I remember the electric pulses and black fur covering my body. I remember the stolen backpack bouncing on my shifted body. I remember the feeling of my tongue hanging out of my mouth and the blur of my surroundings. I remember the howls and excited yips of the rogues following behind me as I continued to follow the raven through the forest.

After running for what felt like days but was probably hours, rapid shots rang out through the forest. Then an unsettling silence fell over the trees. I didn’t want to stop, especially considering the obvious danger I was in. I mean, I just heard multiple gunshots. My body collapsed. I could feel myself panting. I could feel my tongue still hanging out of my muzzle. I had finally stopped moving and now all the pain from the physical exertion of my escape was hitting me at once.

“Hello there little wolf.” A light voice came from behind me. It was a melodic sound.

I looked over to see a beautiful lady. She couldn’t have been much older than me. She was wearing a dress. Odd fashion it seemed for the forest. I could barely move my eyes up to get a better look at her. She was also carrying a huge rifle. She smiled as the smell of the gun came to the forefront of my attention. She was a hunter. Not just any kind of hunter. That gun. Those bullets. They were made for werewolves. That’s what I get for following an unknown bird.

My eyes opened, and I was back in the cabin. Whenever I dreamed of my past, I always woke up super disoriented. My memory has been something I have always struggled with. My dreams seemed to be the only time I truly remembered things from my past. Even then, it was hard to tell what had really occurred and what was just my dream. It’d been so long since I saw her face. I smiled at the thought of her beautiful hazel eyes and curly hair.

“Did you have a good dream?” Belvedere’s voice made me jump. He smiled his usual stupid and sexy smile. He must be so amused by himself.

“I was dreaming about when I first left Death Falls,” I said, before noticing Steve perched on Belvedere’s shoulder. “Why is Steve on your shoulder?” I asked, appalled at the betrayal.

“I have no idea I think he likes the high vantage point.” He looked suspicious of Steve’s intentions. As he should be. In our years together, Steve has always been mischievous. He always led me in the right direction. He led me to her. “You remember that day fondly then?” he said, annoyed.

I could only look at him confused. Why would he think leaving the safety of pack lands would be a fond memory?

“You’re smiling,” he continued.

“Oh, I was just thinking about the first person I met when I left.” I paused, glancing at Steve, petting him gently. “Well, the second. Steve was the first.”

“Who was he?” he inquired.

“She.” I responded, continuing to pet Steve. Not oblivious to the proximity of my body to my mate’s. Petting Steve like this was an excuse to stay this close to Bel. Not because I want to be, of course. But because it alleviates the constant ache of the mate bond.

Belvedere’s only response was the raise of an eyebrow. Typical.

SYRUS POV

This has to be the dumbest thing I have ever had to wear. I pulled at the itchy robes covering my body. Virgil insisted we wear them. Something about needing to be properly clothed to enter the temple. The robes were bright purple and felt like burlap. They covered everything. I felt like I was wearing a giant potato sack. Virgil told us we couldn’t wear anything under the robes either. The itchy fabric was touching my skin directly all over my body.

The only thing keeping me going was seeing Belvedere suffer as well. His robe wasn’t long enough. Where mine was dragging on the floor, Bel’s was around his mid-calf. The sleeves were also too short for him. Belvedere may be leaner than most alpha wolves, but he was just as tall. The look on his face was one of pure annoyance. I hated it because I should enjoy his pain. Instead, I felt giddy over how adorable he looked. I wished I could take a picture, but we weren’t allowed to travel with our phones.

“You should see the way you’re looking at me.” Belvedere’s smug voice snapped me out of my admiration. The way his perfect lips drew into his smirk made me grumble in agitation. How dare he be so unbearably attractive?

The mate bond and the urge to take him is getting stronger by the day. I needed to remember my quest. I needed to strengthen my resolve. I closed my eyes and thought about how many times I’ve seen him make that ridiculously tasty smirk after calling me a cursed mut among countless other names he liked to use. The times he shoved me into the walls or even to the ground, I would look at him and see that same stupid smile. This is who Belvedere really is. Not some charming and charitable alpha he parades as. This is the reason I have to follow through with this. I have to find a way to break this bond.