Rejection Trials

Finding Virgil

Belvedere informed his Beta and council that he would be attending a personal meeting with me as my Alpha, since I didn’t actually belong to any pack. That did not appease them at all. However, he is the Alpha now, and they can’t do much to deter him. Helena even pleaded with him to allow her or some guards to come along since he was ill. That did not go well with Belvedere, who snapped at her for thinking that he could not protect himself.

Now we were hiking through the forest just outside his territory to meet up with Virgil. Steve landed suddenly on my shoulder, causing Belvedere to jump slightly.

“It is just Steve. No need to be scared.” I snorted. Belvedere responded by rolling his eyes and trudging forward. “Steve confirmed Virgil is waiting for us just a little further. There are no current threats.” I shared.

“So Steve surveys areas for you?” Bel asked.

“Pretty much. He helps me hunt a lot too. He is a very capable companion,” I explained while feeding Steve some berries I picked along the trail.

“Ava told me wolves and ravens hunt together in the wild,” Bel said. Smiling like a proud big brother. I remember Belvedere as an only child, which is rare among werewolves. I never thought he would want to be a brother, but it is so cute to see him praise his little sister. Not that he is cute at all. It is just endearing. Suddenly, I saw a heat signature in the distance. I paused, holding Bel back. He must have felt my unease because he started sniffing the air.

I tried to focus on the figure without moving. It was different from any other animal besides another person. It wasn’t Virgil either, his scent was coming from a little further. The figure was heading closer to where Virgil was. They appeared crouched down like whoever they were was sneaking up on Virgil. I couldn’t stop the gasp from escaping as I hurled forward towards the figure.

Before I could get close enough to pounce, the fog in the forest seemed to thicken. It almost seemed like smoke, and I was being engulfed by my mate’s scent. This took half of my vision. My thermal vision was distorted, which was impossible as it easily penetrates fog. The heat signatures were all over the place like a giant snake of heat through the air. A loud yelp grabbed my attention and I pounced on it. I landed right on top of a wide-eyed young lad. On the lapel of his coat was the insignia of the Lunar Monks. As the fog started lifting some, I noticed this kid was alone.

“Who are you?” the kid and I asked each other at the same time.

“Arnold?” I heard Virgil’s voice coming through the trees. As he came into view, I got up off of the frightened Arnold.

“I thought you were coming alone,” I said, awkwardly fixing my clothes. Steve started quaking obnoxiously, sounding like crazed laughter.

“I see your raven still has a sense of humor,” Virgil said, petting Steve’s head. “Where is your mate?”

“Over here.” I heard Bel’s voice behind me as he was coming out from behind a different tree with no shirt on.

“Where are your clothes?” I blurted out. I was immediately flustered at the sight. All the external heat started tingling on my body.

“Well, I was just naked. I thought putting pants on would be the polite thing to do,” he said, smirking at my blushing.

“When did you shift?” I asked, confused. I would notice his wolf.

“You come from royal blood, don’t you?” the kid Arnold asked.

“How could you know that?” I asked.

“The way he manipulated the fog earlier. It was as if his presence was suffocating me like smoke. I have read the royal family could manipulate their auras like shadows or lights. Smoke would also make sense.” Arnold became more excited with every word he spoke. If Belvedere could really manipulate the surrounding fog, that would explain why my vision was distorted. There was also his scent became overwhelming. It felt like he was the very air I was breathing.

“That ability has not manifested in centuries. Way longer than the fall of the monarchy,” Virgil added.

“What is going on? Will someone answer me?” I interject.

“You don’t follow along conversations well,” Bel whispered to me.

“Your mate has inherited an ancient ability of the royal family. It’s been dormant for centuries, and I am not sure why it would suddenly awaken in this young one,” Victor added. It was so weird to hear Victor talk like some wise old man looking so young himself.

“Ok. "Well, why didn’t you come alone?” I asked.

“Arnold is currently in training.” was all he said as he started off in a random direction.

Steve sat on my shoulder picking at my hair. “I can’t believe you lied to me Steve.” I hissed. Steve enjoyed his pranks, but he could’ve gotten that young kid hurt.

“Don’t be too mad at him. It was kind of funny to scare the kid.” Bel said easily catching up pace with me.

“When did you find out you could do some fancy special magic stuff?” I asked annoyed. He kept pace.

“Why? Having second thoughts about rejecting me now?” he teased.

“I will never have second thoughts.” I lied. I have been having third, fourth, fifth thoughts.

“Honestly, I didn’t know it was a special thing to do until a few years ago.” He shrugged. He is too nonchalant all the time.

“What were you just like ‘oh everyone can’t do this’?” I snapped.

“Yeah, pretty much,” he answered. He is so frustrating. Why would the moon goddess pair me with such an infuriating wolf. I should not even be able to have a mate being cursed and all. This is a worse punishment than not having a mate at all. No matter how intimate he has acted lately, he will always be the guy that made my life hell growing up. He will never actually want me.

“There is another reason I brought another person with me,” Virgil said.

“Why do I feel like I am not going to like this?” I sighed heavily.

“We do all we can to protect the location of the sacred sites,” Virgil said as he ominously reached into his pack. He pulled out what looked like two collars and two blindfolds. “You will need to wear these to mask your senses. Though I am not sure how effective these will be against a royal wolf and a… Syrus wolf.”

“Kinky” was all Belvedere said, just putting the collar on with no questions asked. These people playing up his ego must have really gotten to him. He then turned to me and put the second collar around my neck before I could resist. Making my whole spine charge up with the contact. Belvedere looked down at the collar around my neck with lust in his eyes. I covered it with my hands.

“Wait, why the collars?” I managed to ask, while trying to take the collar off.

“They are magic collars used to block most senses. Sight is one of those it does not work on, so we brought the blindfolds too,” he said nonchalantly. Arnold then turned around, motioning for me to climb onto his back. “You might want to hop on before putting the blindfold on.” A deep growl came from Belvedere which made me laugh, maybe too hard.

“I have to get a picture of the great alpha Belvedere getting a piggyback ride,” I said through bouts of laughter.

“Only if I get to have a picture of you collared and blindfolded.” He replied smoothly. What happened to the growling? He bent over to Arnold’s ear. “Watch your hands with my mate.” He warned in a low voice. I rolled my eyes, but my insides were ignited, and my legs felt wobbly. Stop being so erotic.

I climbed up onto Arnolds back and tied the blindfold around my eyes after putting my glasses away for safe keeping. It was like the blindfold activated the collar, because all the sudden it was like I was hearing everything underwater. My sense of smell was also muted. This was going to be a long and bumpy ride. With no conversation either. Just me and my own thoughts.