Rejection Trials

Setting up the ritual

CONTINUED IN SYRUS POV

She was as beautiful as I remember. And just as fierce as I remember as well. I have always admired her strength. Era was a breath of fresh air. Even if she hated my kind, maybe even hated me personally, she was someone I will always deeply admire. Belvedere, on the other hand, was someone I will never admire. And he was clearly pissed off right now.

“It never came up in conversation.” I responded to Era. I never intended for Belvedere to know anything about me. Especially this.

“Tell me.” He spat out. I could hear Tobias’ voice blending with his as they both questioned simultaneously. So, demanding was all I could think. They have no right to demand answers about me. They aren’t my mate. They are mate. A voice glides its way into my thoughts.

“I don’t have to tell you anything.” I barked back.

“Syrus is part witch. From their mother.” Era said, shocking us both.

“The same mother that bound her wolf?” Belvedere inquired; venom still laced in his voice.

“He knows about your wolf but not your heritage?” Era smirked.

“Honestly, I just found out about my alleged wolf being bound,” I answered.

“I must’ve forgotten to mention it. I guess it never came up in conversation,” Era said sarcastically.

“It’s not that important. Right now, we have other matters to attend to,” I say, gesturing to the bodies. I was trying to guide the conversation away from my background.

“Not important? Really Syrus? You are the most ridiculous person in the entire world!” Belvedere shouted. If I didn’t have my ear plugs in my ears, the volume of his voice would hurt. I have never experienced Belvedere yelling before or even raising his voice. He always talks at a lower level. Part of his laziness, I assume. He couldn’t be bothered to speak any louder than audibly necessary.

“Alright, keep your secrets, Syrus. But secrets never stay hidden. Especially between mates,” Era said with a knowing smile.

“We are not mates. At least not for much longer.” I snapped.

“Still trying to find a way to sever your bond?” Era questions.

"Not trying. We’ve found a way. Asked the Moon Goddess herself," I replied smugly. I sounded like a proud child sharing their achievements with their parents.

“I told you not to involve the Moon Goddess if you value your sanity, Syrus,” Era said while she began carving marks into the bodies.

“I was running out of options. Plus, we’ve already started the process.” I say helping her set up her ritual. I was weaving together the herbs Era handed me into a sort of rope.

“Nothing is ever that simple with the Moon Goddess Syrus. You know this.” Era scoffed as she moved gracefully between all the corpses.

“Well, I wouldn’t say it will be simple. She said we are participating in some sort of trials.” I barely finished speaking before Era was suddenly directly in front of me pointing her blood-covered carving knife in my face.

“You agreed to take trials from the Moon Goddess? Syrus, you have never been the sharpest, but this is the dumbest thing you’ve ever done.” Her voice came out so musically. It did not at all match the fury displayed in her eyes.

“It would seem you know Sai well,” Bel scoffed. He had been quiet for the last few minutes. I almost forgot he was there. If it wasn’t for the constant pulsating from my core that radiated through my entire body. Damn this mate bond.

“I wasn’t talking to you pretty boy,” Era said, rolling her eyes. “Make yourself useful.” She shoved a mortar and pestle to him. It was full of some kind of herb and plant mix from what I could see.

“I am a werewolf. I can’t do magic without severe risk,” Belvedere said, looking down at the mortar and pestle.

“You’re not doing magic, boy. You are stirring.” Era said, moving back to preparing the bodies.

“Is she always this bossy?” Belvedere said to me.

“Are you always this useless? I see why your mate doesn’t want you.” Era mocked. Belvedere growled. Era didn’t seem bothered in the slightest. She was currently examining samples of blood from each dead wolf. “These are indeed blood wolves. I haven’t seen this many all together before. Where did you find them?” She asked while she moved on to a different blood sample.

“Swift River Pack.” Bel and I said at the same time. Once again, we are speaking at the same time. I can feel a throb pulsate throughout our bond. It is getting stronger. The exact opposite of what I want. Era chuckled, obviously very amused at our synchronization.

“Swift River minds their own. Why would they be involved with blood wolves?” Era inquired, still working diligently on setting up her ritual.

“It was an attack. When we got there, their border was nothing but rubble with half their pack dead.” I explained knowing Belvedere would not elaborate.

“Is this all of them?” Era asked with a foreign-sounding bitterness in her voice. I could see her jaw tense slightly.

“It is.” Belvedere and I both confirmed simultaneously.

“Swift River Pack. They are good people. You will shelter them.” Era directed towards Belvedere. She was not asking. This was a demand. Surprisingly, Belvedere nodded in response.

Once I finished the rope of herbs, I placed them across the eyes of each body. The rope was just long enough to reach over all their bodies. Era took the mortar and pestle back from belvedere and added the blood of each wolf to the mixture. Era began to rub the mixture over the mouth of each body.

“Syrus, take the axe over there and gather some more wood. The pyre is running low these days.” Era instructed. I immediately followed her command. Once I had the axe, I went on my hunt for firewood.

CONTINUED BELVEDERE POV

Once Syrus disappeared, a grumble escaped my chest. My mind was continuing to race with hundreds of questions.

“Don’t worry, your mate won’t go far. They know these woods well,” Era said without looking up from her task.

“How did you meet Syrus?” was the first question I managed to get out.

“The same way most wolves meet hunters. I was going to put a hole in their head,” She said nonchalantly. Her voice came out so smoothly it was quite the juxtaposition to what she was saying. I let out another growl at the idea of her trying to kill my mate. “Obviously, I couldn’t bring myself to do it. Syrus was being chased by a group of rogues. I shot the rogues down but when I aimed at the sad little pup, I just couldn’t do it." She smiled softly at the memory. “I didn’t expect Syrus to be my age at the time. I thought they had to be a child. Their wolf form has such a small stature.”

“Syrus is very different from other werewolves,” I said.

“Obviously, Syrus is part witch among other things,” Era hinted.

“Other things?” I raised my eyebrow.

“Their blood is hard to read, but there is a lot more than their heritage that makes them different.” Era sighed, continuing to adjust everything.

“Hybrids are basically impossible. When two different species mate, the offspring take on the abilities of one parent or the other. They don’t mix. When they do mix, the child doesn’t live long,” I tried to explain. I don’t know how much knowledge this hunter has. I didn’t really know hunters used magic either.

“That’s not entirely true. Sure, you can’t make a hybrid by traditional mating.” Era approached me. My instincts began to prickle in my mind. I wouldn’t stand down to a hunter. Era extended her arm out to me, showing me the hunter brand on her forearm. “You wanted to see this earlier. The brand of the hunter’s guild. I am a hunter. My mother was a hunter. As you know, hunters evolved into their own species long ago. Once, we were humans who hunted down mystical beings. Along the way, we adopted our own god and became mystical ourselves. We stopped hunting for the sake of the hunt. We pledged our allegiance to maintaining a balance between the supernatural world and the natural world. But prejudices always run deep.” She paused to let me take on what she said. I could tell Era was used to speaking to Syrus, who needed breaks in conversation, or you would lose their attention.

“I know the history of hunters. We call you levelled up humans. You’re faster, stronger, and your senses are better. All the things most supernatural beings possess,” I said.

“Oh? It doesn’t seem like you know much about hunters if that’s all you think.” I raised my eyebrow at her words. “This isn’t the only brand the guild gave me,” she said while pulling her curly hair off of her left shoulder.