Chapter2
1955 Words
AVERY’S POV
I walked towards the pack house with the large brown envelope clutched tightly in my hand. I was angry, though I couldn’t tell if it was directed at someone else—or at myself.
Which probably meant it was the latter. Again.
“You’re doing the right thing,” Amy, my wolf, murmured in my head.
“I know,” I replied. “It’s time we got the hell out of here.”
“Exactly,” she said. “We trained for this, Avery. Just because Jaxon decided we weren’t good enough for him doesn’t mean the world stopped turning. Now walk in there like you own the place and hand him that envelope.”
By the time I reached the pack house, it was already buzzing with movement. I could see a few omegas carrying large baskets filled with meat, potatoes and corn and I knew they were setting up for barbie cue night in respect of the guests. Warriors from Moon Dome hung around probably waiting to meet Jaxon. They commanded attention—and they got it. Everyone was staring like gods had descended from Olympus.
I held my head high as I walked past the crowd.
Whispers followed in my wake.
The rejected mate.
The one Alpha Jaxon didn’t want.
I pretended not to hear them.
Let them talk.
I was done hiding. Done shrinking to make others comfortable.
They could choke on their judgment for all I care.
I climbed the stairs to Alpha Jaxon’s office, felling my legs tremble. It wasn't from fear, but from restraint. From the tug I still felt toward him. From the fire urging me to finally let go.
“Stupid mate bond,” I muttered, shaking my head. The Moon Goddess must think this is funny.
I knocked and his familiar, cold voice came through immediately.
“Come in.”
I stepped inside, the folded envelope clenched in my hand—my Moon Dome application. My escape plan. My new beginning.
Jaxon sat behind his desk, head buried in reports. He looked up—and for a heartbeat, everything stilled.
Then he leaned back in his chair, face unreadable.
“Avery,” he said flatly.
“Alpha,” I replied, matching his coldness.
His brow twitched at my tone, but he didn’t comment. “What do you need?”
I stepped forward and placed the envelope on his desk. “My application. I’m volunteering for Moon Dome service. I leave with tomorrow’s batch.”
He didn’t even glance at it.
Instead, his eyes locked onto mine. “Why?”
I blinked. “You need a reason? I thought the program was about growth. Strength and Honor. Isn’t that reason enough for a newly sworn-in warrior?”
His expression darkened. “Don’t give me that. You’re running, Avery. I see through that icy front. Underneath all that false bravado is the same scared, weak little girl you've always been. You’re not leaving to serve the pack—you’re leaving because you’re trying to outrun your problems.”
My fists clenched at my sides. “Maybe I am. But it’s still my choice. You don’t get to interfere.”
He stood, pinning me with a glare. “You don’t have to go. You belong here. With your family—”
“My family?” I cut in, raising my brow. “You mean the parents who turned their backs on me because of my sister’s lies? Or Stephanie—who paraded her mark like a prize while turning the whole pack against me? Or you—the mate who betrayed me and rejected me like I was nothing? What family are you talking about exactly, Alpha Jaxon?”
His jaw clenched.
Silence.
I stepped closer, my voice turning low. “You made your choice when you marked her. That’s fine. I’ve accepted it. But now I get to make mine. And I’ll be damned if you—or anyone else—would get in the way.”
He finally picked up the envelope, taking a look at it. And then he tossed it back on the desk.
“No,” he said flatly.
I blinked. “Excuse me?”
“I said no, Avery,” his voice turned to ice. “I won’t sign it.”
My hands curled into fists. “Why not? Give me one good reason—”
“I don’t owe you one!" he snapped. “I’m the Alpha. I run this pack and everything in it, including you. You’re a newly sworn warrior, Avery. You follow orders. And I’m ordering you to drop this nonsense and get back to your duties. You’re not going anywhere.”
My brows arched. He’s lost his damn mind.
I chuckled bitterly. “Who do you think you are?”
He recoiled like I’d slapped him. “I beg your pardon?”
“You won’t have my pardon,” I gritted out. “Who the hell do you think you are, treating me like some worthless nobody?!”
His eyes flared with rage. “I am your Alpha!”
I stepped forward, glaring at him. “And that doesn’t give you the right to control my life. I’m not just a warrior—I’m a Beta by blood. My father is the Beta of this pack. I have the right to choose my own path.”
His voice dropped, low and bitter. “You think this is easy for me? The rejection is still fresh. If you leave, my wolf could become unstable. It could weaken him. I can’t afford that right now. I have a pack to lead.”
My jaw dropped.
He did not just say that.
“So that’s it?” My voice trembled with fury. “You want me to stay to keep your wolf stable?”
“I’m doing what’s best for the pack—”
“No,” I snapped. “You’re doing what’s best for you. And I’m done being your crutch. I’ve given enough, Jaxon. You don’t get to take this too.”
He stepped closer, his voice rising. “Drop the attitude! This isn’t about you, Avery! This is about the pack. If you’d stop being selfish—”
Oh, hell no. He didn't just say that to me.
“Selfish?” My voice rose with disbelief. “You think I’m selfish?! Have you even met yourself?!”
I was practically shouting now. I'm pretty sure the walls could hear me at this point, but I didn’t care.
“I’ve spent every second of my life trying to be enough—for my parents, and then for a mate who chose freedom and my sister over the bond we were supposed to share. I wasn’t the one who broke the bond, Jaxon. You did! And now, because your wolf can’t handle the rejection, I’m supposed to stay chained here for your benefit? I don’t think so.”
Suddenly the door burst open.
I turned and my eyes landed on Stephanie.
She stood frozen in the doorway, eyes wide before twisting into rage.
“I knew it,” she hissed. “Throwing yourself at my man again? Begging him to take you back? Where’s your shame, Avery? Where’s your conscience? You’re supposed to be my sister!”
“Stephanie, that’s not—”
But she was already storming off in tears.
It was always the tears. The weapon she wielded like a blade. She’d been using them to paint herself as the victim since we were kids, always turning everyone—including our parents—against me.
Jaxon cursed. “Do you see what you’ve done? You’re tearing my relationship apart! Is that what you want, Avery? To drive a wedge between your sister and myself?! Do you hate me that much?”
I shook my head in disbelief. “I don’t care enough to hate you, Jaxon. I have no intention of getting between you and anyone. Least of all her. That would imply I still want you.”
I turned toward the door.
“Sign the letter. Or don’t. Either way—I’m leaving.”
********
I went straight to the back of the pack house where the Moon Dome warriors now gathered around the fire with some of our own. The air was filled with laughter and chats as they barbie cued meat while potatoes and corn grilled on the fire.
I spotted River and I went straight to him.
"Hey," He nudged me gently as I sat down beside him. “Judging by your expression I assume it didn't go well?"
"It doesn't matter," I said with an eye roll. "I'm still leaving with tomorrow's batch, regardless of what he says or does. Jaxon doesn't own me."
"So then you're still sure?" River asked and I met his gaze without hesitation.
“More than ever.”
River hesitated, then reached into his pocket, pulling out a delicate beaded bracelet. Black thread woven with pale stones and a silver crescent charm hanging at its center.
“It’s protection,” he said quietly, his thumb grazing the moonstone charm. “It was my mom's. I want you to have it.”
My chest tightened with a bittersweet ache as I accepted it.
“Thank you, River. I’ll keep it safe.”
We settled into a silence watching the others share laughter and farewells. Until a sharp voice shattered the calm.
“There she is, Mom!” Stephanie’s shout cut through the night.
All heads turned toward her as she stormed forward, our parents trailing behind. Their eyes burned into me with a fierce, silent accusation—as if I’d committed some unforgivable crime.
I stood, squaring my shoulders, bracing for the storm I already knew was coming.
Stephanie crossed her arms, venom dripping from every word.
“Tell them.”
“Tell them what?” I asked calmly.
“Tell them how I caught you throwing yourself at my mate, like the shameless little wh*re that you are! Begging him to take you.” Stephanie spat. “Go on. Tell them, Avery.”
Mom gasped, hand flying to her mouth.
“Avery, tell me that’s not true.”
Dad’s face tightened, anger dripping into his every word.
“After everything your sister's been through? How could you, Avery? You know how her mate rejected her, the heartbreak, the trauma… And now that she’s found happiness, you want to tear it all down?”
My jaw clenched, my fists tightening.
“I didn’t throw myself at anyone. And I certainly didn’t beg Jaxon for anything. I don’t want him. Not anymore.”
Stephanie stepped forward, voice rising with fury.
“Liar! You’ve always been jealous of me! You've always hated me! After that heartless bastard left me, I finally have something that’s mine—and you’re trying to ruin it!”
I laughed, shaking my head in disbelief.
“You do realize you just described yourself perfectly, don’t you? You’ve taken everything from me since we were kids, Stephanie. Whatever I had, you wanted—no matter what it was. And now, by some cruel twist, you ended up with my fated mate. You knew Jaxon and I were mates. And yet, you still chose him. Out of every male in Blue Dawn.”
I stepped closer, voice sharper than before.
“You don’t have anything I want, Stephanie. Least of all him.”
The murmurs around us hushed, and a crowd started to gather—Moon Dome warriors and Blue Dawn pack members alike, drawn by the tension in the air.
My eyes locked with a girl among the Moon Dome warriors, and I saw something flicker in her gaze before she quickly looked away.
- Writer
