the rejected luna/cursed mate

The wind rustled the paper calendar hanging on my wall and I glanced at the crossed-off day six days left I was so close to freedom, pulling my jacket together around me, I walked over to the window and peered outside. The sky was steely gray and the clouds looked like they might bring a tornado. It was late spring and the weather this time of the year was unpredictable. Maybe I’d get lucky and it will hit my mom’s shitty trailer and I could get out of here permanently. I had a feeling I wasn’t going to get out of here that easily. Whatever witch magic they’d used to seal us in pack lands seemed to also keep the worst weather away. It also prevented us from self-harm, not that it kept anyone else from beating the s**t out of me. I supposed I wanted out, I could have pushed Ethan and his entourage a little more. The penalty for killing another member of the pack was death, but I had a feeling nobody would mourn me. And it wasn't like they’d lock up the next alpha for getting rid of the broken wolf. I closed the windows, and we were unlikely to get a tornado. We did get rain and I didn't need the water getting in and running my few meager possessions. The duffel bag sitting next to the folding table that served as my desk was already packed. It had been there for three months waiting until the night the magic would free me from this prison. On the first full moon after my nineteen birthday, I was supposed to shift, and with that magic. I’d gain the ability to leave the magical border around our town. I already knew I wouldn’t shift, but the magic should break, letting me finally escape from the hell that was my life. For the rest of the pack that barrier was our savior. It kept us hidden and protected away from feral wolves who hunted other shifters for sport, away from humans who would kill us on sight. At least that was what they taught us. For me, it kept me away from freedom. I’d take the chance with human and feral shifters any day over the s**t I dealt with here. Witches and magic freaked me out more, but I’d cross that bridge when I got to it. Fu****g magic, Fu****g witches. They were the cause of all my pain. The reason I was trapped in a town where I was abused daily. The reason my mom spent her days on her back with whatever pills she could find to dull her pain. I didn’t even know who my dad was but I’m sure he was an asshole. Just like my mom’s dad. He was the one who pissed off a witch resulting in the curse that follows my family. No shifting for us practically humans with a dormant wolf shifter gene. If only my mom had fled while she was pregnant with me and let us live as humans. Instead, she’d stayed here pining over the fucker who knocked her up. He never came back and I got stuck here. Nola, did you grab cigarettes at the store? Mom yelled. Yeah, mom. They’re on the table, I shouldn’t indulge her habits. It was gross and it cost me a small fortune, but it kept her off my case. She didn’t ask where I went or what I did as long as there were cigarettes on the table and food in the fridge. All paid for by my after-school job at the Pack grocery store. It wasn’t a glamorous job, but it was helping me save something for when I finally got free of this hell hole. I took a peek in the mirror and gingerly touched the bruises from my latest black eye. Another gift from the male who would one day be the pack alpha. If Ethan Norway had treated me indifferently, maybe I’d have stayed here. Instead, I got daily reminders that I was unwelcome. One of these days he was going to go far and I intended to be long gone before then. Huh, how about that? I guess I didn’t have a death wish after all my desire to survive was barely hanging by a thread, it would be easier to roll over and give up. Thankfully I had the reminder of my mom and what her life was like, I refuse to become like her. I considered applying some concealer to cover my injury, but it wouldn’t hide it much. The rest of my classmates would be healed by now, but that is not the case with me since I didn’t have the wolf inside me to aid in that, I healed like a human. The purple and blue made my eyes even greener than they were. Apparently, I had my father’s eyes. Most packs had brown or amber eyes. The green in mine was another thing and it was impossible for me to hide. Quickly I pulled my hair into a low ponytail to get it out of the way, I grabbed my backpack and swung it over my shoulder. Six more days that is what I had to endure. Just a few more days of school, a few more days of dealing with this shitty place, a few more days of work, a few more days of ignoring the overacting of my mom’s moaning through the paper-thin wall of her bedroom. I shuddered. No kid had to hear their mom engaging in that. I didn’t judge how she earned her money but I sure as hell didn’t want to listen to it. With one glance at my packed bag, I left my room. The thought of leaving was the only thing getting me through the motions. Chin high, I reminded myself that I was almost there. I’d made it this far. I could make it six more days.