The Lost Luna

Chapter 4 - Rejection?

***Ryder's POV***

I can't fall asleep. Jake is concerned about our mate, although I didn't sense her wolf, so maybe she's not of age. If that's the case, I don't want her for a mate and Luna. I'm a grown man, damnit, and I'm not going to have some kid for a mate. I was thinking about this to myself when my phone started buzzing. It's 3 am, who would call me at this time? After ignoring it long enough, it finally stopped ringing.

"Ryder, get your ass to my office right now!" My father's booming voice rang in my head. Sh*t! I don't know what pissed him off, but I didn't do anything. I finally got up, put some shorts and shoes on, and went to his office. Before I had a chance to knock on the door, it swung open, and two strong hands flung me into his office on the ground. Without thinking, I did a summersault and landed on my feet. I had never seen my father so angry, and his eyes were as dark as night. Jake had his tail tucked and was whimpering silently in my head.

"Why am I being told that Blair is pregnant and that it's your pup?!" His voice was so loud it shook the house. I was stunned. Is Blair pregnant? I always wore a condom, so it can't be my pup. I guess he could see the apparent look of confusion on my face because his eyes went back to ocean blue color, but he still had his fist tightly clenched. "Regardless if you used a condom or not, she's pregnant, and allegedly it's your pup. So you know what this means, Ryder?" I felt the color drain my face, and my mouth became dry. "I can't do that!" I shouted without thinking.

Suddenly, he was in my face and had me pinned against the wall. His eyes aren't pitch black, but they aren't the bright blue they usually are. "Ryder, you don't have a choice. You must make her your Luna now. I know you think Amber is your mate, but she doesn't have a wolf yet, and I'm not handing the title over until you have a Luna." I've never experienced a pain like this. Was he suggesting that Amber isn't my mate?

The pain in my chest quickly became an uncontrollable rage. I balled up my fist so tight that my knuckles were turning white. Jake was fighting for control, but I knew better than to let him out. "But what if Blair is lying? You know how desperate she is for the Luna title." If I had to make Blair my Luna, I know I would have to reject Amber. The idea of rejecting Amber practically broke me, and it didn't matter to me if she was human. I've unknowingly given her my heart already.

"Ryder, I know it is hard, but you must do it. This is part of being an alpha, and you have to do the hard things for the betterment of the pack." His voice was laced with pity. "But I will look into it to determine if Blair is lying to get the Luna title. If she is found, she'll be kicked from the pack. You may leave now." With that said, he sat down behind his deck and continued to do paperwork. I was seething with rage, and I needed to go on a run and blow off some steam.

***Amber's POV***

I woke up still in the hospital, but I wasn't in pain anymore. "I'm glad to see you're finally awake." I looked to see a petite elderly lady I assume is the nurse. Wait, I can see! The nurse saw the joy on my face and broke out into a large smile. "Amber, you've healed wonderfully. You should be getting discharged today. The alpha has already arranged a place for you to stay. He will send someone to bring you to your new home." I could only nod my head. "Amber, I'm sorry I wasn't there for you. But I was able to help you heal faster." Relief washed over me when I heard my wolf talking to me. "If you want, we can try to shift tonight. It will be painful without your mate, but you're strong enough to survive it." Before I could reply to her, someone knocked on my door. "Come in!" I thought the alpha would send one of the warrior wolves, but I don't think this person is a warrior. It was so female, and she was giving off unfamiliar energy. I'm not sure what it was about her, but Jade didn't like her at all.

***Blair’s POV***

"Hi, my name is Blair. Alpha Blake sent me to bring you to your new home." I was trying my hardest to sound friendly, but I had a feeling she could see past my facade. She knew I was hiding something. My eyes were shooting daggers at her while I tried giving her my best fake smile. But that sh*t is hard when you don’t like the person, and you suffer from RBF or resting b*tch face. Okay, maybe I don’t suffer from it, and I'm really just a b*tch, but can you blame me? I can tell she’s after my man, who’s not really my man but is my man.

"Hi, I'm Amber. Nice to meet you." It was hard to dislike her when she seemed friendly.

Once we left the hospital, I knew that I had to stake my claim over Ryder before she started to think she had a chance. So I started talking or bragging. "It's okay for you to call me Blair, but soon you'll need to call me Luna Blair." She stopped walking and just looked at me. So I turned around and acted fake innocent. "Oh, you didn't know? I'm pregnant with the future alpha's baby." She doubled over with one hand holding her chest and the other holding her stomach.

***Amber’s POV***

When I looked up and saw Blair's face, it was a mixture of horror and rage.

"It's you!" She screamed at me while stomping her feet towards me. She grabbed me by my hair and pulled me close to her. "Listen here, you little b*tch, it seems that you're his mate. Guess what? I will be Luna, and you don't deserve to be. You're nothing but a worthless, disgusting piece of sh*t rogue! Alpha Blake would never allow him to have a bastard child! He’ll have no choice but to reject you and take me as his chosen mate." After saying that to me, she spits in my face before releasing her grip on my hair and walking away.

“Oh, good luck finding your way to the pack house. You’ll be dead before you can find it.” She erupted into this high-pitched cackle that made my ears almost bleed. Jade was growling in my head, and I felt this strange feeling. It was then that I realized she was taking me through a dense forest and left me here on purpose. That didn't matter to me. All I could think about was what she said. Just thinking about it made my blood boil. I started to see red. Suddenly, I felt my bones breaking and heard what sounded like clothing being torn. I tried to scream in pain, but the only sound I made was a vicious howl. I tried to stand up, but my body wasn't listening to me. I squeezed my eyes shut, and when I opened them, everything was clear. I looked around me and saw my shredded clothes on the ground around me. That's when I noticed my feet, or should I say paws. They were a beautiful white color.

I was in shock, looking at my paws, similar to how an infant plays with their feet. I didn't notice someone was walking in my direction. I froze in fear, unsure of what to do. It was then that I heard what sounded like paws hitting the ground. I didn't know what to do, so I took off in a sprint, I didn't know where I was going, but I wanted to get away from whatever was chasing me.

***Ryder's POV***

After I walked out the back door and was a reasonable distance from the house, I let Jake take control. I shifted into my dark black wolf and took off in a sprint in an instant. I wasn't going in any particular direction, and I just sprinted deep into the forest. As I got deeper in, the denser it became. That's when an unfamiliar scent flooded my nostrils. Jake said to me, "Oh, a rogue picked the wrong time to come onto my territory." That was all Jake said before taking off in a sprint following the scent. I started to slow down as I got closer.

I saw an all-white wolf. It was fascinated by its paws. I decided to watch it to see what it'll do. I must've stepped on a stick because the wolf's head turned towards me. Did it hear me? I guess it did because the wolf took off in a sprint. Without thinking, I took off after it. It didn't take me long to catch up to it. I was blinded by rage and tackled it to the ground. It quickly got to its feet but didn't move. Instead, it just stood there with its tail tucked. Taking advantage of the situation, I started circling it, letting low growls escape from me, occasionally bearing my teeth. The wolf started shaking in fear, and Jake loved the sight of it. But as soon as I locked eyes with it, I stopped in my tracks. Those eyes, I knew them all too well. Those eyes made my heart skip a beat. It was then that I looked at the wolf, taking its beauty. How could I be so dumb? Only Lycans can have white wolves, so it had to be her. Amber shifted, and her wolf was as stunning as she was. That would explain it being shocked by its paws, the speed, the unknown scent, and the fear.

Jake wanted to go to her and lick her face and sniff her scent, but I stopped him. I shifted back into my human form, not caring that I was naked. I took a deep breath, and she was radiating the smell of lilies. It dawned on me that I was so blinded by rage that I ignored the smell. I have to admit it; her wolf is big for a she-wolf. I didn't want to scare her any more than she already was. I stood there motionless for a moment before taking steps towards her. As I was walking, our eyes locked, and her eyes traveled down to my muscular abdomen and continued down to my c*ck. I stopped walking and smirked at her. "Like what you see?" I had a playful tone in my voice. She turned her head and looked at the ground, and I couldn't stop myself from laughing when she did that. I stopped laughing when she let out a weak growl. Well, to me, the growl was weak, but that's because I'm an alpha, but to anyone else, it would scare them. I couldn’t mind-link her since she wasn't officially accepted into the pack. So, how am I going to help her shift back? This is going to be more challenging than I thought, mainly because I’ve never helped someone shift back without using my alpha tone, but I’ve been told that it’s painful when I do.