Once Upon a Rejection

Chapter 3

‘Will you shut off that machine it sounds like there is a drill going off in our head.’

I opened my eyes and looked around the room. June had already left, I was the only one here. I was sure that I had heard a voice though, I didn’t think I had imagined it.

‘No, you didn’t imagine it.’ said a very sarcastic voice from inside my head.

‘Wait a minute. Are you my wolf?’ I thought.

‘Unfortunately she is, I am glad you are awake. I have been stuck in here with her while you were sleeping and she never shuts up.’ Wait what?

‘I am your lycan. Please tell me you know what a lycan is.’ My lycan said.

I had learnt about lycans as part of my history lessons but there was still a lot I didn’t know about them. I know they are a lot stronger than werewolves and that they are less sensitive to silver and wolfsbane. They used to be the dominant shifter species across most of the world but that was a long time ago.

Lycans have been in decline for years and now there are said to be only tens of thousands of them left. At those numbers it wasn’t possible for them to maintain control everywhere. At some point all of the lycans moved to canada, which incidentally is the only place you wouldn’t find any packs of werewolves.

‘I know about lycans but how can I have a lycan and a wolf?’ I asked.

‘Well, when a mommy werewolf loves a daddy lycan very much sometimes…..’ My wolf started.

‘I get that part but don’t werewolves and lycans usually hate each other?’ I interrupted. Why did I get stuck with such a sarcastic wolf?

‘Normally.’ My lycan agreed.

I had asked my mom about my real dad a few times while she was still alive. She always told me that it didn’t matter where I came from, all that mattered was that I was loved. I have never really pushed her for more information, I was happy with my life at the time so I didn’t see much point in pushing.

There were rumours though. People in the pack said that my mom had a boyfriend before she met her mate. Nobody seemed to know much about him other than that he was very tall and very attractive.

‘Are there many others like me?’ I asked.

‘That I don’t know.’ My lycan replied.

I had never heard of any other instances where a lycan and a werewolf had a relationship let alone had a child together. I made a mental note to do some further research on that topic when I went back to the pack for the summer break.

‘Anyway, I can’t keep calling you wolf and lycan. What are your names?’ I asked.

‘My name is Jade.’ My wolf said.

‘Mine is Scarlett.’ My lycan said.

‘Now that we have been formally introduced, can we go for a run?’ Jade asked. I could hear the excitement in her voice.

‘Of course, I know just the place to do it.’ I replied.

I sprung out of bed and started getting changed. I was glad that I had prepared my outfit last night before I went to bed because I was so excited and nervous right now that I wasn’t thinking clearly. I would have probably ended up wearing high heels and a cocktail dress for my hike in the forest or something equally as impractical.

The black jeans, t-shirt and hoodie that I had set aside last night were a much better choice. I picked up the backpack that I had filled with snacks and two bottles of water then I set off on my walk.

As soon as I opened the door to my dormitory it was clear how much stronger my senses were now that my wolf and lycan had awakened. I could smell and hear everyone in the dormitory. The sudden influx of smells and sounds was almost overwhelming and for the first time this year I found myself missing my old home. Werewolves didn’t tend to wear perfume and they took internal soundproofing very seriously in their buildings.

I walked through the building as quickly as I could, trying to hold my breath through my mouth as I walked to limit my own sensory overload. I hoped that this was something I could get used to as time went on but I had a suspicion that it was just going to be something I would have to endure for the remainder of my time here.

‘Maybe you could try wearing strong perfume to block out the other smells.’ Scarlett suggests.

It could work. It was worth a try. I would have to make sure to do that before my lessons this afternoon.

‘We are in the forest now, let's shift.’ Jade said. Her voice held so much excitement.

‘We can’t do it yet. There are too many humans around here but I have the perfect place in mind.’ I said.

I had been planning this for weeks. A few miles into the forest there was a place that was far enough from any of the recognisable trails that it was unlikely to be happened upon by any humans in the area. There was also a distinctive tree which I could use as a marker so I wouldn’t forget where I put my clothes because that would just be embarrassing.

Despite being in my head and so knowing exactly what I had planned Jade and Scarlett were both pestering me for the whole walk. They were both so excited about going for a run and showing off how wonderful they both were. Although they disagreed over which form was better with both of them thinking their own form was superior in every way.

I had to love Jade’s confidence. Werewolves were faster than lycans but physically they were weaker and less resilient. That was a universal rule, even alpha wolves couldn’t take on a lycan single handedly. Yet Jade wasn’t going to back down or let Scarlett push her around. I had to respect that, even if their arguing was starting to give me a headache.

‘Is this is?’ Jade said. I could feel her trying to push her way forward making my skin tingle and prickle.

‘Wait a minute, did you hear that?’ I asked. I was sure that I had heard the sound of a twig snapping a hundred or so metres behind us. If they could just relax for a moment I might be able to focus enough to check it out.

‘It was nothing, just an animal. Hurry up, you need to see how beautiful I look.’ Jade gushed as Scarlett just laughed at us in the background. Ugh, thanks for all the help Scarlett.

‘Are you sure, I don’t want to be the reason our kind gets outed to humans.’ I said.

I could just imagine my stepfather's reaction to that piece of news. It would almost be like all this past treatment of me would be justified. We were strictly forbidden from letting a human who wasn’t mated to a werewolf but this rule wasn’t enforced against us. Human’s who found out about our secret were killed. Mates were the only exception to this rule but even that was only a temporary one as they had to be changed within a month of finding out the truth.

‘I am sure, now strip b.tch.’ Jade teased.

‘Honestly you are worse than Dominic.’ I said as I started to take off my clothes and place them into my backpack. Both Jade and Scarlett growled as I mentioned his name.

‘I guess you are not a fan of Dominic then.’ I said.

‘He is not our mate, he has no right to touch us.’ Scarlett said.

There was real venom in her tone and Jade was mumbling appreciatively as she spoke. I was surprised by the strength of their reaction. Even knowing how important mates are to both werewolves and lycans, I didn’t think me being with someone else would upset them so much.

I finished undressing and placed my bag full of clothes in one of the branches of the tree.

‘Now what?’ I asked. I realised that I had no clue how to make myself take either of my alternative forms. At least I didn’t embarrass myself by shouting ‘go wolf form’ or something equally awkward.

‘You nearly did though.’ Scarlett said with a giggle.

‘I will take over and that will trigger the transformation, all you have to do is not fight it.’ Jade said.

I did as she said, I could feel myself getting pushed backwards as Jade took control of my body. Within seconds I could feel tingling and prickling all over my skin as fur started to grow. I felt hot all over as my body and bones started to rearrange themselves so I could change forms. There was pain but it was short lived, before I had time to dwell on it the pain had already subsided and we were running.

It was a strange sensation being an observer in your own body but it wasn't unpleasant. Jade ran through the forest, taking in the surrounding smells and chasing after hares. After a while Jade gave up control to Scarlett who transformed into our lycan and started to run.

My lycan form was slower than my wolf form but in every other way I was stronger. My senses were more sensitive and I was much stronger. There was something intoxicating about my lycan form, I could feel how powerful I was. I knew I was more powerful than any other werewolf and that knowledge made me feel invincible. I had only met a couple of lycans in my life but now I could see why they always seemed to have an air of superiority.

I ran for a couple of hours before heading back to the tree where I stashed my stuff. I was glad when I released that everything was just as I had left it and there was nobody nearby that might see me.

I changed back into my clothes and started on the trek back to the campus. As luck would have it I had left myself with just enough time to go back to my room to shower and change before class. I even managed to arrive a few minutes early.

I felt amazing. I loved my wolf and my lycan already, even if they could be annoying at times. I felt like everything in my life was going perfectly, I even felt willing to forgive Dominic for the way he acted last night.

I still had every intention of finding out what was going on. However, I was also willing to admit that problems from my past had probably led me to overreact to the situation.

That was until I realised that he hadn’t shown up to class. That was when my imagination started to work overtime. I thought of every possible reason why someone who had seemed fine late yesterday evening would suddenly not come into class the next morning. Some of my favourite theories were that he got kidnapped by aliens or that he was in witness protection and his cover got blown so he had to go into hiding. I had a much more realistic theory though, one that didn’t involve anything quite so exotic.

He was hiding from me. I had thought I had reacted in a calm and collected way last night but as we have already established my judgement is always the greatest. Perhaps I came across as possessive, after all that is a trait of both werewolves and lycans. I could understand why if faced with that he would decide that he wanted nothing to do with me.

‘Good riddance.’ My Scarlett said.

‘What do you mean? I know you want your mate but we haven’t met him yet.’ I replied.

‘You may think he is good in bed but I can tell you one thing for certain. That is nothing compared to being with your mate. One night with your mate is enough to change your life forever.’ Scarlett said in a tone that was almost a pur.

‘I have no complaints with Dominic.’ I complained.

‘You have also never had multiple org.asms.’ Scarlett said. I felt the heat creeping over my cheeks as I started to blush.

‘He also never bought you flowers or chocolates.’ Jade complained.

‘That is because we weren’t dating.’ I said. I don’t know why I was sticking up for Dominic but I felt as though somebody had to.

‘You don’t need to be dating to treat someone like a princess, particularly if you claim to want to be in a relationship with that person.’ Jade said.

I wanted to argue with her but a part of me knew she was right. The way he treated me was fine if we were just friends but if he really wanted more from me then he had been going about it in the wrong way. It was underhand and sneaky, not really what you want in a partner.