The Rejected Link

Chapter 19: She changes everything

I woke up the next day in my room. The memory of how I got to my room was non-existent. For a moment, I thought it was all a bad dream, that what I had become and what I had done were all fictions of my imagination.

But it wasn't.

The moment Father entered my room and looked at me with those eyes, I knew it was real. He looked at me with so much pity and so much regret.

“Father?” I called to him, my voice coming out smaller than I intended.

“Oh my boy,” He said, his voice cracking. “What happened to you?”

“I don't know,” I said in all honesty, “I don't know, Father; one minute I was normal, and then the next, I wasn't.”

Father told me how someone had found me passed out in the woods and brought me home. When I narrated the ordeal I experienced, he called the elders to come and investigate.

The elders arrived that very afternoon, and I was taken to the main room of the packhouse, where they all gathered around me, and I was made to repeat my ordeal.

They all had looks on their faces that showed they were in deep thought; I felt so small looking at all of them looming over me; I felt scared that I had done something so unimaginably wrong. I feared at some point that I would be exiled from the pack.

They had decided to leave me for a few days under observation to determine what exactly was wrong. Two days later, I had transformed again and attacked a pack member, injuring him in the process.

The elders, having seen the attack, did some research and discovered it was dark magic. They had reached out to a witch for inquiry, she had told them that it was a curse put on me by a dark witch. The curse made me bound with a demon of horrific destruction, and it compelled me to destroy everything around me, including my mate.

The elders took a unanimous decision to isolate me until they found the witch that put the curse, but that went on for weeks.

They never found her.

Father took me to the cellar in the far corners of the packhouse and told me to stay there for a while until it all blew off. But that was only the beginning, the change became more frequent.

I would change and cause havoc in the pack until one day Father had metal bars put in. He said it was for my own safety, but I felt imprisoned.

I never saw Mother since the incident, but one day, she showed up behind those metal bars.

“Exol,” She called, her voice frail, and she looked extremely pale like she hadn't eaten or slept in a while.

I rushed with excitement to the door and tried to open it, but Mother stopped me; she held my hand and shook her head lightly, “it's better this way,” she said.

Her eyes welled with tears as she looked at me; I wanted to console her, tell her that I would be better, that I would find a way, and break this curse that befell me.

But I couldn't.

She stretched her hands in and hugged me through the bars, whispering, ‘I’m so sorry’ over and over again before releasing me and turning to leave.

“Mother,” I called as she walked away, but she never turned. “Mother, please,” I begged, tears streaming down my face, but she was gone.

The next day, news got to me that my parents had died. No one knew how they died or what killed them.

I never got to see them again.

And it was all my fault. I felt like I would die from the pain, my parents were all I had. I must have stressed them to the point of death, all because of this curse. This bloody curse that was ruining everything around me.

First, the pack saw me as a monster, and now my parents were gone.

All because of me. I killed them. I killed them.

I never let myself forget that. I pushed everyone away, everyone and everything. I got rid of any hope that things were going to be normal, that I was going to lead a normal life.

I made up my mind that once I got my mate, I would reject her, to keep her from being hurt by me. My parents died because of me, I wouldn't let any other person die from my hands. Especially my mate.

If my being away kept everyone safe, I was ready to remain in isolation for the rest of my life. That was okay for several years. I trained not just my body, but my mind as well. I tried to control the demon but he was strong, so it was always a struggle.

When I got my wolf, it was even harder to control him. He always wanted to be in control. And him being in control meant the possibility of bloodshed and I wasn't going to let that happen.

So I stayed hidden; Alpha Hert took me like his son and understood my decision to remain in the makeshift room of a cellar, even when the demon went quiet for a while, he didn't press to take over as much, but I didn't let my guard down.

We weren't in sync so there was no telling what he would do. The closest I got to controlling him was keeping him from shedding any blood when he took over. That always took a toll on my mental health but I lived with it.

A little sacrifice to save the lives of many.

But that all changed when I met her.

Ruthni, my mate.

My life was crazy as it was but my mate was even crazier.

She barges in one day and ignites a hope that had died down a long time ago. All the years I spent putting up my guard, barricading myself, and keeping the peace went for nothing. I wanted to drop everything there and then and mark her, make her mine.

But I couldn't.

So I pushed her away. I was just trying to keep her safe. The only way I knew how. I had told her about my plan to reject her to keep her away. She had run from my room that day in tears, it took all the strength I had to not go after her, but he did.

The demon had taken over and chased her down the hallway; she was s**t scared and confused; I could feel it instantly, her legs taking her only so far. He would have gotten to her if not for the Alpha’s interference. He had to tranquilize me to stop me from hurting her.

I thought that would keep her away only to feel her in danger the next day. It was the moon festival, and the Alpha had opted for me to attend, but with the abrupt transformation the day before, I declined.

As I sat in my room reading, my mind wandered to her, and curiosity got the best of me. I had gotten to the moon festival, but I kept my distance watching her in silence when I lost track of her.

Then I felt it, fear, rising quickly. It took me a moment to realize that it wasn't my emotions; it was hers. She was trying to escape and she was hurt. I didn't think twice before rushing to locate her, I tried to transform into my wolf, but the demon had taken control.

We found her deep into the woods, the demon locating her instantly. I feared that in her weak state, he could easily kill her, but he took me by surprise when he attacked the man instead with ferocity that was so intense.

“Stay away from my mate”