The Rejected Substitute Luna

Chapter 5

Jasmine's POV

I walked out with my dignity intact. My heart was broken, but I refused to let my legs give out even though I felt sick to my stomach.

As soon as I closed the door behind me, I stood up straight against the wall and took a deep, long breath.

A few silent tears fell down my cheeks, but I quickly wiped them away with the back of my hand and forced myself to calm down.

My entire life has just been shattered, but I need to keep my head up, stay strong, and focus on moving forward because there was a me before him and there will be a me after him.

My heart jumped when I felt somebody in front of me, but luckily it was Clara, my best friend. She was holding a small duffel bag of her own, and her eyes were filled with worry.

"Honey," She whispered, kneeling in front of me and wrapping her arms around me in a tight, warm hug. "I'm sorry I couldn't get here sooner."

"Clara, what are you doing here?" I asked, my voice shaking as I pulled back. "I thought you were still at your uncle's place."

I missed her so much, but she was away, and I'm glad she's back.

Clara looked straight into my eyes, looking fierce and stubborn. "Do you really think I would let you go through this alone? You're my best friend, Jasmine. If you're leaving this place, then I am leaving with you."

Tears burned the corners of my eyes, but I forced them back. I didn't want to cry anymore.

"We need to go get Willa. I couldn't tell her over the phone."

Clara nodded her head quickly. "Then let's move fast. I don't want to waste any more of my time here."

We walked quietly into the woods, staying far away from the main paths.

I wanted to avoid the pack members because I didn't need their questions or their pity.

The broken mate bond pained in my chest, making my breathing heavy, but I refused to give him any more ammunition by letting him break me.

"Are you okay?" Clara whispered.

"I'm fine," I replied and kept my eyes focused on the path ahead, pushing the pain down. I was moving forward, and I was not looking back.

We were getting closer to the small cabin where Willa lived. Just a few more miles, and we would be free. We'll leave this pack behind, and we never look back. Garrett can have his Jenny.

Suddenly, a strange smell hit my nose, and my wolf growled.

Clara stopped walking and grabbed my arm, her fingers digging into my skin.

"Do you smell that?" She whispered, her eyes wide with terror. Before I could answer, a loud, terrifying growl echoed through the quiet trees.

"Rogues," I said, my heart hammering against my ribs like a trapped bird.

Large shapes began to move. One by one, massive wolves stepped into the light, looking at Clara and me like we were prey.

There were at least five of them. We were outnumbered and trapped.

"Run!" Clara screamed.

We turned around to flee, but two large rogues jumped out from the bushes right in front of us, blocking our path. They bared their sharp fangs, saliva dripping from their jaws. With a loud roar, a gray rogue lunged straight at me.

My heart pounded, but I didn't have the time to even think. Instead of standing still, I quickly sidestepped, letting the wolf rush past me. Then I used all my weight to smash my fist hard against the side of his nose, and the rogue whined in surprise, stumbling to the ground.

But they were too fast. Before I could turn around, the gray wolf recovered and threw his entire body directly against my chest, and I fell to the ground, breathing heavily.

He pinned me down, his hot, foul breath filling my face, and snapped his fangs inches away from my throat. I used every single ounce of my strength to push his jaw away. When his fangs snapped down toward my neck, I threw my arm up defensively, and his jaws clamped hard on my shoulder instead.

Pain sliced through my skin, but I didn't scream. I forced the agony down, refusing to show weakness to a monster. With my free hand, I drove my fangs straight into the rogue’s eye, and he howled in pure agony and immediately let go of my bleeding shoulder and scrambled backward.

Blood began to soak through my shirt, but I was high on adrenaline, and it made me numb to the pain.

Nearby, I heard Clara fighting for her life. She managed to push one wolf back, but another brown rogue snuck up from behind and bit down hard on her leg. She cried out in pain, falling to her knees.

"Clara!" I shouted. Seeing my best friend hurt had me scrambling to my feet, and I grabbed a thick branch from the ground and hit the brown rogue right across his skull with a loud, breaking crash.

The branch snapped in half, and the rogue let go of her leg.

We stood back to back, wounded, bleeding, and trembling. The five rogue wolves slowly circled us again, moving closer and closer.

Clara leaned heavily against me, her breathing loud and ragged. She looked down at my blood-soaked clothes, and then she looked at them. "Jasmine, they are not here by coincidence. This road belongs to the Bloodstain Pack. How did they get in? We've been walking through this path for years. They're targeting us."

"What do you mean?"

"We need to split up. It's the only way either of us will survive," Clara said. Before I could stop her, she began tearing off her jacket. "Take my jacket, Jasmine. Give me yours. Quickly!"

"No. Clara, what are you doing? We need to stick together!" I asked, shaking my head in panic.

"Listen to me!" Clara grabbed my face with her hands, forcing me to look at her. "If we stay together, we both die right here. I'm going to wear your clothes and run towards the east. They'll think I'm you and follow me, and we both know I am a trained pack warrior. I have a better chance at running than you."

"No, absolutely not," I refused firmly, pulling away from her grip. "I'll never use my best friend as bait to save my own life. We escape together, or we die together!"

"We don't have time to argue, Jasmine." Before I could stop her, she forcibly stripped the jacket off my back because I couldn't really fight her away because of my already hurt shoulder.

"Clara, stop!" I yelled panicked, but she was already turning away with the jacket over her shoulders.

I couldn't change her mind and refuse to run like a coward. I quickly unzipped my bag and pulled out another set of my own clothes, and threw them on. I won't let her sacrifice her life for me.

'Now run, Jasmine,' Clara shouted through the mind link, lunging toward the right side of the forest, waving her arms to draw the monsters away.

Because we were now both running in different directions wearing the same scent, the rogue wolves split up to chase both of us. Two ran after Clara who went left and the remaining three rogues looked at me, confused for a split second, before lunging forward. I turned around and began to run for my life into the forest, heading west.

The wind rushed past my ears as I ran through the sharp branches. The thorns scratched my face and hands, but I couldn't feel the pain. The only thing I could feel was the terrifying panic and fear.

My legs were heavy, and the wound on my shoulder was hurting like crazy.

'Clara!' I called out through our mind link. 'Clara, can you hear me? Are you safe?'

For a few seconds, there was only silence, but then her voice flickered on. It sounded very weak and breathless.

'I'm running.' Her voice echoed in my mind. 'They're following me, but I'm leading them far away from the cabin. Don't stop. Keep running. You need to run.'

'Please be careful, Clara. I am so sorry, I should not have let you do this,' I cried out, my feet pounding against the ground. I could hear the footsteps of the two rogue wolves behind me.

'Do not be sorry.' Her voice was weaker this time. You deserve a good life, Jas. You're the strongest person I know.'

Suddenly, the mind link was breaking.

'Clara? Clara!' I screamed through the bond.

But then, a loud, agonizing scream pierced through the link. It was a scream of agony and terror.

And then, the connection snapped.

The warm presence of my best friend in my mind disappeared, leaving behind cold, empty silence.

"No, Clara. Please, no!" I cried out because I was right, and I didn't want to lose my best friend, and for some reason it felt like the last time I would ever hear her voice 'Clara, please answer me. Talk to me. Tell me you're okay!'

But there was nothing. No sound. No warmth. I could barely see where I was going through my tears, but I kept running, and the trees suddenly began to disappear.

I skidded to a stop, my foot sliding on the wet stone. I looked down and gasped.

I was standing at the very edge of a waterfall cliff. Below me, hundreds of feet down, wild water was crashing violently against rocks. The roar of the water was so loud it made the ground shake beneath my feet.

I turned around quickly, my back pressed against the open air.

Out from the trees stepped the two more rogues. They walked slowly, their low growls vibrating in their chests. They had mud and fresh blood on their muzzles and looked at me with cruel, victorious eyes.

They knew I had nowhere left to run. I was cornered.

The wind howled around me, blowing my hair over my face as I looked at the monsters in front of me, and then at the deep, terrifying drop behind me. If I stayed here, they'd tear me to pieces, and that's even worse.

The rogue wolves lunged forward, and without hesitating for another second, I closed my eyes and stepped backward, throwing myself off the edge of the cliff.