The Rejection Contract

If death were to come, Hayley Murburdeach only wished it came swiftly. Unfortunately for her, such reprieve seemed unlikely as she could already feel her body beginning to heal; she twitched, unable to do move a muscle as she felt her ribs slowly snapping back in place, her mouth parched and parted with hushed whimpers of pain. The cool early evening breeze teasing the strands of her red hair out of her vision, almost in quiet comfort as she stared up at the silent waxing moon whose gaze seemed solemn if not contemptuous. Hayley almost found it funny that, even as a werewolf, she felt no draw to the moon and it seemed the Moon itself felt no tie to her, regarding her as a mother would to her perpetually problematic ill-tempered child. Hayley lay on the damp dirt, the strong mangled scent of earth and blood reached her nose and she inhaled sharply, a small smile drawing on her split swollen lips because she found solace in the fact that it wasn’t just her blood she could smell, it was that of her attacker as well. Although she knew she hadn’t gotten in much, she had managed to make a pretty decent hit and that alone was better than nothing to her. A sharp pain tore from her chest when she as chuckled remembering the way the bewildered expression quickly rose with rage when a river of red began to stream down the dark tresses of his hair and over his steely blue eyes, eyes that cut back at her with vindictive promise. It was the last clear image she saw before a blur of movement had her slammed into a near-by tree and the repeated hits turned her body numb and vision black within a few minutes. It must’ve been a few hours since then as the sun had long set and she was still a crumpled mess on the forest floor, a short distance away from main pack territory. Hayley wouldn’t have minded staying here, it was quiet and serene and the soft rustle of the leaves almost lulled her back into the peaceful darkness…but it was cut short by the loud commanding howl. It came from the main pack area and echoed through the forest, it was a howl that Hayley immediately recognized as Alpha Guillaume, leader of the Lunoir Pack, one of the largest packs in Tongrass Alaska, beckoning all pack members back to the main pack house. Meetings within the pack were not unheard of, Alpha Guillaume held meetings all the time, most of which were with the other wolves higher in rank to discuss official pack business but other times, pack meetings were not as stringent. Alpha Guillaume was a man who had a reputation for throwing rather lavish events for his pack members and most of the time, attendance was optional but on this occasion, it was not. Hayley considered ditching the occasion but immediately dismissed the thought the moment it popped up because she knew that Alpha Guillaume would know that she had skipped out on the event and she did not want to draw any attention to herself or her family, who hadn’t won much favor in the pack. Many pack members avoided the Murburdeashs like they were silver bullets and those that didn’t handled them with an air of polite detachment, the kind that had an underline iciness that expressed their willingness to tolerate but not entertain them for longer than a few short minutes at a time. Hayley really was almost certain that her family were one mistake away from being banished from the pack and she did not want to give them a reason to do so. Well f**k. Today really wasn’t her day. Hayley pushed herself off the floor, supporting her weight on the nearby tree as she took a moment to study her surroundings. Her body was sore but her ribs were healed far enough for them to only be considered fractured, the large gash in the side of her forehead was reduced to an open flesh wound and she could feel the rings of muscle around the cuts on her legs and arms pulsate with heat as the flesh slowly stitched itself back together. No claw marks.  “Coward.” She croaked with an almost maniacal glee. Hayley knew that he couldn’t have used his claws to attack her, for fear of facing Alpha Guillaume’s wrath, still, she found it almost hilarious that the man who wanted her dead the most and had the opportunity to grant his greatest desire, was the same one who was hesitant in delivering the final blow. He could have killed her a long time ago without activating his werewolf side but Hayley knew he wouldn’t because his pride would not let him do so; he believed that he was superior because he was nothing like Hayley, he was a werewolf born without defects. Every werewolf pup shifts at the age of thirteen and once a pup shifts, they gain all the perks of being a werewolf; heightened senses, increased strength, healing abilities and of course, being able to shift into a full wolf. He had no problem shifting, Hayley, on the other hand, had the most unusual experience with her shift. When it was over, Hayley was hit with the realization that she only gained some of her abilities but not others; she had no supernatural strength, she could not shift into a full wolf, she could heal but the process was much slower than the average werewolf, her heightened senses were present but came at a painful cost for her human body if she attempted to use them for prolonged periods of time and as a result, she couldn’t use them all that often. Hayley knew it wasn’t her fault but that didn’t stop other wolves from treating her different and her defects left her in a grey area where she was seen and treated more human than she was werewolf. Hayley’s shift was the most traumatizing experience of her life, so much so that if she lingered too long on the memory, her mind would race, her head spin and her breathing would quickly turn sharp, shallow and short – and she wasn’t exactly keen on passing out in the middle of the forest again but she also knew finding her way back would be impossible without a little extra help. Hayley took a deep breath, brows furrowing as she opened her eyes once more and through the window of her heightened senses she could clearly make out a path through the dense forest, she could smell the delicious aroma of food wafting from the vicinity of the pack house but that wasn’t what caught her interest. Passed the crackling of the charred bonfire wood, passed the sound of little pups playing, laughing and running across the lawn was the distinct sound of voices, voices of pack members she wasn’t entirely familiar with but it was their conversation that caught her attention. “Did you hear?” The first voice said. “Hear what?” The second responded. “There’s gonna be special guests over tonight.” The first informed. “Special guests?” The second voice gasped. “Duh. Why do you think Alpha Guillaume called all the pack here tonight?” The first said, exasperated. “I didn’t think much of it.” “You don’t seem to think at all dear.” The first voice sighed. “Who is it?” The second voice asked, barely fazed by the insult of the other party. “Well, I heard some things.” A third voice cut in. “Rumor has it that it’s–” Hayley groaned, her eyes, ears and nose already pulsating painfully with warning.  Hayley took a deep breath, reverting back to her mundane self before forcing her legs forward. Really? Right before she got a solid answer or some sort of clue as to who could be coming? The weight of her annoyance and curiosity seemed to numb most of her physical pain as she trudged onward, making her way back to the main pack house, her mind wondering. It wasn’t uncommon for the pack to host wolves from other packs, many who do land within the Lunoir Pack territory come by to greet Alpha Guillaume, it had more to do with formalities than anything else as he was the Alpha of one of the largest packs in North America with a territory that stretched all over Tongrass Alaska, it would be considered rude not to acknowledge the him. Usually, the wolves who wished to visit the territory of another wolf pack would inform the Alpha of the pack beforehand and if the Alpha of the pack permits it, they were welcome within their territory. If the wolf in question encroach on territory that isn’t their own without informing the Alpha of that area, they would be dealt with accordingly; with some packs opting to capture the wolf and contact the wolf’s pack and hand them back to their pack and others simply killing the wolf on sight. Formalities aside, Hayley knew it wasn’t customary for Alpha Guillaume to throw a pack party this large and demand all the pack members’ attendance unless the guests in question were one of importance. At the very least, Hayley could almost be certain that the guests were a group of visiting wolves because humans were never welcome on pack lands unless they were mated to a wolf and had taken the Kiss of the Crimson Moon. So who could it be? Perhaps it was another powerful Alpha of a visiting pack? Maybe…but which one? Although there were many wolf packs scattered across North America, the big four were; the Lunoir Pack that controlled the North, the Anawalu Pack that controlled the West, the Nixalu Pack that controlled the East and the Thysula Pack who controlled the South. If any one of the Alphas from either of those packs were to meet, they would be the talk of the town in the werewolf community since most of them did not meet in person unless it was important. Well…Hayley didn’t have to wonder much longer, the trees were thinning around her, giving way to the large clearing, the pack house coming into view. The simple white mansion sat on an acre of perfectly manicured grass, the rose bloom potted plants sat preached a top the black balcony railing and acted as an animated crown, swaying gently in the evening breeze. The large mahogany doors were open with a large strip of red carpet puncturing the warm wooden floor from one end to another lining the grey granite steps and even the jasmine vines seemed to wrap themselves tight around the white pillars of the mansion, hugging them in bruising anticipation. Hayley was the only one who didn’t share in the same excitement and elation that seemed to blanket the whole atmosphere, making it feel rather warm and welcoming; her tired eyes drank in the way the younger pups ran around, laughing and playing, older pups around her own age were doing the exact same thing; play fighting, dancing near the bonfire or running around helping the adults set up the large white tables across the lawn. The adults sat dispersed across the lawn, some working to help set up the tables, others cozied around the bonfire kicking off the party early with bottles of Luna Fye between their fingers as they entertained each other with stories of old. Hayley knew that she stuck out like a sore thumb – a battered bloody, tired, dirt covered sore thumb with leaves and twigs tangled in her hair. The strange looks she received and forced awkward smiles and greetings she garnered from the few who noticed her made her want to turn around and dive back into the cold damp dirt, at least there she knew she felt more comfortable. This really, really wasn’t her day. Hayley sighed, choosing to sink further into the shadows and stick nearer to the trees. She could walk the length of the field without drawing attention to herself if she just stuck to the hedges and only cross the field to enter the house. The mansion had a good bathroom area where she knew she could at least wash most of the dirt, dried blood and at least try to make herself look more presentable; she knew she wouldn’t be able to take a shower or change in the house unless the owners of the house granted her permission to do so and there was no way in hell she was doing that because as much as the pack house was a welcome communal space for all pack members and guests, the only people who actually did live in it are Alpha Guillaume, his wife Luna Saloni and their four children; Alisha, Carina, Ranbir and Aarav – so no, no way in hell was she asking that. “Hey!” A voice called. Hayley kept walking, assuming the person was calling to someone else. “Hey Hayley, wait up!” She froze, nearly jumping out of her skin when she heard her name ring out through the crowd. For a moment, she considered running but before she could even start, quick heavy footsteps approached her and a mane of familiar golden curls stopped in front of her. “Oh…Hey, Collin.” Hayley said, smiling up at the boy she recognized from her grade. Collin smiled, his kind deep coffee eyes glowing with warmth until he fully took in the sight of her. “What…happened to you?” He asked, his smile dropping. “Uh…sparring.” Hayley lied. Collin raised a brow. “We didn’t have any training today.” Collin said. s**t…he was right. “Yeah, yeah, you’re right.” Hayley agreed. “But…uh, I wanted to get in some extra training.” Hayley lied, throwing in a casual shrug and hoping her story was believable enough; the idea that she would’ve gotten injured sparring wasn’t completely farfetched as wolves tend to have a lot of energy and one way that energy is capitalized on is through fitness training, mostly through some form of combat training and it isn’t unusual for younger wolves to spar with each other for fun. “Well, they got you pretty bad.” Collin commented, his tone was light but his brows pulled together in a manner that told her that in this very moment he wasn’t buying her story at all. “Well, I was going to invite you to a friendly spar but…I think you’ve had enough for today.” He chuckled, awkwardly. “Yeah.” Hayley said, nodding her head slightly. “I should go.” She said. “Yeah…go get cleaned up.” He said. “Hey, maybe you should ask Carina–” “–Ask me what?” A voice called behind him. Both Collin and Hayley jumped startled at the sudden entry. A bun of dark curly hair peaked out from behind him as Carina materialized, seemingly out of nowhere; her soft hazel eyes striking against her deep bronze skin as her dark brows pulled in confusion. “H-hey.” Collin said. “I was just telling Hayley that maybe she should ask you if she could use your room to get cleaned up.” He said quickly. Carina c****d her head to the side, watching Hayley who was almost grateful for the dirt covering her face since it made it harder for her to see her cheeks flare up in complete and utter embarrassment as one of the prettiest girls in her grade scrutinized her haggard appearance. “What happened to you?” Carina asked. “Sparring.” Hayley answered quickly. “Oh. Got a little carried away there, huh?” Carina asked, attempting a smile but her eyes betrayed her, sizing Hayley up and down once more, the silent skepticism in her gaze palpable. Hayley nodded, offering another casual shrug. “My fault.” She said, forcing a laugh. “You can come up to my room and we can get you cleaned up.” Carina offered. “Oh, no. It’s okay. I can just clean up in the bathroom, no big deal.” Hayley said, laughing to hide her discomfort. “It wasn’t an offer, let’s go.” Carina said, grabbing her wrist excitedly. “Oooh, and I think I have the perfect outfit for you!” she squealed. Hayley couldn’t even attempt to fight back as in her enthusiasm as Carina grabbed her wrist and yanked her forward with her wolf strength, nearly making her stumble forward as she tried to keep up with her, trying not to wince as the sharp aches and pains rocked through her whole being. Carina led Hayley into the house, making her way to the stairwell and in her rush, nearly knocking into a pack member who was balancing a tray of Moonshine glasses. Thanks to some last minute wolf reflexes, Hayley was able to avoid the crash by a hairs thread but that was when everything went horribly wrong. It all seemed to happen in slow motion. Hayley could hear the yelp of surprise from the pack member as he swerved to avoid her, she could also hear the echo of Carina’s sharp horrified gasp as she throttled forward into the solid body in front of her; she couldn’t stop it, there was no way for her to stop it and she accepted her fate, crashing right into the person. The impact sent both of them flying back but the daze Hayley found herself in had less to do with the force of her fall than with the immediate current that shot through her body – it was electric, sparking every nerve, imploding in her brain and momentarily blinding her vision. The assault on her sensibilities didn’t seem to end there as Hayley found herself suddenly consumed with a cinnamon scent that seemed to be all around her; now she knew what cinnamon smelt like but this was different, overpowering and sharp but there was an undercurrent of softness to it – it was tantalizing. Hayley felt her heart begin to race, she had never felt anything like this before. There were a few seconds in between her savoring the feeling and contemplating indulging it when something clicked in her head. A realization that sent her spiraling down a pit of despair. The sparks… The strong cinnamon scent… No. Oh no, no, no, no, no. This can’t be happening. This can’t be happening! Hayley found herself quietly begging and pleading with whatever entity would listen to please deliver the punchline because this has to be some sort of joke, right? Some sort of horribly timed joke – right? She got no such reprieve as she looked up at the woman she had crashed into; the woman with the deep bronze skin staring back at her, passed a mane of coal curls that curtained half her face, puzzled beautiful black eyes that looked like burnished obsidian – instead, she only got confirmation of her worst fear with one single word: Mate.