Once Rejected, Twice Denied.

Chapter Two

TESSA POV:

I managed to make it back to my little room by the skin of my teeth. I had to sneak through the back door considering a whole bunch of SUV's were piling up in the front yard. I didn't miss some of the stunning couples walking into the packhouse from the front. Goddess, the women were dressed in their finest cocktail dresses and their hair perfectly lifted with curls or high pony-tails. I could only ever wish to own clothes like that or have hair so shiny. The men were all in their best smart-casual and all of them built to perfection. I guess that comes with being a high-ranking wolf in a pack. My feet drag me to the cot on the floor and I allow myself to slump down. I can hear the thumping footsteps of people moving up and down the wooden stairs above me and I sigh. Looks like I won't be getting much sleep until this party is done. I turn onto my side and slide my fingers around the knob to dim my lamp to a more comfortable light in the small space. My eyes flicker up at the old photo stuck on the wall above the flame. It's a picture of me when I was around thirteen years old. I am in the garden and I have an enormous smile plastered on my face as another smiling figure with long, blonde hair throws petals at me. The figure looks on at me with so much warmth, but the reality of the photo only causes me to go cold. My body turns to face the dark wall rather. My mother couldn't have loved me, else why would she have left when I didn't shift? I was probably her greatest disappointment in life and the embarrassment was too much for her to handle. This is what the Alpha and Luna said when they took me in, anyway. A lump gets caught in my throat and I try to keep the tears at bay. I don't know why my life has turned out this way, but I have little to no choice about what to do with it. Leaving the pack is impossible currently. Not only will the mission be a death-sentence for me with this being a powerful and huge pack, but beyond the borders there is a serious rogue issue and I would be walking into a guaranteed death. I do wish my life could turn out better, but I know I will just have to make peace with my future here or wait for my mate. This thought makes me smile. In a couple of days, I will turn eighteen and maybe then life will be different for me. This is the only little bit of hope I can hold onto.

"Knock, knock."

Aimee's soft voice comes from the other side of the door. I smile and get up quickly to open it for her. When I open, she jumps into the room and gives me a quick hug before throwing a bunch of crisps on the bed which she must have stolen from the party. I glare at her but she only shrugs her shoulders before moving on to lie on my bed. Based on the little, red number she is wearing, she was invited to the party, which doesn't uprise me considering she is the beta's daughter. Her auburn hair is pinned up in a messy bun and she is rocking a gorgeous smokey-eye. Another reminder of how opposite we are. She is ACTUALLY pretty. Why she is friend's with me is something I will never understand.

"Have you ever considered dusting up around here?"

I giggle at her remark and roll my eyes. Aimee is my one and only friend in this pack. She may be respected fro being the future beta of the pack, but Aimee comes under so much scrutiny due to her friendship with me. Sometimes I wonder whether I shouldn't just do her a favor and end the friendship for her sake. I once told her this and she was furious. Turns out she doesn't like hanging out with "snob-head losers who have their snouts stuck up their asses" and told me to stop questioning her. I smile at how stubborn she is because I am the same.

"Have you ever considered that I do dust, but that this is an impossible space to keep clean?"

Aimee just huffs and then proceeds to stuff a handful of crisps into her mouth.

"Goddess, these are so good!"

"Seriously, Aimee? You're in here eating junk food from a bag when you could be out there strutting your stuff and eating caviar on little cream cheese crackers."

"Or flirting with some obnoxiously handsome guys who want nothing more than to get in my panties. Man, imagine how great that would be!"

I laugh at how sarcastic she is being, but I don't miss the dissapointment and sadness in her undertone. She giggles too, but it doesn't meet her eyes and I know why. Aimee turned eighteen around seven months ago and still hasn't found her mate.

"I'm sorry, Aims. I know how much you were looking forward to tonight."

She swallows down her last bite then looks at me now with a sad smile.

"It's okay, Tess. I know the Moon Goddess has someone planned for me. I guess he just isn't here tonight."

I move onto the bed and give her a big hug. Aimee is like a sister to me.

A loud thud makes both of us jolt up and some shuffling from just outside my door grabs our attention and pulls us out of our moment. The thumping gets louder and I quickly move to the door to see what's going on. I try to open the door, but it's heavy and I have to use a little more force. With a big push, I stumble forward and everything becomes a blur as someone shouts. All I see is two very pissed off looking green eyes and a whoosh of raven hair before something icy cold gets thrown at my face. Great.

"b***h! Why are you always in the way?"

I don't need to open my eyes to hear it's Xanthi, but I do anyway. Standing next to her in a dark, gray suit is a man with hazel eyes and muscular features. He has red lipstick smudged all over his face indicating that him and Xanthi were making out against my door. I have never seen him around here before, so I am guessing that he is a guest at the party. I wish the ground below me would crack open and eat me whole, because anything would be better than this moment right now. People start to gather around and I feel the room quickly becoming tense.

"Xanthi, what happened?"

The Luna walks forward, her eyes looking between me and her daughter with calculated poise and a hint of irritation.

"Mother! Tessa here just completely rammed me over. I was just talking outside her door and she got so annoyed that she pushed me and spilled all my drink over herself!"

I could gag at how pathetic Xanthi's excuse is, but I know better than to do anything that might upset anyone further. Aimee comes out of my room with a huff and the Luna, as well as everyone else looks at her like she has gone mad.

"Oh please, Xanthi! Tessa did not push you. You and your boy-toy over here were making out like a bunch of horny rabbits against Tessa's door. You didn't need to throw your drink at her for it."

My eyes widen at her words, but a bubble of pride echoes in me. The low rumble from the Alpha meanshe didn't like Aimee's tone though. I look down and try make myself invisible.

"Why, you little-"

"Boy-toy? How dare you say that to me, you pathetic she-wolf!"

"Pathetic? I could clip your gamma ass with my eyes closed!"

Aimee defends herself.

"A gamma? YOU SAID YOU WERE AN ALPHA'S SON!"

Xanthi screaches and the guy shrugs his shoulders. Another growl from the Alpha and this time he has broken through the enormous crowd and is at the forefront of the chaos.

"Will somebody explain to me why my party has turned into a dramatic scene from Twilight?"

His eyes are dark and irritated. He looks at Aimee, Xanthi and the guy with annoyance and then his eyes turn to rake me over from top to bottom. I can see this only makes him even more angered.

"Tessa, Tessa, Tessa."

He moves closer now.

"Why is it that everytime something happens around here, YOU are at the center of it? You are like a really bad thorn in my foot that just wont stop festering. You are weak and don't deserve a place here, yet you always find a way to make yourself seen nd heard. When will you learn that you are nobody?"

He looks now between me and Aimee, then leans in closer.

"And you are bringing your friend down with you. Do you really think you are doing anyone favors by pretending to actually be friends? Beta's and runt's don't belong together. Runts don't belong anywhere."

The Alpha whispers the last part in my ear and my eyes start to water from embarrassment. Wolves have impeccable hearing, so I know the whole room can hear what he says. My eyes look up and now it's Keith's dark eyes looking on at this scene with a weird expression. He has his arms folded and he looks to be upset, but why? A huffing and panicked looking Miss Willow runs forward and takes my arm.

"I am so sorry, Alpha. I told her to stay hidden tonight but you know rats, they just always find a way to emerge at the worst times!"

She starts to pull me with her and I whimper at how painful her grip is. I hardly have any grip on my feet as she starts to drag me with her wolf strength. This is when I wish I had a wolf of my own, so I could shift and run as far away as possible from here. We come to a grinding halt all of a sudden.

"Miss Willow. I will take it from here."

Keith orders and Miss Willow looks at him with an evil smirk. He returns it and it's the same expression that I know too well. It's the same look he would give me in the past when his father has given him permission to lash out on me. I also know that this particular smile is the worst one there is and it could only mean he has full reign to do what he wants. A cold shiver runs through me.

"No, please."

A tear falls down my cheek and he wipes it away with his thumb.

"Sorry, Tessa, but your actions have to be punished. You embarrassed my family and there has to be consequences."

He throws me over his shoulder and I don't have energy to even fight back. He flings the door open and I see the outdoor shed approaching. My sobs become uncontrollable as he draws me closer and closer to the place of my nightmares. When he opens the door, it is like a sick sense of nostalgia takes over. I hate this place. I hate its smell and how dark it is. My heart rate picks up when he moves me to the corner where there is a trap door.

"Please, Keith!"

I beg as he unlocks it. With more force than I would like, his fingers tingle against my skin as he tries to force me into the tiny, black space. All I can do is beg him over and over. I see he is pained by what he is doing, but he doesn't stop anyway. A pang of hurt courses through me as I try to resist my head going in.

"Tessa, stop fighting it."

He tries to reason with me, but it doesn't work. Why should I stop fighting when I am about to be locked in a tony hole in the wall for who knows how long? Keith used to lock me in here when I was younger as a practical joke and I would scream for hours, sometimes almost even for a full day before he would open up for me. Then his father found out about it all and thought it was the perfect place to send me everytime I irritated him. This little hole is barely big enough for me to do anything and it became my personal hell and it wasn't until three years ago when Keith stopped with his games. Weirdly enough, he stopped all his harrassments of me and all it took was him finding his maturity after turning eighteen. In my moment of lost thought, Keith manages to get the rest of me in.

"Why are you doing this to me?"

His eyes find mine now.

"It isn't me. It is my father."

I scoff at his pathetic excuse. I don't even care if he thinks I am being rude.

"I have never heard anything more weak in my life, Keith! When are you going to start acting like a man?"

His eyes darken and I can tell I have made him angry. The door slams in on my face and I wince as the cool air sets in.

"I still have the power over you, Tessa. I always will."

His voice holds a dark promise which makes me feel uncomfortable. Before I know it he has walked out of the shed, leaving me alone to face my greatest fear. I cannot see anything. I cannot move. I can only hear my own heart beating out of panic.