Myths & Rejections

Chapter 5 - Consequences

Word Count : 2719

Elder Camille stood at the podium waiting for the pack to get settled in their seats and quiet down.  Alpha Lucas and Luna Sophia sat on the right side of the stage, while three elders sat on the left.

"Reese, do you know what this is about?" Zach asked, leaning forward to tap Reese on the shoulder where he sat in the front row next to Charla.

"No clue man. Dad has kept me totally in the dark." Reese said resentfully, he was to be named alpha in a couple of weeks, he should have been included in every decision concerning the pack. "But he's been meeting with and negotiating with the elder council and other pack alpha's for a couple of months.  Whatever it is, it's a big deal."

"Thank you everyone for attending, we will not take much of your time tonight.  Please be aware that all over the country tonight, nearly every pack is having this same meeting, new laws have been passed, and all but a few packs have agreed with passage of these laws." Elder Camille started. "Over the years, a disturbing trend has been developing, and it has reached the stage where something must be done to address it.  Young she-wolves have been disappearing and dying at an alarming rate."

Reese immediately tensed, he sat up a little straighter, and leaned slightly forward, his entire attention caught by the comment.

"In the past year alone, 273 young she-wolves have disappeared from packs in north America, 47 around the north west and 2 from this very pack in the past few months." Elder Camille went on.  "The reason behind this is abuse and rejection.  Two things that should never happen to our daughters and sisters."

Reese glanced around, the others had all tensed, their heads lowered guiltily, he saw Adam sitting forward as well, a devastated look on his face, Callum was staring at the floor.

"This is a great shame on our society, on our kind.  The moon goddess has granted each and every one of us a mate, but they are being discarded as worthless." Elder Camille said. "The effects of rejection are devastating to a wolf, but did you know that 77% of the rejected are females?  The consequences of these rejections are severe; people think that a rejected wolf simply dusts themselves off and goes on, but that is rarely the case, their wolves are severely injured by rejection.  The rejected suffer severe physical and emotional pain, depression, anxiety, and ptsd.  Some wolves will die from being rejected.  Omega's in particular suffer this fate, 45% of rejected omega's wolves die within hours of being rejected, another 40% lose permanent contact with their wolves, 55% of rejected omegas commit suicide." Elder Camille's face was a mask of sorrow as she spoke of the fate of these young wolves.

Ben sat up straight in his chair, a stricken look on his face as he pulled out his phone and frantically began typing.

"The percentages improve with the rank of the wolf, but gamma's, beta's, and even alpha born wolves are in danger of these consequences.  Females being especially vulnerable, their pain is twice the male's pain, it takes months, even years for their wolves to recover, if they ever do.  Nearly 30% of higher ranked female wolves commit suicide within 3 months of rejection."

The hall was so silent, you could have heard a single pin drop.

"They also suffer severe physical pain from the rejection, the pain is not momentary, as it is for the person who rejected them.  It lessens over time but does not stop until the rejected finds their second chance mate and is marked, if they never find their second chance, they suffer for the rest of their lives.  They do not simply suffer the pain of the rejection, but they also suffer intense, debilitating pain when the mate who rejected them is physically intimate with another partner, their bodies will be covered with severe bruises and they will suffer for days after each time it happens.  The pain is slightly lessened with distance from their former mates, but there is no distance great enough stop it, and even a world away it is severe.  That is why our daughters and sisters are disappearing, that is why they are running from their packs, to try and escape the pain."