Myths & Rejections

Chapter 12 - Tritons

Word Count : 3982

Harper followed her normal trail down the sandy bank of the spring, she'd made two passes already, and she couldn't detect any trace of Mattie's fresh ocean scent. Where was he? He should have been back hours ago; he could have circled the island and up and down the south beach coast twenty times by now. She just knew he found something, she knew there was one out there, Reese was wearing pants when he waded out into the waves, there was no way he was planning on a swim. He must have been walking in the edge of the surf and whatever monster lured him must have been strong. Reese was an alpha, a regular triton shouldn't have been powerful enough to subdue his mind that much and draw him into the ocean. If he'd been any further out he would have been a goner, Harper wouldn't have been able to pull him out of deeper water before the damn thing got both of them.

Reese of all people was out there, the one person she was avoiding like the plague, the one person above all she never wanted to see again. Walking around the corner and seeing him standing in the foyer had been like a punch in the gut. All those terrible memories of the taunts and the insults came crashing through her mind like a massive wave, it had actually stolen her breath for a few seconds. She remembered the hate filled eyes that had stared at her at the dinner table, between the innocent looks he painted on his face when one of his parents looked at him. He'd been a good actor, he and Callum both had the alpha and Luna completely fooled, they'd never once suspected the cruelty and abuse that was going on under their own roof. Had they really found out all the details? Had they really passed laws to punish those entitled assholes?

Harper thought over the information they'd given her, she felt such pity for the she-wolves who'd been rejected. It had been horrifically painful when it happened to her, the pain of his being with Charla, the crushing depression, and the endless nights lying awake in her bed wondering what she'd done to deserve such a fate. Thank goddess she'd had Celie, thank goddess Celie had her, she knew it was even worse for Celie, she hadn't had the pain of Adam being with another woman. But she'd been more depressed than Harper, she'd had the heartbreak that went along with her longing for him. Harper had been spared that, she'd hated Reese with such a passion she'd never wanted to go to him, but Celie had wanted Adam, and Harper knew she'd thought every day about going back, about begging him to reconsider the rejection.

What would Celie do now? Harper was so proud of her friend, seeing her stand tall and reject him had been one of the most courageous things Harper had ever seen. Now maybe, finally, Celie could move on. She'd seen the conflict in Celie's eyes, she'd seen the longing for a brief moment, and she knew Celie had considered going to him, forgiving him, and giving him another chance. But she'd seen the pain too, she'd seen the memories flowing through Celie's mind, she could tell, she knew her friend as well as she knew herself. The deciding factor had been thinking of having to return to the pack, Celie hated the pack and the people there almost as much as Harper did, and they both loved their lives and their friends here in Miami. Celie had too much here to leave it and go back somewhere she hated, somewhere she would have nothing but derision and contempt coming from the people around her, especially for a man who'd rejected her and left her crying in the dirt.

The one thing good that came out of this visit was knowing that now they could contact the few people there that they'd loved. Celie could call her father and her brothers again, Harper knew it would be bittersweet and Celie was afraid they wouldn't forgive her for leaving them behind as she'd done, for letting them think she was dead. But they'd seen by the messages she'd received after they left, they knew that her father would come for her, if he could find her. They couldn't risk that, so Celie had cut off contact after assuring him she would be fine.

Harper could finally talk to the alpha and Luna again, she could apologize for leaving the way she did, she could thank them for everything they'd done for her, for taking care of her after her parents died. She'd always regretted leaving them with just a note, but she couldn't have explained to them what really happened, she couldn't tell them what Reese had done, she knew it would destroy them. They were good people, loving people, they would have blamed themselves for what Reese did, and she couldn't bear the thought of that. It seemed that was wasted effort though, considering they'd found out anyway, at least they didn't hear it from her.