His Savior

Rejection?

~Zahara~

               I enjoy the sparks that are erupting on my fingers, but the look in Cory's eyes is not what I expected. His eyes went from excited, to scared, and now sad. I can't imagine what it could be that would make him feel so many emotions. Cory, gently, removes my hand from his face and looks away. I'm starting to get a bit nervous since his behavior is changing so drastically. Cory stands up and faces the fountain with his back facing me.

               "Maybe you shouldn't have told me we were mates. We could have, definitely, remained friends." Why wouldn't he not want to know that we were mates? What is wrong with me that he wouldn't want what the Goddess has blessed him with? Cory turns and faces me. "I don't want to ruin your future. You are an Alpha and you need a mate that has strength. I wish that were me, but it isn't." Cory drops his head and I can feel Aria getting restless in my head. "There is only one thing I can give you." Cory looks in my eyes. "I, Cory Williams of the Wild Trail pack, rej-"

               "Z, we have to go. My dad is looking for us because they are heading into the meeting. We can't miss it." My heart was starting to leap out of my chest at the words coming out of Cory's mouth. Lennox completely saved me and I couldn't be more grateful. I blink back the tears that were threatening to fall and stand up. I walk to Cory and he puts his head down. I lean in and whisper, "We will continue this and I will not accept your rejection, ever." I gently kiss him on the cheek and turn to follow Lennox back to the packhouse.

               "Do you want to talk about it?" I shake my head and Lennox continues on to the packhouse. I take a minute at the door to take a few deep breaths before going in. So much happened in so little time. I don't want everything to be clear on my face. I need to figure out how to get Cory to forget about rejecting me. Hell, I need to figure out why he would want to. I thought we always got along well in high school. Learning that we were mates shouldn't have been a bad thing, but clearly I'm wrong.

               I open the back door and walk in. There are a few people eating in the dining room and I give them a small nod as I walk through. I make it to the doorway and am about to walk through and head upstairs until I'm stopped. "Well, well, well. Look at what they dug out of the trash." I swear I know that voice. After our initial run in, there were constant little interactions. I turn towards the voice and my suspicions are confirmed. Nikki hasn't changed much. She still has her blonde hair which she wears in curls. She continues to get manicures and wears a ton of makeup. She still favors designer clothing as evident by her Gucci bodycon dress. It is a wine color with a v that goes all the way down to the waist in the front. The cleavage showing is substantial. Her heels look to be about 5 inches high and I wonder how she walks on them.

               "Nikki. To what do I owe this pleasure?" I reply in a bland tone. Nikki steps up to me and the sneer on her face is evident to all.

               "You can tell me what the hell you are doing here. I don't recall being told that you would be arriving today." How interesting.

               "And why would you be told anything at all?" Nikki puts her head back and laughs. She looks back at me.

               "I'm the future Luna and everyone here knows that. All visitors are run by me first. I guess I need to see who is acting against protocol and respond accordingly." I grin at Nikki, internally rolling my eyes. Nikki doesn't take her eyes off of me and I reciprocate. I take a step back and turn around to head up to the meeting. I don't get far before I feel a hand grab my arm and I'm violently spun around with Nikki in my face. "Who the hell do you think you are that you can ignore me? I was speaking to you and you WILL answer me." I look down at Nikki's hand and look back to her face. I pull my free arm back and slap Nikki in the face. She stumbles back, holding her cheek.

               "I suggest you learn to keep your hands to yourself. We are not in high school anymore. You have no idea who you are messing with and I promise that you don't want to find out." I turn again to walk away. I hate having altercations like these on packlands that are not my own. I hate to cause problems, but I won't be disrespected.

               "YOU BITCH!" I hear before I feel my body being yanked back by my hair. Pain shoots through my head and that pisses me off. I can feel my anger along with Aria's and I know there will be no way to hold her back. Before I can turn and respond, I hear heavy steps on the stairs.

               "WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?" Laslo growls out. I can hear a faint whimper from Nikki. "Let her go, now!"

               "But, baby, you don't know wha-" Laslo growls with so much strength that the walls shake slightly.

               "I said, let her go." Laslo starts to take menacing steps towards us and I feel my hair being released. I shake my head a bit and look at Laslo. There is a fury in his eyes that looks dangerous. I understand an Alpha not liking his people to be rude to others, but the anger in his eyes looks stronger than one would expect. I decide not to turn and look at Nikki because if I do I may just rip her head off. I step away from Laslo and Nikki and head up the stairs for the meeting. Coming here today has been a crazy, emotional day. I actually can't wait to leave, but a part of me doesn't want to because I don't want to leave Cory. I try to clear my mind as I walk into the meeting room. I will figure things out at a later time.