My Challenging Mate

I'm Rejected

 A.N.-

All Rights Reserved

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When Ryder spoke those words, I froze. He can't be serious. There's no way that he, Ryder Jenkins, best friend forever, could ever love me... like... like that! My eyes were cast downwards as I tried to process the information. There were so many things whirling around in my head.

Anxiety, surprise, and relief were among the few. Don't ask me how I felt relieved because I honestly didn't know. When he said those three words, it was like a weight was lifted off of me.

Before I could oppose his words, he spoke again.

"There's more." My eyes looked up into his and he masked his expression well, I couldn't tell how he was feeling.

In a matter of seconds, I was getting tid bits of a thought process that wasn't mine... except, I wasn't linked to any pack.

Images began flooding my head and soon, I knew the whole story that Ryder was going to tell me. The reason why he got so angry all the time. The reason why he left. The reason why I could understand his thoughts without being in a pack...

"Rave, I know this is a lot for you to process, but believe me, it's for the best." Ryder explained.

I kept shaking my head back and forth.

"No, Ryder. No. This isn't true. We're not mates." I slowly started backing away, shaking my head while doing so.

"That's where you're wrong, Ravyn. We are mates. No matter how much you deny it, it'll always be true." He took a step towards me, making me take another back.

Ryder held up his left wrist to let me see the scars that I had inflicted upon myself.

"See? We're mates. I didn't do these to myself..." He trailed off.

"Then why didn't I get mysteriously injured all those years when you were away?" I yelled at him, causing him to get angrier with each passing second.

"Because you didn't realize it yet! You never laid your eyes on me until a couple of weeks ago and by then, it was already too late for you to acknowledge it!" He screamed back.

"We aren't mates, Ryder! You're my best friend. That's all you'll ever be. That's all I'll ever feel from you. It's just friendship, Ry. It's not love!" By now, I had backed up against the house and there was nowhere for me to turn to.

"Are you kidding me?" He said lowly. I braced myself for the volcano that was about to erupt.

"Are you fucking kidding me?! I built up all this nerve - all the balls - to tell you how I felt and about what's happening. And what are you going to do? You're going to say that I'm lying?! That I'm not telling you the truth? God damnit, Ravyn!" Ryder spat at me, making me flinch.

His face was getting red with anger as his hands were balled up into fists at his side. Ryder's black hair was messed up as he ran his hand through it a couple of times.

I was lucky enough to be standing by a few trees. They're the ones that took to blow that I would've most likely receieved from Ryder's punches.

He only punched the tree about three times, but it was enough to leave a dent in the wood. Each punch felt like it hurt me instead of him. I could literally feel the blows as he threw them.

"No, I'm not gonna let you live your own life while I suffer! I'm going to break the bond, the tie, the inseperability that mates are supposed to have..." Ryder trailed off, but I didn't know where he was going.

"Ravyn, I don't want to be your mate. In fact, I reject you."

With that, he walked away.

-

"What is going on with my life?!" My scream echoed through the entire house, vibrating the nearby walls.

"Ravyn, everything happens for a reason, right? Everything will turn out OK." Cherry placed a hand on my shoulder to try and calm me down. The only thing it did was make me angrier.

"I don't need sympathy! I don't need to feel better or to hear that everything will be fine. All I need is to figure out what is going on in my fucking brain!"

I pulled away from Cherry and ran down stairs, right out the door. I didn't stop when I heard the protests from Rhymer, Cherry and Frosty. I didn't stop when I heard footsteps from the other pack members.

My life was gone.

Everything I ever knew, was no longer.

My best friend is gone. My dad is gone. My pack is gone. Hell, I'm not even in my pack anymore.

I ran into the middle of the woods, not even shifting into my wolf.

"GOD!" I screamed into the sky above.

"GOD! Do something, please! I hate feeling like I'm losing my mind! I hate feeling like I'm the sad little girl that has so many problems in her life! But God, it's not just that... No. It's about this whole battle thing. And then Ryder. What am I going to do about Ryder, God? What can I do? He hates my guts already! There's no way to change his mind. I mean, I haven't even figured out yet if he's my mate.

"But why would he lie to me? What purpose would there for him to lie to me about that? There is no alternative purpose. There's no motive he would have to lie to me about something like that..." Even though I wanted to pretend I was talking to God, I was really just having an argument with myself.

And apparently, I was losing.

"I hate when people feel sorry for me. I hate feeling so... so... pathetic! God, what am I going to do?" I sunk to my knees in desperation. So many thoughts were running through my head. I didn't know what to think or do, but something snapped me out of it.

It was a howl. Not just any howl, but Ryder's howl. It was miles and miles away. Closer towards my old home. He must've been running that whole time.

When I first picked up the sound, I thought it was a joke; thought there was no way in hell it was happening.

But as I heard other pack members come running out of their houses, in their wolf forms, howling in response to Ryder, I knew it was true.

Laura and her army.

They're here. Right now.

The battle has started.

-

A.N-

All Rights Reserved