Rejected for Her

Rejected For Her: 17

Chapter 17: Finding Liza
————————————

Matthew's Point of View

We had gathered a small search party to help us look for Eliza. Every wolf had a piece of her clothing tied around their neck that would allow us to gather her scent and follow it.

"Hey, um..."

"Dani."

"Dani, right. Are you ready?"

"Yeah. I'll be out in a second."

"Alright." I walked out of the building and approached the rest of the pack.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I hope by now you are all aware of who you're trying to find. I know that some of you have lost your Mates and family members, I want to thank you for completing this task even through your grief. The funeral process will commence after we've found Eliza. I don't suspect she's gotten very far and her blood lust should have ended by now so she'll be slower than she was that night. Thank you all for your sacrifices. Your grievances will not be forgotten. We will make sure the king pays for what we've all lost." With that I start to shift. I imagine what my wolf looks like, what he feels and sounds like.

I sit there for a minute before I realize that I can't. I can't imagine him and I can't feel him. I can't shift.

"Beta Williams?" I stood stuck to my place, squinting my eyes and praying that it comes through one last time.

"Please, please, please. Do not give up on me now." I pleaded with my body, with myself, and with my wolf, not that he could hear me. Then I felt it. My bones slowly started cracking and rearranging.

I let out the breath I was holding in as I felt my hands turn to paws and slowly touch the grassy floor. When the change was complete, I shook out my fur and took off west. I heard the paws of the rest of the group behind me. I took in my surroundings, watching the birds fly by and the squirrels scurrying away from the pack. I felt the wind whipping through my fur. Something told me that this would be the last time I'd ever be able to do this.

I paused, stopping the rest of the pack and sniffed the air. Her scent was here. I nodded my head to tell them to mark the tree so we made sure we weren't going on a circle. They followed my instructions and I carefully investigated the ground. Her scent wasn't that old so there might still be some tracks.

"Did you find anything?"

I shook my head and turned to face Dani. He had worry written all over his face. I walked closer and nuzzled his hand in an attempt to comfort him. It was weird, we weren't exactly friends but I knew how he felt. The worry that you feel for your mate when they're lost or gone. Now that I'm not denying the fact that I'm in love with Kayla, I can stop denying the emotions I felt towards her.

I kept looking for something to tell me where she went. I scanned the ground closely and found what looked to be a paw print. Following the path, I approached a dark cave that I hadn't known was on the pack property. Howling lowly to get the pack's attention, I walked inside the cave slowly. The first thing that hit me was the scent of blood. Halting for a second, I let my eyes adjust to the darkness. I saw a small figure leaning against the cave walls. Before I could take another step, Dani came running through the cave and trying to get through to his mate.

"Liza? Liza, stop. Look at me baby, I'm right here please." I watched him plead with her. Stepping closer, I could see the blood dripping down from her head as she rubbed it against the sharp rocks in the cave. Liza snarled and turned towards me. She looked feral. Her eyes were shifting between the eyes of a wolf and her regular human eyes.

"This is all your fault," She half growled, "She wouldn't have been so weak if it weren't for you." The blood on her head was still gushing as she stalked closer to me. The shock caused me to lose focus and shift back. I looked at her in confusion.

"What are you talking about?" My heart was stinging as the idea of being the reason why my Mate died attacked it.

"She was dying because of you. Because of your rejection." Her voice was low and deadly. My head was torn apart. I wanted to make her submit but I couldn't shake the pain of her words.

"You're wrong. There's no known affects for rejecting your Mate." I said shakily. I knew the truth but I didn't want to admit it.

"Oh really?" She dared. She had a dangerous look in her eyes as she stepped toward me again.

I thought back to the words of my wolf.

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~
One Year Ago

"It's still all your fault. You shouldn't have done this. You have no idea how this could affect you." I shrugged off my wolf's warning.

"If rejecting your Mate is so dangerous, why don't you just tell me what will happen so I can get her back and avoid it? Isn't that what you want?"

"Of course it's what I want, ya numb-nut. But it won't work unless you truly love and want her." I snorted, there's no way that's ever going to happen.

"Yeah, Marlas, that's never gonna happen. I'm sorry, but I will never want her. Her sister is the one I want, she's the one I will always want. Besides, I'm pretty sure Kayla hates me."

"Fine, but don't say I didn't warn you. You officially have one year, starting today, to make things right."

~•~•~•~•~•~•~

My eyes slowly raised up to Liza's.

"Fuck..."

"So now you realize? You're the reason why she's dead. You're the reason why she didn't have enough energy to fight off the poison. You're the reason why she could barely fight. It's all your fucking fault." Tears welled up in my eyes as I came to terms with the fact that she was right. When Mates are accepted, especially within higher ranked pairs, their individual strength grows exponentially. Not only that but their souls become intertwined and they can actually share strength, blood, feelings, thoughts, locations, everything.

If I had accepted her, she wouldn't have gotten kidnapped. She wouldn't have gotten so sick. She wouldn't have gotten killed. I collapsed to the floor as my tears overflowed. I became numb. It really was all my fault. The guilt in my heart weighed me down like a 10 ton anchor. I was drowning in it.

"Honestly, I shouldn't even be after the king. I should be after you!" Her eyes turned red as she lunged and shifted midair. As she landed, she pushed me down with her front paws and her mouth wrapped around my throat. With one move, I'd be dead. But I couldn't bring myself to feel anything. I couldn't feel fear, nor authority. I was only focused on the overwhelming despair searing through my body.