CHAPTER 1- Rejected

Avas POV

It had been two years since I was rejected by my last mate. Two years since I had known what love felt like, or at least the illusion of it.

I was with Jayden when I was twenty. The whole thing felt genuine, young love. Every night he professed his love for me and showed me those love in so many ways. I felt secure. I felt hopeful. And most of all, I felt loved. I was happy with the way things went between me and him.

Months went by and Jayden's actions toward me changed. His acts of professing his love for me stopped and he was always disgusted by my presence. I thought I could live with him like that; not until I found out he had been sleeping with my handmaid, Vanessa.

I confronted him and he admitted it to my face. I was shocked and hurt. I asked him why. Why did he choose a maid over me? His response was hurtful. I will never forget what he said to me that day.

'You're too weak, Ava,' he had said to me without a hint of remorse. I was hurt to the core by those words. I knew I was weak and it wasn't my fault. I was a late wolf bloomer and he knew that. Although the main ages for someone to get their wolf were fifteen to eighteen with late bloomers ranging from nineteen to twenty-two, I still had hope I was going to get mine. But I guess he wanted something more... someone more.

I still loved Jayden and I tried fighting for that love but all of my efforts were to no avail. During the mating night, the time when we find our mates. A wolf's happiest day of their lives. I attended, hoping that even without my mate, someone would look at me and say, mate.

And someone did. It was Jayden, he had just become the alpha of the pack. I was his mate but he rejected me in public.

He then kicked me out of the pack. My life has been a living hell ever since.

Here I am, two years after. I'm a twenty-three-year-old wolfless werewolf and an outcast, roaming around for scraps to feed on.

The supernatural world wasn't one to pay heed to outcasts like me so I was thrown to the side. Faeries ignored me, vampires disregarded me, and even the ugliest creatures of all, the goblins, treated me like trash. From a Luna to an outcast, from grace to grass, that's my story.

I walked down the street with my trusty backpack hung on my shoulders. In it were items I could use to defend against attackers. The supernatural world was a very dangerous place so my backpack never left my side.

I passed by an old man, probably an ogre, who lay on the side bench. He had newspapers covering his body but it did nothing to warm his shivering body. I had two blankets with me, which I had stolen of course, and I could have given one to him if not for my last experience with a homeless ogre. The dude had almost stolen my backpack from me when I stopped to help him. I decided to learn my lesson and not let that incident repeat itself so I just walked past him.

I suddenly heard a movement behind me and I turned. I didn't see anyone but I also didn't see the old ogre on the bench anymore. I immediately knew something was wrong so I immediately unhung my backpack and began to run.

As I ran, I heard footsteps following me and they sounded close. I turned back but didn't see anybody. It was then I realized who was chasing me... VAMPIRES.

I zipped my backpack open and began rummaging through it, still running.

"Where is it? Where is it? Where is it?" I muttered as my fingers went through the items in the bag, searching for a familiar object. My eyes lit open as my hand found the object I was looking for; my gun flare.

I immediately pulled it out and shot it in the air. The flare flew into the air and exploded with an intensely bright red light, releasing red stars and flooding my environment with light. It was then I saw them.

Red eyes with long sharp fangs and claws. They hissed and snarled as they ran and they were getting closer. I immediately dug my hand into my bag again, using the bright light from the flare to see. I found a handheld flat and I hurriedly brought it out and lit it.

Vampires aren't affected by bright lights but they are sure scared of it. The vampires stopped running and stood at a distance, snarling at me.

"Fucking get back," I screamed as I waved the flare at them. I knew it was going to die soon so I went through my backpack for my handgun. I took my attention off them for a second to look for the gun properly when one of them jumped on me, knocking the flare from my hand.

It was the old man from the bench

He snarled and tried biting me but I pushed him off to the side. I then picked up my backpack and flung it at his head. It succeeded in knocking him out but my bag contents got spilled in the process.

The other vampires seeing I no longer held my flare, rushed at me. I looked to my right and saw my gun beside me. I then picked it up and shot it in the air, scaring the vampires away. If there was one thing vampires were scared of, it was guns with silver bullets.

I heard groanings coming from my right and I turned to see the old man trying to get up on his feet. I snarled and rushed to him before he could get up.

"Why did you guys attack me?" I growled as I placed my foot on his chest. He struggled to get up but I held him down firmly. I pointed my gun at his head and said, "I'm gonna ask you this one more time, old man. Why did you guys attack me? You have always ignored me, why the change?"

The man looked at me and began to laugh. I was about to scream at him to stop when he suddenly stopped. He then grinned widely and whispered, "They're coming for you." Immediately he finished speaking, he began convulsing, and before long. His eyes rolled backward and he breathed his last.

I looked at him in fear. He was... dead. I packed my things and put them back into my backpack before running out of there. As I ran, the old man's last words rang in my head.

'They're coming for you.'

Who was coming for me?

Xaviers POV

"Thank you, Cheng," I said as I smiled and shook Alpha Chengs' hand. "I do hope you'll visit us next time."

"Sure, sure," Cheng said as he smirked. "I will come over whenever I'm visiting Carson."

I knew Alpha Chengs' smile was not genuine and he knew mine wasn't either. We were only allies because of what our packs could offer each other. Spices from their end and of course, diamonds from ours. Our pack wasn't called the Crescent pack for nothing.

I gave Alpha Chengs one last shake before hopping onto my horse. "Till we see again, Alpha Cheng," I said and Cheng nodded with a big smile on his face. "Hyaa," I shouted as I kicked my horse's side. The horse neighed and began running towards their pack compounds gate. The guards at the gates opened the gates for us and I rode out.

"How did everything go, Alpha Xavier," Marcus, my beta, said as he approached me with my guards following him behind. He and my guards had been disallowed from entering into the gates as was their custom.

"We just exchanged pleasantries, Marc. Nothing else," I replied as I slowed down my horse to Marcus' own pace.

Marcus laughed and said, "That old man chap thinks he's supposed to be revered."

"I don't care what he does nor do I care how he feels or wants to be addressed. I just came to make sure our relationship has not been severed," I said.

"That reminds me," Marcus exclaimed. "Did the old chap tell you why we have not received any spices for the last two months?"

"Yes he did," I replied. "He said they had been low on production since last month. But he promised to get back on track this month."

"I hope for his sake that he does," Marcus muttered and I chuckled.

"Always looking for a fight, eh?"

Marcus smiled and replied, "You know me too well, my alpha."

We rode for some minutes in silence as the day began to dawn. The night was soon to come and I knew the streets were going to get more dangerous to live on. But my instincts were telling me to go alone. I called out to my wolf but he was silent.

"Marcus," I called and my beta turned to me.

"Yes, Alpha," he responded.

"I need you guys to go to the pack house without me," I said and Marcus looked at me like I had gone mad.

"I know you're a skilled fighter, sir, but you going without protection by this time of the night is uncalled for," Marcus said and I nodded.

"I know and I am telling you to do as I say," I said with finality. Marcus knew not to argue with me so he just nodded. "If I ever need you I can just mind-link you. But I don't think I'll need to do that." I jumped down from my horse and gave the reins to Marcus.

"Alright then, sir," Marcus said as he grabbed the reins. "We'll see you at the pack house." I nodded and Marcus and my bodyguards began their march to the pack house.

"I don't know why you're telling me to walk alone, Aura, but I hope it's for a good reason," I muttered to my wolf as I watched them go. Aura still didn't reply to me so I just sighed and began my slow trek to the pack house.

The moon was out, lighting my path as I walked. There was no one in the streets and I found it not normal. The street I was in was usually very lively at night so I found it odd that there wasn't anybody. I shot out my claws and kept my senses heightened in case there were going to be any funny play.

I walked for over forty minutes but didn't find anything strange. I was almost close to my pack house now and I was beginning to doubt my wolf.

"Aura," I muttered in frustration. "I do not know why you told me to take this walk. I can't seem to find anything apart from dark plains"

Suddenly, I saw a flash of red bright light and I knew it was most definitely not the moon. It was a flare. I suddenly heard snarls and hisses and I knew immediately what caused them.

"Vampires," I muttered as I ran toward where I had seen the light come from. I shot out my claws and growled. Vampires were known to be crafty and dangerous creatures and I knew those snarls and hisses were them attacking someone. I sniffed the air as I ran and found out their victim was a werewolf. I immediately increased my pace praying I was not too late.

I paused as I heard a loud gunshot. I heard loud footsteps with snarling and hissing coming my way. It was the vampires.

I stood in a fighting stance, waiting for them as they ran toward me. I expected them to claw at me and try to bite me but they just ran past me. They had the look of fear in their eyes. They weren't running to attack me, they were running from something. Something that scared the hell out of them.

I walked towards where the gunshot was fired and saw a girl standing over an old vampire with a gun pointed at him. I looked at her keenly as I sniffed her scent and I immediately found out that she was the werewolf I had sniffed out earlier. Why was she holding a gun though? I hated guns as they were a sign of primitivity. Only cunning creatures like ogres and goblins used guns and I hated them for it.

I was about to interfere when the vampire suddenly began to shake violently. The girl looked scared as the old man suddenly stopped moving. Did she just kill the man without even touching him? What kind of power was that?

The girl immediately picked up the things scattered on the floor and shoved them into a backpack she was carrying. After gathering them, she turned and ran. It was as she ran that my wolf spoke to me.

"Your mate," Aura whispered.