The Rejected Elemental

Prologue

3 months earlier:

"You will not escape me, Mike!" I yelled as I chased him. Laughing, Mike dodged yet another hit from me without even looking back. Groaning in frustration, I tackled him again...or at least, attempted to.

What really happened was that he dodged me again and I just fell face-first onto the ground. Mike roared in laughter as I got up from the ground, red-faced, my face splattered with mud.

"Fine. Whatever." I scowled, dusting myself off and strutting away, my nose high up in the air haughtily.

"Just admit it," Mike came behind me. "I'm better than you."

He did NOT just say that.

"Bitch," I warned. "Hold your tongue."

My childhood best friend just cackled like a hyena as I gave him a regal wave of my hand and maintained a dignified silence.

Just then, Sam, Mike's younger brother, came running up to us. "Mummy told me to call you both for dinner," the seven-year-old informed us, and ran back up the pathway to Mike's house. Mike and I followed Sam back into his house, walking much more slowly up the garden path that led to the back door of the kitchen.

Sam settled down on a chair as Mike and I lingered in the hallways, chatting. The boys' mother,Tessie, was setting the table when we entered. She looked up and smiled at us as we entered. "Hello dears," she beamed as Mike and I washed our hands and sat down. "How does pot roast chicken sound?"

"MICHELE!" shouted my mother from the open window of our house.

I internally cringed. I hated my full name, it sounded like a grandma from the 90's. I preferred Mia, which everyone called me by. Mike called me Mitzy, too. I liked it.

"Come in here quick, it's important." My mom yelled again.

"Hold on a sec, Mom's calling," I told Mike and ran inside.

I went up to her and looked at her expectantly. Without looking at me, she walked away saying, "Get ready, we're going to the Alpha."

I sighed and headed upstairs to my room to change. I didn't make a big deal out of her cold, stand-offish behavior. Ever since I became a teenager my parents have become more distant with me. It's like I'm not even their daughter any more.

But going to the Alpha alone, that was a big deal. We only met the Alpha at pack meetings. My parents and I had never met him alone, personally. Meeting the Alpha alone, very often meant that you are either going to join the pack, or be kicked out.

I hope it's neither of them.

I didn't know our Alpha, Francis, properly. He just became Alpha a couple months ago, and till now he has not yet proved his worth or capability as a leader. From what I had heard, though, he was young and rash. Hasty decisions are never good.

I fixed my hair in the mirror, touched up my lip gloss, and smoothed out my clothes. My mother raised an eyebrow at me, but said nothing. Scowling at her back, I followed my parents out the door.

"Alpha Francis."

My parents and I murmured as we bowed before him respectfully. The Alpha inclined his head at us. He didn't seem to be older than twenty five. He had dirty blonde hair and red eyes typical of an Alpha that stared piercingly at me as I bowed my head.

I bit my lip to stop myself from asking him outright what was so interesting in creeping the hell out of people by staring them down.

His eyes and hair match horribly. Red and Blonde? Yuck.

I fidgeted uncomfortably under his cold stare. Finally, he looked away, to my parents. My father was the first to speak up. "Alpha, this is the daughter I was telling you about. Michele."

I tried not to glare as I glanced up at my father. Telling Alpha about me? What was going on?

A muscle moved in his jaw as he looked significantly at my mother, who nodded slightly at him.

Glancing at me, Alpha Francis casually propped his legs up on his coffee table and spoke up, "Ah, Michele. Yes, yes. How old is she?"

"Seventeen, Alpha Francis," my father said quietly, not minding the fact that Alpha was blatantly disrespecting us by putting his feet up. His face was hard and resolute, refusing to look at me as my eyes burned holes at the back of his head.

Alpha raised an eyebrow and cocked his head at me, his facial expressions showing disbelief, and slight disgust. I lowered my head shamefully, my cheeks burning in embarrassment.

Okay, I haven't had my transformation yet. Okay, I haven't heard my inner wolf yet. Okay, I'm a human, while all my friends have transformed at the age of sixteen. Did he have to look at me like that, as if I was something shameful, weird, something to be ridiculed within the pack?

Alpha scrutinized me carefully, and finally looked up at my parents. "You were right," he nodded his head towards my parents, who were wearing grimly satisfied expressions on their face.

"She must go."

I threw the last of my clothes into the tiny duffle bag, and zipped it shut. Throwing it into a corner, I ran out of my parents' house, desperate to bid a last farewell to Mike, Sam and Tessie.

Reaching their tiny cottage, I found the front door shut, and padlocked. I rushed up the kitchen backdor, nearly tripping on the garden path. Panting and skidding to a halt, I was extremely confused to find even this door locked. They always kept their doors open...

I went upto Mike's bedroom window, which was conveniently on the ground floor. I banged on the glass, making my best friend's face shoot up, a look of alarm on his features.

"Mia?" he asked, his brows furrowing. "Didn't you leave?"

"I didn't," I frowned at him. Why was he acting so cold? And why didn't he call me Mitzy, like usual?

"I.." he struggled with words, looking away from me. I immediately became cautious. Mike avoiding eye contact was never a good thing.

"Bye." He spoke quite tightly, looking anywhere but me. I stared at him. "Mike, what-"

"You're not one of us, Mia!" He yelled at me suddenly, his face angry and red as he glared at me."Your parents were right! You're no werewolf!"

I stared at him with wide eyes, shocked. The Mike I knew would never hurt me, or even raise his voice. This Mike was different, he was shouting, he was furious, and suddenly he didn't look like my friend anymore.

Tears welled up in my eyes; tears of fear and misery but even more so, tears of pure rage.

"You have no right to speak to me in this way," I said in a low, trembling voice. "Where's my best friend gone, huh? Where's the innocent boy who would play with my hair and sneak with me out of training? Where's the boy who told me never to be afraid, the boy who told me he'd always protect me? That Mike is gone! And so is Mitzy! I'll never come back, Mike, and don't bother to look for me again. You probably wouldn't anyway."

Something that looked like guilt entered his eyes, but I was too hurt by his harsh words to care. Wiping at my streaming eyes, I turned and walked away quickly, my head held up high even though I felt like breaking down.

Alpha Francis rejected me, my parents threw me away like an old toy, and Mike acted like our friendship meant nothing. I may have been thrown out of my pack, and I may be a rogue now, but I will come back one day. And that day, they'll regret they ever made me their enemy.