Listen to Sad Song by We The Kings.
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Chapter Eight: Finding My Mate
Austin's P.O.V
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RECAP
"I'll go pick up your little brother in a little bit, for now you need to rest. Tomorrow you'll go to school one last time, come back here, gather your's and your brother's things, and we'll be on our way. Okay?"
He lazily nodded and let his eyes flutter closed.
With a fond smile, I kissed his forehead once again and tucked him and the pup in before walking towards the door.
I glanced back at his sleeping figure, and with a sigh, quietly left the room to go pick up his brother.
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I groaned in pain as I lay on the cold hardwood floor.
I tried to sit up, but groaned in pain when I fell back down, my fingers slipped in my own blood.
Pain.
That's all I felt as I lay in an empty room. I had gone to school like Jace told me I should, but now I was severely regretting it.
I was once again cornered by Marisol, but this time she was with more of her followers.
Rebecca and Ambria Rose, also known as 'The Terrible Twins'.
They do anything she tells them to do out of fear of their secret getting out, via Marisol.
You see, the twins are lesbians, and they're mates.
They're okay with it, but they don't want to tell the pack yet. Most of the pack are stuck in the traditional times, the whole lesbian thing was frowned upon.
How do I know this?
The twins and I used to be the best of friends when we were toddlers, but that changed when Marisol told them what happened with my mom.
They hadn't thought much about it, but one day Marisol walked in on them kissing.
Ever since then they've forced themselves to obey her. No matter how much I wanted to believe they weren't doing it because they wanted to, but out of force.
I just couldn't believe that anymore.
Whether they admitted it or not, you always have a choice for the decisions you make. Someone can make you do something, yes, but it's your choice of how far you want to take it....
Moving on to the situation at hand.
They'd dragged me into an empty class room sometime around second period, beat me up while Marisol watched, and then left me here to wallow in my own blood.
After a few minutes of more struggling, I'd finally had enough strength to stand.
Not counting my wobbling knees and throbbing stomach, I actually wasn't hurt that bad.
I carefully limped to the door and slowly pushed it open.
I peeked out of the side before stepping out of the room and into the hallway. I glanced down the hallway to the right and saw Marisol and others walking towards me.
I turned and ran, only to be stopped seconds later by someone's body.
I groaned as my face made contact with said person's torso. Sparks shot through me as we made contact, but my euphoria was ended when the person threw me to the ground.
I whimpered in pain as my head made contact with the concrete floor.
I felt the back my head, quickly pulling my hand away when a hissing pain shot throughout my head.
I looked at my fingers to see the this coated in my blood.
Great, not only was my body bleeding, but now my head too? Could this situation get any worse?
I looked up and gulped.
Spencer Austin Smith, the soon to be Alpha, is who I'd just bumped into.
He gave me the sparks only mates were supposed to have, which means.
"You're my mate?" I asked, slightly excited, and a bit surprised.
He cleared his throat and gave me a stern look, "should I do this now?"
I cocked my head to the side in confusion, do what now?
"I Spencer Austin Smith...."
I shook my head no as he spoke. This can't be happening, he can't reject me. He ignored me and continued his speech.
I faintly heard the bell ring and students began to pour out of the nearby classrooms.
They began to gather around to witness what was about to happen. Some even had their phones and cameras out to record the whole thing.
"....Soon to be alpha of the Silver Bear Tribe, reject you, Austin Justine Stephens, as my mate and soon to be Luna of this pack. I relieve you of all your duties as 'Luna'."
My wolf howled in pain before retreating into the recesses of my mind, leaving behind a trail of dark sadness.
I heard a couple gasps, and a few laughs after he'd finished the rejection. I slowly stood from my position on the floor and kept my head down.
Tears were streaming down my face as I stared down at the floor, avoiding eye contact with everyone. Shame and humiliation rolled through me.
How could I have actually believed that he'd want me?
I didn't have to see his face to know what I would see in his eyes. I didn't have to look because I could feel it, the disgust poured off of him in waves.
I slowly turned away from him and walked towards the edge of the crowd. Surprisingly people parted for me. No one made a fuss or insulted me, they just stared on, some in amusement, some in pity.
I glanced back once more, only to have myself involuntarily cry harder.
"I, Austin Justine Stephens, accept your, Spencer Austin Smith's, rejection as your mate and soon to be Luna of your pack."
There were gasps, no one expected me to accept the rejection, let alone not make a scene before leaving.
Just before I ran out of the building of disgusted and pity filled glances, I saw a hint of surprise and regret in Spencer's eyes.
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I ran all the way back to Jared's room, not leaving until I'd packed all his favorite clothes and things.
I went back down to my room and gathered my things. I stuffed my stuff in a medium sized suitcase with my little brother's things before zipping it closed.
Other than clothes & shoes, make-up essentials & bathroom supplies, and a few of our stuffed animals, my brother could carry with him.
His favorite blanket & his blue gameboy, and my iPod would be easy to carry, so there was nothing to worry about on the matter of entertainment.
I stared down at my hands for a while, I had long since taken care of my injuries, but I hadn't yet washed the blood from my hands.
It was already dry, and was beginning to crack.
Sighing, I took out a tiny pencil and a ripped piece of paper. I wrote a short letter to my father and told him what I'd been too scared to say to him person.
It's not like he'd ever understand how I feel and have felt in the past, it felt great to put it all down on paper. I folded the note and crept towards his room upstairs on the second floor.
I slipped it under his door, knowing he'd find it when he woke up from his afternoon nap and went down to the kitchen for a snack.
With one last glance at my room, I made my way to Jace's room.
I stepped in and shut the door. I set the suitcase by the door before walking over to the bathroom.
I lathered my hands up with soap and washed them until the water stopped running red.
Staring at myself in the mirror, I analyzed what I saw.
A broken boy with cuts, bruises, and scars pattering across my face. I didn't see anything special, nothing important.
Tears gathered in my eyes as I shut the light off and left the bathroom and my dirty reflection behind.
I stumbled over to the bed and collapsed onto it in a heap of tears.
Burying my face in a nearby pillow, I flinched when I felt Dean curl up next to me.
That's what I'd decided to call the pup, Dean. It suit him well considering he had brown and black fur, and big brown eyes.
I cuddled with him, taking in the comfort he gave me without even knowing he was doing anything for me.
I cried and cried and cried.
I thought I'd ran out of tears years ago. Now look at me, a sobbing mess with nothing to live for anymore.
My own mate had rejected me.
If your mate can't love you, who's to say anyone else ever will?
This thought only made me cry harder. Everyone I had ever loved has left me....my mate, my mother & father, my best friends, even Thelma.
Nothing has gone right for me and I don't even know why. It must have been something that I'd done, something I couldn't remember doing for them to treat me this way.
I continued to sob for what seemed like hours until the pain allowed me to drift into a not so peaceful sleep.
A soft feathery touch on my cheek is what woke me.
I groaned as my eyes refused to open the first couple times I tried to open them. I brought my hand up and rubbed the crust from my eyes.
Stretching, I yawned and squinted to find Jace sitting beside me on the bed. I smiled at him.
"Good morning." My voice sounded gruff, causing him to chuckle and smile back at me.
"Morning sleepyhead. You looked so peaceful, I just didn't have the heart to wake you up," He lifted me onto his lap and held me close.
It was comforting to say the least, after the day I had i could use a bit of cuddling. One day is all I ask, but that seems too hard for the world to give me. Right now was perfect, if only this moment could last forever, but of course nothing lasts forever.
"What are you doing here Tiny? Aren't you supposed to be in last period right about now?"
I went to answer him as the memories came flooding back, the feelings.
The rejection, humiliation, shame, disgust, everything I'd always felt for my entire life, but amplified by a thousand. Not only did my pack feel all these things about me, but so did my mate. How do you think that's supposed to make me feel?
I was in too much pain to answer him, and for once in my life, I was voluntarily left speechless. I opened my mouth to try to respond with something, but nothing came out, nothing but a barely audible pained gasp.
Tears once again gathered in my eyes as I stared at him.
"Hey, don't cry, please don' cry baby." Jace mumbled, snaking his arms tighter around me.
I cried into his chest, gripping onto the front of his shirt like my life depended on it....it probably did.
He rubbed my back and just let me cry. He was stroking my hair his free hand and murmuring sweet, soothing things into my ear. It was a great help honestly, I don't know how he can stand to be near me.
It is generally understood that if your mate rejects you, then there must be something wrong with you. There has to be, why else would the person you were made for not want you? It had to be the rejectee's fault right?
At least, that's what I think. After all, a rejection didn't happen often, but when it did it was taken into close consideration....depending on the mates.
Since I'm the omega, no one batted their fake gooey lashes in my direction, it was simply my fault.
Once I'd settled down, and the waterworks dimmed down, he pulled back and looked at me with concern. He softly caressed my cheek with his knuckles before asking me the question I really didn't want to have to answer.
"What happened today, baby?"
I took a deep breath through my nose, gathering my thoughts, before tightly closing my eyes and beginning my story.
"I-I got beat up t-today....a-and I-I f-found my m-mate right a-after it h-happened." I stuttered out.
His face contorted with anger for the first few seconds, before morphing into sadness.
"I wish I had been there to protect you, I should've let you stay here instead of going to school. I had some pack business to take care of, which, now that I think about it, wasn't all that important compared to you. I am so very sorry, I have failed, but today is the day we leave. I can promise you, with all my heart, they will never hurt you again. Understand?"
I nodded and nuzzled my face into his neck, relishing his delicious scent.
After a brief period of silence, Jace took a big gulp and spoke again. His voice sounded shaky, his hands shook as he curled them into fists, and he began to loosen his hold on me.
"So, um....you found your mate."
His body entirely stiffened as he stated this, making it hard for me to stay in his lap.
I looked up at his face, noticing the his no, very different features, than from what they were a few minutes ago.
I took into account how there was a slight twitch on his forehead, an over-active pulsing at the corner of his left eye, and his jaw was clenched. I'm surprised none of his teeth had cracked yet.
"Y-yeah." I whispered, unsure of where he was going with this.
"You don't very excited, or happy about that, why not? I mean," he paused to clear his throat and began again, "are you....are you going to bring him or her with you?" He grated out through his still clenched teeth.
His lips were pursed, and he seemed pained by the thought of my mate leaving with us.
"N-no."
His head snapped in my direction so fast I'm surprised he didn't snap his neck or get whiplash right then.
"Why not?" Surprise coated his words as he stared down at me in confusion.
"H-he....r-rejected....m-me." I mumbled as silent tears dripped down my face.
Jace looked relieved for a minute, then that morphed into a look of guilt, and then settled on sorrow.
I would have been confused if this were any other time, but I was too distraught now to think anything of it.
"Oh, hun." He placed my head on his chest and gently rocked me back and forth.
I didn't cry this time, the only thing I could manage was a few whimpers of pain.
After a few minutes, Jace slowly pulled back. With determination in his eyes, he stared down at me.
"I promise you, for as long as I live, I will never let anyone hurt you like this ever again. I hate it when you cry, whimper, even when you frown, so I am making it my duty to always keep that pretty little smile of yours on your face."
I smiled at him, nodding my head as he spoke these beautiful words.
"Hun, you are already very dear to me, and I will never let anyone take you away from me."
"W-why?" I stuttered out, staring at the wall opposite us in confusion.
"Hmm?" He asked.
"W-why do you w-want to h-help m-me?" A blush coated my cheeks and I ducked my head as to avoid making eye contact with him.
"Because I see something in you....something I see in Dean too. You guys are special, and one day, maybe not soon, you will see it too. You're perfect just the way you are, omega or not, you're beautiful inside and out. If these people can't see what I see, then they're blinded by status, and they always will be. Just because everyone else can't see how amazing you are, doesn't mean that it's not true...."
His answer, made me smile.
If he didn't mean any of the words he didn't say, I wouldn't care, as long as he doesn't take them back.
Those simple, straightforward words lifted my spirits far beyond what a simple word should be able to do.
My heart swelled. I find it rather surprising that my heart is still intact after all that has happened, but I'm glad.
I'm so happy that I hadn't given up, that I'm still here despite the people telling me that I was worth nothing and never would be.
Despite the people telling me that I was useless and didn't deserve to live, there was still at least one person who thought different, and that meant more to me than anything in the world.
My stomach filled with butterflies, it was in that moment, that my heart skipped a beat and did somersaults through my blood vessels.
He made me feel the one thing I had wished for since the night they told me my mother died. He made feel the one thing I thought I'd never feel again....the thing I craved more than food and water.
Love.
He makes me feel loved.
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