Chapter 4

Three years later – Chris Reynolds, the 22-year-old Alpha of the silver moon pack, stood in front of the council, his gaze fixed on them. In the beginning, there were multiple werewolf packs in North America. However, after the horrific conflict, only 10 packs survived and came to an agreement. In order to bring about peace, they formed a council, which devised a peace accord and oversaw its implementation. It also had control over the mating of the Alphas in order to ensure that the packs received the most advantage from the mating. "Alpha Chris. Do you accept Grace Anderson of the Blue moon? Daughter of Alpha Frank Anderson, as your mate?" The grey council member asked. Chris bowed his head for a second, his wolf was still not ready, but he had little choice because the blue moon pack was an immensely powerful one. Aside from that, the land and business contracts that Frank had pledged in exchange for his daughter's hand in marriage would bring riches to the pack. Being made an Alpha at a tender age of 18 had messed up the pack's finances. He wasn't very good at managing the money and their restaurents and businesses in the city weren't doing very well. When Alpha Frank approached him to mate with his daughter, he agreed to it.  " What about our mate?" His wolf inquired. Rosalie had just celebrated her eighteenth birthday. He'd been seeing her in secret for the previous three years. As promised, they were not mated, but Chris's wolf was eager to claim her when he was unexpectedly summoned by the council and offered to mate with Grace Anderson, who graciously accepted the offer. "I accept," Chris stated aloud, indicating his agreement. The members of the council nodded in agreement. "Your marriage will be consummated with Grace Anderson in a week's time. On the night of a full moon. May the goddess Luna bless this union." **************** "What! Are you planning on mating with Grace Anderson? What about us?" They were standing near the waterfall when Rosalie yelled. They used to meet at this location, swim in the brook and go rabbit hunting. Chris had promised that he would claim her as his mate, and she had been waiting for that day. It never arrived. "I'm sorry, Rosalie, but I can't overrule the council's decision," he remarked sadly. "So you're rejecting me?" Rosalie enragedly inquired. " It's not like that, Rosalie; I am the Alpha. I must take care of my pack and make the best possible decision. Grace Anderson would be a good Luna." Without glancing at her, he said softly. "So, that is your opinion of me? I'm not good enough? Only an Omega." She screamed. "Rosalie, it's not like that... I have to think about the pack...Listen, I will fix everything." "Just stop it! Just put an end to it... You're no longer mine," she mumbled, "you're no longer mine......you have insulted our mate bond. I reject you, Chris Raynolds." Rosalie dashed into the woods as quickly as her legs would allow. She had heard that her mate's rejection was painful. But the sting of rejection stabbed her so deeply that all she could think about was getting away before collapsing in pain and crying herself into a mess. She dashed through the dimly illuminated expanse in the dark, only to realise too late that she had strayed too far into the woods. "Goddammit," she cursed in frustration, unable to even think of the anguish and humiliation that would involve her going back. A few more tear drops slid down her face and she struggled with her beast as it tried to exert control and take over her form. Various thoughts were rushing through her head, and she could barely think. But she knew she could not just walk away from the pack, her family. This was all she had. Rosalie slammed her fist into a tree, barely seeing how it bowed as a result of her assault. She finally relinquished control to the animal that had been clawing at her in misery, attempting to take over and ripping her body apart. Her white wolf had emerged from the woods, howling a forlorn howl into the air. When the animal approached the Pack's woods, her immediate inclination was to flee. She had assumed that allowing the wolf to take control would ease the pain that had tortured her body, but she was mistaken. With every snarl and subsequent whimper her wolf cried, she felt all the pain and rage of a wounded beast. 'He isn't interested in us!' The realisation that the one man who was destined to love her, the one man who was chosen for her, did not want her tore through her. She remembered the grief distorting the brilliance of his eyes. It was too much for her, and she tried to flee from the pain, but it swamped her, impaling her from every angle until she screamed in agony and the wolf stopped running to let out a heart-breaking pain-filled howl. Was the animal feeling the same loss she felt at Chris rejecting her so harshly? Did the wolf understand what it all meant? or was it the loss of the chance to mate that hurt the beast? 'We are his, but he has abandoned us,' she reflected. 'No, no, perhaps he doesn't realise what it really means...possibly he....' whispered her wolf. 'He considers us to be beneath him! He's turned us down!' the thought cut her off. She tried to reason her way through the fog of anguish in her head, but additional emotions pierced her; anger, despair, and loneliness all battled in her mind as she struggled to combat them. 'We should force him to mate! He's ours!' exclaimed her wolf. 'What?! No! That's not right...you can't do it, you can't do it!' She fought through the haze of emotions even as she felt her consciousness start to slip. Her control over the wolf diminished and it seemed to want to violate their pact, considering doing something as impractical as forcing a mating with the Alpha. Rosalie panicked as she felt the vestiges of insanity begin to crawl into her thoughts and she tried to wrest control back from the wolf in futility. She could not shift back to her human form and the wolf walked in circles, growling and snarling as it completely overwhelmed her senses. Something dark and empty started to engulf her, slowly corrupting her, and overwhelming every emotion she felt now. 'No, NO!' she tried to scream, still trying to take back control of her form, but she did not shift back. 'Please, please don't!' she sobbed in desperation before she lost all awareness.