So sorry, guys... I keep forgetting to post on Wednesdays... I will try harder to post on that day!

-M12

4

Emma

"Okay, let's try this again..." I took a deep breath and entered the school with my group. Let's see if I can go the entire second day of school without incident. More specifically, Soran. I need to reject him, like, as soon as possible. But how can I do that if he's just gonna keep me from doing that? I can't just say, "I reject you!" I have to say my name and his name in one go, otherwise it won't work. I wonder if Gaven and Kester will help hold him back as I reject him? I could always ask.

"I have a thought." I said aloud as I glanced between the two boys.

They each raised an eyebrow. "That's dangerous... OW!" I smack each of their heads in turn.

"It's about me rejecting Soran." I clarified. "I can't be with him. He'd only hurt me. I want to avoid all this before it gets nasty."

"But are you sure it would work?" Gaven asked. "I mean, he is a- a, um, person of power. I don't think he'd take too kindly to that."

I shrugged. "He'll just have to deal with it. I don't want to be with him. I want nothing to do with him. He can always find someone else to be with. He already went with at least five girls after he found out about me!"

"Ten,"

"My point exactly," I gestured to Kester. "He doesn't really want to be with me. He'll only use me then dump me. I'd rather find a guy who will treat me right than treat me as if I'm just another tissue."

"So," We sat down at our table for breakfast. "Gaven, Kester, I need your help. During lunch today, I need you to hold Soran back so I can reject him properly."

The two boys glanced between each other, then bolted from the table, their chairs falling over and resonating through the cafeteria.

"You bastards!" I shouted at them as they went out of sight. I waited two more seconds before giving my bag to Linda then racing after the two, quickly gaining on them.

"She's gaining on us!" Kester whimpered as the two of them pushed themselves harder. "I'm too young and good looking to die!"

I reached my hands out and grabbed a part of their bags, planted my heels into the floor, and guided them so they were trapped against a wall. They coward back as I placed my hands on my hips.

"Care to explain what that was?" I asked as I tapped my foot.

"Emma, listen to me," I focused on Gaven. "He's an Alpha, meaning he will do everything in his power to make sure you are with him. He will hurt, or even kill, whoever is in his path to you. He will go on a rampage just to get you. He will stop at nothing to make you his. Please believe me, Emma. Remember those tales we heard from our parents that happened before we were born?"

I thought for a moment, remembering them. "Yeah..."

"It's the same thing with him," Gaven explained. "Only it's much stronger with him. I don't know why, and I don't want to find out. Just please trust me when I say I don't want to get in his way, even if I'm going to be an Alpha myself one of these days."

"But you're my Alpha," I said softly. "I don't want to be with him. He's not who I want to be with. I want to be with you and all my friends in our pack. What are you going to do when you become Alpha and I'm not there? You can't count on my brother; he hasn't even had his first shift yet! I need to be here for you guys. Not with Soran."

"I understand, Emma." Gaven stepped away from the wall. "Kester and I both do. You're an important part of this pack. But now you're even more important in another."

I could feel tears pricking at my eyes. "No... I can't do it. I can't be with him!"

"Emma," I looked to Kester. "Just please calm down. We need to think rationally about this. Why don't we get ready for class, calm down and cool down, and talk more about this during lunch, alright?"

I took a deep, slow breath, then let it out. "Alright. I'll see you guys later." I turned away from them and walked back to our table so I could grab my things. Just as I got there, the bell rang to end breakfast. I scooped my bag up then headed for class.

Soran was already seated, and he was next to where I was the day before. I glanced up at the board and saw we had assigned seats. I searched for my name, only to find it in the same place I was before, which is now right next to Soran...

I sighed to myself and went to take my seat. I completely ignored him and pulled my things out for the class. I could feel him boring holes into the side of my head. I snuck a quick glance at him to see that was looking no where but me. I looked back to my stack of papers before me and sighed once more, hoping the day would pass by quickly.

"I need to speak with you during lunch." He suddenly said.

I looked up at him. "I'm busy during lunch. I have to speak with a couple members of my pack."

"A mate comes before the pack." He stated firmly.

I snorted and shook my head, grabbing a pencil. "I haven't acknowledged you as my mate." He growled low in his throat, but didn't say anything more as the bell to start class rang.

As I had hoped, class went by fast, as well as the others. I begged that lunch would go by slowly so I could talk with Gaven and Kester for as long as possible.

The three of us met at the table, went to grab lunch, then found a hall where no one was sitting.

Gaven spoke first. "As we know, Emma is Soran's mate."

"I haven't accepted that." I cut in. Which resulted in a glare.

"As I was saying," He cleared his throat. "Emma is mated to the soon to be Alpha, Soran. Meaning that eventually, if she accepts the Connection-"

"Which I won't."

"-She will have to move in with his pack and become their Luna." He finished as if I had never spoken.

I slowly shook my head. "Gaven, I can't do that. This place is my home. I don't know what I'd do without my partners in crime."

"Mature? OW!" Gaven and I both smacked him.

"I've never been anywhere else..." I looked into my tray of food, no longer hungry. "These four packs in Oregon have been my only homes. They're the only places I want to be. If I leave... i-if I leave... what if I don't come back?" I slowly lifted my head to see the sympathetic gazes they were giving me slowly turn into panic.

"Emma, don't cry!" Kester nearly dropped his food trying to get to me.

"Cry?" I touched under my eye and came away with water. "Oh God, I'm crying... Guys, I never cry..."

"You really don't want to do this, do you?" Kester asked and I looked away, whispering, "No."

It was silent for a few moments before Gaven spoke. "Alright, we'll see what we can do. It won't be easy, since he's an Alpha, but we will do everything possible to help you reject him. I don't like seeing you hurting, Ems."

I sniffed and wiped my tears away. "Thank you; both of you." We ate the rest of our lunch in silence, not a word was said between us, be it spoken or through the mind link. It was nice listening to the distance sounds of the rest of the student body in the cafeteria.

~~~~

Holy shit, I'm so nervous... I paced the track beside the football field, my anxiety rising. What if he doesn't come? What if he's with another girl? I pushed my jealousy away and shook my head. Of course he'll come. He's getting a chance to be near me.

I thought back to fifth hour, the last class I have with him. I had passed him a note, saying I wanted to meet him at the football field alone at three-thirty. His eyes had an odd gleam to them as he gave me a firm, almost triumphant looking nod.

I glanced at my phone. Three-twenty-four. I swallowed back my nerves and resumed pacing. School got out at three. That's plenty of time for him to knock up several girls before coming to see me. I shook my head and sighed, slowly coming to a stop.

"Have you been doing this the entire time?" I gasped and spun around, seeing Soran walk over from leaning against the fence.

"H-how long have you been there?" I asked.

He shrugged. "I don't know, since about ten minutes after three? I wanted to approach you earlier, but you said three-thirty."

I bit my cheek. He'd been watching me... He could have at least said something! "Nice of you to let me know..." I mumbled as I looked away.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" He asked as he stopped right before me.

I took a couple steps back. "I wanted to talk about, well... us." I met his gaze.

His eyes had a very hopeful look to them. "Yes?"

"Well..." I glanced up and saw Kester and Gaven slowly moving in. "It's just... Okay, I'll just come right out with it. From what I've seen, you get around. A lot. How many?"

He slowly looked away from me. "I've actually lost count... But that doesn't matter. What does matter is that I finally found you and I can take you back to my pack." Just as he was about to say more, Gaven and Kester jumped him and used all of their strength to hold him. "The hell? Get off me!"

I dropped my act. "You seriously think I'd ask you to come out here to confess? Your hopes are too high! I don't want to be with you, Soran. I don't like you! So, now that you're a bit occupied, I can reject you."

"No," His eyes turned pitch black and he began to try and throw both of them off him, growling and snarling the entire time. "No! I won't allow this! Let go! Get the fuck off me! Emma, no!"

"I, Emma Kutcher, reject you, So-" I gasped when two guys came out of no where and tackled Kester and Gaven. All five of them fell to the ground, more snarls ringing in the air.

"No! Stop it!" They all fought against each other, Gaven and Kester working to keep Soran from me, and Soran and his men fought to get to me and keep the guys away. "Guys, stop it! Stop! I said stop! Damn it, enough! STOP!" I suddenly cried out in pain and stumbled back from the fight. Okay, so maybe trying to jump in and break them up was a bad idea...

"Emma!"

"Don't touch me!" I snapped as I cradled my arm to my chest. "Don't touch me! Don't come near me! Don't look at me!" I spun from the guys and took off running. Blood began to pool on my shirt. I know it will heal soon, but it still hurts!

I don't know how long I'd been running, but when I finally stopped, I was standing before a pack house. I took a deep breath, knowing I was going to be in a lot of trouble. But I don't care. I walked up to the door and used my elbow to ring the doorbell.

The door opened a few moments later. "Oh, Emma." Jack blinked, shocked to see me standing there. "Not that I don't like seeing you here, but why are you here? I thought you were- what the hell happened to your arm!?"

"No time to explain." I pushed past him. "I need to speak to Vicca. Where is she?"

"I-in her office..." I raced up the stairs, trying hard not to fall.

It took no time for me to find her office. I didn't bother with knocking. "Vicca..."

She looked up from her desk. "Emma, what- your arm!" She leaped up from her desk and rushed over to me, gently taking my arm. "What happened?"

"My mate... he..." I swallowed hard as I stared at the angry red marks that were still trying to heal. "I tried to reject him. Gaven and Kester were supposed to hold him back so I could... But his men... they came and..."

"Your mate did this to you?!" She gasped, her eyes popping wide.

I quickly shook my head. "No, he didn't. One of his men did. I tried to break up the fight, but I ended up getting clawed. Real stupid of me..."

"Yes, it was." She gently took me to one of the infirmaries. A doctor was waiting for us. "Claw wound. Just a cleaning and standard dressing." He nodded and got the materials out.

"Now, why were you trying to reject him?" She asked as the doctor began cleaning the wound.

I hissed at the sting of the alcohol. "Vicca, he's a major player. Within the first day of finding out that I was his mate, he banged up ten women from school, maybe more now. I'm not even sure he wants to be with me. He acts it, but then he does this! Vicca, I don't want this in my life! I don't want to be hurt over and over because of him! I want to reject him so bad, and I've only known him two days!"

"Sh..." She quickly calmed me down. "Settle down, Em. Getting worked up won't solve this. We need to take this slowly. How do you feel about him?"

"I hate him!"

"Emma-"

"I do!" I spoke over her. "He's supposed to stay loyal to me, but instead he's running around with other women! What am I supposed to do if one of his old flings comes back, or is in the pack house, and she wants more?! I'm afraid he'll do it, even with me there! Vicca, I don't know what to do!" For the second time in one day, I cried. This is a new record... I don't like it.

Vicca brought me in to a tight embrace once the doctor finished dressing the wound and left. "We'll figure this out, Emma. I swear. I know you're grounded, but I'll let your parents know that you are allowed to come to me if you're having problems. And don't forget to tell them what's going on."

I sniffed and wiped at my eyes. "I won't."

"Good," She stood me up off the bed. "That should be healed within a couple hours. Now, let's get you home." I nodded and followed her out of the pack house to her car. She drove me back to my home, making the trip longer than it should, which I liked.

When we did arrive at my place, I took a deep breath and began to get out of the car.

"Emma?"

"Hm?" I faced Vicca again.

She bit at her lip. "Listen to your parents, okay?"

"I will." That's odd... What could she mean by that? I got out of the car and made my way to the door. I found my bag outside on one of the patio chairs. I picked it up and went inside.

"I'm home-"

"Emma!" And now I'm being crushed by my mom... "Where the hell have you been?! I've been worried sick! Your father and half the warriors went out to search for you! Why didn't you answer your father when he contacted you through the link?! And what happened to your arm?!"

I took a deep breath and slowly pulled from my mom's grip. "Let's sit down, mom. I have a lot to tell you." We sat on the couch and I told her everything that's happened so far. I told her every single little detail, leaving nothing out.

She listened closely, not once interrupting me. It felt nice to talk and not have someone cut in with their thoughts and opinions. I love listeners. A bonus is that they know exactly what to say once the person speaking is done talking.

When I did finish speaking, mom brought me in to a light embrace and let me cry on her shoulders. Okay, this is enough crying for one year.

"We'll discuss this more when your father gets home." She said softly as she stood me up. "Get upstairs and get cleaned up. I'll call you down when he gets home." She helped me to the stairs and I went up alone. I stopped in the bathroom, got my robe out of the basket, then got my shower ready.

As the water warmed, I took off the gauze to see how my wound was healing. It's still raw and jagged, like it was just starting to hit the worst part of the scab stage, and is very tender. I sighed through my nose, got undressed, then stepped in to the water. I hissed in pain as the water washed over my arm, but it soon became bearable as the water washed away the dried blood around the edges.

After I was cleaned up, I stepped out of the shower, dried off, and put my robe on. I grabbed some ace bandages and went down to have my mom help me get my arm wrapped. She wrapped it very carefully and gently, softly talking to me.

Once it was wrapped again, I went to my room to slip on my pajamas to be comfy.

"Emma!" I got out of bed to see what my mom needed.

"Yes?" I stepped into the front room to see my mom holding my bag.

"Kester brought your school bag." She handed it to me. "He wanted to make sure you were okay."

"Is he still out there?" She nodded. I took my bag, set it down, then went out the door.

He was on his feet instantly. "Are you alright? What happened? I didn't see who got you!"

I rolled my eyes and had him sit on the porch. "Kester, I'm alright. I ran to Vicca's place and she bandaged me up. One of Soran's men got me. It wasn't deep; just hurt like hell."

"Let me see." He reached for my arm.

I pulled it back. "No! I just got it wrapped again! Leave it be!"

He slowly shook his head. "You do realize it'll heal within an hour, right?"

I narrowed my eyes at him. "You do realize we're half human, right? It takes us a bit longer to heal."

"Oh..." He looked away. "I almost forgot about that... OW!" I had smacked his arm.

"What was that for?" He whined as he rubbed the sore spot.

"Just wanted to." I said as I leaned back in the porch chair. "Kester, why is this happening to me?"

"What?"

"I mean, why did I have to get Soran as a mate?" I asked as I met his eyes. "For the longest time, I wished it would be you because you understand me more than anyone. I know it sounds sappy... but it's the truth."

"I'm practically your cousin." He stated.

"Mom and Shelbie aren't related." I pointed out. "It would be accepted, I think."

"I guess..." He mumbled.

"Anyway, it won't happen." I sighed as I moved closer to him. He hesitated, but soon draped his arm over my shoulders. "You have a mate out there, and I have a jerk who doesn't know how to take 'no' for an answer..."

He chuckled. "You're right on that score. You shoulda seen him after you left, though. He was acting as if you had just died or something. He nearly lost it right then and there. His wolf was so close to surfacing, it took both of his men, and a few others, to bring him down and calm him down. Even then, he still looked about ready to break down."

I sighed softly. "Then why does he do what he does? If he acted like that, why isn't he trying to stay loyal to me? No doubt he's getting around again... Kester, I hate him, but it hurts thinking about that. Why? Why am I feeling this way?"

"You may not like the answer." He said softly. "Your heart and soul has already started to accept the Connection. It feels the pain of knowing that your mate isn't with you and is with others. I know you don't like this, but now it will hurt you if you reject him."

I groaned. "I hate this! I hate it so damn much! I don't want this, Kester! I don't! I don't want to go through the hurt and pain of all this shit! I want it to end!"

"I know..." He pulled me closer in a comforting way. "I know you do... I don't like seeing you this way. It makes me feel like I can't do anything to help you, and then I begin to feel useless, and then I start to hate myself, and-"

"Kester," I shut him up by placing my fingers over his mouth. "Don't..." Our eyes connected. My breathing suddenly hitched in my throat. He gently took my hand in his.

His head started moving towards me, his lips puckered slightly.

My eyes began to close as I leaned in...