As I watched the yard fill with people from every race, I saw that vampire guy from this morning enter with a group. After a few minutes, he went off by himself and stood leaning on a tree away from everyone. Before uncle and Aaron approached him and began a conversation. At one point, it looked like he had noticed me watching before getting distracted by the conversation and then suddenly looking uncomfortable. Before long, uncle and Aaron excused themselves and headed towards the stage. I kept watching the vampire and saw him pull out his phone and text someone quickly before returning to his relaxed pose against the tree as he tried to mask his worried expression. As I watched him, I had to admit to myself that he was indeed a very attractive man. It made me wonder if someone like that could love someone like me despite him being a vampire and me being a werewolf.
After a few minutes of thinking about that, my bedroom door opened and I saw Noah standing there.
“Come on buddy, time to face the music” he said with a cheeky grin.
“Yeah, yeah” I said with one last look at the lone vampire hottie then headed towards the door. I scolded myself for thinking he was hot as we walked. After a few minute, I noticed that Noah kept glancing at me.
“What?” I asked after a few minutes of him staring.
“Nothing. It's just I've never seen you display your birth mark like this before” he said rubbing the back of his head.
“Auntie told me to wear my shirt like this. I wondered if she had a reason for it but did as instructed” I shrugged as we reached the bottom of the stairs where the rest of the group was waiting for us.
“Okay you four, line up. I want Kingston in front, Taya, then Marty, and then Samuel” auntie said moving us into position.
“Good luck man. See you out there” Noah said before heading back outside and into the crowd. Auntie approached me after a few seconds and said “deep breaths and try to relax. I know you hate these things but it's tradition.”
“I know auntie and I'm trying” I said to her before she turned to leave and head to the stage. After I was sure she was gone I opened my link to Lucifer and said “I really don't wanna go through this. I don't wanna know who our mate is and be rejected.”
“I know King, but I have the feeling this will be good for us in the end. Just remember to have them meet us somewhere that isn't in the middle of everyone just in case we lose control” Luci said in a calming voice.
“I remember. I just hope they're willing to go through with that” I said just before I heard uncle say “lets welcome our celebrants. Everyone give them a round of applause” as the doors opened and we stepped out onto the stone path that led to the stage. As we walked, I couldn't help but feel someone watching me closely. Looking up, I noticed Aaron's eyes were locked on me but that wasn't the presence I was feeling. After a minute, I realized it must be the vampire I had been watching before. Once I was on stage, I casually looked around even though I knew where he was to confirm my suspicions. As my eyes passed him, I realized I was right. His eyes were locked on me. I was snapped back to paying attention when uncle began speaking again. After what felt like an hour he finally finished his speech saying “alright everyone, let's enjoy the party and hope these four young wolves find their mates tonight” gesturing to us causing everyone to clap then continued “we'll bring them back up just before midnight and hopefully they'll find them then.” Then we were dismissed to go eat and mingle. I didn't much feel like eating or talking so I went into the garden to just breath knowing that before long I would be alone again.
As an hour passed, I could sense that someone was looking for me and a few minutes later I knew who as Aaron rounded the hedge I was standing beside.
“Hey, what are you doing hiding from your own party?” he asked with a chuckle then added “typical King.”
“You know I'm no good with crowds. I could feel my control slipping so I decided to get away from everyone” I said with a shrug.
“Well, mom is looking for you, you better go find her before she looses her mind” he said before turning back the way he'd come.
“Yeah, I'll do that” I chuckled. As I left the garden to return to the party, I could feel Aaron following me and for some reason that made me uncomfortable even though I knew he was just heading back to his friends and Marisole. After a few minutes of searching, I found auntie talking to Noah, Carly, and some girl that smelled like a vampire.
“Auntie, Aaron said you were looking for me” I said moving to stand next to her and then said “hey Noah, hi Carly, hello...?”
“Oh King, this is Serenity. She's my step sister Genies' friend. She's also Remingtons' little sister” Carly said with a smile gesturing to the unknown girl.
“Ah okay. Wait, who is Remington again? Sorry, I don't know many of our classmates names” I said with a shy smile.
“Oh I forgot you're not all that social. He's the long haired guy that sits three seats behind you in first period” Carly said with a smile.
“Oh okay, I know who you mean” I said as shiver went down my spine again. “So his name is Remington” I thought “a hot name for a hot guy” and then distracted myself by listening to the rest of their conversation. Before too long, it was time for us to return to the stage and listen to another speech from my uncle. As he spoke I realized it was only the four of us and uncle on the stage just before I started smelling a combination of sandalwood and sawdust. Confused, I started scanning the crowd looking for what or who the scent belonged too until my eyes locked with Aarons which held a knowing and sad expression before Lucifer said “yeah, it is what you think. He is our mate.”
“Wait, then he's known we were his mate for an entire year and had already decided to reject us” I angrily said to Luci before opening a mind link with Aaron saying “meet me in the forest. We need to talk” before closing it again without a response. As the other wolves jumped off the stage holding everyones' attention, I stealthily left heading for the forest. After I was sure I was far enough away, I stopped and a minute later I heard footsteps behind me. Suddenly, he stopped and after a minute of uncomfortable silence, he said “you're right. I knew and never said because I wasn't sure what I was gonna do. After a time, I decided what to do not because I don't like you or hate you in anyway but because I want you to be happy and helping me run the pack isn't going to do that. So yes I, Aaron Thomas, reject you, Kingston Martin, as my mate and future Luna of the Crescent Moons pack.”
Falling to one knee with my back still to Aaron, I completed the ritual saying “I, Kingston Martin, accept your rejection, Aaron Thomas” which made me hit the ground on all fours before Lucifer forced a shift and took control. A few seconds after the shift was complete and after catching our breath, I heard Lucifer say to Aaron “thank you for considering our condition in your decision though you may want to run now as I cannot hold back our power for much longer.” And with those words Aaron turned and left. Once we were sure he was a safe distance away, Lucifer released a pain filled howl and let slip our control. Within seconds, the ground around us was frozen along with some of the nearby trees before we collapsed and curled ourself into a ball. Not long after that, I could hear voices as people undoubtedly heard our howl but no one knew where we were. So, before they had the chance to find us, I uncurled our body and made a run towards the lake. When we were sure we were safely away, we stopped and once again curled into a ball to deal with our pain. I don't know how much time had passed before we fell asleep but I woke to someone touching my fur. Sniffing but not moving, I recognized the scent of lemongrass and cedar that belonged to that vampire, Remington was his name I think. After a minute of him stroking my fur, I asked “what do you want?”
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