Josie POV

“We knew there were going to be attacks, Duncan. Josie’s story isn’t farfetched,” My mother, Estelle, said.

“I know it isn’t. My daughter doesn’t come up with wild stories!” He raved, pouring himself another glass of whiskey.

My parents, Estelle and Duncan Hart, were third in command. It was a prestigious title, and they held massive influence. Especially now, when the beta, who was second in command, lost his wife. He was vulnerable and was considering early retirement.

I kept replaying that moment in my mind. What if I hadn’t tackled the seventy-year-old Alpha General in front of dozens of important people? He could have dropped dead in the middle of the room.

General Braxton’s razor-sharp voice kept slicing my eardrums.

“What happens now?” I asked, my voice cracked.

My parents looked at me, unable to respond. We were sitting outside our home, in the backyard, trying to make sense of the night. This was not how I wanted tonight to go.

“What were you thinking, Josie?”

Shane burst out of the house with Ryan in tow. I ran a hand down my face. I didn’t have time for my older brother right now. In his eyes, I couldn’t do anything right. Sure, I made a mistake tonight by acting irrationally, but Braxton could be dead!

“I was doing my job,” I replied. I avoided his eyes.

“Is your job screwing everything up? You’re fucking good at it!” He roared.

“I know what I saw! Someone spiked his wine. General Braxton is from one of the biggest and most advanced packs in the country, so it makes sense that someone would want him dead!”

“Have you found the person Josie saw?” Dad asked.

“No, but we’re looking just to make sure she actually saw something. We’re wasting resources because of you!”

While Shane ranted, Ryan just stood there watching me. Did he think I was a nut, too?

“Fine, when you find him, bring him to me,” Dad ordered.

“What about Easton?” Ryan asked. “Shouldn’t he be doing the integration?”

Easton was the second in command. Easton naturally had more responsibility than my Dad.

“Easton didn’t even show up tonight. He’s not doing well.”

When a wolf lost its mate, it suffered unimaginable pain. Only truly strong wolves came out of it with their mind still intact. I looked at Ryan. He couldn’t look at me. We’ve been chosen mates for years. He was my first for so many things. My body was so cold it needed his touch to ease the anxiety ravaging me.

“You’re right,” Ryan said. “Alpha Rufus is on his way to talk about the incident.”

My parents shared another look. They casually walked back into the house as they spoke in hushed tones. Shane shook his head and marched through the back patio doors.

I blew out an exhausted breath.

“You’ve done it now, Josie,” Ryan said, his voice low yet venomous.

“Do you really think I would have done that without a reason?” I looked into his eyes for a split second until he turned away.

“Nothing happened! There was no intruder. You didn’t just embarrass Alpha Rufus, you embarrassed me too.”

My jaw dropped. “What?”

He clenched his jaw and snatched my arm. He dragged me off the beach chair and dragged me into the dark backyard.

“I made sure everyone who set foot in that party was verified. Do you want to make me look like I can’t do my job?”

“What? No, babe—”

He shut his eyes, threw his head back and exhaled. “I don’t know what to do with you?”

I wrapped my arms around his waist and pressed my head on his chest. His heartbeat was steady until my racing heart. “Just hold me,” I replied.

“No, Josie. I can’t. It’s too much now.”

“What’s too much? If I made a mistake, then fine, but I didn’t want to take a chance on another man’s life.”

“It’s not just that. We’ve been together for seven years, and you’ve only gone into heat once.”

“You know I can’t,” I hissed.

“You said you were working on it.”

I rolled my eyes. “I don’t need to go into heat. I already have you, why do I need to attract other wolves?” I frowned.

“It’s not about attracting other wolves. You’ve never produced pheromones. That’s a sign of a healthy she-wolf who’s capable of producing strong pups.”

“I’m a beta female. Of course, I’ll produce strong pups. You’ve never brought up having children before. What’s this about?” I argued.

I tried to touch him, but he stepped back.

I always knew I’d never be able to produce pheromones or go into heat. A she-wolf usually goes into heat when she’s most fertile. It’s just a way for her to know it’s the right time to have a baby. It’s an effective method. It was a defect no one could explain to me, yet I was lucky enough to be born a beta. It would be challenging to find my fated mate or lure a mate just by scent, which was why I loved Ryan so much. He loved me for me.

“I checked your medical records, Josie. There’s a fifty per cent chance you can’t have children. That’s not what I want in a mate.”

I scoffed. “It doesn’t mean I can’t—”

“Stop. Just stop.” He raked a hand through his hair. “What happened tonight confirms what I have to do.”

“Ryan, what are you—”

“I, Ryan Foster, reject you, Josie Hart, as my chosen mate.”

The sound of broken glass filled my head. My wolf threw her head back and howled. I clutched my abdomen and buckled forward. I can’t believe he did that.

“Accept the rejection, and the pain ends,” he said coldly.

“I thought you loved me for who I was,” I rasped.

“It’s not enough. Accept the rejection.”

No, it wasn’t supposed to end like this. He was my happily ever after. We were supposed to get married in six months. The pain crept from my abdomen towards my heart. Rejection was deadly. Some even saw it as a sin. I looked into his eyes pleadingly, but there was nothing I could do.

“I, Josie Hart, accept your rejection, Ryan… Foster.”

The chain that created our bond disintegrated into dust.

“Good,” Ryan said.

I dropped to the grass and was consumed by an eerie darkness.

Josie POV

I woke up in my bed. I felt disgusting and sick. When I opened my eyes and I was in my bedroom, I thought it had all been a dream and the ball hadn’t happened yet. I wasn’t so lucky, though. Ryan’s cold, emotionless blue eyes kept popping back into my head. The moment he rejected me replayed on an agonising loop.

“Lily?” I called my wolf.

I couldn’t stay in this room where we’d stay up all night watching movies and making out. He liked to sit on the window bench and stare out at the woods in the distance.

“Lily, I need to go for a run,” I begged.

Some of my clothes still smelled like him.

“Lily.” My voice cracked, and salty tears slipped between my lips.

My sweat dragged my clothes to my skin. My hair was stringy and wet. It was like sweating out a disease. Rejection was the parasite my body struggled to kill. Lily didn’t respond. She vanished into a corner of my mind so far back I didn’t know it existed. She left me hollow like a shell abandoned by its host on a beach.

Was this what the first death felt like? This was why rejection was so brutal. It became a taboo that no one spoke about. It was a killer, and it wasn’t my soul.

A sharp knock came at the door. My Mother marched in.

“Good, you’re awake. The Alpha wants you. Now.”

I met her pale blue eyes. There was worry in them.

It doesn’t matter what she was afraid of. Nothing could hurt more than the slash inside me. I crawled out of my bed. I dragged myself behind Mom to the living room. I expected Ryan to be there so he could hear my judgment.

However, the only ones present were my brother Shane, Dad, Alpha Rufus and Luna Nora. The Luna offered me a look of sympathy. All I wanted was to get things over with.

“You made a mockery of us, Josie,” the Alpha said.

“Yes, Alpha.” It was the only correct answer.

“Everyone’s talking about the show you made. There wasn’t sufficient evidence to prove your claims were founded. General Braxton is furious. I have no choice but to suspend you from the team, Josie. Take this time to work on yourself and think about the next you want to be rash.”

I shut my eyes to stop the tears from falling. I expected this.

“At least she’s not off the team completely. I felt very safe with Josie,” Luna Nora said.

Well, that made me feel better. I wasn’t a total loss.

“The suspension would normally last three weeks and some paperwork duties, but another issue has been brought to my attention,” Alpha Rufus said. “You’ve been rejected tonight.”

My Mother gasped and grabbed my Father’s arm. Shane remained stone-faced. Of course, he didn’t care. Ever since Chase left, he’s been on a mission to prove himself as the golden child of the family. He took every opportunity to make me look like an ass in front of my Father.

He didn’t need to do anything tonight.

“No one’s been rejected in the Pack for over a hundred years,” Luna Nora commented.

Alpha Rufus nodded. “The Pack has laws on this, and they must be upheld. Every rejected wolf must be shunned for four months.”

I gasped, and every bone in my body rattled. “I’ve never heard of that law before!”

“It’s to protect the pack from any impurities rejection might bring. We’ve managed to keep ourselves clean from curses and droughts this way. We can’t take any chances,” Alpha Rufus said.

My heart thundered at a thousand miles per hour. My vision blurred for a moment. If I weren’t sitting down, I would have fainted.

“No, you can’t do this to me. I didn’t ask to be rejected,” I begged.

“It’s been done. You need to be gone before the full moon tomorrow. Duncan, please walk out with me.”

I turned to my Daddy for help, but he was blank. “Yes, Alpha,” he responded.

Dad walked out the Alpha and Luna.

“You’ve done it now, Josie,” Shane snapped.

“Enough, Shane! Just leave. Do something else,” Mom yelled.

Shane chuckled. “I didn’t think this family could have a disappointment bigger than Chase. You’ve redeemed him, little sis.”

Shane marched off.

I’d just been banished. Where would I go? I couldn’t stay in the Pack. I couldn’t run to Oakley’s house. She would have to shun me, too. Mom took my hands and squeezed.

“You have to pack your things now, Josie.”

“You’re kicking me out? Isn’t there anything you can do?”

She shook her head. “You need to leave. It’s going to be horrible when word breaks in the morning. I know you’ll be shunned, but there are people who will want to hurt you.”

It wasn’t fair. What about Ryan? How could someone who claimed to love me reject me, knowing what would happen to me? I got up swiftly and ran to my room. I darted to the closet and grabbed a suitcase.

I stuffed my belongings in the bag, tears streaming down my face. I had no idea where to go. My entire family lived in this Pack. Except for Chase. I paused. My eldest brother woke up one day and decided to leave the family. He destroyed all our parents’ hopes and dreams for him. I hadn’t seen him in four years. He declared himself a rogue and refused to return.

I grabbed my phone and found ten missed calls from Oakley. I would send her a text later explaining everything.

“Hello?” Chase’s raspy voice came through the speaker.

“Chase… I don’t know what to do.”

“Shit kid, it’s nearly three in the morning. What the hell happened, Josie?” His voice went from sleepy to wide awake in an instant.

I poured out the last events few hours into the phone. Chase stopped asking questions a few seconds ago. When I finally finished ranting, I had a headache.

“Don’t worry, kid. You’ll be fine. You need to get out of there now. You have to accept your fate.”

“I’ve lost everything, Chase. My job, my home and my family!”

“We’ll figure it out.”

I gathered the rest of my things into my suitcase. I had a few thousand dollars saved up, but it wouldn’t last me four months. I found my gun in the bedside drawer. I had to turn that in. I chucked it into my bag anyway. Let Ryan freak out about a missing gun like the perfectionist he is.

I grabbed my suitcase and made my way to my car. My parents were in the driveway.

“You’re packed. Good, you should be on your way,” Dad said.

There was so much I wanted to scream at him. This wasn’t my fault. I didn’t ask to be rejected. I allowed him to walk off.

“Estelle!” Dad called.

Mom started walking away. I exhaled. Here goes nothing.

Arms wrapped around me from behind before I got into my car.

“Take care of yourself,” Mom whispered. “Take this. It’s just a little to get by. I’ll find a way to send you more.”

“Estelle!” Dad barked again.

“I have to go, sweetheart.”

I just lost my entire life in one night.

Josie POV

I groaned, stretching to the best of my capacity in the confined space of the front seat of my car. It smelled like coffee and the ocean scent car freshener. I fell asleep in my car after I drove out of Pack territory. I found ten more missed calls from Oakley.

I was low on gas and drove to a gas station where I could freshen up and stock up on supplies. I had no choice but to return Oakley’s calls.

She was my best friend, I owed her an explanation.

“Shunned?” She screamed into the phone. “What century is this?”

“You shouldn’t even be talking to me,” I said.

“We’ve known each other since we were toddlers. I’m not going to shun you. I would have hidden you under my bed. I’ll kick Ryan’s ass for this.”

“He’s not worth it.”

“Where are you?”

“I’m outside the Richardson Pack. I’ll call you when I settle down.”

“Call me when you need anything at all!”

“Thanks, Oakley.”

I hung up and proceeded to buy a few things and headed back to my car. I couldn’t cry for the rest of my life. I needed a motel and more hours of sleep. Lily still hadn’t woken up, which was a bad sign.

I found a motel in the Richardson Pack. The Richardson Pack didn’t need outsider wolves to seek permission to enter, which was why I chose it. However, it was farther from my Pack.

When I checked into a motel, I collapsed on the bed. The urge to curl into a ball and cry was strong. My phone rang and distracted me from my pity party.

“Are you out?” Chase said.

“Yeah, I’m in the Richardson Pack.”

“Alpha Tristan’s Pack. You’ll be safe there for a while. I think I found you a gig, though. It won’t be available until the old lady gets back into town.”

“How long with that be?” I asked.

“A couple of weeks. Keep your head low.”

“Thank you, Chase…”

“Don’t mention it. I will always protect you, Josie.”

He hung up before I said another word.

***

A couple of weeks went by, and my money dwindled. I’d been in the same motel for days. No one other than Oakley contacted me from the Gryphon Pack. Chase came good on his word, though. He sent me the address of a woman who needed a bodyguard.

She lived in a huge gothic manor. The place had vines wrapped around the windows and plastered on the sides of the house. The walls were dark, and the overall exterior was depressing.

“Yes?” An elderly man answered the door.

I looked at the piece of paper in my hands.

“Uh, I’m looking for Mrs Dare.”

“Are you the bodyguard?”

I nodded. I wondered what she needed protecting from. The house was massive, and I couldn’t imagine myself living there for four months, but maybe it had its perks.

“This way,” he said.

I followed him through the cold hallway with white painted walls and black marble floors. Seconds later, I was sitting in front of a woman with bright blonde hair and milky blue eyes. I placed her around fifty years old. She didn’t have a warm and inviting face. Again, I wondered why she needed protection.

“You’re quite young,” she commented.

“I’m good at my job, I swear.”

She lifted her chin and lowered it firmly. “Are you able to keep your mouth shut?”

“Yes, I can be discreet.”

“You came highly recommended. I expect a good and clean job.”

“I won’t let you down, ma’am.”

She opened a drawer and pulled out an A4-size photo and handed it to me.

“That is my granddaughter, Marie Charlotte. I want you to protect her.”

I stared at the headshot of a girl with curly blonde hair and bright blue eyes.

“She lives with her Father two packs away from here.”

“I don’t understand. I thought I was protecting you.”

She leaned forward and entwined her fingers on the table. “My granddaughter’s Father is an irresponsible brute who’s incapable of taking care of a little girl. I fear for her life because of his lifestyle. For other reasons, I can’t just take her. I need you to be my eyes and ears in that house.”

“How?”

“They’re in need of a nanny. He’s having a hard time keeping one. That should tell you a lot about what type of man he is.”

How does she expect me to make it on the job?

“I also expect you not to get fired in your first week.”

I shook my head. I wasn’t a spy. I was a bodyguard. Besides, if this man was so horrible, then he might kill me when he catches me working for Mrs Dare.

“I’ll pay you handsomely. Chase said you needed the job. It won’t be for long, just until I can get Marie away from him. Do we have a deal?”

I looked at the picture of the little girl. She looked so sweet and innocent. Those blue eyes might haunt me if I turn this down.

“Alright, I’m in.”

“Good, they’re expecting you tonight.”

‘Tonight?” I gasped.

She nodded. “No one can suspect you’re working for me. Don’t call me. I’ll contact you.”

***

By the time I arrived in Silver Peak Pack, dark clouds blanketed the sky and rain threatened to fall. I didn’t know what I expected the home to be, but I didn’t imagine a building more imposing than the last one I came from.

“I don’t even know if I’m cut out to be a nanny,” I said, dragging my suitcase up the driveway.

My boyfriend left me because he thought I couldn’t have children. Is this even the right gig for me?

A droplet landed on my shoulder, and then another one. Suddenly, rain came down heavily. I ran the rest of the way to the door and rang the doorbell. There was no going back now. I signed a contract with Mrs Dare. This place would give me something to take my mind off Ryan, a roof over my head and somewhere to hide from my shame.

I ran the doorbell two more times.

“Can’t they hear me?”

Wind blew rain in my direction, soaking my clothes.

I hammered on the thick wooden door. My hair was damp, and my teeth chattered. The door finally opened, but there was no one on the other end.

“Can I help you?” A small voice asked.

I looked down and saw haunting blue eyes staring at me.

“Uh… is there a grown-up with you?”

She shrugged.

“You’re alone?”

“My Aunty Bree’s somewhere around here.”

She opened the door wider, but barred my entry.

“Are you my nanny? I want pancakes,” she demanded.

“F-for dinner?”

She nodded. “With syrup.”

“Wouldn’t you like something more—”

She closed the door a little. “I want pancakes!”

She wouldn’t lock me out here, would she?

“Let’s make a deal. Let me inside and I’ll consider it.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Daddy says I’m not allowed to bring strangers into the house unless you make me pancakes.”

Ugh, it was raining cats and dogs. I lost this battle.

“Fine, I’ll make you the pancakes with syrup, just let me in.”

She beamed and opened the door wide. She pointed me in the direction of the kitchen. I left a trail of water behind me.

“I only eat pancakes in my castle,” she said and stomped off.

Tomorrow will be a different day, but Marie Charlotte wins this round. The kitchen was larger than my bedroom back home. It would take me forever to figure out where the ingredients were. A loud bang startled me, and I knocked over my suitcase.

“Shoot.”

I bent to pick it up.

“Who the hell are you?” A deep, masculine voice asked threateningly.

I stood instantly. A man towering over six-foot-three stood in the doorframe. Water trickled from his jet-black hair down his big, muscular arms and made little puddles on the floor.

A lump formed in my throat. “I… uh… I’m the nanny.”

“Liar.”

I froze. Crap, I hadn’t been here for thirty minutes yet and he already found me out.

“I don’t want to repeat myself. Who are you, and why the hell are you here?