- Acceptance
Rochelle
Remington never glanced at me, didn’t say a word, my eyes didn’t leave his back as he guided Monica through the crowd. A pain that I can only be described as a knife piercing my heart had me closing my eyes shut, not to allow it to affect me but to harden my heart towards the blatantness of their disrespect. Walking back to our home, both Mom and I stayed quiet, there was nothing left to say about the loss, about the emptiness we both felt as we entered our home. She had lost her mate; the love of her life and I lost the only man that would truly love me unconditionally.
The following days were empty, both of us trying to get through each one, as people went about their lives normally, because the loss of John Jasper didn’t affect them as it did us. Mom cried every day, no less than she did the day before. Neither of us ate, we barely slept, she stayed in her bedroom, and I curled in his chair.
The following Monday, my mother’s bedroom door creaked opened, and she stepped out, “you need to go to school, get your finals done and it’s time to stop grieving your father.” She held my hands, “your dad loved you and he wouldn’t want you to stop living because he was protecting us, so you need to go on and live your life.”
She was right and I knew that, yet it didn’t make it any easier. I grabbed my phone and turned it on, ignoring the missed calls and messages and sent a text to Linda, “see you at school.”
I pulled my hair into a messy bun, washed my face and got dressed in torn jeans and one of my dad’s button-up shirts. I had one final today and then I could leave. I walked inside the school, ignoring everyone’s stares and whispers as I opened my locker Linda’s voice came from my side, “hey, I missed you.”
I slowly nodded, “yea, I missed you too.” I pulled out my hoodie, stuffing it inside my backpack, “I’ll see you after the final,” I shut my locker and headed for class.
She threw her arm over my shoulder, “I want to walk you,” she leaned her head touching mine, “I’m your BFF, we can talk after class.”
I went to reply when I heard Monica squeaky voice, “wait till you see the dress I’ll be wearing at his party,” she giggled, “we’ll match like a mated couple.” Linda’s arm tightened around my shoulders, “don’t pay her any attention, she does this just to get to you.”
I stared out the classroom window thinking how much my life had changed in one day, how devasting it could be. I’ll make sure my dad is proud of me, I’ll become the fiercest warrior. I’m his little girl; his little warrior and nothing will stand in my way.
The sound of the bell had my head turn only to find Remington standing in front of my desk, “hey, how you been?”
My jaw clenched as I stared at him, my eyes focused on something pink on his collar, “fine,” I gritted out.
His eyes softened as he exhaled and slid into the seat in front of me, “Roe, we need to talk.”
My eyes stared at the pink stain on his collar, then looked him in the eye, “okay, you can talk to me at your party.” I snapped my fingers, “oh, that’s right I won’t be there since I wasn’t invited, now turn around and leave me alone.”
The teacher spoke, “all eyes up front,” his jaw set tightly, and he turned from me as she explained about the exam. He slipped a piece of paper onto my desk as he passed the test to me. I eyed the note as I took the test paper from his hand. I finished the test and opened the note, he was asking to meet me at the dock, he must be fucking joking. I snorted, “NO,” as I passed his desk, slinging my backpack over my shoulder and walked to the front, handing in my test before walking out of the classroom.
As I got to the packhouse front door I knocked and one of the houseworkers opened it, “please, come in,” she spoke politely.
“I need to see Alpha Maxwell,” my voice full of confidence. The houseworker smiled, “of course, he’s in his office.”
“Thank you,” I headed down the hallway towards his office, his door opened as I approached, his words carried down the hallway.
“Remington spoke to me last week about Monica and it slipped my mind, but you understand how these young people are, if you’d talk to her, make her understand how he feels, I’d appreciate it and so would he.”
Beta Kirt nodded, “right away Alpha, I’ll do my best to make sure she understands his intentions,” he smiled as he turned towards me, only for his face to go stoic. “Rochelle,” the Beta stepped up to me, “how are you sweetheart?”
How am I? shattered, broken beyond repair I thought, but I wouldn’t say that “I’m fine Beta Kirt, thank you for asking, I need to see Alpha Maxwell,” my eyes pleading as I looked from him to the Alpha.
Alpha Maxwell extended his hand towards his office, “of course, Rochelle, please come in.” Entering his office, taking it all in, his huge mahogany desk, the sitting area and the floor to ceiling windows that overlooked the pristine garden. I sat in the leather chair and straightened my back, as his door shut and he sat behind his desk. “What can I do for you,” he asked with his hands clasped in front of him.
My voice was steady a contradiction of my inner turmoil, “My father had asked if I could go to warrior training and I believe it was all set up for me to leave next week, but I was wondering if I could leave at the end of this one.”
He sat back in his seat, “you’re sure about this, the first two weeks of training is probationary, it’s quite brutal you know,” he sighed. His eyes bore into me and an expression I didn’t understand flashed in them, “this week? but aren’t you going to attend the graduation party, it’s this Saturday, it’s not just for Remington, it’s for all of you,” he gave me a slight smile.
My emotions stormed within me; do I tell him I wasn’t invited? That his son has decided that I’m not worthy of attending, that I’m nothing in his eyes. “I’d rather get my life on track, it’s what my father would want me to do.”
Something border lining compassion crossed his face, “I see, this is about your father, you’re leaving beforehand,” he sighed, “if this is really what you want, then the convoy leaves Friday at noon to the compound, will all your tests be completed?”
A wave of relief flowed through me as I nodded, “yes, I’ll be done on Thursday.”
- Beginning her journey
Rochelle
I sat inside a jeep and refused to look at my mother as we pulled away. I glanced at the huge man taking up most of the backseat next to me wondering who he was. His face was hardened in a way that I’ve never seen before and couldn’t help but wonder what could make anyone look like that. My journey is just beginning, and I know that being a warrior is the only thing I have left, the only thing that matters, the only thing that will make me happy.
The man that sat next to me on the journey eyed me suspiciously, “how old are you?”
My eyes narrowed at him, “17, why?”
He shook his head, “no wolf yet and you’re coming now, you know we don’t care if you have a wolf or not, the training is going to be as if you do.”
“That’s not an issue for me, I’ll have my wolf on Tuesday to be exact, plan on throwing me a party now,” I scoffed.
His brow arched, “not at all, you probably won’t make it to Tuesday, if you make it an hour I’ll be impressed.”
A smug smirk curved on my lips, “get ready to be impressed then,” I turned my head from him.
The driver chuckled and the man next to me grunted, “something funny up there, Ralph.”
Ralph replied, “nothing at all, Alpha Christen.” My body stiffened on its own as the realization hit me, this guy sitting next to me is an Alpha. I turned involuntarily as my eyes widened and my mouth went slack, staring at him.
He narrowed his eyes at me, “what, why do you look like that now? Haven’t you ever seen an Alpha before?”
Nodding my head slowly, “of course I have, just didn’t think the Alpha himself would come to pick up recruits that’s all.” Nice save, maybe he’ll forget about what I already said.
His lips were in a tight line, “why the sudden change in attitude, just because now you know who you’re sitting here with, not so quick to be smug and arrogant.” Then he added as his eyes ran up and down me, “not like you have much to be smug or arrogant about, but here you are.”
My head bowed as I took in my own form, my head tilted towards him, “don’t judge a book by its cover, it’s the words inside that matter, all that glitters isn’t gold now is it, Alpha Christen.” Amusement flitted in his eyes, but it was gone just as quickly as it had appeared. I gulped at the sudden fear that now tightened my throat.
He nodded slowly, “true, but all words are not worth reading, and gold has many levels of value,” he turned his head to the window, “you’ll see.” We traveled about 4 hours in total silence, when we stopped in the middle of nowhere. I went to get out and the Alpha turned to me, “no one told you to get out, we’re just filling up with gas, we still have another 4 hours to go, sit still.”
I glared at him, “can I stretch my legs for a minute or is that against the rules?” I wasn’t trying to be a smartass or difficult, but I’m not used to sitting this long and my legs and ass were falling asleep.
He grunted, “there are times you’ll need to sit and wait longer than this trip and already you can’t take it, not impressed yet pup.” He pulled out his phone and began typing on it. I couldn’t stop the huff that escaped my lips as I crossed my arms over my chest and glared out the front windshield. He shook his head, “still got that attitude and now you don’t care if you show it off to me, good to know.” All the air left my body, leaving me feeling deflated as he raised his phone to his ear, “hello sweetheart, how’s your day going so far?”
My eyes went wide at the way his tone and demeanor changed in an instant, I looked over at him and couldn’t help but admire his face. His black as night hair, his chiseled facial features, sharp nose, high cheekbones, and then a smile curved on his lips, a brilliant one, showing all his white teeth. “I’m happy you’re having a great day, I’ll see you soon.” He hung up and it all vanished into thin air as the jeep revved to life and began to move.
Entering the compound was more like entering a military base in the human world as I looked around the area until the jeep finally stopped. I looked over at Alpha Christen, “is it okay if I get out now,” yea I was being an asshole, but I didn’t care.
He didn’t respond, he just moved and got out, leaving me sitting there. Ralph chuckled, “go on, get out or he’ll make an example of you any second as being lazy.”
My eyes went wide at him as I moved off the seat and stood, pulling my duffle bag and backpack out, slinging both over my shoulders and took a step, both my legs and ass were all pins and needles, and it was difficult to walk as they woke up. I gritted my teeth as each step was now torture, his voice rang out, “form 3 rows, move it.”
I fumbled into the back row at the end and dropped my stuff to the ground, it landed with a thud. His head snapped towards me and a glint flashed in his eyes, “no one told you to lower your gear, pick it back up.” He stared at all of us as he paced and bellowed out, “this is not a vacation, you chose to be here, chose to defend with honor, you will listen, you will obey each and every command, the only words that will come out of your mouths will be, YES, SIR, is that understood.” A shiver ran down my spine as he spoke to all of us, but the words yes sir almost made me giddy. I tried to stop the heat that was rising in my cheeks because I had no idea why that was happening, I’m not shy so why blush, especially now. His words continued as he paced in front of us, “you will be assigned sleeping quarters,” he looked around and sighed, “you will eat, sleep and work to achieve the goals you set for yourself, then if you really want to stay, you will complete the goals that we set for you.”
He stopped right in front of me, “if you make it through the 2-week probationary period, that is not a guarantee that you will be chosen to stay,” he leaned down staring at me eye-to-eye, “the ultimate decision is mine.”
