Rejected Mate and Following Fate

I exhale and almost cry with relief and turn to pull my hands from Carmen, who no longer has reason to hold me back.

“Are you coming?” I ask her warily, legs shaking from adrenalin, and weakening with relief as she nods, gesturing back to a hold all on the steps she must have zoomed together before hyper speeding down here. She goes and retrieves it, and we head for the passenger door of the truck, her climbing in first with me last to sit on the double seat side by side.

“Glad you could make it.” Meadow smirks knowing full well she almost gave me a heart attack minutes ago. No remorse whatsoever in her tone or her amused expression.

“Sometimes I really don’t like you!” I point out, hand over my chest to calm my heartrate, glaring at her scornfully and she laughs

“Ahhh but hamera, you love me more than life.”

“So where are we going?” Carmen cuts in, impatient already and I can feel the anxiety swarming from her in getting to go already. There’s a smog of impatient in her manner and a restlessness that seems a little unnatural. I can’t imagine what she feels today but it’s coming across in subtle hostile tension.

“New Mexico, Chica. Sierra is going to call us when we are almost there to pinpoint where exactly. Right now, we have a rough town to aim for, but Sierra is going to keep using a locator spell to get us right to her when we arrive.” Meadow pulls out her cell and shakes it for Carmen to somehow prove that Sierra knows how to use such things before sliding it back into her pocket.

We packed our bags last night and stowed them in the truck, so we really have nothing to wait around for. Sun is coming up; the homestead will start to wake soon, and we need to move before that happens. Least amount of hold ups and we can focus on what’s to come.

I told Sierra not to see us off, or else I wouldn’t go. I’m worried about her being alone to cope as Luna in my absence, no support, not even the subpack here to help and advise her and I know that seeing her looking so lost would have swayed me. I’m hoping it’s an uneventful two or three days for her, or however long we are gone and that the fog sitting around the perimeter keeps the pack in their homes and out of her hair. There’s nothing else for them to do until we know more and whether we can do something. It’s a waiting game where they have all been told to stay home, stay calm and let us do what we have to do.

They have enough fresh supplies for the month, and we still have our animals, our dried stores and ability to produce some of our vegetables in the homestead greenhouses we set up months ago. We can stay put, stay safe without needing to leave the grounds for four weeks, providing nothing else happens. It’s the best thing for them all to do.

I’m startled back out of my thoughts by the truck starting up again and I spot Tom getting out of the way, his accompanying two wolves who are going on perimeter patrol this morning showing up beside him and I can see the question in their eyes as they spot who is in here. I hold my breath, paused in alarm because I know that the mind link gossip will start doing the rounds sooner than later.

Meadow is the military leader after Colton, I’m Luna, and here we are abandoning them right after their Alpha fell to a spell. I know it looks bad, and they will panic, but they have to trust I’m leaving to try and fix this.

“Good luck”! Tom pack links us, and I catch the side eyed suspicious looks he gets from his mates, but they say nothing, just watch us turn out of the gravel drive and head towards the opening and out into the fog.

I can almost taste their fear and anticipation as they realize we don’t intend to stop where clean air meets emerald mist, but as soon as we cross the boundary, I lift my hands in readiness to push the fog away should I need too, and we lose all contact with those inside.

Like an invisible barrier it cuts off Tom’s mind link and that of the rest of my pack. For the first time in 6 months all those subtle feelings and vibrations I am so accustomed to, the emotions of my people that follow me every day, they all fall silent like I just stepped into a soundproofed chamber and it’s intense, feelings of being swept over by a veil of cold. All that’s left is the tension and silent apprehension of Meadow and Carmen, suddenly intensified as they no longer compete with all the other feelings around me, and I blink back out of the rear window on the back door as the fog surrounds us and envelopes us out of sight of the homestead. A sense of loss, heightened worry and a sadness that I’m leaving them.

“Well, this was something I didn’t think of.” Meadow cuts into my thoughts sharply, and pulls me back to face the front window, glancing to her furrowed scowl and her newly aggravated mood.

“What?” I frown at her and look out when she nods ahead at the misty view feet in front of us and I click right away at what she’s hinting. We can’t see a damn thing, not even the road. Despite the fog near the boundary seeming thinner and almost transparent in places, it seems coupled with morning mist from the mountains, damp air and dull light, it’s killing vision beyond four feet.

“That’s why I’m here” I point out and lift my hands to part the smog. Splitting it apart enough to clear our view for a couple of hundred feet and giving us a an almost uninterrupted path to follow, pushing it out as we go. It’s eerie and deathly silent out here, a strange atmosphere of surreal and with the sun peeking up to bring a little warmth to the green air, it’s an almost haunting atmosphere. It reminds me of a memory, many moons ago when the mountain fogs stayed around the valley for three days and no one could see a foot in front of them while the noises of daily life echoed spookily around.

“Where do you think they are?” Carmen quips in and I squint my eyes to the side to look through the density and shrug. Knowing I can feel the presence of others out there, tingling my sixth sense at a distance but not enough to decide if it’s them I can feel, or the homestead behind.

“I don’t know, I can’t really feel any of them for certain. There’s nothing but emptiness and shallow vibrations.”

I spoke too soon, and almost as the words leave my mouth, the truck shudders at the rear, like we were kicked with something hard and heavy, as something fast collides in a weird kind of way. It reverberates through the metal of the vehicle and sends shivers up my spine, widening my eyes in alarm.

for a second as she tries to right our wobble and floors it as fast as she can. I push myself out of my seat and dash into the rear of the truck to peer out the window, to see if I can see anything, but I also have to keep my hands splayed to the front to keep the fog parted so she can see where she is going. My heart racing

rocked again with another strong shockwave. This time though even though it causes the side of

wolves running parallel just inside the fog around us. They are keeping up speed to meet ours and one takes a running leap at us again. Only this time

and as long as Meadow keeps us on the road and going, they won’t be able to do a damned thing. Well unless they figure out that throwing trees and boulders might take us down, but they are so focused on chasing, intent on pursuing that they don’t seem to stop to find non enchanted items as weapons. I wonder if the fog has pushed instinct and chased away logical thinking, as Colton would definitely have thought of an alternative attack had

to reality as a dark black shadowy wolf, bigger than the rest and

impact of his sheer weight and brute strength but it doesn’t come, and we catch sight of him rolling to the ground on the opposite side of the road, as though

away as tears blind me, pain surging in my chest and crushing my heart at the angry vengeful wolf coming at us again. He’s determined to derail our vehicle. Colton isn’t in there anymore, only darkness and fury and a mind set on destruction controls that powerful body and I can’t bear to look at him and see

the window in front of her, veering around wolves who try and get in our way but are pushed aside by our invisible forcefield, unable to tear her gaze away from the high-speed maneuvers. I check I’m still keeping the fog open for her to navigate through and raise my shoulders in a shrug, overwhelmed at the numbers of them swarming at us from all angles. The mist is not getting any thinner but it looks like we’re heading out onto the

All three of us gasp loudly, rocked in reaction by a sudden jolt as we’re thrown sideways violently inside the back of the

hit her lashes and she struggles back a sob. I crawl to the front seats as carefully as I can, trying to not let my forcefield down so the fog stays separated and cling onto the back of the seat to squint at her. “It was Cesar….it was my baby. I’m sure of it.” She mumbles on in distress, her voice wavering and her grip is so tight on the wheel that her knuckles

fine. He’s in wolf form, even under a spell he should heal.” I try to soothe her but the intensity of her heartbreak seeps into my own

send me packing for sure.” She stubbornly wipes away a tear and gasps as another fleeting wolf form jumps in front of us again, causing her to swerve left and I’m thrown against the door this time. I see the collision of the wolf hitting the side, but the forcefield makes it feel like we just grazed bushes and he spirals off in a horrifying manner, like a spinning top. If I hadn’t seen it for myself, the wolf being bounced away from a devastating impact, I would never have believed

precaution because this is far from over. I’m already bruised

stop us and failing. They don’t seem bright enough to realize they

suspicion and I shrug, deflated, and searching the fog and the moving figures for the one wolf I want to see yet don’t since he jumped over us back there. I don’t know how to feel, knowing he’s there, despite not being able to feel him, but he’s intent on chasing us.

the only way I can describe how they are

for wolf blood, no matter what stands in their way. They don’t seem to think beyond that. It’s

actually tried to see if they will do anything to us?” Carmen looks form her to me, severe doubt written all over her face, which only pushes me to doubt myself

you out to test this theory. See how long you last in the fog.” Meadow snaps at her and Carmen rolls her eyes, sitting back bitchily and crosses her arms over her bust in a haughty manner. Anger and dislike pouring into her eyes which are piercing like daggers in meds direction. Strangely, despite being the last thing we need it’s somehow comforting to see them behaving like they used to and normalizing things

My arms are getting sorer by the second due to holding them up with intent,

sensing my tiredness which is coming way quicker than it normally does and I sigh with relief and drop my hands in relief, sighing heavily and rubbing my shoulders to ease the pain. “Reserve it for when we really need it. You’ve had a rough night and probably should rest.” She throws me a look that says ‘please’ and I sit back

further we go. They become less frequent and less violent and more like small thuds that barely do anything other than shudder the walls for a second. It looks like they are bound to the homestead and fololowi8ng us is not an option. I feel like we’re all holding our breaths and silently praying they give up soon, as we carry on forward at

as though she is

The mountain is miles to the north, and it reached there. So if it does thin we have miles of it yet.” I point out in deflation and

sits and stares blankly at me, her

a second and narrows her eyes before glancing at Carmen

anyone except yourself and now you’re crying over wolves you spent a lifetime treating like trash.” Meadow’s anger spikes and I know it’s born of frustration and

in a bid to diffuse and settle this hostility. Carmen has suffered a loss too and it’s obvious she loved

hide the instant welling of her tears across her eyes and I sit in awkward silence for a moment, throwing Meadow a strained look and she sighs loudly, letting out a heavy breath and slaps the wheel hard, making me

an ounce of humanity in the two years you were in our pack, and now I don’t even…. People don’t change that dramatically.” Meadow can’t help the venom in her tone and despite me having more reason to not like this girl, Meadow has still never let go of her grudge about Carmen’s

mood spiking into many conflicted feelings that I can’t read, and I honestly don’t know how

this is how she is. Her outlet when she needs to vent is to be fierce and Cesar is usually the one to handle her like this. Her pain comes out in aggression, loud sassy attitude, hot fiery passion, or sheer fury, and she has only us two to take it out on. She would never do it to me, not because I’m her Luna,

word cattily, turning with a tight expression, eyes ambering out in anger. This time turning fully hostile and the heat and sparks begin to rise between them like high voltage energy,

face in frustration “You two better not be like this for this entire trip.” My patience snaps, my attempts at hopeful and upbeat are stomped out and instead

quickly turns left to right with a quick head move. “They’ve stopped” she points out and instinctively I turn and look out the back window, seeing nothing but the distant still shadows of figures in the fog, unmoving, and letting us leave with no more interaction. Carmen

did they stop

any further….. look” Meadow points ahead pulling our attention back to the windscreen and we can see where the fog thins out enough that its’ barely there, finally an end in sight to this depressing smoke. It’s definitely thinning to almost nonexistence and I

trail off not sure how to word it, but Meadow cuts