Chapter 3 REJECTED

She crossed the distance to the car park with an arm wrapped around her father's shoulder. She could never tell his emotions until now. Hogwash prided himself on being strong. Indecipherable and cold. But now he could not even stop himself from gritting even as she helped his bulky body climb into the car.

She slammed the car door shut and leaned against it for a while. Her eyes misted over as she imagined what was going on inside the building that had once served as home.

Hogwash waited until she had gotten back into the truck before he said "There is a neighbouring pack not far from here. We have to get there to seek help."

Elance fought the anger building in her chest. They had gone from being a pack to be reckoned with to seeking help from others. They had been reduced to their lowest.

"I can't think of any right now. Who's the closest to us?"

"Father?" The car was quiet. She glanced at him to notice that the blood had drained out of his face and he was out of it. Without waiting to consider her options, she revved the car skidding out of the lot like the devil was on her tail.

The long winding road was supposed to lead to the Dark Moon Park. Her headlights shone in the darkness, showing the overhanging branches from the forest on both sides of the road.

The hum of her jeep and the chirp of crickets broke the silence of the night and she prayed for the first time in her life to the ancient and forgotten gods of the werewolves that she would make it there on time to save het father.

It was hard to tell what their packs relations were with the Alpha of the Dark Moon. Getting there on time was one thing and convincing the Alpha to help them was another. Especially when there was nothing they could offer in return.

There was a chance of getting ripped apart for stepping into enemy territory. It was standard security procedure especially as they had not informed this Alpha of their arrival.

She wouldn't let anyone hurt her father while she was there. Something restless inside her settled and she stared ahead determinedly.

Heavy, brown gates materialised in front of her and she pressed harder on the accelerator, surprised at how quickly she had gotten here. Without waiting for her car to roll to a stop, Elance pressed down hard on the car's horn.

The Dark Moon Hall loomed in front of her. There was something about this architectural masterpiece that made it seem more like a monstrosity. Elance could only imagine what the Alpha of this pack would look like. She drew in a shaky breath.

She needed to find him. Whoever owned this pack before he found her trespassing on his property.

There was a knock on her window pane.

Elance startled and rubbed her face briskly even though there was nothing on her face. She climbed out of the car seconds later to realise that she had blocked the road against a gunmetal Gray lexus. And it's owner was right in front of her.

Her eyes flitted to the man standing in front of her. His expression was good natured and his mouth tugged in a friendly smile. Dark blonde hair fell over his sculpted face making him look like the stereotypical Hollywood bad boy. Elance stepped back an inch. She wasn't deceived by his friendly demeanour.

Trust was the worst mistake that a wolf could make. She drew in another breath before letting herself relax and break into an easy, diplomatic smile. She held out her hand.

"Elance. You can call me El like my family does too."

James took her hand and released it quickly.

"You are probably in the wrong place. And at the wrong time. I need to drive out..." he started, pointing to his car for emphasis.

She swallowed and tried not to let any weakness show. "I don't think so." Noticing the gleam in James Dark eyes, she quickly added. "My father is dying and I need your help..."

James wasn t listening to her. Without wasting time, he sniffed the air curiously around her and went on around to the side of her car, pulling the door open to stare at Hogwash' prone figure for an entire minute.

Elance wiped her hands on her jeans nervously waiting for him to speak. There was something indecipherable about his expressions of uncertainty that scared her to death. James opened his mouth slightly as if to talk and closed it just as quickly.

James looked up at her sharply instead. "We need to get him help but first I must warn You. If this is a prank or trap of some sort, then be sure you aren't walking through those doors with any of your arteries in place. Your mind seems innocent. Like you are telling the truth but there is no way to know if this is a hoax of some sort since this is my first time seeing this."

His hand motioned to the green goey liquid that had spilled on the car seat and carpets.

"I'm a werewolf," She said in a dry tone with her chin raised high. "I'm more smart than driving a half dead man into enemy territory in the middle of the night."

Mutely, they stared at each other for a while. Elance let her eyes focus on his refusing to break the stare even though her fathers life was at risk. His eyes perused her for a minute and then he nodded at her. "You might want to come in after me."

Elance followed James down the paved corridor that led to the door of the mansion which was built in similar style to the one she had lived in all her life. It was ironic that her first time out of it would be her being at the mercy of others.

The pavement open up at the balcony of the mansion. The steel double doors in front of them open even before ger finger cpuld reach for the doorbell to show a smartly dressed man donned in fine livery with a happy smile on his face.

"You are welcome to the Dark Moon Hall," the butler muttered. His voice was low and calm as he spoke, a calm expression on his face. Elance wondered how many times his boss walked through those doors with a dying man in his hands that he had gotten unperturbed by the sight.

She held back a sigh as she stepped into the dimly lit living room that housed the Alpha of the pack. The huge television screen in the wall and sleek chandelier hanging low from the ceiling surprised her even more than the butlers countenance.

It was unusual to see modern decor of any sort in a werewolf's house. Mostly, it was old vintage collections and flower vases that had been passed down from generations.

"This is more of my handiwork," James'explained with a wry grin. "We have to keep up appearances with our human friends and business partners. Someone had to do the work, however dirty it was."

Elance nodded and moved her face to her father who was still unmoving in his arms.

"The poison is spreading," She noticed.

Almost as if he hadn't heard her, James' gestured for her to get seated. "The Alpha will be with you shortly. I have to get him to rest."

He turned on his heel after dropping her father on the couch, taking time to make his head more comfrtable with the pillows and his groan made her heart break further. She still had not gotten an answer. There was no assurance that any of them was going to help her and the more time was wasted, the less time they would have to find out what exactly had been done to him or how to go about finding a remedy.

Finally alone after a long day, she let the events of the day finally replay in her head. The pressure to hold up was gone and she let her fangs lengthen as the grief poured over her in waves.

It was one thing to lose all the other men in a split second without any prior warning. It had been exceedingly difficult to count her losses and move on from what seemed to be a pre planned attack. But watching her father die on her despite all her efforts to save him was even more difficult. More than she could bear in one lifetime.

A shimmering necklace appeared in her periphery vision, reflecting the light of the room. A wave of cold air hit her from nowhere, bringing with it the scent of hazelnut and mint. Her eyes instinctively went down to his shoes, before moving slowly upwards.

He was tall and well built. If she hadn't been one of them to know that the sleek and well toned body was a natural endowment, she could have imagined that he spent hours and hundreds of dollars at a high class gym to get that.

She finally spotted the source of the gleaming in the room. He had a necklace on his neck with a pendant that could have been diamond if she had any idea about jewelry.

Elance let her eyes roam over his open shirt for a few minutes and she swallowed deeply, mentally preparing herself to look up to his face. Goosebumps spread on her skin and the hair on the back of her neck stood on end. Everything else was forgotten in that moment.

Slowly, she let her grey eyes peer into the gold orbs in his face and that was all the confirmation she needed to know that her wolf which was leaping and yelling in her head was real and not as a result of the trauma she had undergone. He could have been an exotic model for a luxury brand' She thought as she stared at his sparkling white shirt and it was hard to believe she had ever seen a man wear one before.

The dark brunette hair cropped just before his forehead, the high cheekbone and lashes that seemed to fall over his cheek fascinated her and she wondered what it would be like to run her hand over his almost translucent skin.

Elance's breath caught in her throat and the room suddenly got quieter. Unsure of what to do, she let the edge of her lips draw up in a smile as she prepared the words in her head to introduce herself.

His eyes skimmed over her lazily and Elance tried to convince herself that it was just curiosity. Or a power play like she had been taught about Alphas. Whatever it was, the look in his eyes indicated that she was not half as interesting as the rest of the room he kept glancing at. She let her eyes meet him again and it was clear that her instincts were right.

"I am El..."

"What's wrong with him?" Austin murmured finally. He crossed the distance between them heading straight for her father like her name was of no importance to him. His eyes were cold and hard. As if there wasn't a stranger standing in his house in the middle of the night with her wolf howling her head off.

She tried to wonder what she had been taught about meeting a mate but nothing would come to mind. Despite her confusion, Elance could not stop herself from responding almost as soon as he had asked the question.

If this was what hypnotism seemed Like, then she never wanted it to end. The sound of James clearing his throat in the corridor snapped her out of it and she proceeded to narrate all that had happened past four hours to him.

Austin met his Beta's eyes as she spoke. "Call Jack. He is going to have to take a look at this to figure out what can be done."

"There is something else." Elance muttered. Intent on talking to him about what she was feeling. She could not be the only one who felt that way.

He raised his eyebrows at her. Not bothering to speak a word and she stamped down on the slight irritation she could feel blooming in her chest.

"I am your mate." Elance rushed out. Her fingers dug into her palms as she waited for his response.

"If I had one, I have no doubt that she wouldn't be you. You are not what I expect in a mate." Without another word to her or his Beta, the Alpha of the Dark Moon Pack turned on his heel, leaving just as silently as he appeared.