Chapter 3 3

Cheryl had rejected her mate three years ago because she never wanted anything to do with mating and it's accompanying closeness.

She had seen what her mother went through as a kid when her father had died. She almost went mad with the pain. The emotional pain was out of this world.

For days running, her mother hallucinated about how her father always came to visit her. After a full moon, the hallucinations and pain stopped. The mating mark also faded away.

So, on the day she marked her nineteenth birthday, she was busily training in the warriors building when a sweet smelling smell like freshly cut grass hit her.

She momentarily stopped to look around. That was when she saw a youth that had a glassy look in his eyes. He had also smelt her and began to approach her.

"Mate." Cheryl heard her wolf began to jump around in her head but she had other plans within herself. She had a flashback at all the things she had seen her mother endure when her father died and her resolve became stronger.

She also remembered the mission that laid ahead of her and it's accompanying benefits and she squeezed her hands to show her resolve.

Her wolf already knowing what she was about to do began to whimper mournfully in her head but that wasn't enough to change Cheryl's mind. It was made up already.

The young man was also a warrior but was a rank above Cheryl.

The youth had gotten to her by now and had a silly grin on his face. He was rubbing his hands anxiously and was about to say something when Cheryl shook her head and turned her back.

The young man who probably thought she was shy tapped her on her shoulders and ran around her to face her. He stretched out his hands and made to take her hand in his own.

Cheryl wouldn't have any of it and snatched her hand sharply from his. She shook her head while looking straight into his eyes.

"I, Cheryl McKenney of the Blood Moon pack reject you as my mate." She opened her mouth and told him. That was when the first pain hit her.

She reeled back the same time the young man doubled over in pain as it hit him. She had rejected him, so there was nothing he could do about it. He looked at her with a plead in his eyes for her to undo what she had said.

But her mind was too made up for her to look back. She couldn't concentrate on her training again as the pain was unbearable for her. She went home doubled over in pain.

The pain continued throughout that day and the night. By the morning of the next day, it had become bearable. She often had gusts of pain whenever she was close by to the man who was supposed to be her mate.

It lasted for up to three weeks before the next full moon. On that day,the mating bond was broken. She confided in her best friend the next day when the later was lamenting about her inability to find a mate.

Louisa had looked at her with a kind of dreadful look. She had felt like slapping her friend until he brain was in the right form.

Here she was looking for who was going to be her mate and on the other hand, her best friend was busily rejecting one. That had been three years ago.

She snapped out of her reverie as she heard the ringing of her phone. She brought out the phone to see it was the arranged mate one of her maternal aunt's had set her up with.

She had rejected him because of the stories flying around about arranged mates. They were never to be trusted when it came to living together and getting old together.

They could leave at anytime irrespective of the connection between them and the other person whenever they found their mates. She wasn't ready for that type of pain or heartbreak.

She clicked on the red icon flashing and the call went straight to her voicemail. She had declined him but he was persistent. She wondered what it was that he wanted.

They had gotten into the pack grounds and the children were beginning to bid her and their mates goodbye one after the other. After about ten minutes since they got into their territory, she was left with about three children together with Cheryl.

She knew the three children lived in the pack house and so, they didn't have to move seperately from her. They all headed towards the pack house. She had just stepped into the living room when her phone rang for the second time that evening.

Her first reaction was to ignore it because she felt it was the same man who had called her earlier but her instinct kept pricking her to pick it up.

She brought out the phone and saw that it was her elder brother, Jordan, who was calling her. She furrowed her brows as she ran up the steps to his office thinking he was there.

She got to the office with the phone still ringing loudly in her hand but met their father in there with a tensed look on his face.

He lighted up the minute he saw her and made to say something but Louisa beat him to it.

"Good evening dad. Jordan's calling me it I'm here in the packhouse." She told her father.

She had barely spoken the words when Jordan's voice opened to her through the mindlink.

"Where are you? I'm in the pack hospital. Sophie's in labor and she insists she wants you to be her for her delivery."

He told her. She was already rushing down the stairs the minute she heard her brother's mate was in labour. She broke into a run and in three minutes, she was at the pack hospital.

She went straight into the labour ward and saw her brother as he gripped his mate's hands with white knuckles. She felt a pang of pain in her heart as she knew that she was missing a lot of things since she didn't have a mate.

She took her mind of it as she had other things to do. She could see the doctor on duty as he stood wringing his hands helplessly. She tapped the man's shoulders in a reassuring way and went on her way towards her brother and his mate.

"Hey Sophie. I just returned from a trip to the jungle outside the Pack lands. I heard our young man is ready to take on the world and you need this super aunt nearby."

She asked breeezily as she put on her white jacket and placed the stethoscope on her neck. Everyone who heard her burst into a mild laughter at the way she had phrased her words.

Even her brother who was sitting down tensed beside his mate could'nt help but laugh along with the others. By now, she was done checking the fetal heartbeat.

Sophie groaned as another contraction hit her. Louisa bent over and inserted her finger in order to check how much she was dilated. She quickly withdrew her finger and have the order to push the groaning woman into the labour room.

She hurriedly walked along with the stretcher. She was about to close the door when she saw her brother's anxious face staring at her.

"No, Jordan. You stay here. She's in good hands."

She told him and banged the door in his face. Some minutes later, the loud cries of a baby filled the air as the weary mother who was laying on the bed breathed in relief.

Louisa immediately mindlinked her brother and told him the news. He did a quick flip in the air and mindlinked their father and mother who were anxiously waiting in the office.

Within ten minutes if the baby's arrival, the whole pack were already informed and a celebration had begun. The new mother and her baby had been wiped clean and were now resting peacefully on a bed in the pack hospital.

Louisa sighed wearily as she looked at the celebration going on around her. Her brother was now a father and his mate wasn't even up to her in age yet she hadn't gotten her own mate.

The moon shone brightly on that night and Louisa raised her head to the sky in order to plead her case with the moon goddess. If she had listened carefully, she would have heard the moon goddess' gentle reply telling her to wait.

She stood up and headed into the packhouse and took the stairs up to her room. She got into her closet in the room and changed our of her clothes. She was too weary to eat and all she wanted to do was to sleep.

She got into the bed and closed her eyes as she prayed that the morning come quickly. What she never knew was that she would soon begin an adventure that was going to change her life.