Rejection and Determination

*Rayne*

As the growl ended in a long rumble, Parker pushed her behind him. She could defend herself but let it go when eyes landed on the large black wolf. He was the same as she remembered from five years ago, except this time his eyes had gone to crimson with rage. To de-escalate the situation, she stepped away from Parker but kept her hand on the small of his back.

A whine from the other wolf turned her attention to the smaller black wolf next to Sebastion. That must be Arianna, his sister that had befriended her that long-ago night. Arianna went behind a tree with the clothes she had in her mouth, coming back out dressed in leggings and a loose t-shirt. Rayne could tell that the years had been kind to her, making her even more beautiful if that were possible.

“Calm him down or there will be no talking,” Rayne spoke to Arianna but looked at Sebastion.

“Clothing for the two of you would help and taking your hand off your friend there will help even more.”

“I don’t take orders from you or anyone else anymore,” Rayne glared at Arianna. Who does this woman think she is?

“That may be, but if you want to calm Aries and Sebastion both down, clothes would be a good idea. You standing naked next to your friend there is not helping.” Arianna fired back.

Rayne sensed that Arianna was only trying to defuse the situation, “Then follow us back to my house, you can wait on the deck as we get dressed.”

Sebastion growled lowly as Rayne took a step to leave.

“Look asshole, you do not control me so calm the fuck down,” She yelled at him.

Arianna’s brows rose in surprise at the steel in Rayne’s voice.

“Follow us, or don’t, either way, we are going home. Parker, something large to carry me too.”

Parker nodded, then transformed into a large griffon. She climbed on his back, held on tight as he ran off towards the house. She knew the surprise of what Parker could change into would give them enough time to get back to the house. The wards would keep her angry mate out until she invited him inside. Unless he calmed down, that would not happen. When they made it back to the house, she gaged that they only had a few minutes to get dressed, so they ran to their rooms to put on clothes.

When they came into the living room, she could see through the glass that her furious mate was pacing back and forth across the deck with long, powerful strides. He had put on a pair of basketball shorts before they arrived on her deck. Arianna was sitting looking out at the ocean. The view was amazing, Rayne knew few could resist just watching the waves slide onto the shore.

“Well, let’s get this over with Parker, the sooner we do, the sooner we can get on with our lives.”

“Do we want them inside?” He looked around the living room at all the comfortable seating.

“Fuck no, outside, I do not want that man in my home.”

“Well then, let’s go, love, I piss him off, I can feel his rage from here.”

Rayne opened the sliding glass door, as soon as he heard the noise of the door Sebastion’s head whipped around in her direction, a deep growl rumbled through his chest. Parker came out behind her, Sebastion looked at him with anger, suspicion, and confusion. Arianna stood to stand beside her brother, looking Rayne and Parker over with a mix of emotions crossing her face.

“Calm down or I will have you removed from my property,” Rayne spoke directly to Sebastion.

“How do you think a little..... Fine, but that thing behind you needs to step back or I will rip his head off.”

“This thing has a name, my name is Parker, and I am a shifter,” Parker glared at Sebastion who only growled back.

“Is that how you could take the shape of whatever you did?” Arianna was very curious about Parker.

Parker merely nodded his head, staying where he was. There was going to be a showdown between these two men if she didn’t stop Sebastion from trying to dominate her here and now.

“You have no power here, Sebastion, nor are you the strongest beast in the area.”

“What the fuck does that mean? You are my mate and I am an Alpha.”

“Both are true, but neither mean jack shit around Bodega Bay,” Parker spoke from behind Rayne.

“You need to step away from my mate now. You have had your hands all over her, and that is not making my wolf happy.”

“Sebbie, there is more going on in this area than just werewolves. We are not alone out here, something else is with us.”

Sebastion looked around the deck, out across the sandy beach, then stiffened when his eye landed on a dark shadow a few feet away from the deck’s edge. Morty’s eyes flashed red as he rushed upon the deck before Sebastion could blink, Morty had his hand on his throat in a vice-like grip. “Hello big dangerous wolf, meet your first vampire.” Morty flashed his fangs in a wicked smile while Sebastion’s eyes bulged in their sockets.

“Morty, meet Sebastion, my mate.” Rayne ground out the last word with distaste.

“Ah, now I see what is going on here.” He let go of Sebastion, tossing him back so he stumbled.

“What is.... going on here?” Arianna stuttered out. “I thought vampires were just myths.”

Morty looked her over with a hunger in his eyes, shrugged at Rayne’s glare. “No, my dear little wolf, my kind is just as real as yours. Just like every other supernatural species out there.”

“Wait, what are you saying?” She sat with a thud next to Sebastion, who was still wheezing as he massaged his throat.

“Don’t worry, my dear, I was just as confused when I found out as you are now,” Edmund spoke as he joined them on the deck from the house.

“What are you two even doing here? I thought you were going to open the bar with Argyle?” Rayne looked between Morty and her father.

“I forgot to get the code to your computer, figured you two were done shagging each other, so Morty offered to bring me back here.”

Sebastion gave a wheezy growl at the shagging comment.

Edmund looked to Sebastion with a confused look, “Who is this beast? Ah, an Alpha. What pack are you from?”

“We are from Redwood Pack, Oregon,” Arianna spoke as she looked at him. “You are a werewolf, how do you know Rayne?”

“I am her father, Edmund Solas.”

Arianna quickly looked to Rayne in surprise, “I thought you said he died in the last pack wars.”

“For all who knew me, I did, but the one who tried to kill me was wrong in his belief that I was dead.” He looked to Rayne with a smile.

“ENOUGH!!!” Sebastion surged to his feet with a roar. “This banter is not why I am here. I am here for my fucking mate!!”

Rayne looked to Parker for a moment then to Sebastion, “I, Rayne Solas, reject you, Sebastion Drakos, as my mate.” The steel in her voice made what she said resonate over all those on the deck with her.

Sebastion staggered back as if she punched him in the face. His eyes were wide, his mouth dropping open in shock. Rayne could tell that he was expecting her to go into his arms, happily accept him as her mate, and run off into the sunset. His reaction made her feel slightly bad for him, but she was going to stick to her rejection. He was not the mate of her heart, despite what the Moon Goddess wanted from them.

“No.... No.... No, I do not accept that. No, I do not accept your rejection.” Sebastion looked at her with rage in his eyes.

Rayne glared at him. She knew it would not be that easy, nothing ever seemed to be. Sebastion’s eyes glazed over as he was communicating with someone, Arianna looked concerned as he went silent. What was he doing? Who was he communicating with? Would he try to bring his warriors in here to make her submit? That would not end in his favor. She had more on her side than he knew even existed.

“My gamma is calling for help, but mark my words, Rayne, this isn’t over.” He looked directly at Parker as if to challenge him. “This. Is. Not. Over. Did you get that? I. Do. NOT. Accept. This.”

“Well, you better get it through your head that I do not want you as a mate. So, the faster you accept this, the better off we all will be.”

“Sebbie, come on, we need to get back to the campground.” Arianna moved to walk off the deck, grabbing Sebastion’s arm as she did.

“I will be back,” He growled at her as he followed Arianna off the deck.

“Good luck,” Rayne turned from him to walk back into the house.

The men followed her into the house, Parker flopped down on the couch that faced the beach. Her father sat next to Parker. Morty stayed in the doorway staring at her with an odd look, like he was confused about what lead up to the confrontation on her deck. Rayne let out a deep breath as she walked into the kitchen to grab a beer out of the refrigerator. They had about an hour until the funeral for Wilson, even though the bastard didn’t deserve one.

She grabbed a beer for Parker too then headed back into the living room, “Bridgette got back to me earlier, saying that she and her mate had already made it back home, so they would not be joining us tonight. Given how very pregnant she is, I think that is for the best.” She sat on the arm of the couch as she handed Parker his beer.

“Little Bridgette is going to be a mother hm?” Edmund looked at Rayne, “I would like to see her again.”

“I am sure that can be arranged sometime. She is in a good place now, her mate adores her.”

“What of Alec?”

Rayne looked down at her beer, Parker gave her leg a squeeze, “He was killed recently in an attack on Jade Moon from another Alpha seeking revenge for a death. I will tell you more about it another time.”

Edmund nodded his head, “Then I think we can get the burial started, I will take him to the spot I found earlier, you two can meet me there.”

“Alright that sounds like a plan, I am going to go get changed for work.” Rayne stood from the arm of the couch, then walked to her room.

“How did you two run into Sebastion tonight?” Edmund asked after Rayne had left the room.

“We can talk about that at the bar after the burial, I need to change too,” Parker laughed at Edmund’s raised eyebrow, “Yes, I am only going to change.”

The burial went as expect for Rayne; she didn’t shed a single tear for the man who killed her mother. Not one for the man who beat her if she had a nightmare. Not a single tear for the man who stole her innocence. She barely remembered the man he used to be before his mate passed away. To her, he was always a monster.

Her father was a different story. Though he did not shed any tears, he still mourned the long-ago loss of his best friend. A once powerful man who lost his mind to grief after losing his soulmate and unborn child. Rayne could feel the grief coming off her father, so she took Parker’s hand to lead him away, giving her father some space to grieve without them watching.

Oddly enough, despite all the horrible things that Wilson had put her through, she could understand his loss. She had talked to Argyle after learning of his mate’s passing; she was coming to understand the pain that mate’s go through when they lose the other half of their soul. That thought made her think of Sebastion and the pained look he had given her when she rejected him. Would it hurt when he finally accepted her rejection? Would severing their mate bond break something inside her she wouldn’t be able to undo? These were questions she hadn’t thought of when she rejected Sebastion for Parker.

Rayne wanted to stand by her decision, but now that bastard called doubt was creeping into her mind. Her heart was strongly pulling to Parker. She loved him in more ways than she could count. She didn’t know Sebastion at all, nor did she want to get to know him.

Goddamn, the mate bond was getting stronger with just him being in the area for a few hours.

She did not want him as her mate.


*Sebastion*

His mind was racing with questions as he and Arianna ran back to the campgrounds where he had left Justin in charge. Rayne had grown into a powerful woman. He could feel now what he hadn’t noticed back then. She was Beta born. Stronger than what he had initially thought she was, he had been blinded by the rage he felt over how she was beaten by her Alpha. He wanted to kill that man now more than ever, bitterly wishing he had done so five years ago.

What had she gotten involved in since they last met? He knew she left Jade Moon behind her that same night they met, and he walked away from her. How had she gotten involved with Vampires? How had she met the filthy, clinging, whatever the fuck he was, Parker?

Watching him shift from human to that griffon, a creature he had only seen in fantasy books, was something amazing despite the circumstances. He was sure that had he met Parker under other conditions, he could admit to being very curious about his abilities. However, the bastard had the audacity to stand before an Alpha werewolf and have his hands all over Sebastion’s mate, for that he would be very satisfied to rip Parker’s head off.

No one would touch what was his anymore. He was not accepting her rejection. She was his mate, he would do anything it took to get her to accept him as her mate. The Moon Goddess destined them to be together. He had cruelly turned his back on that five years ago, but he would do anything to make her his.

Arianna skidded to a halt in front of him as they reached their camp, shaking him from his thoughts. He had been so distracted by thoughts of his mate that he failed to sense all the rogues surrounding them. There were easily fifty rogue wolves surrounding their camp, three were in their human form with Justin and Wade on their knees in front of them. The wolves they were taking to safety were huddled in a group surrounded by more rogues.

“Ah, so your Alpha finally graces us with his presence,” one of the three said as he stepped forward.

The power level radiating from him showed him as an Alpha, but Sebastion had never encountered another Alpha as strong as this one. He was stronger than Sebastion was. That sent a shiver of alarm down his spine as he moved to stand in front of his sister. He would protect her with his life if it came to that.

“What do we have here? Your mate?” The man cocked his head to the side as he sniffed the air, “No, if she were your mate, I would smell both of you on her, but I smell another wolf on her that isn’t here. So who is she to you?”

Sebastion shifted to his human form and pulled his basketball shorts on that he had in his mouth earlier, “She is my sister, she is no threat to you.”

“I will be the judge of that boy!” The rogue Alpha yelled.

“We are only passing through, we are not here to contest your claim on this land.”

“That is what your gamma stated when we found your camp here. Why did you come here?” The man growled.

“Can my sister change and get dressed?”

“Fine, but I want answers now.”

Arianna slowly went into the large tent to shift and change. She came back out slowly to stand beside him.

“We were taking those wolves you have in fear back to our pack for them to start a new life. They have recently lost everything as their pack was destroyed, their Alpha murdered.”

“By you?” The rogue Alpha asked with a raised eyebrow.

“No, but I knew their Alpha briefly, so we came to help those that survived the slaughter. We offered any who wanted a chance to come with us back to our pack.”

“So very generous of you. What pack are you from, little Alpha?”

Sebastion growled at the insult, then settled down as Arianna softly touched his arm. “We are from Redwood Pack, in Oregon.”

“What pack are they from?”

“Jade Moon, in Arizona.”

“Ah, I had heard of their destruction recently,” The Alpha signaled for his wolves to back away. They all faded back into the trees, leaving only him and his two companions. Then he looked at Justin and Wade, “Stand, we will not attack you.”

Justin stood, then helped Wade to his feet. They went to the Jade Moon wolves to help them stand, then escorted them into the tents to get them away from the rogue Alpha. Sebastion let out a sigh of relief when they were all out of sight. They were his responsibility now and instead of staying here to see that they were all safe; he ran off to find his mate.

“So, you are from one of the richest packs on the west coast, a pack whose old Alpha is on the werewolf council. I bet you think you are more powerful than all other packs,” the Alpha said.

“No, we know that we are not. We are only here to help those who just lost everything they have ever known.”

“So, what took you away from your little group here? It took you almost thirty minutes to get here from the time your gamma contacted you.”

“We were on the other side of the bay,” Arianna spoke up for the first time since arriving, “Just who exactly are you?”

“Ah, where are my manners? I am Monroe. The leaders of this rogue pack, I already know who you are just by learning what pack you are from. Arianna and Sebastion Drakos, twin Alphas. Do you run your pack together?”

“We haven’t in the past, but we will be in the future,” Sebastion said as he took a seat on a bench around the campfire.

Monroe nodded as he sat opposite of Sebastion across the campfire, “Come let’s all sit and have a brief chat about when you are planning to remove yourselves from Bodega Bay,” he gestured the others around him to sit. His two companions stood behind him flanking both sides of his back, “Alright stand then boys.”

Arianna sat next to Sebastion as she eyed the two other men.

“Don’t mind Giles or Mick, they are very protective of their Alpha, though they both know I can very much protect myself. Now, please explain when you will leave.”

“They will leave tomorrow, I will stay,” Sebastion looked to the tents then back at Monroe.

“Oh, really now? Just what exactly will you be staying here for, and how long do you plan to stay?” Monroe did not look happy at Sebastion’s declaration.

“My mate is here.”

“So that was why you are not with your group hm? Found your mate as you were passing through? What happened did she not like you?”

“That is my business, not yours,” Sebastion growled.

“Well, that is where you are wrong, boy, you are in my territory, not the other way around. So show some respect!”

“The council was not aware that there were any packs in this area, or we would have sent word that we were coming,” Arianna looked to her brother then back to Monroe.

Monroe threw his head back and laughed loudly at her statement. When he was done laughing, he looked at her again, “Oh little wolf, the council doesn’t see rogue packs as official packs. Having your parents on the council, I would think you would know that, but I can see you both are too naïve to know all about the werewolf council.”

Sebastion growled at Monroe as he stood to launch himself at him.

"Sit down, boy,” Monroe yelled with so much power in his voice.

Power that made Aries whimper, the urge to submit to this much stronger Alpha was strong. Sebastion had never had another Alpha assert their dominance over him in the way Monroe was doing. This was the first time Sebastion had ever come across an Alpha this strong before, making him wonder who exactly Monroe was. He bowed his head, submitting to the overpowering dominance of the other man’s aura, he couldn’t resist the strength behind Monroe’s Alpha command.

“That is what I thought, now tell me what I want to know, then we can all get on with our nights.”

“I have met my mate before. It was the wrong time back then. I would like to stay to convince her that now is the right time,” He looked at Monroe with anger glittering in his eyes.

“You have a fighting spirit, I will give you that. Who is she?”

“Rayne Solas, she has a house on the....”

“Other side of the bay and a bar in town, yes, I met her earlier tonight when I helped her kill her old Alpha Wilson Stone.”

Sebastion’s eyes widened at this news, “Wilson was here? I knew I should have killed that bastard five years ago.”

“Ah, you had a run-in with that crazy son-of-a-bitch? That is right, you have met your mate before. Well, he is dead now, she is free from his revenge.” Monroe stood dusting his pants off, “I suggest you take your people home and don’t come back. She has chosen her mate, and it isn’t you.”

“That is NOT her choice to make,” Sebastion growled.

“Oh, but it is. Not every wolf wants the mate that they are paired with. Rayne can choose for herself. Parker is a good shifter, he and Rayne do outstanding work for the supernatural community in California. I would suggest going home and respecting her choice, but if you come back, know that she has powerful allies. I will not stop you or your sister from coming back, but only if you come alone.”

“Sebbie he is right, you need to see these wolves home, then later if you still want to show her you have changed we can come back.”

“Your sister is also smarter than you, it seems. Stay the rest of the time you planned, then I will have my wolves escort your group out of Bodega Bay. Are we clear?” Monroe growled.

“Yes, I will make sure he leaves with the rest of us.”

“Very well. I will leave your camp but know this if you try to harm her or anyone she knows here in the area, my pack will make you regret that choice.” Monroe nodded to Giles and Mick, then they left the camp.

Well fuck, this night was not going at all how Sebastion had thought it would at all.

Vampires, Shifter, rogue Alpha’s, and a mate who wanted nothing to do with him.

Fantastic.