The Huntress

Part 12:The next day

Rejecting your mate wasn't very usual among the werewolves, though it happened sometimes. The rejection was more than breaking up or divorcing. The moment one of the mates said that they rejected their mate, everything changed. It was like ripping the other's heart, like taking violently, a part of them. A rejected mate would feel immense pain and emotional torture, and Laurel knew that. However, she believed that this pain could only last a little. She thought it was better for James to be hurt at first but have a normal life than spend his years in misery with her at his side.

Unfortunately, she didn't know that her bond with James was a special one. One of those that weren't written in any book and were never meant to exist. After all, she was the exception herself. She wanted to do the best thing possible, but her actions caused more pain than she had planned. Very soon, she would realize that rejecting James was a mistake.

''James! I was so worried! I called you on the phone and through the mind link, but I got no answer,'' his sister shrieked when she saw him and ran to hug him. His hands barely touched her and then fell at his side. Something was off with her brother. He seemed strangely distant.

''I'm fine, Liz,'' he said, trying to get off her hug.

He looked miserable, tired, and devastated. Earlier that night, it had rained, and his clothes and hair were still wet.

''You don't look fine,'' she insisted.

''Liz is right,'' Alex, his Beta, agreed Alex. ''What happened?''

''We can't waste time on insignificant matters,'' he said and sounded exhausted.

''You went to find your mate, didn't you? Did you talk? Were you together until now?''

''As I said,'' he repeated with a stern voice and a look that dared you to speak unless you feared for your life, ''we can't waste more time. Alex, I want the files we talked about on my desk now,'' he said and started climbing the stairs.

''They are already there, Alpha. I gathered everything you wanted.''

''Good.''

''What about the books?'' Liz asked. She meant the books about the supernatural creatures. Her brother had left them, tossed around and everywhere in the house trying to figure out his mate's secret. He spent hours above those books, constantly looking for something but never finding it, and he was getting more and more frustrated. She hadn't dared to collect them and put them at the library in case he still needed them.

''Burn them, throw them away, lock them in some drawer. I couldn't care less,'' he said without leaving them the chance to add anything more and locked himself in his office. His hands were into fists, his claws out, biting hard the skin, and causing him pain because the pain was the only thing that reminded him that he was still alive.

Laurel passed the next few days of training and fighting with the others. She didn't go to classes, and she told Sara that a distant family member had come to visit. Asher slept in his room, but every evening he went to Thomas' house to train and help his new friends. The girls that Asher took from the club never woke up. Graham had, indeed, killed them. Since there was nothing more to be done about them, they staged them the same way as Ana Gibbins and gave the police another mystery to follow.

''Do you think we will be enough?'' Chloe asked two days before the operation.

''We must be,'' Zach answered. ''We are good to leave. I've gathered our weapons and the equipment we might need.''

''Good. Let's look at the blueprints one more time,'' Thomas offered. ''Where is Laurel?''

''In the backyard. I'll go to bring her,'' Lena said while getting up from an uncomfortable chair.

She found her friend in her training clothes, using her powers to plant some flowers.

''My sister liked them. She used to make me plant those and filling our garden with them. I wish she was here to see them,'' she said, hearing Lena approaching her.

''They are beautiful. I can see why your sister liked them.''

''Yes, they are,'' she said, but her voice came out lifeless. Her mind had traveled far away, somewhere in Europe at a house deep in the woods where two sisters used to play and whose only concern was which flowers to plant. ''How much can life change? How much have I changed?'' she asked Lyra while she was watering the flowers.

''Oh, Laurel, your hands are hurt,'' Lena said, suddenly looking at her palms.

Laurel looked at her palms, the flesh torn apart. She had seen the marks one morning, but she couldn't remember hitting them during training. It must have happened during her sleep and her endless nightmares. Strangely, they didn't seem to heal, and every morning the marks pained her more and more. She tried to use her magic and a potion she made, but the next day they were back.

''How did that happen?''

''I don't know. It's been days. They heal with magic, and then it happens again. Maybe I'm doing it during my sleep.''

''You have nightmares?'' Lena asked though she knew the answer. She had heard her friend tossing around in her bed and half- screaming in her sleep. Thomas told them not to disturb her. These two always had a special bond, and therefore they listened to him.

Laurel laughed bitterly.

''For a person to have nightmares, he must sleep. And lately, I don't.''

''You are tired, and you need your strength.''

''I'm fine, Lena. You know I don't need sleep to take them down.''

''Your mind needs it.''

''I think of my father lately. How disappointed he would be if he was alive to see me.''

''No, sweetheart, don't say that. You've accomplished so many things. You started your life from scratch. Not many people are that strong.''

''My father used to say that only the worthiest become hunters. I wonder why I became one.''

''Don't fall back into the darkness, Laurel. There is always hope. All you have to do is fight for what matters.''

Laurel waved her fingers, and some flowers bloomed. Butterflies came and stood on their petals.

''Maybe you are right. Maybe spring will come soon.''