Chapter 4

Annabelle’s POV

Elliot woke me up at four a.m. I almost got twelve whole hours of sleep, but we needed to head to the next pack. Thomas arrived around midnight. Elliot filled him in on all the talk about the Princess, and Thomas was glad to help the Royal Family.

“Babes!” Thomas shouted when I slid into the backseat of the car. Don’t get the wrong idea. Thomas and I aren’t together or anything. We are just good friends. We grew up together. My parents, his parents, and Elliot and Alyssa are best friends; so when they needed to have meetings, Thomas and I hung out.

Alpha and Beta bloodlines always become best friends. It’s a good thing since they’ll be running a pack together. “Coco!” I exclaimed. Thomas pouted at the nickname and Elliot chuckled. “Aw. Did Coco get his feeling hurt?” I imitated a child’s voice.

Thomas glared at me. “Why do you even call him that?” Elliot asked as he started the car.

Thomas groaned and I laughed. “Smell him” I told Elliot. He sniffed the air and shrugged. “He smells like coconuts!” I exclaimed.

“But you call him Coco?” Elliot asked. I nodded.

“Coconut is too long” I explained. Elliot shook his head with a chuckle and we fell into a nice silence. I slowly drifted off into dream land.

---

“You wake her up” a voice said, interrupting my dream. Stupid Thomas.

“Why won’t you?” another voice asked. And that’s Elliot.

“Does it look like I wanna get punched?” Thomas asked. I’m not that violent.

Elliot chuckled. “Wimp” I heard a smack, then Elliot groaned. “Fine. I’ll do it” Elliot said. I heard two doors open and close, then the door next to me opened.

I felt Elliot come closer to me. “Boo!” I shouted. Both men screamed, and Elliot jumped, hitting his head on the ceiling of his car.

“Dammit Anna!” Elliot exclaimed rubbing his bald head.

“Your… faces… priceless” I choked out between laughs.

Elliot and Thomas glared at me until my laughter died down. “We’re at the Silver Stream Pack” Elliot announced. I nodded and finally got out the car. Together, we walked to the front door of the pack house. I sniffed around. No mate.

Elliot had the meeting with the Alpha and Luna, while Thomas and I hung out at some cafe. We were in the pack territory for about two hours, until the meeting was over. Elliot picked us up, and we headed to the next pack. It was a pretty boring day.

Unfortunately, that’s how the rest of the trip went for about six more packs. Still no mate. We went through almost half the packs in a week. And I still didn’t find him. We left the Moon Howler pack, and headed for the Sunset Guardian pack.

The plan was to go to this pack, then back to the castle. Alyssa was getting restless, so we changed the schedule a little. If I didn’t find my mate by the time we went back to the castle, I would continue this trip with Elliot.

“What if I don’t find him?” I asked Thomas. Elliot left Thomas and I in the car while he got drinks and snacks from the gas station.

Thomas turned around and studied me for a moment before answering. “He has to be out there somewhere. We still have a few more packs, so don’t give up hope” he assured me.

My mind was focused on the thought of my mate. I haven’t found him. What if he’s not alive? “What if he died” I quietly voiced my thoughts. Its practically impossible to find a second-chance mate. The bond isn’t as strong. Plus, you only get a second-chance if your mate dies.

Someone who met their mate only to lose that person wouldn’t want to replace them in any way. “Stop thinking the worst. Its not healthy” Thomas scolded me. I was about to argue when Elliot entered the car. He gave Thomas a monster and plain potato chips. He threw the plastic bag in the back seat, next to me.

“I got you Orange Fanta, Hot Cheetos, and a pack of gum” Elliot told me.

I thanked him and opened the gum. “How come she got more stuff than me?” Thomas whined as Elliot started the car.

“Cause you’re annoying and she’s the Princess” Elliot said. Thomas glared at me and I threw a piece of gum at his face.

“Thanks Babe!” Thomas exclaimed and popped the gum in his mouth.

I laughed. “This trip would be so boring if it was just Mr. Grumpy and I” I pointed at Elliot.

He grunted and glared at me. “I’m not grumpy” he muttered.

“Fine. Mr. Paul” Thomas teased.

“I will throw you out of this car” Elliot threatened.

Thomas looked at me and smirked. I smiled and put my head in between the two front seats. “If you throw him out, then I’ll have to go with him since we’re best friends and all. We gotta stick together. And I don’t think that Alyssa would like you leaving me in the middle of nowhere” I said innocently.

Elliot instantly paled. Mates have so much power over each other. Even if they are Alphas. But since Alyssa is pregnant, you have to be very careful with her. Once, someone finished her croutons, and she trashed the whole kitchen. Then she cried, a lot. She bawled her eyes out. Elliot had no idea what to do. She told him to leave her alone, but when he started to leave, she threw a dining chair at him. It was one of the funniest things ever.

“You two suck!” Elliot childishly pouted.

Thomas grinned. “You swallow” Elliot slammed down on the brakes and we burst out laughing.

Elliot glared at us, before he started driving again. “It wasn’t even that funny” Elliot frowned. Thomas and I stopped laughing, but whenever I looked at Elliot, I started laughing again.

---

“Are we there yet?” Thomas asked after half an hour of riding in the car.

Elliot glared at him. “Does it look like we’re there?” Elliot snapped.

“I was just asking”

I rolled my eyes. “Yeah. For like the twentieth time in the past ten minutes!” I said exasperated.

Thomas mumbled something about me and Elliot being jerks. “How long till we get there?” Thomas asked.

Elliot stopped the car and pulled out his phone. “This is Alpha Garfield. We are at the pack lines” The other caller said something too low to be heard. Elliot ended the call and started driving again. About fifteen minutes later, we pulled up to the pack house.

Once the door opened, the most intoxicating smell entered my nose. ‘Mate!’ Mia shouted. I inhaled the scent of citrus and grass, before getting out the car. I walked faster to catch up to Elliot and Thomas who were already at the front door. I can’t believe that he’s here!

“Took you long enough” Thomas said. I jammed my elbow into his side. “Violent” he said as he rubbed his side. The door opened and a guy around my age came into view.

“Alpha Garfield” the guy asked. Elliot nodded and the guy stuck his hand out to shake. “I’m Beta Daniel”

‘BB’ Thomas said through the mind link. I bit my lip to keep myself from laughing in front of the Beta. Thomas definitely brings out my childish side.

“This is one of my warriors and my niece. Thomas and Annabelle” Elliot introduced us. The Beta shook hands with us and opened the door wider so we could step inside. My mate’s scent got stronger when we stepped inside.

“The Alpha has some personal business to take care of. He should be back in a hour or two” Daniel explained. “I can give you a tour in the meantime” he offered.

“Sure. Thanks” Elliot said politely. Elliot isn’t the rude type. Even if Daniel is younger and a lower rank, he still treats him with the same respect he gives everyone else.

Daniel lead us around the first floor, but I couldn’t focus on anything except the smell of my mate. We went upstairs, and the smell got stronger. I found myself inhaling as much air as I could. It was addicting. Mia kept begging me to look for our mate; but much to her annoyance, I started to block her out of my mind.6

“Anna” Thomas gently elbowed me. I looked around and saw that Daniel, Elliot, and Thomas were staring at me.

I froze. “What happened?” I asked confused.

“Daniel asked you where you got your jacket. His mate wants one” Elliot explained.

“Oh! Uh… Nordstrom” I said. Daniel nodded and we continued to walk.

‘What’s wrong with you?’ Thomas asked through the mind-link.

‘I was day dreaming’ I lied.

‘Were you having fantasies about your mate’ Thomas teased.

‘No. I was having fantasies of getting away from you’ I blocked him out before he could reply.

“So, Elliot” Daniel started.

“So, Daniel” Elliot replied. I feel like Elliot doesn’t act his age. He’s more laid-back.

“Oh my gosh!” I exclaimed. All three men turned to me. “Your names rhyme!” I shouted. We all laughed and finished our little tour. When we left upstairs, I could finally focus on something other than my mate.

We learned a little about each other, and Daniel was pretty cool. He is 18, he found his mate, and he likes to argue a lot. But it was entertaining to watch him and Thomas bicker back and forth. Elliot went to a guest room to rest, while Thomas and Daniel played video games in the game room. I stayed in the kitchen and played on my phone. I shot out of my seat when the front door opened, and my mate’s scent filled the house.

I walked to the door and my eyes landed on the hottest guy I have ever seen. His dark hair was stylishly messy, and his tight black v-neck showed off his muscles. His blue eyes met mine and we stared at each other. Something flickered in his eyes before he started walking to me. I stayed glued to the ground, until he was right in front of me. He towered over me and looked straight into my eyes. I thought he was gonna kiss me. But I couldn’t be more wrong.

“I, Alpha Jonathan White, reject you as my mate and Luna” he didn’t blink. He didn’t show a spark of remorse. He just walked away.

He didn’t look back as he walked up the stairs. ‘No’ Mia whimpered. This physically hurt. Being rejected. The one person that is supposed to love me for eternity, rejected me. It felt like someone ripped my heart out, turned it inside-out, and stabbed it fifty time with a knife. I couldn’t hear Mia anymore. It was like she disappeared.

Is this how rejection feels? It hurts more than anything the whole world. I felt worthless. Nothing could compare to this pain. I shut my eyes and reopened them countless times, wishing that this was some twisted dream. But it wasn’t.

My mate just rejected me.