Rejection (by Jules)
Here’s a bit of Xany back story to lead the way! Written by Jules, one of my closest confidants and critique partner (also the brains behind Xandrea Wade on Facebook), she did a lovely job fleshing this out! Comments and questions are always welcome!
Cheers,
Max
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Rejection
by Jules
Florida sucks! It���s hot, muggy and there is never a winter. Oh, they say it gets cold but it��doesn’t. All the blue hairs have forgotten��what cold feels like. There are old people everywhere. Out of a hundred grandparents, you might find one teenager and half of those are preppy stuck-ups.�� Mom thought she was being clever bringing us down here but hey, guess what, wolves are not indigenous to Florida! So now she has to drive twenty��million miles to find a perfect spot to run. Well it���s her own damn fault. She should have left us in Wyoming.
Walking in the front door, Xany took off her shoes, dumped her backpack on the sofa, and made her way in to the kitchen. She opened the fridge and grabbed a soda.
���Hello, precious,��� the familiar voice froze her in place. It���s been two years since she had heard it and hearing it now made her realize that the aching pain wasn’t buried as deep as she thought. Xany’s grip on the handle of the fridge tightened as the memories flooded through her…
���But you feel it don���t you? I mean��� It���s not like Mal said��� right?��� A heaviness begins to weigh on Xany’s chest. Caden turns her around and cups her face so that she is looking at him.
���Listen to me, it���s like you said. Right now you would be nothing but a Breeder. I don���t want that for you. I want to change things but it���s going to take time.��� Pain crosses Xany’s face, all she can hear is Caden rejecting her.
���But you feel it, right?��� Xany looks him square in the eyes. Caden shakes his head.
���I don���t feel what you feel. We were just out having some fun for the summer.���
���Fun? It was just fun to you?��� Xany chokes the words out as her heart shattered Fun? It meant nothing? How could he not feel the preliminary mate bond?
���Yes,��� Caden said with a flat expression. Xany stiffens in his lap and pulls away from him. Her chest tightened making it harder to breathe.
���I was some kind of pity party? Hey lets go out with Mal���s little sister since she���s handy? It’s just another notch in my belt.��� Xany’s tears burn rivers down her cheeks.
���You should go.��� Caden lifts Xany out of his lap. Her legs wobble as she stands, crushed by his dismissal. Her whole world crumbles around her.
���Why?��� She stared down at Caden waiting, hoping he was going to deny all of this and actually take her away. The numbness began to set in when he did and said nothing…
���What are you doing here?��� She stared into the fridge, gripping the handle tight, torn between the urge to go to him or to claw his eyes out.
���We are heading out to my dad���s pack in Cali,��� his voice was the same as she remembered.
���So you���ll be leaving in the morning?��� Xany turned to face him. Caden appeared��the same just bigger and older. She looked into his eyes hoping they might give a hint to what he was feeling. That maybe he finally realized that she was his mate and had come to claim her.
���Next week.��� Caden sat at the breakfast nook staring back at her. Nothing there, just two lifeless orbs of brown. All the hard work of putting the past behind her was swept away with only a few simple words.
���Why Caden? Why did you have to come?��� ��Xany turned not wanting Caden to see the emotions he was stirring up with his presence.
���Because I wanted him to,��� Mal chimed as he stepped into the kitchen. She couldn���t help but smile, it seemed like forever since she last saw her brother.
���Mal!��� After she sat her soda on the counter, Xany threw her arms around Mal’s neck and hugged him tight. ���What���s this about going to Cali?��� Xany ignored Caden as she talked with her brother.
���Caden���s father wants him out there to help with the pack.��� Mal returned her hug. She had missed him so much.
���Why did you bring him?��� Xany glanced over at Caden who hadn���t budged one bit.
���Actually he brought me.��� He grinned at her. She rolled her eyes.
���You should have told me,��� Xany said in an exasperated huff.
���Then it wouldn���t have been a surprise.��� Mal chuckled. She snatched her soda from the counter.
���I���m going to my room.��� Xany walked off to her bedroom with Mal hot on her heels.
���Xee, stop.��� He followed her into her room.
���I���m not doing anything.��� Xany spun around and put her hands on her hips.
���He missed you.��� Mal arched a brow at Xany.
���Yeah right.��� She scoffed at him.
���It���s true,��� Mal said but she shook her head at him. Deep down she wanted to believe him.
���So he finally came to claim me? To take me with you guys?��� Xany looked at Mal with that little ember of hope gleaming in her eyes. He looked away. ���No.��� Xany shook her head. ���I didn���t think so.��� The pain that ripped through her was just as intense now as it was the first time Caden had rejected her.
���Just stay away from me.��� She plopped down on the bed.
���Xee������ Mal sighed. She knew, he didn’t need to say it. She knew Caden hadn’t come for her. It was all wishful thinking on her part.
���Please leave.���
When Mal left, closing the door behind him, she curled up on her side. What did her brother know? He didn���t have a mate, especially one that didn���t want him. It was like having the most popular guy ask you out on a date for the prom but when your parents drop you off he���s already there with another girl and you find out in front of the whole school that it was all just a joke. People kill themselves cause of stuff like that. Caden is lucky I���m not some weak little thing, getting hurt only pisses me off.
���So if he doesn���t want me. There are plenty of others that do.��� Speaking of which. Xany rolled over and grabbed her cell phone, paging down for the number. She pressed the button and waited.
***
After an uncomfortable dinner and a soothing shower, Xany dressed in a denim mini skirt with a crop-top T-shirt. When she came out of her room to put on her shoes, Xany could hear Mal in the kitchen arguing with Mom and Dad. Caden was sitting on the sofa. Instead of sitting down to slip her high-tops on, she bent over knowing full well that Caden would be able to see that she wasn���t wearing much under her skirt. No, it wasn���t nice but damn it he had crushed her one too many times. Xany looked over her shoulder at Caden hoping to see him angry or at least hurt but no, nothing, not one ounce of emotion showed on his face. She was just about to turn around and tell him to say or do something when she heard a car horn. Xany yelled out that she would be back later and bolted out the door. She nearly made it to the car door before being snatched back around by Mal.
���Get back in that house and put some clothes on!��� He was furious as hell.
���No!��� Xany jerked her arm away and tried for the car door. Mal grabbed her again, spun her around and dragged her back to the house.
���Either you get some decent clothes on or you���re not leaving the house!���
���You lost the right to tell me what to do when you let them drag me down to this damn place!��� Xany braced her feet on the concrete driveway and wrenched her arm out of his grip. He went to grab her again.
���Let it go.��� Caden stood in the front doorway. His voice firm but still unemotional. Mal looked at him, mad and confused, his hands clenched into fists at his sides as if fighting some uncontrollable force. Caden turned and disappeared back into the house. Xany jumped in the car before anything else could happen.
���Let���s get the hell out of here.��� That right there was all the proof she needed to know that Caden wanted nothing to do with her. If he had, it would have been him trying to stop her.
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