Chapter 8


    COMMENT


    -Dorothy-


    I woke up to the sound of voices arguing. Lifting myself up I looked around for the source of all the


    nightstand.


    I was beyond confused, the voices were clear as day to me. It took a moment for me to realize that I


    was hearing them inside my head. More specifically, I was hearing Johan inside my head.


    I had forgotten the eventual mind-link that true mates can develop after the mating call. I hadn’t


    expected it toe so soon. From the sounds of it, he and Ignatius were caught in a heated argument


    about… me?


    I closed my eyes and listened intently. A part of me felt guilty for essentially eavesdropping on the


    conversation but I was curious to know what all themotion was about. Johan seemed agitated, I


    felt his energy like a swarming cloud of animosity and frustration.


    He was insisting that Ignatius was too involved in the situation, berating him for overstepping in a


    matter that didn’t involve him. Ignatius himself sounded like he was trying his best to stay calm, but


    there was a dangerous edge to his words that had me fearing slightly for Johan’s safety.


    I wondered for a moment how it was that I was able to hear Ignatius as well as my mate, but quickly


    forgot about this when I heard Johan’s territorial growl. It seemed he was not fully able to fight the


    mating call – regardless of his feelings towards Mavis. Did he want me after all?


    I squashed the tiny glimmer of hope that this thought brought me. I knew it was selfish and ultimately


    pointless to wonder if maybe there was a chance he wouldn’t reject me after everything that had


    happened. Johan had made up his mind. It was getting through the actual act of rejection that he was


    having trouble with.


    Iy back down on the bed, with a sigh of frustration. I just wanted it all to be over already. I knew that I


    was partially to me for Johan’s out-of-character aggression. I should have just let him reject me from


    the start. It was my own fragile ego that led to the current predicament.


    There was no helping it now. I would have to sever the bond between us before he lost himself


    was assaulted with an overpowering scent of sickly sweet perfume and other beauty products. I knew


    that scent.


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    Snapping my gaze up to the door I saw Mavis peeking into the room. As our eyes met, she smirked


    and strode into the room, standing in front of the bed with her hands on her hips.


    Her sundress swished around her long tanned legs and her blonde hair fell perfectly over her


    shoulders. Who knew someone so beautiful could be such a menacing force.


    “Gingersnap. You look like sh it,” she quipped Gingersnap seemed to be a personal favorite amongst


    the many intentionally mocking nicknames her and her crew had for


    me.


    “Mavis. What are you doing in my room in this room… Why are you here?”


    It wasn’t my room, I knew that obviously, but it was rife with the scent of Ignatius, and my inner- wolf


    seemed to have staked something of a im on him. I filed that thought away in my head to be


    pondered overter when my antagonizing acquaintance was gone.


    Mavis pushed her lip out in mock sympathy, “I just wanted to pay a visit to my poor, dear, darling sick


    friend.”


    “F uck off, Mavis. You and I both know we’re the far thest thing from friends. And I’m not sick.”


    Mavis nted herself on the edge of the bed and fiddled with the sheets. “I know Johan is your mate,”


    she said softly.


    There was a barely-restrained, menacing edge in her voice and when she lifted her gaze to me again


    there was fire in her eyes.


    “Unfortunately for you, you’re not his mate. And you never will be if I have anything to do with it.”


    I rolled my eyes, fully aware that I was prodding the beast but too exhausted by the drama at that point


    to care. “You’re a littlete to the party, Mavis. Johan is out there right now waiting to reject me.”


    I curled my knees to my chin and wrapped my arms around my legs. “You won, okay? It wasn’t even a


    I narrowed my eyes at her, the ache in my ribs slowly making a reappearance. “You didn’t need to send


    your dogs after me either.”


    Mavis flicked some lint off the bedsheets and examined her nails. “I have no idea what you’re talking


    about.”


    “I’m sure,” I remarked dryly,ying on the sarcasm. “Now can you please do me the


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    honor of getting as far away from me as possible. You’re really ruining my day.”


    There had once been a time when I thought I could befriend Mavis. I took the bullying and the insults


    delivered by her crowd as something that happened to all neers of the Southern Pack. I thought if


    I could just be nice that they would all eventually ept. me as their friend.


    But Mavis had never been interested in friendship. Mavis had never been interested in anything but


    dragging her boyfriend around like living arm-candy and beating me to a pulp on asion. Eventually, I


    learned that just being nice would never be enough.


    I had to be tough too. And my patience for Mavis and her evil antics had run dry long ago. She didn’t


    deserve the benefit of the doubt, and to give her that would only lead to further suffering on my part. I


    wondered what Johan saw in her. I wondered what that said about how he saw me.


    “Anyway,” Mavis continued, ignoring my re and picking at her nails – each long w was neatly filled


    to a point and painted a venomous bright green.


    “I’m well aware that Johan is here to reject you. That’s why I showed up. I thought he needed a little bit


    of a healthy push. The thing is though…”


    She leaned forwards, pushing her face ufortably close to mine.


    I could smell the expensive rancid floral fragrance she used to cover her own scent and wrinkled my


    nose.


    “He seems to be having a bit of a hard time letting you go.”


    Leaning away from her unsettling re, I risked a co cky reply, “Maybe you just don’t have as much of


    a hold on him as you thought you did.”


    Mavis’s face was cold as she blinked at me. She looked at me like a predator taunting its prey.


    “Well then Gingersnap, just when did you manage to scrape together a shred of confidence?”


    She reached forwards and pushed a tendril of hair back behind my ear. “I’d be careful if I were you. I


    might just have udia f uck up your face for good next time.”


    I jerked myself away from her. “Get out, Mavis. Now.”


    I wondered if the mind-link went two ways and if Johan could hear the true nature of his beloved


    girlfriend through it. Although, considering how livid his energy still felt I doubted he was able to notice


    anything beyond his own rage.


    Mavis acted like she hadn’t heard me and got up to inspect the bedroom. “You wouldn’t


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    even be a good fit for Johan. He’s got charm and charisma and talent. He’s a great guy and you’re


    just… well, you.”


    I contemted throwing a book at her head but I didn’t think Ignatius would appreciate me hurling his


    belongings around. Even if they were justified and directed at


    a snake in human skin.


    “You know, Gingersnap,” Mavis continued, “Looking at your track record, it seems like you were


    doomed to be rejected by everyone,” I glowered at her as she counted on her fingers and listed things


    off one by one. “Your mate doesn’t want you, our pack doesn’t want you,” shezily pointed the third


    finger at me. “Your parents didn’t even want you.’


    Thatment was thest straw for me. I was not usually prone to acting on impulse but if I didn’t


    leave immediately I would have attacked Mavis then and there. I hauled myself up off the bed and


    stormed towards her.


    She squared her chest as I approached like she was ready to brawl. Instead of swinging my fists,


    however, I strode straight past her and forced open the window on the far side of the room.


    “Uh, what the hell are you doing?”


    I ignored her question and, swinging my leg up over the windowsill, I hoisted myself up and out of the


    open window. My sneakersnded on soft grass with a small thud. I faintly heard Johan calling out for


    Mavis – through the mind link or from behind the door, I wasn’t quite sure – but I seemed to have all of


    her attention on me.


    “Dorothy, what the f uck?” I heard Mavis squ awk through the window and smiled to myself. I’d shocked


    her enough that she’d slipped up her jeering and used my actual name. It may have been a small win


    but it was a win nheless.


    I had no idea where I was or where I intended to go now that I had made my grand escape but I walked


    away from the vi and out onto the forest-lined road. The sky was dark now and a few stars were twin


    kling in the inky ck sky.


    I had no idea what time it was but I assumed it was prettyte. I felt bad leaving Ignatius behind to deal


    with an angry Beta and a mega bi tch but I had to get away from it all for a moment. Mavis’s words had


    stung. She knew exactly how to hit me where it hurt and it was infuriating.


    She hadn’t needed to approach me at all. She knew Johan was already going to reject me. It looked to


    me like she had just felt threatened and needed someone to take it out on. That someone being me.


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    Why had she always had it out for me in the first ce anyway? She had taken one look at me as a


    child and decided to make me a lifelong victim to her schemes.


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    11:47 Thu, 25 Lan : E T


    I shoved my hands into my pockets and haunched my shoulders, sinking deeper into. my thoughts as I


    walked the empty street. She probably didn’t even care about Johan. It seemed like she just wanted a


    pet that only she could control. Johan himself was out of control.


    I hoped Ignatius wouldn’t take my departure too harshly. I couldn’t recall if I’d thanked him for taking


    care of me in my roughed-up state. I remembered Johan’s furious anger that had touched me through


    our mind-link. I could feel it still and wondered if I should turn back.


    I hadn’t considered their argument morphing into a full-fledged fight but the possibility of it suddenly


    urred to me. These were two wolf-shifters after all and, with Johan blinded by the mating call, it


    didn’t matter how many years of friendship they had under their belts. I hadn’t known Ignatius for that


    long but it pained me to think of him getting hurt because of me.


    My step faltered and I made a half-turn in the middle of the road. I had worked myself up so much that


    at first, I didn’t notice the little ck spots clouding my vision.


    I shook my head, trying to clear my vision, but the world had gone blurry and suddenly the auburn trees


    lining the road were leaning to one side.


    I felt myself swaying and struggled to put one foot in front of the other. The white lines dotted along the


    road swam in and out of focus. Everything went ck as my head hit the floor.


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