Filed To Story: Chasing the Rejected Luna's Heart (Clara & Liam) Book PDF Free
The driver took my bags, and while I wasn’t sure I recognized him, I was sure he would be spreading word of my departure to everyone soon enough. I wondered what the cover story was going to be for why the alpha’s daughter was sent away without warning, never to return.
I settled into the back seat of the car and looked out the window to find Liam watching me from the front door, that same unreadable look in his eyes. Despite all my protests, there was part of me that was still hoping he’d come after me. That he would use his authority to put an end to this madness. That every moment of our shared past would meansomething to him.
The car pulled away, and he was still standing there, so I turned to face forward and tried not to look at any of the familiar houses and shops in town that gave way to the woods just beyond it, knowing it would probably be the last time I saw any of it.
* * *
I had expected the car to drop me off in the nearest city, but when the driver passed all three exits and kept going on the highway, I wasn’t sure what to make of it, except that Dad had decided he wanted me even further out of sight and out of mind.
When I’d asked where we were going, the driver would only say he was going to drop me off where my father had instructed. Eventually, I had given up trying to convince him otherwise, since he didn’t seem to give a shit about whether I wanted to accept the apartment or not. Assuming that was even still on the table.
Now that I had been given a couple of hours for my emotions to settle, the fear was setting in. How the hell was I supposed to survive on my own in a world I didn’t even know?
My whole life had been leading up to one thing: to becoming a mate, and subsequently, a mother. I was prepared for those things. I had been prepared for little else, even if I didn’t exactly feel ready for them. Or at least, I hadn’t. Now that those were no longer on the radar, I was not only at a loss for what to do but for who I was.
If I wasn’t the future Luna of the pack, what was I? If I didn’t have Liam, Damon, and Jax, what did I have? I had once thought my life in the pack was lonely and fantasized about what it would be like outside, but now that it was more than just a fantasy, all the glamour of the idea was gone.
As uncomfortable as the long car ride was, when we finally came within view of the next city limits, I began to panic. Living among humans was a foreign prospect, but what was far more terrifying was the thought of what else I might run into.
There were shifters who lived outside of packs, and the stories I had heard about them growing up left me less than eager to meet them. Wolves were social creatures. Other shifters to a lesser degree, perhaps, but it still held true. Those who lived outside of their home packs and prides did so for a reason, and it usually wasn’t just because they were eccentric and preferred to be alone. Then there were the vampires…
I shook my head to clear it. This was going to be hard enough without working myself into a frenzy. Besides, it wasn’t like there was anything I could do to change my fortune now. Even if I could convince the driver to take me home, my pack didn’t want me. My only family and my prospective mates had turned their backs on me, and once the alpha gave word of something, that was it.
I was used to the males in the pack treating me with chivalry, at the very least, but when the driver pulled up in front of a shady looking apartment building on the outer reach of the city and waited expectantly for me to get out, I realize that was another privilege reserved for real she-wolves.”Thanks,” I mumbled, hauling my suitcase out of the backseat.
The window opened and the driver reached out, holding a tan envelope. I didn’t know what it was, but by the time I opened it, he was already driving off.
Inside the envelope were a set of keys on a plain jump ring and a stack of papers that looked like basic vital documents. A birth certificate, Social Security card, and a lease stating six months had been paid up on the apartment in my name. Nothing else. No notes, no abridged guide to living among humans as an outcast, nothing.
I looked up at the apartment building, feeling an ever-growing sense of dread. My heart hammered in my chest as I warred with myself over what to do next. Turning down Dad’s offer of a place to stay had felt good at the moment, but now that I was staring down the prospect of spending a night on the streets or using my extremely limited funds to secure a hotel room, the decision was a little easier. My pride went down hard, but it was already late, I was emotionally and physically exhausted, and I needed at least a night to clear my head and regroup.
Every now and then, I checked my phone, hoping against hope that maybe Clara or one of my cousins would have at least texted to see how I was doing or ask what happened. There was no such thing as a secret in the pack. Except of course for the notable exception of my existence for the last twenty-one years. Surely they knew something by now, but there was nothing. No calls, no voicemails, no texts.
I walked into the main lobby and looked around, finding myself in the middle of a dour room with peeling floral wallpaper, burnt beige carpet, furniture that looked like it had been plucked from a cheesy ’90s movie, and little else. The scent of mildew immediately assailed my nostrils, so I tried not to breathe in too deep. There was no front desk, but I guess that was more of a hotel thing. And this sure as hell wasn’t the Ritz-Carlton, but it was a roof over my head for the night at least, so I decided to count my blessings.
As I walked toward the elevator, the mildew scent became even more rank and my nose wrinkled. Despite his claims that this was a charitable act, I couldn’t help but suspect that Dad had chosen this place just to spite me. Just to add insult to injury, as retribution for…
All this time later, and I still didn’t really know. Existing? That seemed like enough.
If I thought too hard about anything, I started getting queasy, so I kept moving and called the elevator, refusing to let myself slow down. It opened and I was about to get on when an impatient older woman lugging a portable cart filled with shopping bags brushed past me, nearly bowling me over. She gave me a judgmental once-over and harrumphed before jabbing the buttons on the panel inside the elevator.