Rejected at My Own Birthday Celebration

The summer I nearly drowned during my junior year, it was Beta Timothy Rice who tragically lost his life trying to save me. As a Beta of the pack, his death shook everyone, leaving a void that seemed impossible to fill.

At the memorial service, Erik Hawkins stood rigid, his usually commanding presence diminished. He looked ashen, his broad shoulders slumped under the weight of grief. My mother, Luna Sariyah Bell, clung to Luna Layla Hawkins as they both wept, declaring that from that day forward, we were family. And so, we began living as one.

On those quiet nights when Luna Layla retreated to her room to cry, I’d quietly slip in and hold her, clutching my pillow tightly. She cared for me deeply, often trembling as she gently stroked my head. Her touch was a fragile reminder of the bond we’d formed, one that felt both comforting and suffocating.

Erik, a Lycan Prince, transferred to the prestigious private school I attended, thanks to my father, Alpha Ambrose Bell. He became more withdrawn with each passing day, his once commanding aura dimmed by grief. I became his shadow and his caretaker, even when his gaze was filled with hostility. I stubbornly treated him well, though his resentment was a constant presence.

By senior year, Erik had grown rebellious, his towering frame often disappearing to the rooftop to smoke. I’d follow him up there, only to find him pressing a girl against the wall for a kiss. Flustered and with my heart racing, I tried to leave, but he called out to me, his voice dripping with mockery.

“Didn’t you see it all?” He pulled the girl close and pointed at me. “Meet the girl who’s going to be my mate.”

His words were laced with sarcasm, his tone sharp and cutting. “She’s loaded, and my mom is obsessed with her.”

I felt the discomfort seep into every part of me, but I couldn’t just turn and walk away. My wolf stirred uneasily in the back of my mind, a faint whimper escaping her.

That night, Erik barged into my room, his towering frame leaning against the wall as he looked down at me. His presence was overwhelming, even in his human form. “Do you know why I didn’t want to transfer schools at all?”

He confessed he had a crush on Gracie Shaw, a girl from our pack, and had planned to confess his feelings after graduation. “But then my dad died, and now nothing I do feels right.”

The resentment in his eyes haunted my nightmares later. I secretly went to see Gracie, the girl whose smile revealed charming dimples, and whose presence seemed to light up any room she entered. She was everything I wasn’t—radiant, confident, and effortlessly captivating.

As I watched her from afar, I couldn’t help but wonder if Erik had made the right choice in rejecting me. But deep down, I knew his decision wasn’t about me—it was about his pain, his grief, and his inability to move forward. And though it hurt, I couldn’t blame him for it.