Rejected His Miracle Luna (Dorothy and Ignatius) novel Chapter 2

Chapter 2
-Dorothy-
I awoke that morning with a twisting knot of anxiety in my stomach. I rolled onto my side under the covers and clung to my pillow tightly before heaving in a deep breath and getting up. Today was my eighteenth birthday. Today, I would find my mate.
Standing up I examined myself in the mirror, frowning at the spindly pale girl gazing back at me. I wondered if a mate would reject their match based on looks alone. I pulled my hair up into a ponytail before exhaling through my nose and letting it fall loose around my shoulders again.
The bright red locks only made me look paler. I could sense my mate, it seemed they were nearby.
If they didn’t come looking for me there was a good chance I would find them first their scent almost palatable on my tongu Already my inner-wolf seemed to crave. them, rearing to seek them out. Whoever it was.
I could sense something odd about my new mate. While all the desire and enthrallment were present on my side, something about their energy felt off. Things were off to a great start, I thought, tensely pulling at a strand of hair.
Despite my nervousness, I couldn’t help the excitement bubbling up inside. my chest. I had waited for this day since I had been old enough to understand the mating call. I had wanted this day since I was old enough to want for anything. To be wanted…
I was snapped out of my pondering by a quiet knock on my bedroom door. Anita, my current caretaker
poked her head in and gave me a small smile.
“Today’s the day,” Anita didn’t step into the room – the relationship too short and unfamiliar for affections of any kind, “Are you excited?”
I turned back to the mirror and glowered at my reflection.
“More like sick to my stomach. What if they don’t like me?”
“Nonsense,” Anita tutted, brushing the air, “Whoever it is, they’re your mate. And besides, you’re a beautiful girl on top of all that spu nk of yours.”
I couldn’t help but smile a little. Passed around from foster home to foster home, I had only known Anita for a little over a month at that point, but her kind words eased my quivering nerves slightly.
Anita promised to whip up an extra special breakfast – “waffles and hashbrowns!” – before leaving me to get ready for college.
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Alone and overwhelmed again, I was torn between putting on my best outfits and attempting some kind of make-up endeavor, or treating today like any other day and donning my regular jeans and turtleneck.
In the end, I went for my standard attire with some added rings and necklaces to convey some sort of actual effort.
Lastly, I swept my fiery hair into a rough braid and pinned the loose wisps back with a collection of different colored clips. After forcing down a bite or two of steaming waffle I assured Anita I would have the rest when I returned and headed out to campus.
The local college was a ten-minute walk from my current home and I spent the entire trip going over introductions in my head.
“Hi, I’m Dorothy. I’m your mate.”
Sounded way too formal.
By the time I had made it to campus, I was a quaking bundle of nerves. I wasn’t even entirely sure that my mate went to this college. Although considering it was the only college attended by every young wolf-shifter of the nearby packs, it was highly likely.
On top of that, my inner-wolf grew even more agitated the second I stepped inside. My mate was close, I could smell the hint of pine and englewood in their scent.
Before I had half a chance to look, it was time to head to class. I spent the first hour relentlessly gnawing on the end of my pen and meticulously fiddling with my braid until the whole thing looked like a fra zz led mess. All the while running through various introductions to no avail.
“Hi, I’m Dorothy. I think I’m your mate?”
Too timid. I groaned loud enough to startle the dozing boy sitting next to me and plopped my head down onto the desk in defeat.
After two more hours of barely containing my growing excitement, I was finally free to stalk the campus, following the comforting scent of my soon-to-be mate.
I kept my head down, avoiding eye contact with the other students who jostled around me in the corridors. I wasn’t particularly popular at this school and people passed me by like I was invisible.
The scent was stronger now, I knew my mate was close. Turning a corner I shivered in anticipation. My legs felt like jelly and my small bites of breakfast were threatening to crawl back up my throat. Then, suddenly, there he was. I knew he was my mate the second I lay eyes on him.
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He was leaning against the wall in front of me, flipping through a stack of notes like he didn’t know what else to do with himself. Johan, a gentle Beta of the Kall Pack – it was very likely that he didn’t know of me at all. But I knew him. I was also uncomfortably aware that his girlfriend was the prettiest she-wolf in their pack.
I was stunned. I stood there for a moment, mouth agape, staring at the boy in front of me. He hadn’t noticed me yet – but surely he could sense me?
–
Johan ran a hand through his hair short wavy locks the color of wheat and continued flipping through pages with a furrowed brow. My courage failing me, I took a small step back.
My inner-wolf raged in response but my mind was suddenly flooded with doubt. Why couldn’t he sense my presence? Maybe he could, but didn’t want to acknowledge me. Surely he would leave his girlfriend now that it was clear that I was his true mate? I took another step back into the shadows of the hallway, preparing to leave.
Suddenly, Johan raised his head and looked straight at me. Gentle brown eyes locked with mine and he gave a half-smile that accentuated the dimple in his cheek. Overwhelmed and caught off guard, I turned tail and sprinted back down the way I’d
come.
It was all too much. I couldn’t think straight. A million thoughts shot through my mind as I ran, my sneakers squeaking on the laminated floors.
Johan was perfect. He was soft and kind and absolutely gorgeous. But he wasn’t mine. Fighting back tears as I made my way to the bathrooms, rushing into a cubicle and slamming the door shut behind me.
I pressed my forehead to the cool concrete of the stall and tried to organize my thoughts. Johan was my mate – Johan knew that I was his. He had to. But Johan also had a girlfriend – Mavis someone who was miles ahead of me in terms of looks, status, and charisma. Mavis who, along with her posse of beautiful airheads, had bullied me since I had joined their pack as a kid.
I slid to the floor and put my head on my knees. I thought I would be ready for this day. Today was supposed to be perfect. Today I was supposed to finally belong somewhere.
A few treacherous tears escaped and slid down my cheeks. I wiped them away roughly and sniffed. A sudden knock on the cubicle door had me jumping in my skin.
“Um, Dorothy?”
A quiet voice from the other side, a voice like milk and honey, “Hey, um, Dorothy could you come out here? I promise I won’t bite.”
I could hear the grin in Johan’s voice at that last part. His scent, so close and
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comforting, enveloped me. Hesitantly, I got to my feet, wiping my teary eyes on my sleeve, and opened the door slightly. I peaked out at the boy standing at the door, and he chuckled at my dramatic pouting.
“Geez, you run away and frown at me before we’ve even been properly introduced?”
His words were chiding but his tone was light and there was a humorous glimmer in his eye. I swung the door fully open and came to stand in front of him. I stared down at my shoes, hoping he wouldn’t notice my reddened eyes.
“I just… didn’t know what to say.”
I still didn’t, really. Standing before this beautiful boy, my true mate, all of my confidence went out the window along with my ability to form sentences.
“Well, we can start slow,” Johan offered me his hand, “Would you mind if we talk somewhere else? As much as I’d love to hang around the girl’s bathroom I don’t think the ladies will be particularly happy with my being here.”
Dumbfounded, I took Johan’s hand and let him guide me out of the bathroom and through the throngs of students towards the small indoor garden.
He sat down on the creaking wooden bench and gestured for me to join him. I plonked down next to him and immediately berated myself men tally for not even trying to be graceful. Johan didn’t seem to mind though and he leaned back on the bench, folding his arms and coc king his chin to gaze at me.
“So… my name is Johan-”
I couldn’t help a short laugh, cutting him off, and waved my hand to dismiss his introduction.
“I know who you are. Everyone here knows who you are. You’re the pack’s golden boy with the bombshell girlfriend and a father on the council. I would have been living under a rock all this time if I didn’t know your name.”
Johan smirked and raised an eyebrow at me. “Okay, my reputation precedes me, it
would seem.”
I breathed a quiet sigh of relief that my interruption didn’t seem to offend him.
“Anyway,” Johan continued, “You’re Dorothy right? I’ve seen you around campus a few times,” He laughed at my incredulous expression, “Your hair is a little hard to miss.”
I blushed brighter than my locks at that comment and twisted my braid between my fingers. We spoke for a while, I explained that I had been moving between foster homes. since I’d been left with the pack as a small child.
Chapter 2
Johan told me about his father’s strict parenting that landed him with his “golden boy” persona in the first place.
As we talked, I felt myself begin to relax, comfortable in Johan’s calm presence. The excitement I had felt earlier that morning was back and I couldn’t help but smile. openly while speaking with my true mate.
Johan spoke with a laid-back, boyish attitude and waved his hands around while describing how he and an old friend had once been chased around the woods by a jackal they’d mistaken for a wolf-shifter when they were children.
I in turn gave him a dramatic retelling of the story about a pet frog I’d once had and how it had gotten into one of my caretaker’s handbags on their big, fancy date night.
After a while, Johan’s tone grew more serious and he took my hand in his. I felt pric kles of electricity where his skin touched mine and I looked into his chocolate brown eyes in carnest. This was it. He was going to accept me as his mate.
I could barely contain my excitement and I could feel my inner-wolf singing in my chest. Johan’s expression, however, was puzzling – almost sympathetic.
“Dorothy, you’re beautiful. You’re ‘perfect’. I can feel the connection we have and I know now that you are my true mate. You always have been. But…” he hesitated. wincing like the words hurt to force out, “But I already love someone else – Mavis, her and I… we promised we’d stay together.”
It felt as if a carpet had been pulled from beneath my feet but instead of the ground, there was only open space. I pulled my hand away from Johan even though it pained me to do it.
“What are you saying?”
My voice cracked slightly, and my eyes pr icked with tears once more.
Johan’s face contorted as he fought to keep his voice steady, “Dorothy…”
I leaned away from him, shaking my head and covering my face with my hands. I didn’t want to hear it. I couldn’t. Johan took my face in his hands, using a thumb to wipe a tear that was trailing down my cheek.
“Dorothy, I can’t accept you as my mate. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
Johan held onto me as I burst into tears, burying my face in his chest and soaking in his scent while I still could.