The Ethereal Sister and Rejection

Rylan's POV

I carefully studied the ethereal young girl sitting before me on the bed. She shared a distinct face shape with my unconscious mate, but that was where the similarities ended. Her looks were unsettling. Her skin was so pale I could map the tiny purple veins tracking up her neck and temples. Her eyes were wide, glowing with a vibrant, swirling green hue I had never seen before, and her hair was a stark white-blonde falling in long waves around her delicate face. She was something different from a standard werewolf.

Even Vargos, my dominant Alpha wolf, whined at the immense, suffocating power radiating off her small frame. Yet, she showed zero fear. Her bright green gaze calmly assessed the massive, strange man standing inside her broken home.

"I'm her mate, Rylan," I said stupidly, my brain still reeling from the sudden shock of the mate bond.

The little girl giggled softly. She reached out, tracing a delicate finger over her sister's cheek. "Oh, wow. She's not going to be happy about that." She paused, tilting her head.

"What's her name?" I asked, my voice dropping to a harsh whisper.

"Thalia," she answered playfully, a soft smile on her lips. "And I'm her sister, Maeva."

*Thalia.* Vargos hummed happily in my head, instantly smitten upon finally learning his mate's name. I let out a low chuckle, my chest vibrating with the sound.

Maeva extended her fragile hand toward me. "It's nice to meet you, Rylan."

"Good to see you too." I politely reached out to shake her tiny hand. The moment my fingers brushed her skin, a solid black blur lunged from the far corner of the bed.

A sharp hiss pierced the air as claws tore into my arm. I jerked back, clutching my forearm in shock. The werewolf healing in my blood sealed the four deep scratches instantly, but I glared at the creature. It was a solid black cat, and it sat back on its haunches, staring at me with an eerie, unnatural knowingness that made my skin crawl. It made me deeply uncomfortable.

I let out a warning growl. The cat just hissed back, rubbing its sleek nose against Maeva's chin before settling heavily into her lap.

Maeva stroked the cat's arched back. "Sorry about him, he is very protective," she murmured. Then she looked down at the feline. "Don't worry, Nyxos. This is the part in the story where Prince Charming saves us from our dismal existence." She shot me a soft smile. "Right?"

I grinned, rubbing the back of my neck. "Something like that."

I refused to leave Thalia in this humble, broken-down place. I discussed the situation with Jace, and we secured Maeva's permission to take both girls back to the Aurelian Moon Pack territory. Jace sprinted back to town, retrieved the car, and brought it right up to the edge of the woods.

Soon, we were loaded into the back of Jace's SUV. I sat in the backseat with the unconscious Thalia resting intimately in my lap. I greedily absorbed her delicate facial features, committing every curve of her cheek and slope of her nose to memory. Her enchanting vanilla-amber scent filled the tight space of the vehicle, wrapping around my senses like a vice. I shifted my hips, fighting a painful, throbbing erection straining hard against the zipper of my pants. My cock ached with a heavy, insistent need just from having her soft body pressed so closely against mine, my groin pulsing with an undeniable heat. Meanwhile, Vargos rested in pure peace for the first time in his existence, satisfied to finally hold what belonged to us.

Maeva promised to explain everything once Thalia woke up, assuring me this comatose state was a normal occurrence for her sister. I felt a rush of overwhelming excitement, though a part of me remained curious about why slipping into a coma would ever be considered normal.

Through the private mind-link, Jace's voice echoed in my head. *What is this girl, man?*

I glanced up at the front seat. Maeva sat there with the menacing devil cat glaring at Jace from her lap, daring my brother to make a sudden move. The stifling aura radiating from the little girl pressed against the interior of the car, making the air thick and hard to breathe.

*I have no idea,* I admitted. *Maeva promised to explain everything later.*

*Okay, and how about the devil cat?* Jace asked, side-eying the black feline.

*I don't know about him either,* I replied.

Up front, Maeva fascinatedly fiddled with the car's electric window. She pressed the button, watching the glass roll down and then back up with wide-eyed wonder.

"So, Maeva," Jace started, keeping his eyes on the dirt road ahead. "Have you ever been to the Aurelian Moon Pack before?"

"No," she said. She ran her fingers over the plastic armrest. "But this is my very first time in a vehicle."

Jace raised an eyebrow in the rearview mirror. "First time?"

"My old pack had strict traditionalist ways," she explained. She pressed the window button again. "How long until we get to your territory?"

I checked the passing tree line outside, watching the dense pines blur together. "Only ten minutes away. Why?"

Maeva smiled mischievously, a soft giggle escaping her lips. "Because my sister is going to freak out when she finally wakes up."

Right on cue, I realized the rhythmic breathing against my chest had hitched. The steady rise and fall of Thalia's lungs changed, growing shallow and fast. I looked down, straight into fiercely glaring amber eyes.

Before my brain could even process her sudden wakefulness, Thalia moved with lightning speed. Her small fist flew upward, connecting directly against my chin with a sharp crack.

Pain exploded across my jaw bone. Thalia forcefully shoved herself away from my lap, scrambling across the leather seats. She plastered her back against the far car door in sheer panic, her chest heaving as she put as much distance between us as physically possible in the enclosed space.

I rubbed my sore jaw, my eyes wide. I was stunned, impressed, and aroused by the sheer physical force my tiny mate possessed. She hit like a trained fighter. Jace barked out a sudden laugh from the driver's seat, earning a lethal glare from Thalia before her fierce amber eyes snapped back to me.

"Who are you?" she growled defensively, her tone sharp and biting.

I lowered my hand from my chin, meeting her gaze head-on. "Rylan Briarwood, Alpha of the Aurelian Moon Pack," I answered smoothly. My body ached to pull her right back into my arms, to physically soothe the visible tension vibrating through her fragile frame. The intoxicating scent of vanilla and amber spiked with her distress, driving my Alpha protective instincts into absolute overdrive.

But in the very next moment, her voice cut sharply through the heavy air of the car, freezing the blood in my veins.

"I, Thalia Emberwood, reject you, Rylan Briarwood, as my mate."