I arrived at the Omega district just before the sun went down. I didn't have anywhere to go, but having been stripped of my title, there was no way I could return to the home I had known for eighteen years. I was starting to feel like I was being watched but there was no where I could go. The pain in my abdomen was ceaseless and I felt like part of me was missing on top of still feeling the touch of the two men from the previous night. Tears started to form in my eyes as I sat on the side of the road with no idea where to go. Looking around, I saw the street lights starting to flicker to life and hugged myself tightly. I had been just about to give up when a pair of soft warm hands landed on my shoulders, causing me to jump.
"Come inside, you have a safe place with us." an elderly woman said as she smiled at me.
"Thank you." the relief in my voice was more than evident.
"Don't thank me, there's only one reason you would be sitting on the side of the road." her soft voice soothed me.
I started to stand up and whimpered from the pain in my stomach. Her hand moved from my shoulder and she grabbed my elbow to keep me from falling over. She supported most of my weight as she helped me up off the ground and gave me a knowing look. She took my arm over her shoulder and started leading me into the house I had sat down in front of. It was a tiny house compared to what I was used to but at least it was shelter. We walked through the door and turned to the right where there was a small dining table in the middle of the room and she sat me down in one of the chairs. There was a man sitting on the couch in the other room and he was watching us as she stepped away from me.
"David, help me make some tea. We need to help her through the pains of rejection." she said as she faced the man.
"Wait. How do you know I got rejected?" I questioned as David got off the couch.
"I recognized the pains, our daughter got rejected by her mate and she had the same pains. We found this brew to help her through it until she could find her second chance mate." the woman said as she was putting a pot of water on the stove.
"You can sleep in her old room. Agatha, I will finish this if you make sure that Stacy's old bed is made up." David said while grabbing some packets out of the cabinet over the stove.
The woman took off down the hall and I sat there in stunned silence. It was very rare for a mate to get rejected and yet I got rejected today and got to hear that there had been another wolf that had also been rejected. David was steeping the tea in the pot and humming a song softly. I didn't recognize the song but it was soothing, everything about Agatha and David seemed to be soothing. They took me in when they didn't have to and they helped me. Their house was cozy and it had an open floor plan, so I could easily see the kitchen and living room from the dining room table and then there was the hall that had the rest of the house hidden from sight. They were giving me a place to stay for tonight and I was more thankful than I could have expressed at that moment.
"The bed has been made and it's ready." Agatha entered the room with a big smile.
"Perfect timing, the tea is ready." David replied as he took the pot off the stove and poured a cup of tea.
"Drink this, it will ease the pain." Agatha brought the cup over to me.
"Thank you." I responded and took the cup from her hands.
I inhaled the scent but couldn't quite place the sweet smell. Even the smell of the tea was soothing, it was like everything about them was soothing and it was relaxing. I took a small sip of the tea and it eased the pain almost instantly. My body relaxed and I took a bigger drink of the tea, letting it ease the pain away. A small smile broke out on my face and I looked up to see both Agatha and David watching me closely. Almost as soon as Agatha realized the tea was helping she smiled and clapped her hands together. She was happy and her happiness was almost contagious. I looked back down at the cup and finished the last of the tea while forcing the small smile to stay in place. I didn't want them to see me broken. Even though the tea had helped with the pain of being rejected, I could feel the hands of the two men.
"How do you feel?" David asked and he grabbed Agatha's hand.
"I feel much better now, thank you so much. I could never repay this kindness." I responded.
"You can start by getting a good night's rest. You look like you haven't slept in days and you must be exhausted." Agatha's kind words floated through the air.
"I am very tired." the words fell out of my mouth.
Agatha stepped forward and reached for my hand. I accepted it and stood up. Agatha led me down the hall and into the first door on the right. The room had a twin-sized bed that had a purple comforter laid across it and two pillows laid at the head. There was one nightstand table beside the bed and a dresser across the room. There was a window on the far wall with blinds that were closed and pastel pink curtains fit it perfectly. The walls had been painted white but had artwork painted all over. The artwork was amazing and looked as if it had been done by a professional.
"It's wonderful, thank you." I let go of her hand and walked into the room.
She smiled and nodded slightly before walking out of the room. I sat down on the bed and it was a little stiff, my own bed had felt like a cloud. I had always known I was privileged, I just never knew how much. My bedroom at my parents' house was so much bigger than the room I was sitting in now. There was only one door in the whole room, the door I had entered with Agatha. There was no bathroom connected or even a closet. On the corner of the nightstand was a small lamp, so I turned it on and got up to turn out the light. I turned back around and saw the room cast in shadows, which caused me to shiver with fear. Without even thinking about it, I ran over to the window and drew the curtains closed tight. I don't know how long I had sat on the edge of the bed just processing what all I had been through in less than twenty-four hours before I heard a soft knock on the door.
"I thought you might like a shower before bed." Agatha peeked her head in the door.
"That actually sounds lovely." I forced a bright smile for her sake.
"I brought you a few things. I hope it all fits." she entered the room completely and was holding a towel and what looked like a shirt and some pants on top of that.
"Thank you, I don't want to be a bother." I looked away quickly.
"You are no bother, we have a bunch of family that have left the oddball outfit at our house over the years." she set the stuff down beside me on the bed.
"Lucky me." I tried to sound happy but the sarcasm was evident in my voice.
"I know you've been through a lot. The bathroom door is right across the hall whenever you are ready. David and I are about to be heading to bed, but if you need us, we are the last door at the end of the hall." she almost whispered.
Agatha put her hand on top of mine and I felt my body stiffen. I tried to force myself to relax but it wasn't working, every muscle in my body was working on it's own. She must have felt me tense up because she removed her hand from mine and walked out the door. I didn't think she would pose a threat to me, but it was like my body had developed a new reflex all on its own. I listened closely, waiting to hear her footsteps lead away from the door before I stood and grabbed the towel and the clothes. I went across the hall into the bathroom and flipped the lightswitch on. It was time for a shower and to try and get some kind of rest.
The bathroom, like everything else, was smaller than what I had been used to. There was a counter that had a sink built into it and the toilet was across the room from that. The shower and tub were a combo at the very end of the room and there were at least walls built around the toilet so it wasn't visible from the shower. The walls were painted sky blue and the tiles were mint green. It was big enough that I could walk in and move around without feeling cramped. I laid the towel and clothes on the end of the counter next to the sink and turned to the bathtub. The shower was simple enough to figure out, so I had the water temperature set and got in fairly fast.
The dirt was visible in the floor of the tub as it was washed from my body and the dirt that came out of my hair was even worse. I had thought for sure I would never get clean. Just to be on the safe side, I washed myself twice. Once I was finally clean, I turned the water off and reached for the towel on the other side of the curtain. It had been an extremely long day and it was hard to believe my birthday had only been yesterday. I needed to get dressed and go to bed. I dried off as quickly as I could and slipped on the sweat pants and t-shirt Agatha had brought for me. The shirt was about two sizes too big and I had to pull the string tight on the sweat pants to keep them from falling off. I rolled up the legs of the pants and took off back across the hall to get into bed.
The house was dark and quiet by now so I assumed Agatha and David had already gone to bed. I opened the bedroom door and slowly made my way to bed. The tears hit as soon as I had climbed under the blankets and laid down. It seemed like all I did anymore was cry and I hated myself for it. I lay there and cried for what seemed like a long time. I hoped that no one knew where I was and that this was a safe place to be hidden while I finished healing up. I just needed to keep my head down and try to move forward. Finally, darkness overtook me and I fell asleep on that stiff and tiny bed.