Page 33 of Betrayed Bullied Mate

“So, go away,” Aris growls again.

“Okay, I will, promise. But I’ve got news, we caught a scent on the wind. Rogues are definitely headed this way; we just don’t know when.”

Percy slips away, and the door slams shut behind him, echoing throughout the room and compounding with the weight of what I’ve just confessed.

“I have to go,” Aris says, and I take a step backward, bringing my hand to my chest, feeling the physical pain there. He’s rejected me again.

I shouldn’t be surprised—he’s made it clear since the first time we kissed that he’s not interested in me as a mate. Aris gives me a pained look, then turns and throws the door open, stepping out into the early morning sun.

My hand goes to my stomach, feeling the pain and rejection swirling there. I feel nauseous and lightheaded, and the room spins around me as I dart to the bathroom and throw up, picturing the look on Aris’s face when I told him I loved him.

Chapter 19 - Aris

Less than an hour after I made everyone run through the river, I drag them back out of their cabins to prepare for the rogue attack. After strategizing with Bigby, we’ve decided the best course of action is to act like we’ve left, running away from the threat, especially because Varun will likely get info from his informant that we know about the attack. Bigby and I keep our strategy to ourselves, deciding we’ll tell the team at the last second to avoid a traitor revealing it to Varun and his shifters.

I’m just about to start handing out orders to the people in my team when Byron projects to me.

Sir, can we talk?

“Hey,” I say, drawing him away behind the cabins, speaking low enough that the others won’t be able to hear me. Byron looks nervous, his eyes darting to the side, back to the group of others.

“Sir,” Byron says, and I note the way he’s returned to formality, his back straight. He’s shifting from foot to foot, and before he can transfer any of that anxiety to me, I try to get to the point of what I think he wants.

“Do you think it’s possible that anyone in our team has been sending out communications to the commander without my knowledge?”

“Yes,” Byron says immediately, his throat working as he swallows. His hair has lost some of its color and shine, likely washed out by the river water. There are bags under his eyes that almost mirror mine. “I was up all night before we—before we went to the river. I found a trace of an electronic communication leaving this area the day we arrived.”

“Do you know who sent it?” I know I’m eager, asking that question as though he wouldn’t have told me who it was already if he knew the answer. Of course, it occurs to me that since Byron is the only one of us with advanced technological abilities, he could easily be the traitor and be covering his own ass, but something tells me he isn’t.

Standing in front of me right now, looking tired to his bones, I don’t believe he could be the one betraying our team. I was at his wedding last year and saw him holding his first child. Byron is a good man and an honorable shifter. I push away the notion that he could be the one trading our secrets away for something as trivial as money or power.

“No,” he admits, looking ashamed. “I don’t know how anyone else on this team could encrypt their signal like they did, but I’m going to keep working on it. If I crack it, I can trace it back to the person who sent it. I’m just worried that if I work it too hard, I’ll jeopardize its structure. I don’t want it to collapse on me. It’s a delicate thing.”

“Tell you what,” I say, noting the way he’s sagging, even as he’s talking to me. I feel the same way, but I at least got a few moments of rest and relaxation with Linnea. At least I wasn’t burning out my retinas staring at a screen all night. “You go back to your cabin, get some rest. An hour or two to take the edge off. Then get back to it.”

“Yes, sir,” Byron says, and I don’t miss the relief in his eyes at the order. He turns and heads straight for his cabin, and I find the others out front, working on what’s left of the meat we cooked up the other night.

I don’t know when there will be time to do more hunting. Right now, we have to focus on getting the area ready for the attack.

“Okay,” I say, “Varun’s rogues are coming after us, and we’re not going to be able to take them on our own. We need defenses. We already have the advantage of the scent-cover. They won’t be able to track us that way while they’re in this area, but we need more. Ideas?”

“I brought smoke bombs,” Ado says, producing a belt of grenades. He sets them on the ground and takes a step back. “They help with disorienting the target.”

I stare at them for a second, wondering when Ado got approved for this level of weaponry. Deciding not to question it, I nod.

“Are you going to tell us how you know about this surprise attack?” Eva asks, picking at a fingernail. She’s lounging on a tree branch, one of her long, shapely legs swinging back and forth above us. “If it’s not coming from the commander.”

“I can’t share that yet,” I say, dismissing her. “Let’s move on to preparations.”

“How can you be sure this is even happening, then?” Eva presses. I look at her, warning in my eyes, and she raises her hands, palms forward. “I’m just saying—if the commander betrayed us, how do we know this other source isn’t also giving us false information?”

“It’s a trusted source.”

“A source that you trust.”

“Yes,” I growl. “I am the alpha of this team, which means you will defer to my judgment. Understood?”

“Understood,” she says, shrugging and leaning back into the tree. I glance around to see if any of the others are bothered by the suggestion that I might not know what I’m doing, but if they are, they don’t show it.

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