Page 124 of Rejecting his Mate

“I hope so.”

Wyatt and Jackson have found a routine too, helping Abel around the grounds. I like knowing they are settled because I know it makes Cade feel more at ease.

“Has anyone ever told you how big your heart is?” Cade brushes my hair back from my face.

“Only you.”

I’m not sure what it is, but I suddenly feel a jolt in the magic that surrounds the sanctuary. I twitch, standing so quickly that the blanket falls off my legs.

“What’s wrong?” Cade demands, suddenly alert.

“Something’s happening.” I feel power growing in the air, a little at first, and then a huge amount.

The forest is suddenly lit up, flames licking the trees. Cade grabs me, pulling me against him. “Go to the house,” he says in an urgent voice.

“No,” I say, not even considering leaving him alone out here. Instead, I reach into my mind for Tessa, but she appears in front of us, rushing from her own cabin with Abel at her back.

“We’re under attack.” Tessa’s words shouldn’t surprise me, but they do. We have grown complacent and taken our eyes off the danger we are facing.

Before we can react, the baying of wolves fills the air. My heart freezes in my chest. It sounds as if there is an army of them out there.

“We need to get to the others. Now.”

Abel’s mouth pulls into a line at the wobble in Tessa’s voice. I can see the tension radiating off him, and I understand—I am just as scared about the safety of my mate as he is. “We’ll be able to defend ourselves better at the main house,” he says.

“Then let’s get to the main house.” Cade grabs my hand. I’m not wearing shoes, just thick socks, but I don’t care about my feet as we race across the grass.

Cade drags me up the path, gravel embedding in my soles as he bangs on the front door of the cabin the three guys share. The lights are on, and Wyatt opens the door quickly, already pulling on shoes. Jackson and Sawyer are also moving.

“Hunters?” Jackson demands.

“Move,” Cade growls, ignoring the question.

As we rush back out of the cabin, the flames are gone, and I can sense movement behind the cabins.

Tessa and Abel have Roux with them. As she notices Sawyer, I see a fear reflecting in her eyes that has nothing to do with the attack we are facing.

If I had time to unpack it, I would, but three wolves round the empty cabin next to Roux’s.

Without thought, the guys shift. Cade is first to react, going down to his haunches before his body twitches and his wolf erupts out of him. The Cade I know is no longer there, but I recognize his black wolf as mine too.

Around us, Sawyer, Wyatt, Jackson, and Abel all change into their wolves too, prepared to protect us.

But we don’t need protection.

We are just as strong but in different ways. Tessa slips her hand into mine, Roux taking the other side of me.

The lights aren’t on in Apryle’s cabin, so I assume she is still at the house after dinner with Hester. They both must have felt the shift in the wards, the same way Tessa and I did.But any hope that they might be on the way is dashed as I feel magic swirling behind us, coming from the house.

Shit.

Cade and the guys stalk toward the attacking wolves, and then the fight begins.

I try to keep an eye on what is happening, but figures are bleeding out of the shadows.

Witches.

No, not witches, but tau. I can smell the wolf halves as well as their magic. More wolves drift out of thedarkness, and I force my mind to calm to gain control. Hester's mantra is on repeat in my head, even as terror for my mate and my friends grows.

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