Page 125 of Rejecting his Mate

I try to block out the high-pitched whining coming from the wolves as they clash in a mass of fur and teeth. The fight between the guys and the others sounds brutal, and as much as I try to keep an eye on Cade, I lose sight of him as he disappears behind one of the cabins.

“Focus, Halle,” Roux chastises.

I can’t do anything for Cade right now, but I can feel through the bond he is okay, so I give my attention back to the girls.

I feel the magic swirling between us, our joined hands acting as conduits as we draw on our power. Then we push it out of our bodies in the way Hester taught us. It hits the hunters and the tau wolves striding toward us like a ripple of power, knocking them on their asses.

Intense pain suddenly bursts through my head. My hands go to my temples, trying to block it out as it drives through my skull.Power swells through me, but it is not mine. The attack is savage, aimed at bringing me to my knees. It feels as if it spreads through every pain receptor in my brain, like little jolts of electric agony.

I breathe through the pain, fighting to push the presence out of my mind. Tessa grabs my hand suddenly. “Run!” She hisses the word and drags me away.

I stumble behind her, her grip on my hand the only thing keeping me moving as I battle the invasion inside my mind. I shove it aside, pulling my own power to the front of my mind and blasting it out.

Whoever is attacking me is strong and far more focused than I am, and I’m not calm enough to keep control of my magic. It is a miracle that I manage to push the presence out, and I have no idea how I do it, but as soon I do, I create walls around my mind. It is something Hester has been working on with us, but I didn’t think I would need to use it this soon.

My foot snags on something, my sock catching. I stumble, nearly going down to my knees, dragging Tessa with me. She squeals, and my body jars as I hit the ground before hands are on me, pulling me up. I half turn, panicked that I’ve been caught, but it is Roux.

“Up!” She yells the word at me as Tessa gets to her feet.

“Did you feel the power?” I demand, directing my question at both of them.

“Keep moving,” Roux urges, ignoring me.

I pull out of her grasp. “Keep moving where?”

“To the house. We need to help the others.”

Fuck that. I like Apryle, and I’m starting to like Hester, but they aren’t my priority. “I’m not leaving my mate.”

“We can’t help them. We need the power of all of us combined to fight.” The panic in her voice heightens my fear. She’s right, but I can’t leave Cade.

“Your mate is fighting too.” I can’t stop the bite of anger in my words. “Are you really going to leave him?”

Roux glances away, and I see the pain ripple across her face. “Sawyer isn’t mine, and believe me, he wouldn’t want me to fight for him.”

I really want to dig deeper, but this is not the time or the place.

“You can do what you want, but I’m going back for my mate.”

Tessa looks torn, as if she wants to stay with Abel too. “Roux is right. Abel is okay. I can feel it through our bond. But Hester and Apryle are fighting for their lives. We have to help them.” Tessa gives me an apologetic smile. “Come with us, Halle.”

I shake my head. “I’m not leaving.”

The two of them glance at each other before they take off toward the house.

I can hear the fighting between the wolves coming from behind the cabins. I make my way back in that direction, reaching through my mating bond, but all I can sense from Cade is anger.

I barely take three steps before I’m knocked off my feet as if someone shoved me with an invisible wrecking ball. I hit the ground hard enough to jolt my bones, and the air is pushed from my lungs, leaving me winded.Staring up at the stars overhead, I try to breathe through the knot in my throat before rolling to my side so I can push up.

A familiar scent fills my nose, making my wolf bare her teeth.

Dalton.

What the fuck is my former mate doing with hunters?

He’d been in Spencer too, with the man with the white hair.

I scramble to my feet, unwilling to stay down, as he steps out of the shadows with a young female. Her handis raised to me as if daring me to make a move. I can feel the magic swirling through her, magic like mine.

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