Page 129 of Rejecting his Mate

As she steps into the light, I can see her. Red hair,the gap in her front teeth just like mine, and I’m sure if I could see through the shitty lighting, green eyes.

My feet move of their own accord, and Cade has to grab my arm to stop me from going to her.

She doesn’t look at me or make eye contact with anyone. Her expression is blank, as if the lights are on, but no one is home. I swallow down the emotions battering me as I stare at her, wondering if she is an apparition.

“Mom?”

The white-haired man smirks, an ugly look on his face as he says something to her. She raises her hand so it aligns with her shoulders, and I feel her swell of power before she releases it.

I brace for the impact, but it never comes. The others fire magic back, and I scream for them to stop. “You’re going to kill her!”

Cade’s arms wrap around me from behind, pulling me against his chest. “You can’t help her.”

The attack between them continues, until the white-haired man and my mom vanish into the darkness. I stare after them, sagging in Cade’s arms as the realization hits that my mom isn’t dead—she hasn’t been dead all this time. She has been a prisoner of the Order, and I have no idea how we get her back.

Chapter 31

Halle

Ino longer feel magic in the air now the fighting is done and our attackers are on the run. Cade sends the guys to make sure they clear the territory, but he doesn’t release me from his arms.

I don’t fight him, knowing it is pointless. He is stronger than me, and it is not a fight I can win.

“Let me go,” I tell him.

His mouth comes to my ear, his breath warm against my skin. “She’s gone, Halle, and I’m not going to let you put yourself in danger.”

He’s right, but I hate how that makes me feel. My mom didn't recognize me. I’m not sure she even knew where she was. “We can help her.”

“Her mind belongs to them,” Hester says. The coldness of her tone pisses me off.

“Screw you.”

She takes the insult I fling at her. “I know you’re angry. I am too, but there is no helping her.”

I narrow my eyes, my anger flashing through me. “You don’t know that.”

“Do you think you four are the first tau I have rescued?” Her voice sounds shredded as she says this, filled with pain.

“What happened to them?” There is horror in my voice as scenarios play through my mind, none of them good.

Hester’s gaze locks on the fire still burning in the trees, the orange light dancing across her face.

“The Order took them. Those women thought they could protect themselves, just like you. It’s bullshit. The Order has existed for millennia. They are organized, vicious, and motivated. Standing alone is why we’re easy to pick off one by one.” She gives me her attention. “We are stronger together, and we have always been. That is why I created the sanctuary. I thought it could be a place for us to grow into our powers and stop those fuckers from taking any more of us.”

“You knew they were taking us?” Tessa’s voice is small, but I hear the bite of anger in her words.

“I saved you. Don’t look at me as if I am the monster here. Everything I have done has been for our survival.”

“Including withholding the truth?”

“And what would you have done with the truth, Tessa?”

Anger flashes across her face. “I would have been more prepared for what happened tonight. We all would have been.”

“What is the Order doing with us when they haveus?” Apryle speaks, her voice level. I can’t tell if she is pissed off as well.

“I don’t know. The only thing I know is that they are collecting as many tau as they can find. That is why we have to protect the sanctuary. We need a safe place for our kind to gather.”

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