Page 137 of Rejecting his Mate

She rolls to her toes, getting right in his face. “What is that?”

Sawyer leans closer, their mouths nearly touching. Roux’s chest heaves, color rising in her cheeks as she realizes the situation she has put herself in. “That you’re mine.”

She shakes herself and steps back. “I’ll never be yours.”

Roux turns and rushes into her cabin, slamming the door so hard snow falls off the roof. Sawyer stands there for a moment, his hands digging into his jeans pockets before he notices us.

“You’re lucky you didn’t have to club Halle over the head and drag her back to your cabin.”

“Give her time,” Halle says.

Sawyer shakes his head. “I’m done giving her space and time. That shit is getting me nowhere.” He gives us a wide smile. “If she wants to play games, then I’ll play.”

He walks off in the direction of his cabin, leaving Halle and me standing there. “Whatever you're thinking,” I say, “stop. You are not playing matchmaker here.”

Halle pouts. “You’re a killjoy.”

I kiss the side of her head. “Yep. But I can live with that.”

I lead her back to our cabin, feeling like the luckiest son of a bitch on the planet, but also knowing this calm won’t last.

Things are changing,and the Order knows there are five powerful tau out in the open. It is only a matter of time before they come for us, and all we can do is be ready.

Epilogue

Istare at the blocks in front of me. The bright colors seem offensive somehow, wrong when surrounded by all this white. The walls, the floor, and even the doctors’ coats are all pristine and stark.

“Try to move them,” the doctor tells me as if I have not been trying to do this from the moment I was brought into this room.

I stare at them, trying to reach the magic inside me, but it is not strong enough. I am not strong enough. My wolf growls in frustration. She is just as angry about this situation as I am, but I keep my features docile and placid. Fighting back is pointless.

When nothing happens, I start to feel a hint of panic. He’s watching on the other side of the mirrored window. I smell him, even if I can’t see him. I glance up at the camera in the corner, knowing every second of this interaction is being recorded for someone to watch.

“Make them move,” the doctor snaps, his patiencewearing out.

I lash out with my hand, sending the blocks flying across the white tile floor, little bursts of color in a sterile space.

I glare up at him. “They moved.”

The doctor huffs out a breath as if I am a disobedient child, not a grown-ass woman. I watch his hand as he presses a device to my chest. As soon as it makes contact, pain ripples through me, agony making every muscle spasm and cramp. Heat spreads through my skin, and it doesn’t dissipate until he pulls it away.

My head sags forward, limp blonde strands curtaining my face as I suck a breath in and try to control the pain.

The doctor grabs a fistful of my hair, dragging my head back, and leans in to get in my face. “Do you think we will keep you here if you keep failing?” He hisses the words, anger making spit fly from his mouth. “You are only allowed to live because you're of some use to us.”

His words don’t surprise me. I have heard them before many times, but I just cannot tap into the magic that exists inside me.

My wolf urges me to set her free so she can teach this bastard a lesson, but whatever they inject into me every morning stops me from shifting. I hate them for that most of all. I feel empty and alone without her.

“I’m trying,” I spit the words out, but they sound tight because of the pain from the taser.

He releases his grip on my hair, shoving my head backward as he does. I watch as he recovers the blocks from the floor, stacking them back on the table in front of me. Then he grabs the back of my neck, pushing myface inches from the blocks. I want to fight him, but I am scared of being hurt again.

“Move the blocks.”

I concentrate on them, willing my brain to do as I command just for a moment of respite. But they don’t move. The power inside me is always out of reach, as if I am trying to grasp steam with my bare hands.

I brace, ready for the hit I know is coming. He raises his hand, but the door opens, andhesteps in.

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