Page 21 of Rejecting his Mate

He and the rest of the pack hate me. The animosity is becoming so ingrained and so potent that I’ve turned the pack bond off. The link between me and the rest of my wolf family was too hard to stomach. The hostility and mistrust were relentless. I feel lost without the presence of the pack in my mind; I’ve never been without it, but I’m also relishing the quiet.

I watch as Kyle strides down the porch steps and goes in the direction of the garage, glancing back to glare at me once more before he goes inside the building.

Kyle isn’t the only one treating me like shit. Tammy won’t look at me, and Ellie is sneering every time we’re in a room together. The others either avoid me or call me out for my latency. No one offers me kindness except for Adeline.

She has tried to assure me it’s a mistake, that my wolf is in there and can come out. We’re Beaufords; there’s never been a case of latency in our bloodline.

But she isn’t meeting my gaze when we talk, and once again, I get the feeling she’s hiding something. Her questions leading up to the ceremony had been weird.

Did she know I was going to be unable to shift?

I refuse to believe she knew because if she did, it was cruel to offer me up like that.

I sense Klaus before he steps out of the house, a coffee mug clutched in his hands. “Halle,” he says my name as if it tastes sour on his tongue.

I don’t look at him. I can’t. “Morning.”

He grunts, his voice low. “I wanted the best for you. Ain’t sure what that is now, but it ain’t with us.”

I blink, his words taking a moment to really settle in. “You want me out of the pack?”

Blowing out a breath, he leans against the porch railing, looking out over the back of the property. The woods where I go every day span the length of our territory, though they are not part of pack lands.

“I never want to remove a pack member from ourfamily.” I hear the unspoken ‘but’. “You have to understand how important it is for the pack to be strong.”

Something I’m not.

My stomach rolls, and cold trails over my skin. Being alone out there is a terrifying prospect, but staying with a pack that hates me and sees me as weak and nothing? That’s worse.

I knew this moment would come, but deep down, I guess I hoped it wouldn’t.

“What about Adeline?” I swallow back the bile as I speak.

There’s a long pause as he sips his drink. “She can stay. Adeline has a lot to offer the pack still.”

But I don’t.

That stings more than I want to admit, but I don’t let my feelings show, even though my stomach churns like a storm-tossed ship.

I don’t answer him. I can’t. The life of a lone wolf is hard, dangerous, and usually pretty short. Shifters need the pack link.

“Can I at least say goodbye?”

“Adeline’s out running errands for me, but when she’s back, you say your byes, and you leave. For now, you stay out here. I don’t think it’s a good idea you bein’ in the house.” His words twist my insides. “The others don’t like you having access to the pack bond either. You ain’t trusted.”

It’s the final humiliation, stripping me of everything that makes me part of the pack. I close my eyes just so the tears don’t fall. I won’t give Klaus the satisfaction of seeing me cry.

“Take it.” I sneer the word out and twist my head away as he comes over to me. He’s not hesitant in his steps, but he touches me carefully as if he thinks my latency is contagious.

The warmth of pack magic spreads through me one last time before it’s cruelly ripped away. Pain slams through my skull, and if Klaus didn’t have hold of my head, I would have slumped to the ground.

The heat of his hands sears through me until he pulls his fingers away and steps back. As the pain dies down, I realize I can’t feel the pack in my head.

There is nothing.

Just my wolf.

She whimpers and whines, but there’s nothing I can do to comfort her. I’m dying inside too. I’ve never been alone like this. I feel more lost than ever.

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