Page 26 of Rejecting his Mate

I suck oxygen in, my lungs and throat burning like I have poured acid down them. My scent is thick, and hewill follow me like a bloodhound. The trees will slow down Dalton, but not enough.

I can hear noises coming closer, crashing through the undergrowth in my direction. I can’t outrun him in his wolf form, and if he catches me this time, he will finish what he started.

He will end my life.

My sneakers are caked in mud as I press forward, trying to escape my mate.

A huge brown wolf erupts out of the trees to the side of me.

Dalton.

Shit.

Startled, I slip in the mud, hitting the ground with force. Unable to stop myself, I cry out as pain races through my back and ass.

Lifting my head, I see Dalton’s wolf readying to leap at me, his teeth bared. He’s a huge animal with a thick tail and white on the front, breaking up the brown.

He’s also lethal.

I’ve seen him sparring with other members of the pack and I’ve seen him hunt. I know what he’s capable of.

I close my eyes and try to find inner peace with what is about to happen to me. Death will be fast, or so I hope. Being torn apart doesn’t sound quick.

A scent infuses my nose, a familiar one. I pop my eyes open as Dalton launches at me. At the same time, a black missile launches out of the trees, leaping in front of Dalton’s wolf. They collide in a mass of fur and a tangle of limbs.

Blood sprays and a high-pitched whine echoes around the forest.

Dalton’s, I realize.

The black wolf is huge, a good two feet taller than my former mate. His jaw snaps at Dalton’s hindquarters, making him whimper again.

I scramble back, trying to avoid getting in the way of the fierce battle between them. This is a dark and dirty fight. It seems to last forever, even though it has been only a few minutes. The coppery scent of blood is thick in the air, and I can tell Dalton isn’t winning this.

I can’t help but feel a little smug at the panic and fear I sense through the mating bond.Now you know how it feels to be looking death in the eye.

Dalton barks and turns, fleeing into the woods toward pack lands. I watch him go, stunned.

The wolf who has always played the big man has tucked his tail and run.

Asshole.

I hope he bleeds to death before he gets back to the pack.

Movement behind me makes me freeze. Slowly, I turn back to the black wolf. He lowers his head as he stares after Dalton, a low growl sounding in his throat before he snaps his teeth.

Then he turns those red eyes to me.

Have I traded one monster for another wolf just as terrifying?

My heartbeat stutters, but it’s not fear I feel. For the first time since my failed first moon ceremony, I feel a calm wash over me, and it’s because of him.

Why does this wolf affect me like this?

When he stalks toward me, that low growl still rumbling in his throat, I feel the first tendril of doubt. Maybe I’ve read this wrong.

My eyes don’t leave his. I’m not sure what he’s about to do. Saliva mixed with blood drips off his incisors as he skulks toward me, his body still in attack mode as he stops in front of me, lowering his head.

I should be terrified, and part of me is. He seems feral, possessed by madness as his teeth snap inches from my face.

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