Page 33 of Rejecting his Mate

He fights with me to shift, to give him control, and take our little wolf as his.

There is a reason I won’t take a mate. I don’t need the complication one will bring.

It takes all my strength to hold my wolf at bay. It has been a long time since I’ve been in this position, and it unsettles me. This little wolf has upended everything, and I don’t know why.

The baying sounds closer.

Run or take a stand?

I glance at Halle. She is already weaving on her feet, and as she cannot shift, she will be a hindrance to me.

The rational part of my mind wonders why I am helping her. This is our first real meeting; I know nothing about her. Yet, I can’t bring myself to run.

This is why I don’t get involved in shit that is not mine.

I can’t run and leave her, as much as I know that isthe sensible option. Fighting multiple foes opens me to danger that I might not be able to overcome.

My wolf doesn’t care. He wants to take a stand. He wants to fight and let that ruthlessness out of its cage.

I open my pack bond and send another call for help. I have already called to them as my wolf and through the bond, but this message is more urgent. Time is running out.

Sawyer comes through the pack bond.

We’re coming.

I know my pack will come at full speed to help, but they will not make it in time.

I peer through the trees. The noise and excited yips make it hard to tell how many there are, but it’s enough to know I’ll be outnumbered and unable to protect Halle.

I grab the hem of my tee and drag it over my head. I don’t want to shift. I know my wolf will lose his mind the moment I put him back in control, but what choice do I have?

Sawyer and my wolves are not close enough to help us, and we’re no match in our human forms. All I can do is stand and face them, hoping I can control my wolf afterward.

“You’re going to fight them?” Halle demands, sounding horrified.

I snort at her disbelief in me. “And win,” I assure her. I don’t doubt that, even if I’m worried about other things.

“Cade, you should run. You need to get the hell out of here before they reach me.”

I ignore her, shoving my sweatpants down my legs after I toe off my sneakers. Once I’m naked, I bundle up the clothes and place them behind a tree. “Running won’t save us,” I tell her, “But feel free to try.”

Halle won’t get far. Her skin is pale and covered in a sheen of sweat as she watches me through glazed eyes.

“I’m not leaving you,” she says and, holding her ribs, she goes down to a fighting stance.

There’s suddenly a lump in my throat that I can’t swallow or breathe past. I didn’t expect this show of loyalty from her; she doesn’t know me well enough to give it, but she offers it freely anyway.

I should warn her that when I shift, there’s every chance my wolf is going to be…difficult. I can already sense his desire and need to command this situation.

“Get ready to fight,” I say.

Then I begin the process of shifting.

I go down onto all fours in the mud, my fingers sinking into the ground as my bones start to break and reform. The first time I shifted was agonizing. The pain as my body changed and transformed nearly made me black out. It is a cruel twist of nature that the very thing that makes us unique is also rooted in pain.

The first shift is the worst. Mine was hell.

Over time, it becomes easier to make that change, so when I shift now, I can go from human form to wolf in a few beats of my heart.

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