Page 72 of Rejecting his Mate

“I want to stay and help,” Jackson interjects. “Halle saved my life.”

“I think you should all go,” Halle says, her fingers wrapped around her fork, though she hasn’t touched anything on the plate. “I can handle this on my own.”

“Not happening,” I tell her, refocusing on Wyatt. I need him here, his strength, his ability, but if he wants to go, I won’t stop him. “You want to leave, then go. No hard feelings.”

Sawyer grunts. “Speak for yourself. I’ve got plenty of hard feelings about this.”

“Sawyer,” I snap the warning at my brother. This has to be their decision. No one should be made to stay.

“We’re a pack.” Sawyer leans into us, his fingers gripping the edge of the table. “What kind of fucking pack runs when things get hard?”

“We didn't agree to bring Halle into the pack,” Wyatt mutters.

Sawyer pushes to his feet and grabs our cousin by the collar of his shirt. They both go eye to eye with each other, anger spilling out of them.

Shit.

“Sit down,” I hiss at them, not moving from my seat. I push the command down the pack bond too. “Sawyer, let him go.”

My brother’s mouth is pulled into a snarl as he releases his hold on Wyatt and reclaims his seat. Tugging his shirt back into place, Wyatt sits too.

The waitress looks like she’s debating calling the cops, but I give her one of my most disarming smiles, and she gives me a watery one back. “You trying to put us on the radar of every fucker in the area?”

Sawyer’s whole face is contorted angrily. “Fuck you, Wyatt. You want to go, then go. No one is going to beg you to stay.”

“I didn’t say I was going. I just said Halle being in our pack wasn’t our decision.”

He’s right. I took that upon myself, and I shouldn’t have, but I can’t change it, and I wouldn’t even if I could.

“Halle’s in the pack, for better or worse,” I say. “You want to leave, no one is going to stop you. Not even this asshole,” I say, glaring at my brother.

Wyatt doesn’t move. He picks his fork up, pushing the food around his plate. “If we do this, you know we’re all gonna die, right?”

“Says who?”

“Logic. As soon as the Order knows she’s a tau, they’re going to send every wolf they’ve got.”

That’s not a lie, and it is what will happen.

“So, we have to be smart, stay ahead of them.”

“How?” Jackson asks.

I don’t have an answer to that, so I stay silent for a moment.

“My mom kept running,” Halle says. “She was terrifiedevery minute of the day that they were going to find us.”

I reach over and grab her hand, but she pulls away. As much as I hate it, I give her whatever space she is clearly craving.

“I can’t let that happen to you guys,” Halle continues. “Once we’ve eaten, we’re all going our separate ways. End of discussion.”

“Absolutely not,” I say at the same time as Sawyer and Jackson speak their disapproval too.

“This isn’t your choice,” she says. “It’s me they’re hunting, not you.”

“And how are you going to defend yourself?” I demand.

Her shoulders shift. “I have witch power. I’ll figure out how to use it.”

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