Page 1 of Rejected Bullied Mate

Chapter 1 - Kiera

It was warm for April. Balmy, even, but by the time I clocked out and headed home, most of the warmth from the sun was starting to fade. I could have spent the day outside with Kit, walking the shores looking for sea glass or preparing the meager garden for the summer, but instead, I'd been trapped inside the warehouse all day. It was hard not to be resentful, but I had to keep reminding myself that I do this all for my boy. It was a blessing to work and earn money on my own, not a curse, even if it sometimes felt that way.

No. Portsmouth, New Jersey, my tiny two-bedroom cottage, and my shipping warehouse job were symbols of my freedom. The only curse in my life was the one waiting back in Crystal Creek, Maine. The suffocating Saltfang pack, a million reminders of my weaknesses, and worst of all, my old Alpha, Samson Jones. Compared to everything I left behind, the few, small things I could call my own in Portsmouth were invaluable.

And most of all, they allowed me to keep my most precious possession safe—my little Kit.

The drive home wasn't too far, which I was grateful for, but it was just long enough to admire the scenery as I found myself lost in my thoughts. The trees were starting to get some green on them, and when I could see the ocean, it was an endless, dark blue. It was a clear day, but a line of clouds was far away on the horizon. I didn’t mind the idea of rain, but the thunder kept Kit awake. Maybe we’d get lucky, and it’d just be a drizzle.

Normal, everyday worries like those were comforting. Back in Crystal Creek, I’d been an outcast. Weak, unwanted, and when I wasn’t being messed with by stronger pack members, I was being ignored. Even now, I didn’t know which was worse—the crushing loneliness or having to fight. I’d never meant to get pregnant during my first heat, let alone by my asshole Alpha, but as devastating as the news was originally, the pregnancy was the catalyst I needed to leave my old pack and start a new life.

Kit was a joy, a treasure, and best of all, he was still blissfully unaware of who his father was, the danger we were in, and the fact that I would do anything to keep him safe.

Anything.

The sight of our house, with its tiny front porch and neatly kept garden, usually comforted me. Today, though, I couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. I’d first picked up a strange energy about two miles from home, but it was so faint that there wasn’t much I could do except to put it out of my mind. Relief hit me when I could finally see the cottage—from the outside, everything looked fine. Maybe I was just being paranoid.

As soon as my tires hit the gravel, the front door was flung open, and a small, quick figure came barreling out. "Mama," Kit screeched, his huge grin displaying his missing front tooth.

"Careful," I cautioned, even as he flung himself into my arms, wrapping his arms and legs around me like a baby monkey. I thought he was getting too big for me to pick him up, and a pang went through my heart. Luckily, my shifter blood makes me stronger than normal, even if I'm a terrible shifter all around. I still had a few more years of picking my boy up to look forward to.

I squeezed him, closing my eyes for a moment. Deidre, my coworker and babysitter, followed behind Kit with an amused look on her face. She had her own daughter in a sling on her chest, the much younger child kicking happily. We had a good system, working opposite schedules and babysitting for one another when the other was at the warehouse. It made homeschooling Kit a lot easier, even if he didn't quite understand why he couldn't join the other kids at normal school.

So far, Kit hadn't displayed any signs of shifting, but the last thing I needed was for that part of him to make itself known when he was in the middle of multiplication tables with fifteen other kids. The idea made me shiver, and I hugged my boy even tighter.

"He was perfect today as always," Deidre told me, coming down the porch steps to greet me. "Same can't be said for my little miss here, but what else is new."

Deidre's daughter gurgled her agreement, and I smiled.

The sun was nearly set by the time Deidre had packed up and left, and I was exhausted enough to acquiesce to Kit's request for a pancake dinner. He'd spent the whole afternoon making them with Deidre, and the fridge was full of failed attempts, the stove covered in a thin film of flour and batter. I wasn't about to complain, though. At least I didn't have to cook.

After a bath, I tucked Kit into bed and pulled out a book, trying to ignore the slight twinge in my gut. It was the same feeling that had started on the way home, and now it was growing worse, a slow, deep ache that was making me feel sick. It couldn't have been my food; we'd shared the same dinner, and Kit was fine.

Maybe I was coming down with something. It was the middle of flu season, and even though shifters usually had an innate resistance to the germs that plagued humans, I was sort of an outlier as far as shifters were concerned. I tried not to let the unease worry me and instead drank in the sight of my son as he drifted off to sleep.

“You okay, Mama?”

I swallowed down the uncomfortable feelings and smiled softly, “Yes, my love, just tired from work, is all.”

“I wish you didn’t work so much,” Kit told me with a yawn. “I miss you when you aren’t here.”

Ouch. Leave it to my sweet little boy to break my heart into a million pieces with just a few words. “I know, buddy, but I’m working a little extra so we can take a trip this summer, remember?”

“I know,” Kit sighed, his eyes growing heavy, “You said I can ride a rollercoaster, Mama?”

“As many times as you want,” I promised, picking the book back up off my lap. “But let’s finish the story right now, okay?”

Kit was small for his age, but after growing two inches over the past six months, I knew for sure that a growth spurt was on the horizon. He had been born with feather-light, blond hair that had gotten darker as he aged, but not nearly as dark as my own, and his eyes were the deep, familiar blue of his father's. I didn't see Samson when I looked at Kit, though, only my sweet little man. Still, the echoes of his father’s face were in his features, and I knew they’d only become more prominent as he aged.

As much of an asshole as Samson was, I couldn’t even begin to deny that he was attractive. But if I had my way, looks were the only thing about the Saltfang Alpha that Kit would inherit. All the toxic, misogynistic trappings of pack life weren’t ever going to find a way into my home if I had anything to say about it.

As Kit finally gave in to sleep, I brushed the hair back from his forehead and gave him a gentle kiss on the cheek, my heart full of love. I'd given up everything to protect Kit, and I'd do it a million times over if I had to.

When I finally stepped out of the room and shut the door, leaving a crack so the hallway light would illuminate the inside, the pain in my abdomen intensified. It was a dull ache combined with that unsettling feeling like I was being watched. As much as I longed for a slow, uninterrupted shower followed by a cup of hot cocoa in front of the television, I hadn't quite lost all of my instincts after leaving the Saltfang pack, and they were screaming at me to investigate. I’d been willing to let the worries go when they were vague, but now that they were getting stronger by the minute, I knew I couldn’t ignore them much longer.

I took one step, and then another down the hallway, before the feeling intensified again. It was so strong, so unmistakable, that it took my breath away.

There, on the very edge of my senses, I swore I could sense Samson Jones. But no, there was no way in hell it could be him. It'd been over seven years since I’d fled, so surely he must have lost interest in me by now.

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