Page 59 of Rejected Pregnant Mate

Aaron groaned when Jayce shook him awake, and there was a profound sense of relief on his face when he saw his leader. "Alpha..."

I didn't have time for that shit. "Talk," I snapped, kneeling down next to Jayce, "Where is she?"

The Beta looked at me like he just noticed me, and then glanced at his Alpha again. "She...she's dangerous."

Joe scoffed, and I snarled. Jayce put a hand on his wolf’s shoulder. "What did you see, Aaron?"

"She was acting strange." He sat up and touched his head gingerly. "Twitchy. When she got to her car, I thought she was having a seizure, but when I touched her—" he shuddered, terrified, "Something burst out of her and knocked me out. It dragged me into the woods, and that's all I remember."

I snarled again, and Jayce looked at me. "You don't believe him?"

"No. It doesn't tell me shit. Where is my wife!?"

"Scott," Joe rumbled. "I think the kid is telling the truth. We're all in the dark here."

"I think she went deeper into the woods," Aaron coughed. "Heading east."

East. East. What the hell was east of here? I was searching my brain when Jayce leaned closer to Aaron and stiffened.

"Scott, can you smell that on him? It's like ozone and something else I can't place..."

I leaned in and inhaled deeply. I stilled. "Star anise."

Aaron was confused. "What?"

Jayce looked at me sharply. "You're sure?"

"I know what the hell star anise smells like. That's the scent of my wife's magic."

"Shit," Joe murmured. "I thought you two figured out that...thing between you already?"

"We did," I said, standing. I finally realized what was east, and my blood ran cold. Not out of fear, but because of what that place could do to my wife. "But something tells me it's not over. Come on. We've got to get to Saltfang territory."

Chapter 25 - Nayeli

I woke to the creak of floorboards and a pain in my ribs like someone had driven a knife through them. The ground was cold, and when I put my hand to the ground to try and push myself up, it came away covered in dust.

Where was I?

When I couldn't sit up, I rolled to my back and opened my eyes. There was barely any light filtering in, just a little bit of moonlight, but as a shifter, I could see better in the dark than most. As my eyes adjusted, I could see the off-white ceiling, unremarkable except for a long hairline crack about two feet long. I couldn't stop staring at it, and that crack pulled at some long-forgotten memory in the back of my mind.

Oh yeah. I remembered how that crack had scared the life out of me as a little kid, because I was so afraid that it would split wide open and our house would collapse on top of me.

I knew this ceiling. I knew this house, even though it was dark and dust-covered. I was in my first home, my parents' home, the one I'd refused to enter since they died.

Panic shot through me like a lightning strike. I scrambled upright, breathing shallow, heart racing in my chest like hummingbird wings.

"No," I whispered, "No, no, no..."

I closed my eyes tightly at first, but the urge to look around was too much. The wallpaper was still curling at the edge of the hallway, and the family pictures hung on the wall. I was probably imagining it, but when I sucked in a breath, I was sure I could smell my mother's old perfume.

My body was screaming at me to get out, but my brain refused to let me. I was stuck. Wrapping my arms around myself, I stood and walked down the hall like a ghost, hand trailing the wall as I went. I found my old bedroom, exactly how I had left it before the fire. There were even clothes thrown on the bed from where Samson and his wolves had packed my things to bring me after the car accident.

How had I gotten here? My head felt fuzzy, but I remembered the library, the dark parking lot, Jayce's wolf, Aaron, and then...fear followed by nothingness. I couldn't remember anything else.

The house was cold, and I shivered. I sat on my old bed, terrified, trying to collect myself. There was no way I'd come here alone, not when I'd avoided it for a long time.

I wanted Scott. I reached through our mating bond, and he was there, steady and sure, but with the sharp edge of panic.

---