Page 6 of Sold Rejected Mate
Until Soren turns away to continue trekking on our original path, and I see her again.
Not running from the fire, but dancing with it. Only the vaguest suggestion of a woman’s form.
When I blink, she disappears again, and I clear my throat, wishing I could rub my eyes. Maybe the fire is making me lose my mind. Maybe it’s nothing.
It’s probably nothing. When you’ve fought as many fires as we have, it only makes sense that you start to see things.
By the time we meet up with the other guys, the forest is coated in the extinguisher, and we’re all dead tired. Dead tired, but pleased that we managed to kill this one before it could get close to town.
I try to forget about the figure I saw, even when Soren asks me what that was about. I try not to think about the chill that ran down my back at the sight of her.
But as we trek back to the engine through the wreckage, I swear I can hear something laughing, the sound dry and dancing, moving amongst the brittle pines and aspens still standing amongst the soot and ash.
Chapter 3 - Valerie
This motel fuckingreeks.
Like stale cigarettes, mildew. And other scents I don’t want to think about, or the nausea pushing at the bottom of my throat is only going to get worse.
I’ve been in my fair share of shitty one-night stays, but this one has to be the worst. And more than that, I can tell from the scent of ash and smoke hanging in the air that, despite my best efforts, I’m back in Silverville once more.
It’s been ten years of running, struggling, doing everything in my power to avoid crossing back over the county line, and within a few hours, a couple of assholes with a blindfold and an SUV dragged me in here.
I sit on the edge of the sagging bed, the duvet uncomfortably damp on the back of my thighs, my wrists raw from the zip ties they tightened on me when I kept trying to fight my way out of the SUV.
“Why it takes three fucking guys to catch one green-haired bitch is beyond me,” Lucian Winward says, stalking back and forth across the stained carpet, his eyes cutting to me smugly at the insult.
I want to sayvery original, but stop myself. Turns out, Icanlearn, and my cheek is still stinging and swelling from the last time I talked back to him.
Some men don’t like to hit women. Some alphas, even those in a slimy, shady operation like Lucian, would refuse to hit an omega.
Lucian Winward is not one of those men. Not one of those alphas.
Even worse than the stinging in my cheek is the magic still simmering under my skin, like jalapeño lotion applied three times a day. It will never stop burning, itching, reminding me of its presence.
Lucian stops pacing and turns to face me, his brown eyes so much like his sister’s that it takes me back for a second.
The last time I saw her. To the aftermath of the thing we did—or didn’t do?—together.
Lucian takes a step closer to me, so he has a foot between mine, his leg basically between my legs. It makes a shudder run the length of my spine, makes my mouth taste like battery acid.
Last I knew, Lucian wouldn’t stoop so low as to touch me, but with the rumors about the pack, I have no idea what he thinks he can get away with.
When I don’t look up at him, he reaches down, grabbing me by the chin and yanking it hard enough that my cheek starts to bleed again, dribbling down over his fingers.
“When most people owe money,” he spits, eyes glittering with malicious amusement, “they try to pay it back. Or get the fuck out of dodge. But you—you stuck around, Valerie. And, if I’m being honest, thatpisses me off.”
He’s right—I shouldn’t have stayed in Colorado. I could have gone to the other side of the country. To the other side of the world.
I could say that I just never made it that far—I couldn’t keep a job long enough. Or I could be honest and admit that there’s always been a tether between me and this place, and I can’t find it in me to get too far from Silverville.
He steps back, pushing me away hard enough that I sway back, nearly flattening on the bed. My heart kicks into gear atwhat that position might encourage him to do, and I sit up straight, keeping my body rigid.
If he touches me, I’ll fight to the death. It’s not like I have anything to lose.
Maybe I’ll finally let the magic take over. Maybe I’ll just go off like a fucking bomb.
“I’ve beentryingtopay you back,” I manage through gritted teeth. “With like three hundred percent interest, it’s pretty fucking hard.”
