Page 25 of Tolerated By the Sigma (Mate Hunt 7)

His eyebrows furrowed as he frowned. “You’re part of two packs. People were always talking about it—the human girl in town being protected by a dozen wolves.”

I nodded. “I was, in elementary school and eye school. But they…” I trailed off, eyeing the werewolf. “This is one of those sensitive topics I should shut my mouth about before I piss Oscar off.”

Ryder scoffed. “Tell me.”

I scoffed back. “I’m not your damn employee.”

His scowl deepened, and his grip on my shoulders tightened. I started to shove him away, but then he pulled me tighter to his chest as his eyes went red.

“I won’t eat anyone,” the wolf snarled through the human.

“That’s nowhere near the promise I told you I needed,” I pointed out.

He snarled again, but finally said, “I won’t take over and attack anyone no matter what you say.”

I narrowed my eyes, not believing him.

He spat, “Unless they’ve physically harmed you.”

“No. You can’t take over and attack anyone until I’ve given youpermission, if you want me to tell you things,” I countered.

The wolf snarled a third time, but agreed. “Fine.”

The red in his eyes faded, and Ryder held me tightly in what I saw was an attempt to balance himself.

“After they realized I wasn’t mates with any of them, they all determined that I was going to cause issues for them with their mates, and abandoned me. They were honest about it, and a few of them tried to stay friends with me, but I didn’t live next to the rest of them so it was pretty easy for them to cut me out.”

Ryder growled into my hair, “Bastards.”

I shrugged a bit. “They did what they felt was right. I try not to judge people for that, even if I see things differently than they do.”

“Pack shouldn’t be something you can just give up on. It’s family.”

“I agree. But I can see their reasoning too, even if I don’t think the way they reached those conclusions was right.” Ryder’s arms slid around my back, his hug tight, secure, and possessive. When he didn’t speak again immediately, it occurred to me why he was so pissed about my pack situation. “Your pack turned on you too.”

“I don’t want to talk about those assholes,” he growled back.

“That’s okay. I won’t push you.”

It was true; I’d never try to force him to tell me shit. I just wouldn’t open up to him anymore if he didn’t open up to me.

My eyes closed, my head resting against his collarbone. He gave a rumbly sigh, and one of his hands slipped back into my hair. “How is it still soft?” He grumbled at me, lightly dragging his hands over the strands.

I made a noncommittal noise. Not only did I have no explanation for him, but I could also tell he was trying to change the subject, and I had no desire to let him out of the conversation that easily.

He continued playing with my hair gently, and neither of us spoke until he finally admitted, “My wolf took over after Lisa rejected me. You’ve seen how he is—dominant, and harsh. The pack didn’t bother trying to get him to shift. They chased him, and attempted to kill him to remove the threat they assumed I was to the town. My wolf was fast, but the others hunted together, and eventually, they caught him. He…” Ryder trailed off.

A low growl escaped him before he continued. “They only left because they thought we were dead. And we were really close to that. So when we pulled through, the wolf took us to Rocco’s place, and Rocco loaned us his spare room for as long as we wanted it. I wrestled the wolf for a long, long time, and kept the fact that I was still alive quiet for as long as I could. I knew that when they found out, my pack would either try to hunt me or try to make amends.”

He continued, his voice lower, “Del was the one who convinced Rocco to come out with the truth—and that was because she met our parents, and loved them like they were her own. And she was right that they deserved to know, even if I knew I was going to die one way or another.”

I was quiet for a long moment, my body still pressed to his and my face resting against his chest. “Have they tried to hunt you down since then?”

“Once, pretty soon after the town found out I was still alive. The feral pack fought them off with my wolf not far from here, and the pack chose their lives over ridding the town of the threat they think I pose to it.”

“Damn.” My grimace was deep.

His fingers played with my hair, and he didn’t respond.

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