Page 62 of Rejected Mate

Husk led us down a dirt path to the main road.

My pulse raced and I took a deep breath to try and get it back to normal. My breathing sounded too loud in my ears. I tried to slow it down, but my heart wasn't cooperating. I was so twitchy.

Mayia's van shimmed to a stop and a few of SmallHeath's wolves sniffed the air, then lowered their heads, teeth exposed. The wolves stirred and growled low in their throats.

Rebecca and her husband climbed out with Mayia, followed by several guys I didn't recognize. They circled Mayia as though shielding her, and I wondered briefly if these were guys she had told me about.

"You're not welcome here. Leave," Charlie, who ran the mail, shouted.

In front of me, Husk and Winter shifted into their human forms. Their clothes transformed with them. Sky remained in his wolf form, not leaving my side.

"We didn't come here to hurt anyone. Just turn over your alpha and we'll leave."

Several of the wolves snarled.

One of the men laughed. "Good luck with that."

"He's not here," Charlie, the weathered mailman said. His stance was firm, unwavering.

"If that's the case, we'll deal with him later. But we need to talk to everyone," Winter said.

A wolf near Winter snapped its teeth too close to him for my liking, but Winter didn't flinch.

"There's nothing to talk about," Charlie said.

"There is," Rebecca said with a scowl. "In fact, it seems pretty damn obvious what's going on. Your alpha sent wolves to attack Fagua's mates." She waved a hand at Husk, Winter, and Sky. "They bonded and he wants to kill them so he can sell her. How can you allow that? It's a crime, an atrocity."

They knew as well as I did what mating meant for us wolves, yet I only saw a few of the wolves shift uncomfortably beneath her gaze.

"There's nothing to talk about," Charlie said again.

"We've seen what your alpha is doing and we're not going to just stand by while he hurts hundreds of people," Winter said.

Martha, the town librarian, walked up to Rebecca and sneered. "As if we'd believe the lies that you and your friends have to say about our alpha. Our alpha is a great leader." She glanced around at the other wolves, many of whom nodded. "All we have here is rogue wolves, two traitors"—she pointed to Rebecca and her husband—"and a half-breed vampire. They deserve to die."

"They're here to harm our alpha. We need to take them down." Charlie raised his fist, shaking it in the air.

Winter and Husk shifted back into their wolves.

Wolves circled us. We were so outnumbered it wasn't even funny. Why did I think we could handle this? Why did I think we could get through my dad's influence to reach these wolves?

My dad appeared out of nowhere, standing in front of us dressed in his usual Sunday clothes, his face blank but his eyes filled with venom. I couldn't look at him. I let out a soft whine, my body trembling. Terror struck me.

In my gut, I knew I would never be able to forgive him for this.

My father's nostrils flared. "I know your kind," he said, spitting the words out. "I know what you're capable of, but you will not take over my town. No one and nothing ever gets in the way of my plans."

He gestured to someone coming out of the diner. "Kill them all."

I spun around.

Mom stepped out onto the street, her face twisted in fury. Her lips moved as she muttered curses, increasing the power of the spell she had created. She looked at Mayia, then Rebecca—my friends—and pointed a finger at them.

My skin went cold and icy, and my hair stood on end as my magic took over. It was the sensation that someone had just dumped ice water on me and my body was trying to warm itself. The fiery magic inside me pushed against my skin until it popped and sizzled. I cracked like an egg dropped on pavement when I shifted into my human form.

I let my magic take over, flowing through me.

22

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