Page 12

“No?”

“No.”

He stared at me, hard.“I’m not your mate.”

“Okay,” I said.

“Fuck,” he snarled.“Not sure where you came up with that bullshit, but there is no fucking way we’re mates.”

The look on his face was one of utter denial, of outright horror, maybe even disgust at the idea, and I wanted to curl up into a ball and puke.“Got it, Jagger, loud and clear.Can I leave now?”

He stared at me for several more, long seconds, then finally, he let go of my door and stepped back.

I turned my key, and this time, finally, the engine started.Without looking his way again, I threw the car back into drive and tore out, almost taking the gate with me when the hound now guarding it nearly didn’t get it open in time.

Oh gods, I felt sick.

I didn’t head for home.I couldn’t face it.Fern would have called Phoebe by now.She was probably already waiting for me, to check I was okay.I couldn’t talk to either of them, not yet.So instead, I headed to the clinic.

By the time I pulled into the parking lot, I was trembling uncontrollably.I practiced my breathing, worked at calming myself down so when I swiped my key card and let myself in, the red haze had gone, my claws had retracted, and I’d changed back.There were a couple rooms here for staff, and thankfully, no one was at the front desk when I walked in, so I didn’t have to talk to anyone.

I’d put my phone on silent, but it’d been lighting up since I left the clubhouse.I pulled it from my pocket now and scrolled the texts.All from Fern and Phoebe.

I realized Fern had replied to me after I told her I was on my way to the clubhouse.I’d missed it while I was driving.She’d told me not to come, that it wasn’t a good time.

She’d been trying to protect me.To stop me from walking in on Jagger with some other female and, despite what I knew to be true, living his life like I didn’t exist.Kind of like he had been for the last few months.

I slid off my coat, putting Boo in the pocket, and hung it up, then lay on the bed.I knew I shouldn’t, but I opened Nightscape with a sick feeling in my belly and searched for the female he’d been with.I knew her name.She and the others filming me were regulars at the clubhouse.

I gasped in a horrified breath.She’d posted a video of me.I knew she would.I couldn’t stop myself from clicking play.I watched as I stammered, telling the female touching Jagger to stop, while my face transformed, the veins in my neck and cheeks turning black, then pooling beneath my eyes, watching as the whites of my eyes turned black as well, while my irises shone red.

The wolf shifters’ commentary played along in the background, calling me a freak and desperate as I told Jagger I was his mate.It even showed me falling, my dress flying up, flashing my new underwear.Blood poured from my lip as Fern and Willow helped me gather all my things.

I couldn’t see Jagger, people had crowded in between me and the table he’d been standing at—then a big hand covered the camera and everything went dark, and a gruff voice, one of the hounds, growled at her to get the fuck out and not to come back.

Turning off my phone, I tossed it on the floor, shaking and sobbing as the same words repeated over and over in my head:

He doesn’t want you either.

ChapterThree

Jagger

The scentof Sutton’s distress lingered in the parking lot, lifting my hackles and making my stomach churn, and fuck, I barely resisted shifting and going after her.

Why the hell would she say that shit?The little female was confused, still fucked up after what happened to her.That had to be it.The only reason I was fighting with the beast to stay here and not go after her again had to be the sense of responsibility I felt for her.

Being the first to get to her that day, finding her cut up, knowing the taste of her blood from licking her wounds, the scent of her fear, was fucking with me.

“What the fuck was that?”Relic said as he strode out of the clubhouse, Fern right beside him.She looked up at me with eyes that had gone demon, like Sutton’s had.

“How the fuck would I know?”I said, letting my hound rattle through my chest and blend with my voice.

“Sutton is my best friend and you?—”

I headed for my bike before she could finish and before I said something that would rile the beast.She was as confused as her friend.

Fern ran ahead, getting in my way, and slammed her hands against my stomach.“You will listen to me.You may rank in this pack, but I’m not a hound and you don’t get to cut me off and just walk away.”