Page 15 of Betrayed Mate (Rejected Fate Trilogy #1)

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

I leaned over and read the screen.

All Pack Alphas in the immediate area are to meet to discuss the future leadership of the packs. This Friday 7 PM at the Local Wolf Bar in Shadowbrook.

My stomach dropped as realization sank in. Now that everyone thought my entire family line had died, they weren’t wasting any time trying to name a new ruler and royal pack bloodline. We were the only ones with even the slightest hint of royal blood who hadn’t been part of the royal pack, and I was sure several of the alphas would now believe they should be the ones to lead the shifters.

My heart clenched, thinking about all that implied. “This is horrible timing.”

“What’s going on?” Kendric crossed his arms, placing his hands under his armpits.

“The Blackwood pack just called a meeting of all available alphas.” Ryker bit his bottom lip like he was trying not to say more.

Xander straightened. “That’s fucked up. Calling that meeting is supposed to be your role.”

Technically, that was true. The hierarchy for our species was based first on royal blood and then on the strongest pack who’d served as their protectors, which meant I was the most directly in line to rule because of my blood, and Ryker was the next because he was the strongest wolf since he was the protector, even though something like this had never occurred before.

“Are you really surprised?” Gage pushed off the side of the vehicle and wrinkled his nose. “Every pack out there hates us. They think we either failed to protect everyone and shouldn’t lead or were behind the massacre, but there’s no way to prove it. Of course, several of the alphas want to be the new king .”

And, of course, my fated mate ’s pack was the one to send out the message. Reid had made it clear he’d hoped that, once we were mated, he and I would step up to rule since my dad wouldn’t. Killing my pack put him in a position to accomplish that without me.

My stomach roiled, and I wanted to vomit. I’d already shown enough weakness around them, so I swallowed it and let the acid burn my throat.

“That must be why he went after your pack,” Ryker growled, echoing the thoughts I’d just had. “I suspected his pack might be behind all this. They’re one of the closest to where we lived, and between what they did to your pack and now this, the signs point to them.”

Even though Reid had rejected me and I’d witnessed the start of my pack’s slaughter with my own eyes, something about the situation still felt wrong. After decades of our packs having a strong relationship, it was hard for me to reconcile that they’d do that to us.

The idea of having to walk into the bar and see Reid again had my knees weakening. Everything he’d done to me had made me feel weaker than ever before, which infuriated me. And now he’d called a meeting that would influence who would lead our species. It made me want to strangle him with my bare hands.

The violence of the urge strangled me , making me feel like another person…a dark version of myself who turned my blood to ice.

Dad wouldn’t have wanted that. If he knew my thoughts right now, I’d be so ashamed. Taking a deep breath, I placed a hand on my stomach. “That doesn’t make sense. Assume you’re right, and Briar is with them; her pack link would be a lot warmer than it is now. She has to be farther away than that.” Her link was still faint—just enough for me to know she was alive.

“If they suspect you survived, then they’ll probably take her far enough away that you two can’t communicate and confirm anything.” Kendric rolled his shoulders like he was trying to work out stress.

“Yeah, because seeing the Blackwood pack attack her own wouldn’t raise any red flags.” Gage snorted bitterly and shook his head.

True, but that didn’t seem like it was the plan. “I’m pretty sure Briar and I were supposed to die alongside them. Reid knows how close my sister and I are. He’s keeping her alive because he knows I’m still out here and I’ll come for her.” A lump formed in my throat. I hated that I couldn’t get a sense of Briar’s health or what was going on with her. She could be near death, and I’d have no clue.

“This would be an ideal time to examine his land—the Blackwood alpha family is focused on the meeting.” Xander rubbed his hands together. “Maybe we can finally get a lead without having to torture anyone.”

Ryker scowled. "No. Not happening. That could be part of their plan, knowing Ember could be tempted to check out their territory while they conduct the meeting. They could eliminate her as a threat to the throne and be seen as the pack stepping up to lead. We can’t risk walking into a trap.”

My heart dropped hard into my stomach. I hadn’t even considered that which proved that coming back with Ryker, though not ideal, was the better choice. He’d grown up strategizing, whereas my pack had stayed away from politics, wanting to live in peace without the negativity so many packs had.

Maybe if Dad had also allowed us to study warfare, I would’ve seen the signs that Reid wasn’t a nice guy.

“So what do we do?” Gage spat, disgust apparent on his face. “Just hide and let him conduct the meeting?”

I didn’t want to hide, but I wasn’t sure what else to do. I needed to keep my head down so I could find Briar before time ran out.

“Nope. We do what no one expects.” Ryker steepled his hands in front of him. “Rebel will embrace her nickname and show up with me at the meeting.”

My jaw dropped. “I don’t think that’s a smart idea.”

“But it is.” Ryker’s gaze landed on me and warmed once more as he grinned. “Because that is the last thing any of them would expect. It will throw the Blackwoods off-kilter if you show up when they’re trying to claim there’s no one of royal lineage alive any longer and see that you aren’t afraid of making a stand.”

Bile churned in my stomach. Unfortunately, he was right. They wouldn’t expect that, but that didn’t mean I wanted to go and confront the people who’d killed my pack. My eyes burned with the threat of tears. I bit the inside of my cheek, focusing on the sharp pain of my teeth sinking through the skin.

“He’s right.” Xander pursed his lips. “You’ll ruin the Blackwoods’ plans, which could make them act rashly and reveal where your sister is being kept.”

Even though that was true, I hated to give them what they might want—me, dead. Still, if I didn’t show up or search their lands, they might think Briar was lying and I was dead. Either choice had consequences.

I wished Dad was alive so he could guide me on the right thing to do. My heart ached, stealing my breath. The pain of losing both parents and almost my entire pack took hold. I feared if I didn’t push the pain away, it would take me down, and I’d lose Briar in the process.

For some reason, my gaze landed on Kendric, who was rocking back and forth on his feet. He stared at the moon as if he were in deep thought.

“Imagine those fuckers’ faces when you stroll in.” Gage laughed. “That would be the last thing they expect.”

My attention flew from Kendric to Gage, whose eyes shone with mirth. He did have a point. If I were going to die, at least I’d have the victory of making Reid uncomfortable one last time. That had to count for something. Still, before I agreed, I asked Kendric, “What do you think?”

Of the four, he was the quietest and seemed to have a different perspective. He’d mourned the loss of the vampires like they weren’t the species we got along with least.

Kendric’s brows shot up, and he cleared his throat. “I agree with the others. Showing up makes the most strategic sense.” He cut his eyes to Ryker as they darkened with disapproval.

Not flinching, Ryker either didn’t notice or didn’t care. He lifted both hands. “So it’s up to you, Rebel. You going to be a pain in their ass too, and not just mine?”

I laughed, the sound raking up my throat and startling me. I had to agree, out of all my options, that would be the one everyone would expect least. Maybe they’d make a mistake when rattled. “Fine, but it’s not for two days. I don’t want to pause our search for Briar until then.”

“We can still follow your pack link if you can figure out which direction to take.” Ryker placed a hand on his chest. “I’m all about confronting them and proving those assholes did it sooner rather than later, so if we can do that before the meeting, I’m in.”

For the first time, Ryker and I seemed to be on the same page. My stomach fluttered, though I couldn’t figure out why.

I didn’t want to analyze it. “Then I agree.”

He smirked, and my feet inched a little toward him before I stopped myself.

“We need to get going.” Kendric gestured to the vehicle. “We have to deal with what happened to the vampires. We’ve already wasted too much time.”

The little bit of kindness that had appeared on Ryker’s face vanished. I wondered if it was a figment of my imagination.

“You’re right.” Ryker ran a hand through his hair, and a few pieces fell over his forehead. “Let’s head out.”

The tingle that warned me someone was watching us grew stronger, and I glanced over my shoulder in the direction the sensation was coming from. Just like last time, nothing was there.

“Are you feeling that pull again?” Xander asked, coming to my side and staring in that direction.

I shook my head, realizing that the sensation came after strong emotions. Why was I allowing my mind to mess with me? “It’s nothing.” I dug my fingernails into my palms, determined not to delay us. The guys were ready to leave, which meant we could rest and begin searching for Briar sooner.

Still, the sensation seemed to grow stronger—like it wanted me to listen to it.

“We’ve already wasted enough time here.” Ryker slashed his hand through the air. “There’s no one there.”

I gritted my teeth, my wolf not liking how he’d spoken to us. Still, arguing with him was futile and would only make me look worse. Like last time, there was no reason to believe someone was there. We would have heard them, smelled them, or sensed something tangible for them to get this close.

With every ounce of self-control I had, I ordered myself to turn my back and walk away.

Gage opened the car door for me, bowing ever so slightly as I climbed in, and this time, he got in the back, switching spots with Kendric.

I climbed into the very back, the strange sensation dissipating. I still couldn’t stop myself from glancing out the side window in the direction it had come from.

Within a minute, everyone was loaded, and Ryker scanned the area one last time.

A flash of light caught my eye, but as soon as I blinked, it had disappeared. “Did anyone see that?” I rasped.

“What?” Xander turned in my direction, worry lining his forehead.

“A flash of light.” I had to be freaking him out, but I couldn’t do a damn thing about it. I was scaring my own damn self too.

“There was nothing out there.” Ryker glanced in the rearview mirror as he turned the vehicle around. “I checked before pulling out.”

What the hell was wrong with me? Was I losing my mind because I was sort of a rogue wolf right now, with Briar being so far away, or was this a phantom sensation from the pain of losing my pack, my wolf wanting to feel a connection to someone?

Gage’s head popped around his headrest, his lips pressed into a line. “Maybe you should get some rest. You’ve had an awful few days, and going through what you just did affected all of us in different ways.”

I hated feeling weak, but he was right. I wasn’t back to full health, and I had just lost almost everyone. Maybe the stress had somehow disconnected my human and wolf sides and they were both trying to survive, which was making me feel weird things. There were so many possibilities I wasn’t sure of the cause. Maybe it was a combination of everything.

The four of them glanced at me periodically, making me feel as if I were under a microscope, so I did the one thing that made the most sense to me at the time.

I lay in the back seat and closed my eyes, trying to block out the world. I needed rest…a break from the pain, stress, and demands that my body and mind kept making.

Before I realized it, I drifted off to sleep.

“Just because they wanted us to come here doesn’t mean that we should have,” Ryker said tersely. “I hate giving them the illusion of control over us.”

“Man, you know it’s not like that,” Kendric grumbled. “When I told Raven everything, she said it would be best if we came here and talked to them in person. Besides, it’s a free place to stay for a few nights, and we’re low on funds.”

I tried to open my heavy eyelids but struggled. I wanted more sleep, but the conversation I was hearing had me concerned.

“What are they going to say about her ?” Xander whispered, and I guessed he was talking about me.

Gage sighed. “Who knows, but we’re about to find out. I still think we should’ve woken her to let her know where we were heading. It’s not right.”

They were talking about me. My eyes flew open, and I sat up. Then my entire world froze.

Fuck no. This had to be some sort of nightmare. There was no good reason for the four of them to have brought me here .