Page 6 of Betrayed Mate (Rejected Fate Trilogy #1)

CHAPTER SIX

R yker’s irises darkened, the golden flecks in them glowing as his full attention centered on me.

My pulse jolted, and butterflies took flight in my stomach like every organ in my body wanted me to be ready for him to attack.

When he didn’t come closer, my lungs worked a little easier.

“All of your pack?” Ryker clasped his hands in front of him, and his shoulders sagged. “Did you see who did it?”

I nodded but then stopped. “Not really. The Blackwood pack showed up, and I saw Reid lunge toward one of us, but I didn’t see what happened after that. I…suspect they attacked us, but I don’t know for sure. I didn’t see anyone else, but their pack and mine run the same perimeter where our lands divide, so they could’ve detected intruders.” Everything inside me screamed that they’d done it, but I had no proof.

I didn’t understand how they could’ve surrounded us without any warning. We’d been patrolling the area.

Still, it had happened right after the rejection. Reid had painted a target on my back—it couldn’t be a coincidence. Even if they hadn’t attacked us themselves, they must have initiated it. To me, it was one and the same, but I couldn’t say that to these guys with their reputation of acting first and asking questions later.

I had every intention of discovering who’d decimated my pack. But first, I had to locate Briar and get her to a safe place.

Once I started talking, I couldn’t shut up. “Someone chased Briar and me. I didn’t see who, but their steps didn’t sound like paws. They were in human form but ran quickly. We went to the river to hide our scents, but Briar slipped and…” Now my lips closed. They already knew what had happened; I didn’t need to relive that horror again.

“And you’re sure she’s still alive?” Ryker rubbed his dark scruff.

I rolled my eyes, not bothering to hide my annoyance. “Despite what Reid proclaimed, I’m not weak, and I know what a pack link feels like.” With my free hand, I patted my chest. “I feel her. She’s alive.” I had to hold on to that. I wasn’t alone.

I closed my eyes and swallowed tears. I hated to think of Briar handling the loss of our pack alone. We should be together, supporting one another and mourning the ones we loved.

Kendric scowled, and Gage winced and glanced at Ryker and Xander. From the faint glow of their eyes, I knew what was going on. They were discussing me and my situation, and I didn’t like being left in the dark.

But I no longer had a pack to discuss things with. It hit like a punch in the gut. I had no one to bounce ideas off or my dad to counsel me on what the best decision was. I was all alone despite the four people surrounding me.

“It’d be nice if you included me in the conversation.” Not knowing what was going on put me more on edge. For all I knew, Ryker could be alpha-willing them to leave my ass here. Which would be fine. I just needed to know where I stood—no pun intended.

Xander lifted a hand. “We’re discussing everything you told us.”

“Which isn’t needed.” Ryker pursed his lips and shifted his weight to one side. “I’m in agreement that she should remain with us.”

My heart skipped a beat, and I wasn’t sure if it was from relief or fear. “What? Why?” His sudden change of heart waved red flags around like crazy in my mind. “You were ready to leave me here just moments ago.”

“Yeah. Why, man?” Gage crossed his arms, emphasizing his muscular chest. “Why don’t you share with the rest of the class?”

“Man, you haven’t attended a class since senior year of high school.” Xander side-eyed him and continued, “That was eight years ago.”

“The premise applies in this situation.” Gage shrugged. “So shove it.”

“Now isn’t the time.” Kendric’s nostrils flared. “Since the four of us are in agreement, let’s get her back to the rental house so she can clean up while we find her something to wear.”

That sounded like heaven. Maybe it was a reprieve I didn’t deserve after what happened to my pack, but I couldn’t walk around like this if I wanted to find Briar.

“Sounds like a plan to me.” Ryker headed toward the thickening trees.

Not wanting him to change his mind—five wolves would have an easier time tracking down my sister than one—I started to follow. But as soon as I put my weight on my legs, the world spun, and I lost my balance once more.

“Whoa.” Gage’s arms slipped around me, pulling me to his chest. “Don’t worry, princess. As long as I’m around, I’ll catch you.” He winked, and I squirmed a little and looked away.

“What are you doing?” Ryker’s voice had turned cold.

Holding me firmly against him, Gage responded, “Helping her. She’s been through hell and isn’t well.”

Ryker huffed. “Then I’ll carry her.” Footsteps thudded toward us, and before I could tell them I was fine, I was removed from Gage’s arms and tossed over Ryker’s shoulder like a sack of potatoes. The food and water I’d eaten sloshed heavily in my stomach, and I swallowed, hoping to keep it down.

The worst part of it was that the shirt rode up right to the bottom of my butt cheeks. Anyone standing beside him or in front of him could get a muddy mooning at any second.

As if he could read my thoughts, Ryker placed his hand on the bottom of the shirt, anchoring it to my cheeks. When his palm touched my bare skin, heat zinged between us.

My breath caught, and I tensed. The sensation wasn’t unsettling, but nothing about him should be comforting. I still didn’t know why he’d changed his mind about me joining them. Something didn’t add up.

The three of them seemed like decent guys, but I’d thought the same thing about Reid, and look where that landed me.

“What the hell, man?” Gage scoffed from the rear.

I didn’t like the idea of wolves I didn’t know or trust being behind me, but I refused to flop up and down like a fish and try to look.

Ryker didn’t break pace, his stride graceful and smooth. The strength of his wolf brimmed from under his skin, and I couldn’t ignore it.

I closed my eyes, not wanting to admire—er—I meant to be forced to watch his hard ass flex with each step. Even if he was sexy, his reputation had grown worse since the first attack. He’d beaten up a few people.

The group fell into silence as we continued our walk. I lifted my head, taking note of our surroundings. The trees were thinning, so I hoped that our destination was close.

“You sense something?” Xander asked. “Because I don’t hear anything.”

He’d asked out loud, so I assumed the question was directed at me. Great. I’d tried to be inconspicuous, but clearly, moving my head had made the other three notice me.

“No, sorry. Just trying to figure out where we are.” I winced, hating being called out like that, though I understood the concern. I had just told them my pack had been wiped out, and we weren’t… My breath caught. Where the hell were we?

All of a sudden, we were walking by a green picnic table, and then a door opened. Ryker carried me through the door and turned to the right. Then I was sliding down his front and being seated on a wooden chair at a circular table with three other seats.

The blood rushed from my head, and I placed my hands on the table to remain upright as he continued into the kitchen. He strolled past a small stove and opened the white refrigerator then drew out a Coke and placed it in front of me.

The other three guys entered, and Gage and Xander took a seat on a black couch across from me as Kendric stood in front of the door with crossed arms.

“We’re outside of Asheville.” Kendric’s jaw clenched.

It was a good thing I had my hands on the table, or I would’ve fallen over.

Ryker handed me the drink while saying, “About sixty miles from Shadowbrook.”

“I traveled sixty miles from my pack lands in the river?” That was hard to believe. True, the current had been stronger than I’d remembered in years. But that meant there was a whole lot of space where Briar could be. Hell, she’d been ahead of me—she could be even farther down the river.

My eyes prickled, and my vision blurred as tears sprang up once again. Everywhere I turned, things seemed to become more hopeless. Just when I thought things were as bad as they could get, Fate gave me her middle finger all over again.

“Drink the Coke,” Ryker said more gently. Some of the golden color returned to his irises, warming his eyes. “The sugar will help you feel better.”

Lifting the cool can, I took a big gulp, the carbonation burning the back of my throat as the sweetness filled my mouth. Sweet drinks were one of my favorites… Well, really, anything sweet or any type of meat, but right now, this hit a spot I didn’t know was there.

After guzzling about half the can, I set it down and took in my surroundings. The cabin appeared old, with paneled walls and laminate floors. It had a bathroom to the left of the kitchen and two doors across from each other that I assumed hid bedrooms. This place was small but safe and dry. The last two things were the most important.

“I’ll find her something to sleep in.” Gage jumped to his feet and hurried to the room on the left.

Ryker scowled at his back but remained at the table, examining my face, searching for something. I was tired of feeling like a science specimen, so I drank the rest of the Coke and then slowly climbed to my feet.

Gage reentered the room, holding a white shirt and a thin white towel. “This is all we have for you now. Write down your sizes, and one of us will run out and get you some things.”

I gritted my teeth. “You don’t have to do—”

“If you don’t want to stand out to other supernaturals, you need to not look homeless.” Ryker arched a brow. “Standing out means your location will get back to Reid or whoever attacked your pack. Do you want that?”

Though I wanted to punch him because of his tone, I clenched my hands. “I wear medium tops and underwear, size eight in pants, and a 32D bra.”

“Nice.” Gage smiled and winked.

My face warmed, and I grimaced. Mud cracked on my face. Snatching the two items, I carefully walked to the bathroom. Bits of mud flaked off me and onto the floor, but no one complained.

In the small bathroom, I questioned how those large men managed to move around in there. Even for me, the space was tight, but I had enough room to pull back the yellowed white shower curtain and turn on the water. I peeled off the shirt, dropped it to the cream tile floor, and stepped under the water.

Brown sludge rolled down my body, filling the bottom of the tub. I ran my hands over my skin and worked on getting every bit of mud off. After what felt like hours, I’d managed to scrub my body clean, including my hair, with a bar of Dial soap. Of course four guys would use only soap to clean their entire body, but it didn’t matter. I was warm once again, my olive complexion a tad pink from the heat.

After quickly drying off, I almost felt like a person again.

Guilt nearly crushed me. Why was I alive when nearly my entire pack had died? None of it made sense.

I couldn’t let my emotions distract me from my tasks. Once I found Briar, we could mourn and plan our next moves. Until then, I had to keep myself together. I was now the alpha of our two-person pack.

Running my fingers through my hair, I combed it as best I could and then put on the shirt. I almost wondered if Gage had purposely given me a white shirt, knowing the situation I’d be in. I could already tell that he was a flirt.

When I opened the door, I expected to see the four of them still in the living room. Instead, I found the couch covered in a thick blanket and a pillow.

My heart ached.

I glanced in both bedrooms. No one else was in there, and their fading scents confirmed that I was alone.

That was more than all right with me.

I climbed into my makeshift bed and went right to sleep.

I was reliving the attack on my pack. Over and over, I saw Reid lunge toward Rosa, and then I was knocked down and forced to run.

It felt like I was missing an important part of the equation, but I couldn’t determine what.

Someone was chasing me.

However, this time, something felt different. Breath warmed my neck like someone was hovering over me.

Something tickled my brain, and then reality set back in.

One thing didn’t change. Someone was watching me.

I opened my eyes, and my jaw dropped.