Page 6 of Forsaking His Mate (The Wolves of Black Mountain #1)
Chapter 6
Tessa
W hen I open my eyes, I can’t remember where I am. The wooden ceiling overhead isn’t like my bedroom at home and the decor is different too.
It takes me a moment to realize I’m in the cabin Hester gave me yesterday.
Was it only yesterday? So much happened in such a short period that I feel as if my head is swimming.
My pack dying, running for my life, meeting Hester and losing my pack bond, and then coming face-to-face with my true mate.
His dismissal still burns through my gut, but I try to ignore the pain. Hester said he had reasons for doing it. I want to know what they are.
I lie still and I let my mind reach out. I can sense him close by, probably in his cabin.
I wonder if he’s feeling the same hollowness that I feel, the same pain at remaining unclaimed.
I rub my aching stomach before I force myself out of bed and into the bathroom to take a shower, putting on the same clothes I wore yesterday.
Hester wanted me to make a list of things I need, which I’ll do after breakfast.
I go to the kitchen area, pulling open the fridge, which is empty and smells funky. Cleaning that will be my priority before I fill it.
Slipping my feet into my shoes, I make my way up to the main house.
It’s quiet this morning and the sun, which is low on the horizon, peeks around the edge of the mountains that surround us.
It’s idyllic out here, and I feel both relaxed and calm as I make my way up the path that leads to the house.
I wonder who the empty cabins I pass are for. Did Hester build these or were they already here? I have questions that I don’t think I’ll get answers to.
As I walk past his cabin, his awareness invades my mind. He’s restless and angry too.
I almost step onto the path that leads to his porch, but I stop myself.
He pushed me aside.
Whatever shit he’s going through, he can just do it alone.
I give the cabin a final glance before I go on toward the house. When I push through the kitchen door, I find Hester and Roux sitting at the table. Apryle is at the stove stirring something in a cast-iron skillet.
“Morning.” Roux is the first to greet me. Her face has a dreamy look on it as she takes me in and I wonder what it is about.
“So, you and Abel are mates,” Apryle says without any prompting.
I glance at Hester, my cheeks heating. “It doesn’t matter. He… he rejected me.”
“Because he’s a dumbass,” Apryle mutters, pushing what I realize is eggs around the pan.
Hester signals for me to sit at the table, which is full of delicious-looking food. The smell of the bacon and pancakes is making my mouth water.
I take a seat and Roux hands me a plate. “Eat. There’s plenty to go around.”
I load my plate up and place it in front of me when I’m done. In my old pack, I ate with my father, and although we had parties as a group, we never sat around and ate meals together. The pack was too big and there were a lot of families within it.
Thinking about them makes my heart hurt.
I wonder how they are?
I wonder if Avery, my closest friend in the pack, survived.
As if sensing my sudden morose thoughts, Roux leans across the table and takes my hand in hers. “I’m sorry for what is happening to you.”
“I’m okay,” I assure her, even though I don’t feel that way. Inside, all that pain and rage has faded to something dangerous—numbness. I feel completely empty.
“We’ll start with some training after breakfast,” Hester says.
“Sure,” I agree, pushing the food around my plate. Suddenly, I don’t feel very hungry.
“Hester has been teaching us to harness our joint powers.”
That makes my gaze snap up. “Joint powers?”
“We’re part witches,” Hester explains. “We’re stronger when we’re working together. The three of us have been building our coven.”
Coven is a word I haven’t heard before. “What’s that?”
“It’s kind of like a pack. We can harness our magic when we work together.”
“Roux can even shift a little,” Apryle says.
I snap my eyes to her, impressed. “You can shift?”
“For about a minute and a half,” Roux says, a faint blush rising in her cheeks. “I haven’t learned to hold it yet, but I’m hoping I can make it last longer each time.”
“What does it feel like?” I ask. My wolf tried to come forward to greet my mate. It should have been a beautiful moment, but all I experienced was pain and torment.
“It hurts—at least at first. The more I do it, the less pain there is. When I’m in my wolf form, I feel like I can do anything.”
A pang of jealousy works through me, but I savagely push it aside. I don’t want to be jealous of these women.
They’re on my side.
Currently, they may be the only wolves that are. Hunters are still looking for me and my old pack must hate me for what I’ve brought to them.
“Maybe we'll all be able to shift in time,” I say.
“Perhaps,” Hester says, “but we have immense power in our magic too. Don’t forget that.”
The conversation moves on to the sanctuary and the neighboring town of Laurel Falls.
I listen, trying to glean every piece of information I can, but part of my attention is locked on my mate.
He’s close and that hurts.
He doesn’t come to breakfast.
He doesn’t come to breakfast, nor dinner, for a week in fact.
During that time, I get my bearings at the sanctuary, relaxing a little into my new home.
Everything is snapping into place, other than the giant elephant in the room.
Abel.
I know he’s using our weakened mate bond to avoid me, and I try to pretend that doesn’t hurt, but it does.
The pain inside me is spreading like a cancer I can’t control, seeping into every cell in my body.
I avoid him too, and I focus on the things I can control, like my magic.
I spend most of my time training with the women. Hester is a good teacher, kind and patient, but she is also determined to give us the skills to protect ourselves.
Roux and Apryle are naturals, but I find it difficult to calm my mind enough to use my magic. If I’m not thinking about my old pack, I’m thinking about my mate.
“You’re not focusing, Tessa,” Hester chastises when I fail to do a simple conjuring, the same one Roux did when I first met her.
“I’m trying,” I say, frustrated by my inability to concentrate.
“Those hunters are still out there, looking for tau to kill. If they catch you, the only weapon you’ll have is your magic. So, focus!” She snaps the last two words, and I wince.
She’s right. Screw Abel. This is more important because those hunters aren’t going to stop trying to kill me or the others.
I recenter myself, forcing my mind to focus on my fingers as I try to conjure the image of a flower.
I close my eyes and find that reservoir of magic that beats inside me like a live pulse. I draw on it, envisaging the flower as I do.
“You did it!” Roux squeals, clapping.
I pop my eyes open and see I’m holding a yellow flower. I have no idea what kind it is, but it’s real.
My breath catches in my throat. “Shit,” I murmur before raising my gaze to look at the three women.
Hester smiles at me. “Well done.”
“I made a flower.”
“There is so much more we can do with our magic by working together. Let me show you.”
The lessons happen every morning after breakfast. Once they’re done, I either spend time with Roux and Apryle or I head to my cabin.
This morning, I take a walk down to the lake, needing a moment of quiet reflection.
I go to the bench that overlooks the water and sink into it. The water is lapping where it meets the bank and a breeze brushes my hair off my face as I soak in the tranquility.
I find myself wondering about my old pack, my father in particular.
Is he okay?
Did he survive the hunters’ attack?
I wish I could contact him and hear his voice.
I wish I could speak to Avery, my best friend too, but I can’t go back and I can’t risk telling anyone where I am.
I scent Abel a moment before a huge wolf steps out of the undergrowth.
His eyes lock to mine and my pulse flutters wildly.
My wolf whines, wanting to break free to meet her mate, but I push her down. I can’t go through the pain of trying to shift again.
“Abel…” I whisper his name. “Please talk to me.”
Abel’s wolf stares at me for so long that I start to fidget, anxious about what he’s thinking.
Then he turns and lops off toward his cabin, leaving me sitting here alone again.