Page 13 of Rejected Sold Mate (Crystal Creek Wolves #4)

It wasn’t like wolves socialized between packs all that much, even if it had become more normal once three of the Alphas had taken mates, but Jayce’s pack was still new, and they weren’t normally around when the other three packs got together.

Slowly, they had been trying to integrate, but those things took time, and it might work in my favor.

The fewer people in Jayce’s pack that knew anything about me, the better.

Jayce had been gone the majority of the last two days, coming home to sleep, eat, and not much more.

I had no work to do, and it was a beautiful day out.

After second-guessing myself at least a dozen times, I decided that I was going to go out.

I wasn’t a prisoner in Jayce’s house; he’d made that clear, too, and if I stayed between those four walls any longer, I was going to lose my mind.

If I was going to call the Blacktide pack my home, at least for the time being, it was past time for me to show my face.

I had no idea if Jayce had told anyone about me, and if so, if they even knew I was his mate, but I wasn’t about to call and ask him.

No, the best course of action would be to go and see how I fit in among my new pack members.

Even thinking the words made me shudder. How had it come to this, with me leaving the pack that I had just settled in and being forced to join another? Some days it still felt like a nightmare, but if Jayce’s pack members were anything like their Alpha, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad.

I dressed casually, just an oversized sweater and jeans, grabbed my keys, and made my way down the driveway to my car. I almost turned around multiple times, but I kept my head up and forced myself forward. Nothing would be gained if I never left the damn house.

After climbing behind the wheel, I was shocked when I started the car and it revved to life smoothly, without any fussing.

I remembered Jayce telling me about how he’d been a mechanic, and I’d chalked it up to being just another lie on the night we hooked up, but it looked like that had at least been a half-truth.

He must have worked on my car, because it had never run so well before, not even on the first day I’d bought it from a random, run-down car lot.

The first day at the house, Jayce had texted me a list of places that were important in Blacktide territory, and that included the brewery that had unofficially become the hub for a lot of pack activities, sort of like Scott’s coffeeshop had for his pack.

I’d been hyping myself up for the entire drive, but when I finally pulled into the gravel parking lot, I froze.

I was suddenly hit with the realization that I didn’t know a single person inside, and no matter what happened, it was going to be awkward.

But it was either that, or never leave Jayce’s house.

After a few moments of inner turmoil, I finally climbed out of the car and made my way inside.

I almost turned back a few times, but I breathed through the fear and kept my feet moving forward.

It was just a brewery. I’d been to so many similar establishments on my own before, I couldn’t fathom why I was so on edge at first…

until I realized it was because I didn’t want to embarrass Jayce.

That was a complicated thought, so I set it aside for later.

I pushed open one of the wide glass doors and entered, holding my breath.

The brewery certainly had personality. It was a sprawling, weathered barn with wooden beams lining the high ceilings, long cafeteria-style tables, and a huge roller door that took up most of the back side of the place, opening up to an outdoor seating area complete with fire pits.

There were a few kids playing on a small swing set, but otherwise the place was full of adult wolves, none of whom I recognized.

Which meant they were all Blacktide wolves.

My anxiety spiked, but I kept it together.

There was a sizable wooden bar with stools that I was able to sidle up to and order a drink, and to my relief, not too many curious looks were thrown my way.

I hadn’t expected to be the center of attention or anything, but I was still a stranger in the territory.

I looked around, holding my beer but not bothering to drink it, and decided on my next move.

There was a small group of women around one of the fires, and the easy way they laughed with each other reminded me of what it felt like to be around Nayeli, Kiera, and Gwen.

A pang of longing hit me; I missed my three friends terribly, but I’d been so flustered about the mating bond and moving in with Jayce that I’d only offered short, one-word replies when they messaged me.

That familiarity was enough to drive me forward, and I approached the fire pit, going over what I should say in my head as I did so.

I wanted to come off confident and not awkward, but the question of why I was there was inevitably going to come up.

Admitting out loud to strangers that I was Jayce’s mate was going to be weird, but for some reason, the idea was less intimidating than admitting the same thing to my friends.

Once I reached the circle, I raised my hand, “Hi, I’m—”

They didn’t even let me finish before one of them, a tall woman with an auburn braid, gave me a quick once-over and grinned. “Hey! Are you new here?”

Relief stuttered in my chest at the open, easygoing look on all of their faces. There was curiosity, but there were no sharp edges to it. “Yeah. Sort of.”

The auburn-haired woman stuck out her hand, which I shook readily. “I’m Mara. This is Jen and Leah. Would you like to sit?”

There were three benches around the fire that could fit two or three people each, and I took a seat next to Mara when she scooted to make room for me.

The other two women waved and smiled, and I found myself genuinely smiling back.

For a few moments, it was good. Easy, even.

We chatted about nothing, and they seemed satisfied that I was just a new pack member and nothing more.

It took me a few minutes to realize that they had no idea I was Jayce’s mate, and that made me oddly sad.

He hadn’t told them, but why? Did he really regret the bond that much? Was he embarrassed by me?

It wasn’t like I’d expected him to cry from the rooftops that he’d taken a random Omega from another pack as his mate, but I thought that he’d at least told enough people that word had gotten around.

Everyone knew when Nayeli moved in with Scott in my old pack, and the gossip was endless.

But if Jayce had been so tight-lipped that my existence was still a secret, there really was no gossip to be had.

Subjects ranged from how cold the fall nights had been getting, the chicken coop that Leah had started, and which beers at the brewery were the best. I let my guard down and relaxed, reveling in the fact that nothing was needed or expected from me there.

I could just socialize and maybe make friends, my reputation a faraway afterthought.

Relaxing had been a mistake, though. I should have kept my guard up, because when the incredulous male voice came from behind us, I almost jumped out of my skin, “Well, I’ll be damned. Mara, what are you girls doing hanging out with an outcast from Shadowbay?”

I froze in place, the words hitting like a slap. Swallowing, I turned slowly to see a man striding toward us, large and loud but unfamiliar. His voice boomed when he spoke, quieting other voices from around nearby fires as everyone stopped to listen and see what the commotion was about.

Mara’s smile faltered, and she turned to me with a frown, while Jen and Leah just looked at each other uncertainly. Just like that, the blissful little moment I’d found had shattered.

“I—” my voice caught in my throat, a lump already forming as my heart started to race. I wanted to cry, but I swallowed again, refusing to let the tears come. I was already humiliated, and I wasn’t going to add to it by being a crybaby as well.

“Rhie?” Mara asked, but I couldn’t even look at her. People were staring, heads turning, and my instincts started screaming at me to run.

“Seriously, who let you in? Don’t you have your own pack to sulk around in?”

I had two choices—fight back and tell him to mind his own business, something sure to get him even angrier since I was an Omega, or try and leave without rising to his bait and letting him embarrass me more.

Either option meant I’d basically screwed myself out of being able to socialize with the pack again, but the situation wasn’t unfamiliar to me.

In my early days in Shadowbay, male wolves had pushed back about me being in their public spaces too…

when the weaker ones weren’t trying to force me to take them as a mate, that is.

What would Jayce have wanted me to do? He wouldn’t want me to run, I knew that much, but I was sure he didn’t want me to start a commotion within his pack, either.

Before I could make up my mind, and before the man could come at me again, a deep, resonating voice cut through the crowd, almost like my thoughts had summoned him.

“Enough.”

I hadn’t even seen him approach, but his hand landed on my shoulder and I could have almost wept with relief. I wasn’t alone anymore, standing against someone who had confronted me. I had an ally, the strongest one anyone could have asked for.

“Alpha,” I heard one of the women murmur in amazement. Everyone’s eyes had flickered to where he was touching me, but he didn’t pull away.

“I’d meant to have an all-pack meeting to announce this in a more formal setting, but apparently Rhie felt I was taking too long.

” His voice, low and powerful, took on a hint of amusement, but it quickly faded with his following words.

“But everyone listen closely, and spread the word to those that aren’t here.

This is Rhie Watson, formerly of the Shadowbay pack, and she is my mate.

Anyone who has a problem with that can take it up with me. ”

Everything was silent, so silent in fact that I was sure everyone could hear my heart pounding, Mate.

He’d said it out loud, for everyone to hear, and it made my stomach flip.

The male shifter who’d confronted me backed off, but all other eyes were once more on me.

I could feel Jaye’s hand still on my shoulder, warm and reassuring, but it wasn’t enough to quell the worry growing in me.

It should have been a moment of triumph. No rumors of my past or me being an outcast in my last pack could stand up to the pack Alpha declaring me his mate, his Luna. But I didn’t feel triumphant. I simply felt…exposed.