Page 29 of Rejected Sold Mate (Crystal Creek Wolves #4)

The yoga ball made a loud, rude squeak every time Nayeli shifted her hips, and it was impossible to ignore.

I wasn’t the only one trying to stifle a laugh, either.

Kiera tried to cover hers with a cough, while Gwen had clamped a hand over her mouth.

It had been going on for over ten minutes at that point, and they were all on the brink of losing it.

“I swear to God,” Nayeli grumbled, steadying herself and bouncing gently, “Kiera, if you lied about this helping to induce labor, I’m never speaking to you again.”

“I promise,” Kiera said, wiping unshed tears of laughter from her eyes. “It worked for me when I was pregnant with Kit. Just be patient!”

“I’ve been patient!” the heavily pregnant Luna snapped. “I’ve tried walking, eating spicy food, drinking all the stupid tea you keep making me, and nothing is working. Are you positive you haven’t found a spell to bring labor on?”

Gwen shook her head. “Even if we did, no one would dream of using a spell on the pregnant Shadowbay Luna. Scott would start a civil war over it.”

“She’s just not ready yet. She’s stubborn like her mother,” Kiera tried to assure her as she lit a candle in the center of the spell circle that the three of us sat around, while Nayeli observed from her ball. “Now bounce quietly, please. We’re trying to work.”

Being the least experienced with pregnancy or children out of the lot of us, I was content to sit on my floor cushion and watch the spelled candle flames blow in a nonexistent breeze.

Gwen and Kiera had called me over to practice and show them what I’d learned, and we’d gathered at Nayeli’s so she didn’t feel left out.

No one was sure if she should be using magic so close to giving birth, so we erred on the side of caution and let her be our observer instead.

My nerves weren’t nearly as raw as they had been during our other training sessions.

The worst had already happened when I broke Brian’s arm, but I’d been able to control my power afterwards and move forward.

It gave me confidence that even if I made a mistake, it wouldn’t be anything catastrophic or that I couldn’t handle.

The witches ran me through the starter spells I’d been learning, and they all clapped when I levitated a glowing crystal four feet above the center of the circle. With just a wave of my hand, I extinguished the candles and relit them once more, my hands glowing softly.

“You really are getting better,” Nayeli offered from her ball. “You’re trusting yourself. That’s one of the most important lessons to master.”

I smiled shyly, looking down, the praise unfamiliar, “It still feels like I’m just pretending sometimes.”

“But you’re not,” Kiera bumped her shoulder against mine, “You’re doing it, just like we are. You’re one of us.” Then, with a mischievous grin. “Jayce must be sooo proud.”

I blushed. Talking about my relationship was even more unfamiliar than casting magic.

“Thinking about him right now, huh?” Gwen teased. “He must be pretty spectacular to make you blush so easily.”

“I just—” I let the magic go, dropping my hands to my sides. “I mean, he is. Spectacular, I mean. But it’s more than that.”

“He’s cute,” Nayeli offered.

“Yeah, but more than that, too. It’s like…a feeling when I’m with him. Safety, belonging, I don’t know…I’ve been on the fringes for so long, I don’t know how to handle being the center of someone’s positive attention.”

“It’s different,” Gwen said softly, “with a mate. The understanding and connection are so much deeper.”

I nodded, “It is. Jayce is…good to me. I guess I just need to convince myself that I deserve it.”

The truth settled heavily, and for a second, I was afraid I’d said too much, gone too deep into all the things that tore me up inside. They all knew I’d been an outcast, but I tried not to wear my past heartbreaks on my sleeve.

After I’d opened up to Jayce about my father, he’d encouraged me to do the same with all of my friends.

It made our training sessions easier, now that they understood my hesitations and fears.

At first, I’d felt so damn raw and vulnerable, but the girls didn’t even hesitate to embrace me despite my dark past.

“You do deserve it, silly,” Nayeli said finally. “You aren’t your father’s mistakes. You’re Rhie, the Blacktide Luna. Nothing else in the past matters.”

“I know,” I said, and was surprised to realize I believed it. It was Jayce who made me believe it. “But Jayce and I haven’t put a name to what’s going on between us. I mean, besides, mate. But as far as feelings…I don’t know if it’s more than just…” I trailed off, face hot.

“More than just sex to him,” Kiera supplied. “I know. It felt that way with Samson in the beginning. Well, the second beginning,” she laughed at herself, “But let me tell you a secret. Our grumpy, secretive Alphas are a lot softer and squishier inside than they let on.”

The other two women murmured in agreement.

“But you might have to be direct,” Gwen added, “Sometimes they need a little prodding. Just talk to him.”

Grinning, I held my hands out again, palms up. “Okay. I will. But for now, let’s keep going.”

***

Jayce was still heavy on my mind when I got back to the house, but while his 4-Runner was in the driveway, he was nowhere to be found. It wouldn’t have bothered me if I hadn’t brushed against our pack bond and felt it closed off, like Jayce was trying to shut me out.

That worried me enough to seek him out, and I finally managed to catch his scent, still somewhat fresh, out behind the house.

It led into the woods, and while I didn’t want to interrupt him if I was trying to have some alone time, something was nagging at me to find him.

A sense of wrongness had settled over me, and I wasn’t willing to ignore it if my mate was involved.

I wasn’t sure what prompted the decision to shift, but I did so, and I was much quieter on four paws.

I crept across the edge of the back lawn, past the trees, into the forest, where the light dimmed and the air grew cooler.

He couldn’t have gone far; his scent was recent, but I wouldn’t be settled until I saw that he was okay with my own two eyes.

After ten or so minutes, other unfamiliar scents started to creep in, not alongside Jayce’s but in front of me. I kept to the trail, and finally, I heard the low drone of voices and picked out Jayce’s easily.

When I was close enough to hear what he was saying, it was like my world cracked.

“She’s nothing,” he said dismissively. I still couldn’t see him, but I’d have known his voice anywhere. “She’s just a lowly Omega with no real use. No magic. No standing in the pack. I don’t know why you’re concerned with her.”

I had no idea who he was speaking to, but the words were so cold, and they came from him so easily that I staggered backwards like I’d been hit. In fact, the words hurt worse than any real hit I’d ever taken, and for a second, it felt like I couldn’t breathe.

Nothing. No use. A lowly Omega.

All of the brightness I’d carried with me since the magic session at Nayeli’s was snuffed out instantly, and I felt bereft.

As a wolf, I couldn’t cry, but a whine was building in my throat that I didn’t want to escape.

I didn’t want Jayce to hear me or get the satisfaction of knowing that he hurt me so terribly.

I shook my head, legs bent, and forced myself to breathe. I wasn’t going to sit there just to hear more and continue to be torn apart. Gathering myself, I stood, turned, and fled.

The trees blurred about me, branches catching at my fur. I had no idea where I was going; I just needed to get away. Away from Jayce, his words, and the feelings I had started to have for him. My chest felt like it had been split in half, and my heart torn out.

How could I have been so damn stupid?

Distantly, I decided to correct my course and flee to my old trailer, not even thinking about how my car was still at Jayce’s, along with most of my things. I was too wrapped up in all of the lies—his smiles, his soft words, his hot kisses. Our interlude in the back room of the bar…

How was I supposed to live, knowing it was all fake? All I could do was run away, leave my life behind—

No.

The thought stopped me in my tracks, and I stumbled to a halt. No. I wasn’t going to run again. I’d finally found a place in the world, found respect, found friends, and a pack that welcomed me. I’d been running for so much of my life, and I was so damned tired.

No more. I’d worked for this new life of mine, and I wasn’t going to give it up that easily.

Jayce had drawn me into his life, made me feel like he cared about me, and he was going to explain why in the heck he was saying such terrible things about me now.

It didn’t matter who he was talking to. If that’s how he really felt, he could say it to my face.

Growling, I turned back.

I’d gone off course in my blind rush away from Jayce, and it took a little longer to pick my way through the forest, but after a few minutes, I picked up his scent again and followed it.

My pulse was racing when I thought about confronting him, but it had to be done.

I had to be brave, even if it tended to be against my nature.

I saw him before the others, his tall form like a beacon in the trees. But before I could get any closer, the feeling of wrongness returned, and I stopped, crouching low. Then, the person Jayce was talking to shifted his weight, and I saw him. The sight made my blood run cold.

Standing, just a few feet from my mate, was the rogue wolf from before.

The same rogue that had handled me so cruelly, who’d bound my hands so tightly I couldn’t feel my fingers.

That was horrifying enough, but as I crept closer, staying as low to the ground as I could, I could make out other figures in the trees, too.

The rogues had come to claim whatever Jayce had offered them, and they’d brought backup.