Page 30 of Rejected Sold Mate (Crystal Creek Wolves #4)

I’d always known they were going to come back. From the moment I made that stupid fucking deal in the middle of the woods, I knew I was just kicking the can down the road, and that when the rogues returned, they were going to be even more problematic than before.

But there’d been nothing else for me to do when I’d found them the first time. Rhie had been tied up on the ground, and we were heavily outnumbered. I would have done anything to save her; I just hoped that when it came back to bite me in the ass, I would have been more prepared.

I’d been living in peace on borrowed time, and time was up.

Checking the perimeter of the property line was something I’d done twice a day since Rhie moved in, but after days and days of nothing, I’d reassigned the wolves who had patrolled the area to the territory line instead. I had only been checking recently to calm the constant worry of attack…

And I’d found exactly what I’d been looking for.

The rogues, at least ten of them, were standing just far enough away that they hadn’t tripped my security system. They’d been waiting on me, like they’d had my schedule memorized, and the thought made me feel sick. They’d been so close to Rhie, and I hadn’t even known.

“Don’t think about running to get backup, Alpha,” the leader chuckled, stepping forward.

He was still dirty and thin, but the manic energy in his eyes had only grown.

“There are ten of us and one of you. I’m sure one of us could reach your pretty Omega before you. Is that a chance you want to take?”

“What the fuck do you want?”

The rogue leader crossed his arms and grinned, “You know what we’re here for. To collect the debt we’re owed.”

“Then let’s get on with it. Once the debt is paid, I never want to see you set foot on my fucking territory ever again.” My wolf was begging to go on the offensive, even with the unbeatable odds.

“That’s the thing…” the leader trailed off while the rest of the rogues spread out in a semicircle around me. “We had to sneak onto your land and observe your pack for a little bit so we knew exactly what to ask for. And what I want is going to make it awfully hard to stay out of your territory.”

He said the last two words with a heavy dose of sarcasm. Cold trickled down my spine. “What do you mean by that?”

“It’s simple. We want a stake in your land so we can establish a pack of our own, and we want a few of your wolves to come to our pack so we know you won’t betray us. We also want this kept hush-hush from the other packs in your so-called alliance, because we both know they wouldn’t approve.”

I was taken aback. It wasn’t anything that I’d thought they would ask for, and at the same time, totally out of line for me to even consider. It made my response simple. “No.”

“Just the territory then. Keep your wolves.”

My lip curled up, “Try again.”

The rogue leader’s expression darkened. “You’re not in a position to negotiate, you know that, right?”

I shrugged one shoulder. “And yet here I am. Negotiating.”

He snarled and came closer, close enough for me to smell his foul breath. “We’ve been watching you, Jayce. We know you’ve moved that Omega into your home. I wonder if she’s as easy to steal from you as she was from her last pack?”

It was a monumental effort to keep my face and body still while my wolf lunged and bit at its cage beneath my skin.

The part of me that was most like my father, that wanted to rip and tear and kill until I was on top, had raised its ugly head.

But I had to be smarter than that. There had to be a way to throw them off Rhie’s scent.

If they knew she meant so much to me, they’d use her to get what they wanted.

“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.” The words tasted like ash, but I prayed they’d hit their mark.

The leader cocked his head to the side, but then raised his hand, motioning his wolves forward while telling me, “I don’t believe you.”

“Then you’re dumber than I thought.” I held my ground, watching every move the other wolves made. My initial count had been right—there were ten of them, including the leader. I’d been reluctant to face five of them last time, but ten was out of the question.

Except it looked like I wasn’t going to have a choice.

The rogues drew closer, and when the leader spoke again, his canines had elongated; his shift was close, as was the threat of violence. “You can’t fool me. We’ve seen what she’s done. Her magic. You’re lying through your teeth, Alpha, and I don’t like being lied to.”

And then he lunged.

I met him head-on, throwing open the bond with Rhie and flooding it with everything that I felt for her. Death was near for me, and I didn’t want to go to my grave without her knowing how I felt about her.

When the leader struck at me, I ducked to the side, rolling away before jumping to my feet again. I tried to call my shift, to fight with tooth and claw, but another rogue leapt onto my back and dragged me to the ground.

There were just so damned many of them. I fought hard, fists cracking bone, my body running on fury and desperation. I made them bleed, but there was no way for me to win. If they were going to kill me, I was at least going to make sure it hurt.

When I began to flag, they circled me, striking out before pulling back and laughing, over and over again. They were playing with me, trying to wear me down to nothing before one of them struck the final blow.

Then the leader was in front of me, and something was shining in his hand—a blade. I was already on the ground, my ribs on fire, when he put his booted foot in the middle of my chest and spun the knife in his hand.

“Let’s hope your Beta is a better fighter than you. Otherwise, by sunrise tomorrow, this pack will be mine.”

He lifted the blade, and time slowed as I watched it descend towards my heart. It was over.

Until it wasn’t.

The air vibrated with power for a millisecond before the magic crashed down around us like thunder.

Energy snapped outward, splintering the nearby trees and making the ground shake.

I staggered to my feet in the ensuing chaos, whipping around to look for her, because I recognized that power. I’d have known the feel of it anywhere.

Rhie.

I spotted her on the edge of the treeline, her eyes wide, hands outstretched, while magic poured out of her in uncontrolled waves.

Her expression was full of fear and fury.

I knew then that she was barely holding on to her power, and in seconds, she’d lose control, and it would be over for all of us.

She saw me finally, and our eyes met across the clearing as the ground beneath the rogues started to buckle. Tree roots shot from the ground, and it felt like the entire world was about to shake itself apart.

Nothing else mattered. I was injured, the ground was rolling under my feet, but I ran as hard as I could until I had her in my arms while the storm of her power raged.

“I’ve got you,” I told her, “I’m here.”