Page 13 of Rejecting his Mate (The Wolves of Black Mountain #2)

Chapter 13

Halle

J ackson’s breath rattles in his chest as he lies across Sawyer and me. He doesn’t sound good, and that worries me. My old pack is no longer following the truck, left in the dust by Cade’s speeding along the road. Even so, fear grips me.

This has happened before…

The thought infiltrates my mind without warning or explanation. I don’t recall a time I was chased through the mountains by wolves, but the memory, the déjà vu, is so clear it won’t leave my thoughts.

I wish Adeline were here so I could ask her about it.

Jackson groans, bringing my attention back to him. There’s a lot of blood on his face and his body, hidden by the blanket Sawyer covered him with.

I try to reach inside myself to heal him, the same way I did Cade, but nothing happens. I might be part witch, but what use is it when it doesn’t work?

“Is he okay?” Cade asks, peering into the rearview mirror at me.

“I don’t know,” I admit. “There’s a lot of blood and injuries. We need to stop somewhere so we can get a look at him.”

Cade growls a curse under his breath. “We’re not stopping with those fucks behind us.”

I twist to look out the window as if expecting to see the wolves trailing behind the truck. All I see is empty road.

“I don’t see them following us,” I say.

“They’ll follow the road,” Wyatt explains. “Only one way in and out of these mountains, and they know that.”

Cold clutches my heart. “So, they’re going to catch us?”

“Didn’t say that. We can lose them once we get onto the main highway.”

Jackson fumbles for Sawyer’s wrist, leaving bloodied fingerprints on his skin. “They’re… not alone.”

“The pack?”

He nods, his throat bobbing as he tries to swallow. “They’ve called in… hunters.” The silence that fills the truck is terrifying. “Your mate… called them.”

I peer down at Jackson. Of course, Dalton called a team of exterminators to help in his quest to end my life. I glance at Sawyer. “It might be time for the rest of you to visit Florida.”

“Yeah? And where are you going?”

“I’ll figure it out.”

“You’re not leaving alone.” I don’t expect that from Cade, not after what happened after the kiss. His rejection of me still burns through my body.

I scoff at him. “I don’t need your permission.”

“Well, you aren’t getting it.”

I glare at the back of his head, wishing my eyes were lasers. “Just because you kissed me doesn’t mean you own me, Cade.”

As soon as the words leave my mouth, I wish I could shove them back in. I groan.

“You two kissed?” Sawyer says immediately, a grin playing on his lips.

Cade gives him a dark glare in the mirror before shooting me one. I should have kept my mouth shut. Sawyer is never going to let this go.

“Don’t worry. It won’t be happening again,” I tell him.

“Won’t it?” Sawyer wiggles his brows. “The tension between you two is oppressive as it is. Just fuck and get it out of your systems.”

I snap my head toward him, hissing his name, which makes him laugh. “Seriously, I don’t know why you’re both pretending there’s nothing between you. I can smell your need.”

Heat rises in my cheeks at his words. What does that mean? Discretely, I try to sniff myself, but I can’t smell anything.

Cade looks like he’s contemplating tossing his brother out of the car. “She has a mate.”

“One who is trying to kill her,” Sawyer waves this concern off. “I don’t think he’ll be winning the prize for mate of the year. Do you?”

I snort before going quiet. I can sense the rage coming from Cade without needing the pack bond. I’m sure everyone else can too.

I reach up, my fingers absently stroking over the bite on my neck. I know it’s in my head, but I swear it stings at Sawyer’s words.

“Is nobody else worried about the fact the Order is coming for us?” Wyatt twitches in his seat, his nervous energy clear.

No one says anything. I try to think of something to make this situation better, but there’s nothing. I caused this mess. This is on me.

“I’m sorry,” I say, wincing at how pathetic it sounds. No amount of apologizing can put the horse back in the barn.

“This isn’t Halle’s fault,” Cade says.

“Isn’t it?” Wyatt’s tone drips with malice. “We didn’t have a single problem with them until her.”

“He’s right,” I say. “I caused this, and I’ll do whatever to fix it.”

“No offense, Halle, but you’re no match for a bunch of blood-crazed wolves,” Sawyer says.

“I don’t have to match them. I just have to stay ahead of them.”

“So, you just run away and keep running your entire life?”

Cade says nothing, but I can tell he wants to.

I shrug. “Running is better than dying.”

“No one is dying,” Cade finally growls.

I glance down at Jackson as he moans. His skin is pale, sweat beading on his skin. The pain he’s in makes my heart squeeze. I reach inside myself again, trying to heal Jackson’s wounds.

Pain lances through my temple as I emulate what I did last time, but nothing happens.

I try again.

Sweat beads on my nape and my forehead as I try to push through the wall that seems to be surrounding the power I need to heal Jackson.

I grunt, the sound accidentally slipping from my mouth. The pressure of what I’m doing is making me see double, and I blink, trying to focus.

“What are you doing?” Sawyer demands, his eyes roaming over my face.

“I’m trying to heal Jackson, but it’s harder than it seems.” I let out another grunt as my brain feels like it’s being squeezed in a vise. I’ve caused these wolves so much trouble; the least I can do is put my stupid difference to some use.

As I try to access the part of my awareness that lets me heal, I start to doubt Cade’s assertion that I am part witch. There’s nothing there. I can’t find anything.

My wolf howls, begging me to stop, but I keep pushing. I can almost sense something there, behind the walls of my mind, but I can’t reach it.

Cade snaps out, “Stop!”

“I’m not going to stop,” I snap. “He needs help.”

“And he’ll get it,” Cade says, “just not from you.”

What an asshole. I glare at the back of his head. “You’re not my alpha.”

“I made you part of this pack, and in this pack, I am alpha.”

My gaze slides toward Sawyer, seeking confirmation of this. Cade’s brother shifts his shoulders apologetically. “He’s our alpha.”

My gut churns with acid as Cade’s eyes meet mine in the mirror. I can’t tell if he wants to drag me into his lap to fuck me or strangle me with his bare hands. Both seem possible. I give him a sweet smile that he doesn’t return and turn my attention back to Jackson, trying not to let his whimpers break my heart.

“Hold on,” I soothe, trying to calm him. His eyes are glassy as they take me in, and I’m not sure if he knows where he is.

The mountain pass changes. The trees thin out, and houses appear on one side of the road before more and more properties line either side. My eyes are everywhere as I take it all in. Everything is so quirky and interesting. Stores line the main street, flags flying outside a few of them, and there’s a buzz around the place.

I watch a woman walking down the sidewalk as we stop at a set of traffic lights. She’s clinging to a small girl with dark hair and a pale blue jacket.

Something unlocks in my brain. Something falls out of place. A vision flashes through my mind of a woman with red hair like mine. The terror on her face as she pulls me along a walkway. I can see doors on one side and a railing on the other overlooking a parking lot.

Motel flashes on a neon sign, illuminating the darkness and chasing some shadows away.

I can sense the desperation in her movements, and all I feel is terror.

I gasp and lean forward in my seat, the air lodging in my throat until I can’t breathe past it. The pain I felt trying to heal Jackson is nothing compared to this.

I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to block out the intense feelings swamping me. A hand on my back fills my awareness, but the ice pick that feels like it’s sliding between my ears is taking up most of my focus.

I gasp for breath, trying to get oxygen into my lungs, but I can’t.

I’m aware of the truck stopping and my door opening, and the next thing I know, I’m in Cade’s arms on the curb, pressed against him. His scent fills my nose, and it instantly soothes me. That lump in my throat starts to recede, and I pull in one breath, then another.

“I got you,” he tells me, holding me so tight I’m scared of what happens when he finally lets me go. I cling to him, my fingers fisting his shirt.

“Is she okay?” I hear a woman ask.

“All good,” Sawyer assures her before crouching in front of me. “Is it all good?”

I nod, my body calming down and taking comfort from Cade being close.

“What happened?” Cade asks.

“I don’t know. I was watching a mom and a little girl walking down the street, and then… it was as if I was… I don’t know.” I break off, unsure how to explain what happened without sounding like I’m losing my mind.

“As if what?”

I stare at Cade, trying to judge what he’s going to think when I give him the truth. “I saw a woman. I think it was my mom.”

Cade says nothing, just brushes my hair away from my face. It’s such a gentle move that I want to lean into it, but I don’t know if he would appreciate it, so I force my body to keep still.

“We’re attracting attention,” Wyatt says from the side.

I glance around and see he’s right. People have stopped to watch us. Considering we have a half-conscious and mauled man in the back of the truck, I’m bruised, and Sawyer is bloodied, I’m not surprised people are watching us.

Cade doesn’t seem like he wants to let go of me, but he does. Gripping my hands, Sawyer hauls me up and we pile back into the truck.

Jackson grunts when we lift his head and legs to get in, and Cade hits the gas as soon as we’re all safely inside. “There’s a motel outside town,” he says. “We’ll stop there and patch up Jackson.”

He doesn’t say it, but I hear the unspoken vow that we’ll be talking about my… episode… there as well.

No one speaks until we pull into the parking lot of the motel. It’s similar to the one I saw in my… vision? Memory? Whatever it was. The same kind of sign out front, the same walkways with doors facing out.

Everything feels familiar even though it’s not.

We wait in the truck while Cade gets us a room from the main office.

I’ve never seen my past before, even during my failed shift. My wolf is uneasy, pacing within the confines of my mind. I try to calm her, but she’s too wired to listen.

Cade leaves the office and gets back in the truck. He drives around the side of the building, where there’s another row of rooms. They’re not in the line of sight of the office and the road, which is presumably why he picked it.

He parks in front of room 23 and cuts the engine. Everyone piles out of the truck, except for Jackson, who groans at the movement as Sawyer and I get out from under him. I murmur an apology as Cade opens the door to the motel room and then comes back for Jackson. Between him and Wyatt, they get him out of the truck. They wrap the blanket around his hips, hiding his nakedness from anyone walking by. We don’t want to end up on the news.

Jackson whimpers and hisses, sucking air between his teeth, and I wince with sympathy. His side is coated in sticky blood, and I hope it’s stopped bleeding or at least slowed down.

Guilt stabs at me. He’s hurt because of me, because of my relationship with Dalton. I should never have brought them into this. As soon as Jackson is settled, I have to hit the road alone.

The thought scares me.

I’ve never been without the protection of a pack, and I don’t know what these hunters are capable of, but I know Dalton. He’s never going to stop looking for me.

I follow Sawyer to the trunk and take one of the holdalls from him. “I can manage,” he assures me.

“I know,” I say. “I want to feel useful.”

“Know you’re still thinking of running. Whatever batshit notion you have going on in that pretty head of yours ends now.”

“I never said I was going to run. ”

“Please, your guilt is written on every inch of your face and I can sense it through our pack link.” He heaves the bag onto his shoulder as I do the same with the one I’m carrying. It is heavy and I wonder how long they kept these bags ready in case they had to run. “But going out there alone is a stupid plan. You won’t last five minutes.”

“With you guys, I’ll get what? An extra ten?”

He snorts. “Funny.” I smile despite everything. “We’re vargr, Halle. We have an advantage you don’t, and you’re going to need us to keep you safe.”

“Not if it means risking your own lives.”

“The Order was always going to come for us at some point. It was just a matter of when. They don’t like anything different from them, and vargr are as different as they come. Besides, you run away and Cade is just going to drag you back.”

“If he can find me,” I mutter.

“Oh, he’ll find you. My brother cares about you, Halle. He’ll lose it if your take off.”

Cade does care about me, and part of me likes knowing that, but the strain I’m placing on Cade and his family isn’t acceptable. “Wyatt is pissed.”

“He’ll get over it,” Sawyer says. “This isn’t your fault. You didn’t ask for any of it.” His fingers trail over the mark on my neck. “We’ll figure out how to get this removed.”

“We need a witch.”

“Good thing you are one then, isn’t it?”

“We don’t know that, Sawyer. Healing your brother doesn’t prove anything. ”

“It proves enough.”

“Even if I am a witch, I don’t know how to use my… magic. I couldn’t heal Jackson.”

“Not yet.”

I sigh. “I appreciate your faith in me, but I think it’s probably misplaced.”

A heated feeling washes over me, coating my skin and making me shiver with need. I peer around Sawyer’s huge frame and see Cade standing there, watching us. The look on his face is a little concerning, but Sawyer doesn’t seem to notice or care.

He takes the bag from me. “That’s my cue to go away,” he smirks as he heads into the motel.

I don’t move, watching Cade as he studies me. My arms wrap around my waist as if they can protect me from him. They can’t. My heart is already scarred.

Eventually, Cade strides over to me, closing the gap between us. “You okay?”

I expect an apology, but this is a start. Shifting my shoulders, I say, “Honestly, I don’t know.”

Cade’s tongue dips out to wet his lips, and I follow the motion like a love-starved pup. His mouth looks so kissable right now, but I’m not touching him, not after what he did.

I lift my chin, trying to make my face show an indifference I do not feel. My heart is thudding, and I’m sure he can hear it as he invades my space.

“I shouldn’t have kissed you,” he says.

My brows lift to my forehead. That was not what I was expecting him to say. “Right.” The word is tightly spoken through my clenched jaw .

He winces at the look on my face. “You’re still mated to someone else.”

“What if I wasn’t? Would it change anything?”

I hold my breath as his gaze crawls over my face. Then he says, “It would change everything.”