Page 30 of Rejecting his Mate (The Wolves of Black Mountain #2)

Chapter 30

Halle

F or the next two weeks, Cade and I build a life for ourselves in the sanctuary, even despite our misgivings. Where else can we go? Maybe I could recreate the wards Hester has here, but I’ve barely scratched the surface of what I can do with my magic. The lessons are daily, and they exhaust me, but I understand myself better now, and that is because of Hester. She hasn’t demanded anything from us, and all the doubts I had faded into the background. I am sure Hester does have an agenda, but even if she is raising tau walls to stand against hunters, I’m not sure I blame her. We were hunted for a short time, and it was terrifying. The memories I recovered of my mom show we were on the run for at least a month.

So, things may not be perfect here, but it’s as close to it as we are going to get. Considering what our life could be, this doesn’t seem so bad.

I’m sitting on the porch, looking out over the other cabins. Darkness has shrouded everything in shadow, and although the lights lining the path chase some of it away, it seems as if things are moving behind the buildings.

I ignore it, telling myself we are safe here because Hester has made it that way.

Cade comes to the door, leaning against the frame and watching me.I’ve noticed he does this more and more, and I can’t say I don’t like it. It’s as if he has to stop for a moment and just drink me in. The greedy look in his eyes makes my pussy throb every time he does it.

“When you’re done being a stalker, come and sit with me.”

“I’ll never be done with you.” He says this even as he moves toward me and sinks onto the bench next to me. It is icy, the air chilled, so I pull the blanket I have wrapped around my legs over him too. Not that he needs it; Cade is always warm.

He glances out over the dark, and I wonder if he is sensing the same unease I am. “Are you happy?”

The question surprises me. “Of course. Are you?”

He lifts my hand from under the blanket, pressing his lips to my knuckles. “I would be happy with you wherever we were, but I just wondered if you felt the same.”

In the past few days, some more memories have come back, but not the important ones, the ones I really want to dig into. I am desperate to talk to my aunt, but I won’t endanger us by travelling anywhere near my old pack and my old mate.

I wonder if Dalton felt the moment our mating bond was ripped out of me, or is he oblivious to the fact I am no longer his?

There are so many things I want to know, but not enough to leave the sanctuary.

I stare at our joined hands, his much bigger one overshadowing mine. “I’m happy,” I assure him. “Before you, I was existing. Now, I’m living. I’m learning to control my gifts, the guys are settling in, well, except your brother. He’s still avoiding everything.”

Cade kisses my temple, and I melt against him, unable to help myself. “Sawyer will be okay,” he promises, but I’m not so sure.

His brother is proud, but he is a good wolf. Roux’s dismissal makes me feel pissed. She won’t even talk to him, even though he has tried so hard to break through her hardened walls. Even though I’ve tried to talk to her, whatever she has been through in the past has made it impossible for her to listen, and I don’t want to push her too hard. I know what trauma feels like.

“I hope so.”

Wyatt and Jackson have found a routine too, helping Abel around the grounds. I like knowing they are settled because I know it makes Cade feel more at ease.

“Has anyone ever told you how big your heart is?” Cade brushes my hair back from my face.

“Only you.”

I’m not sure what it is, but I suddenly feel a jolt in the magic that surrounds the sanctuary. I twitch, standing so quickly that the blanket falls off my legs.

“What’s wrong?” Cade demands, suddenly alert .

“Something’s happening.” I feel power growing in the air, a little at first, and then a huge amount.

The forest is suddenly lit up, flames licking the trees. Cade grabs me, pulling me against him. “Go to the house,” he says in an urgent voice.

“No,” I say, not even considering leaving him alone out here. Instead, I reach into my mind for Tessa, but she appears in front of us, rushing from her own cabin with Abel at her back.

“We’re under attack.” Tessa’s words shouldn’t surprise me, but they do. We have grown complacent and taken our eyes off the danger we are facing.

Before we can react, the baying of wolves fills the air. My heart freezes in my chest. It sounds as if there is an army of them out there.

“We need to get to the others. Now.”

Abel’s mouth pulls into a line at the wobble in Tessa’s voice. I can see the tension radiating off him, and I understand—I am just as scared about the safety of my mate as he is. “We’ll be able to defend ourselves better at the main house,” he says.

“Then let’s get to the main house.” Cade grabs my hand. I’m not wearing shoes, just thick socks, but I don’t care about my feet as we race across the grass.

Cade drags me up the path, gravel embedding in my soles as he bangs on the front door of the cabin the three guys share. The lights are on, and Wyatt opens the door quickly, already pulling on shoes. Jackson and Sawyer are also moving.

“Hunters?” Jackson demands.

“Move,” Cade growls, ignoring the question .

As we rush back out of the cabin, the flames are gone, and I can sense movement behind the cabins.

Tessa and Abel have Roux with them. As she notices Sawyer, I see a fear reflecting in her eyes that has nothing to do with the attack we are facing.

If I had time to unpack it, I would, but three wolves round the empty cabin next to Roux’s.

Without thought, the guys shift. Cade is first to react, going down to his haunches before his body twitches and his wolf erupts out of him. The Cade I know is no longer there, but I recognize his black wolf as mine too.

Around us, Sawyer, Wyatt, Jackson, and Abel all change into their wolves too, prepared to protect us.

But we don’t need protection.

We are just as strong but in different ways. Tessa slips her hand into mine, Roux taking the other side of me.

The lights aren’t on in Apryle’s cabin, so I assume she is still at the house after dinner with Hester. They both must have felt the shift in the wards, the same way Tessa and I did.But any hope that they might be on the way is dashed as I feel magic swirling behind us, coming from the house.

Shit.

Cade and the guys stalk toward the attacking wolves, and then the fight begins.

I try to keep an eye on what is happening, but figures are bleeding out of the shadows.

Witches.

No, not witches, but tau. I can smell the wolf halves as well as their magic. More wolves drift out of the darkness, and I force my mind to calm to gain control. Hester's mantra is on repeat in my head, even as terror for my mate and my friends grows.

I try to block out the high-pitched whining coming from the wolves as they clash in a mass of fur and teeth. The fight between the guys and the others sounds brutal, and as much as I try to keep an eye on Cade, I lose sight of him as he disappears behind one of the cabins.

“Focus, Halle,” Roux chastises.

I can’t do anything for Cade right now, but I can feel through the bond he is okay, so I give my attention back to the girls.

I feel the magic swirling between us, our joined hands acting as conduits as we draw on our power. Then we push it out of our bodies in the way Hester taught us. It hits the hunters and the tau wolves striding toward us like a ripple of power, knocking them on their asses.

Intense pain suddenly bursts through my head. My hands go to my temples, trying to block it out as it drives through my skull.Power swells through me, but it is not mine. The attack is savage, aimed at bringing me to my knees. It feels as if it spreads through every pain receptor in my brain, like little jolts of electric agony.

I breathe through the pain, fighting to push the presence out of my mind. Tessa grabs my hand suddenly. “Run!” She hisses the word and drags me away.

I stumble behind her, her grip on my hand the only thing keeping me moving as I battle the invasion inside my mind. I shove it aside, pulling my own power to the front of my mind and blasting it out.

Whoever is attacking me is strong and far more focused than I am, and I’m not calm enough to keep control of my magic. It is a miracle that I manage to push the presence out, and I have no idea how I do it, but as soon I do, I create walls around my mind. It is something Hester has been working on with us, but I didn’t think I would need to use it this soon.

My foot snags on something, my sock catching. I stumble, nearly going down to my knees, dragging Tessa with me. She squeals, and my body jars as I hit the ground before hands are on me, pulling me up. I half turn, panicked that I’ve been caught, but it is Roux.

“Up!” She yells the word at me as Tessa gets to her feet.

“Did you feel the power?” I demand, directing my question at both of them.

“Keep moving,” Roux urges, ignoring me.

I pull out of her grasp. “Keep moving where?”

“To the house. We need to help the others.”

Fuck that. I like Apryle, and I’m starting to like Hester, but they aren’t my priority. “I’m not leaving my mate.”

“We can’t help them. We need the power of all of us combined to fight.” The panic in her voice heightens my fear. She’s right, but I can’t leave Cade.

“Your mate is fighting too.” I can’t stop the bite of anger in my words. “Are you really going to leave him?”

Roux glances away, and I see the pain ripple across her face. “Sawyer isn’t mine, and believe me, he wouldn’t want me to fight for him. ”

I really want to dig deeper, but this is not the time or the place.

“You can do what you want, but I’m going back for my mate.”

Tessa looks torn, as if she wants to stay with Abel too. “Roux is right. Abel is okay. I can feel it through our bond. But Hester and Apryle are fighting for their lives. We have to help them.” Tessa gives me an apologetic smile. “Come with us, Halle.”

I shake my head. “I’m not leaving.”

The two of them glance at each other before they take off toward the house.

I can hear the fighting between the wolves coming from behind the cabins. I make my way back in that direction, reaching through my mating bond, but all I can sense from Cade is anger.

I barely take three steps before I’m knocked off my feet as if someone shoved me with an invisible wrecking ball. I hit the ground hard enough to jolt my bones, and the air is pushed from my lungs, leaving me winded.Staring up at the stars overhead, I try to breathe through the knot in my throat before rolling to my side so I can push up.

A familiar scent fills my nose, making my wolf bare her teeth.

Dalton.

What the fuck is my former mate doing with hunters?

He’d been in Spencer too, with the man with the white hair.

I scramble to my feet, unwilling to stay down, as he steps out of the shadows with a young female. Her hand is raised to me as if daring me to make a move. I can feel the magic swirling through her, magic like mine.

She is a tau.

Why do the hunters have tau with them?

Dalton seems smaller than I remember, or maybe it’s just the fact that Cade is so big that he makes him look like nothing. His blond hair is slicked back, and the black clothes he is wearing were designed for one purpose only—to sneak inside our home and harm us.

My wolf paces in my mind. She doesn’t like him being in our space. My hand gravitates to my neck, to the claiming mark Cade put over his.

I watched Dalton follow my movement. “How did you do it?”

“What do you care? You tried to kill me.”

“Obviously, not hard enough, considering you’re standing in front of me.” Dalton looks me up and down, his nose wrinkling as if he smells something unpleasant. “He’s all over you.” The accusation in his voice ticks me off.

“Unlike you, he’s my true mate.” I slide my gaze toward the female, ready to fight them both. I can sense she is powerful, but I’m stronger.

I don’t fear her, but I do him, and I hate it. He got the better of me last time, and I only survived because of Cade. I’m not sure I can fight him, and the doubts assail me as I stand there looking into the eyes of the wolf who hated me enough to end my life.

“I guess it saved me a job. I hated being tethered to you.”

I snort. “The feeling was mutual, trust me. ”

Dalton steps toward me, and I move back. Muscle memory is a powerful thing, and my body remembers what he did to me.

I feel Cade through the bond.

What’s wrong?

I’m fine, I send back. I don’t want to distract him from whatever fight he is in, even though I am far from fine right now. My skin is clammy, and I feel useless, helpless. Dalton always had a way of making me feel as if I was nothing, and that is all I can focus on. I hate myself for that most of all.

I’m not weak. I have proven that over the last two weeks with the other tau wolves. I have power and strength.

Dalton grits his teeth. “You are just defective in every single way, aren’t you? Can’t shift, can’t keep a mating bond, can’t even do magic. Just a defective latent bitch.”

His words hit something deep inside me. An insecurity he put there. An insecurity I don’t want to live with anymore.

Cade speaks in my mind.

I’m coming. Keep fighting until I get there. I love you.

My stomach flutters. He loves me? I don’t know why it surprises me, considering the way he has been with me since our mating bond slid into place, but it does. It gives me strength too. It doesn’t matter what Dalton says to me. His opinion doesn’t count. The only person I need in my corner is Cade, and it’s clear he is there.

I love you too.

This isn’t the best time to tell him that, or maybe it is, considering we could die here. I feel his pleasure come back down the bond before it fades out.

I return my attention to Dalton, and for the first time, I see him as the weak, pathetic creature he is.

I give him a cold smile. “I may be latent, but that doesn’t mean I’m helpless.”

Just as I spent the week practicing with the girls, I push power down my body, aiming it at Dalton, but the female with him deflects it. I glare at her. “You realize he would kill you without a thought just because of what you are?”

The female doesn’t speak—maybe she can’t—so give my attention back to Dalton.

“What did you do to her?” I demand.

He sniggers, stepping toward me, and I move back. I know I shouldn’t be scared of him, but that fear is like muscle memory, and my body reacts before I can stop it. “If I’d known what you were, I would have kept you around. Your kind is useful.”

What does he mean by that? Why do hunters have these females? What are they doing to them?

“I would never have stayed. I hate you.”

He moves like lightning, and I reach inside my mind, conjuring my magic and blasting it out at him before he can reach me. He’ll never put his hands on me again.

This time, his little friend doesn’t move to help him, and he catapults back, hitting the ground hard.

Asshole.

I can’t stop sniggering at him as he struggles to get up off the grass, all those times I felt helpless and afraid because of him playing on repeat in my mind .

Who is helpless now, you son of a bitch?

“Incapacitate her!” Dalton orders the female with him.

I feel her power surge, and I raise my hand, ready to deflect it. Before I can, I am slammed onto the grass, my arms are pulled over my head by an unseen force, and my legs are spread wide enough to make me feel vulnerable.

I try to move, but I can’t. It is as if there are tethers attaching me to the ground. I reach for my magic, trying to force it out of me, but I have lost control. My mind is a ball of panic as Dalton comes closer.

I struggle against my invisible bonds as he straddles my hips, putting his weight on me. I reach for my magic again, sticky fear clogging my veins. “Get off me!” I hiss at him like a feral cat.

“It’s not nice, is it, feeling out of control? That’s exactly how I felt when I realized how damaged you were. But then I started thinking.” He trails his fingers over my cheek, and I turn my head to the side, disgusted. “How powerful my legacy would be if our child was tau.”

My stomach turns, twisting and knotting at his words.

“I will never let you touch me.”

“Once we get you back to our facility, you won’t have a choice. Your heat should start soon. And when it does, I’ll be there to make sure you are—Satisfied.”

His words scare me more than any beating he has ever given me. Taking control of my body like that horrifies me. I would die before I let him put a pup inside me. I thrash against my bindings, trying to free myself, but they don’t move.

I sense Cade before I see the flash of dark fur come out of the darkness. He hits Dalton like a truck at full speed.

I can smell the blood on my mate, and I hope it is not his. In his vargr form, he is enormous, not to mention terrifying. His jaws snap at Dalton, who tries to shove him back with his hands, but Cade gives him no space to shift.

All I can do is watch as my mate tears into him, and while Dalton fights hard, he is no match for Cade’s wolf.

I can’t see the blood on Dalton, but I know he is bleeding, and I can tell it is hurting because he is screaming. I try to block out the sound, keeping my focus on the stars above my head as the savage fight goes on.

Then the screaming stops and all I can hear are the growls and snaps of Cade’s wolf.

The bindings holding me release, and I’m free. I scrabble up to my knees, but the girl who was with him is gone.

I don’t want to look, but I slide my gaze toward Cade. Even in the light from the pretty lamps lining the path, it is hard to see what remains of Dalton. The coppery scent of his blood is heavy in the air, and I have to choke back the bile sitting in the back of my throat.

Cade swings his head toward me, dropping it lower and letting out a dangerous-sounding growl. I blink frantically, trying to clear my eyes as the tears come. I’m not crying for Dalton. I couldn’t care less he’s gone, but I hate that Cade had to do it. He shouldn’t have his blood on his hands.

His wolf stalks toward me, blood matting the fur around his snout. He’s still growling, but I’m not afraid. He is mine as much as I am his.

I reach out, raking my fingers through the fur on the side of his neck, ignoring the sticky blood there. Cade’s wolf nuzzles against my shoulder.

Safe . That word comes through the bond, and I’m not sure if he wants me safe or if he thinks we are safe.

I glance over him at the burning trees, feeling pain in my gut. Such wanton destruction, such violence, and for what?

Up.

The order barks through my mind. I stumble upright, unsure who I need to help. There is fighting happening at the house—I can feel the power and magic being used, and I know the guys are still engaged in a fight behind the cabins.

You need to run, Cade says in my head.

I’m not going anywhere.

His wolf bares its teeth, showing his displeasure, but I’m not leaving him here alone. If we're going to die, we’ll fucking do it together.

I freeze as movement catches my eye. Cade notices it at the same time, his head swinging in that direction.

A man dressed in black steps out from behind one of the cabins, a white streak in his hair. Cold spreads through me as I see it is the same man who was left behind in Spencer. The man I saw with Dalton.

His gaze roams over the destruction we have created before resting on me. Cade’s wolf is in front of me, protecting me.

The man shows no fear at being growled at.

“Remarkable. You have power, little girl, but you do not know how to use it.”

“You want to be the test subject?”

I rock on my heels, taking a fighting stance, but he just smiles as if he does not need to worry about anything I can do to him. “An ironic word choice. I’ve been looking for you for a long time, Halle.”

My stomach twists. What the hell did Dalton tell him about me? And what does he mean for a long time?

Adeline knew. This is why she took me to the pack. This is why she erased my memories and bound my powers.

A chill skitters up my spine.

“Who are you?” I demand.

He doesn’t answer my question, his greedy eyes still roaming over me. “Your power, it radiates off you, even as uncontrolled as it is.”

I glance down at Cade, my heart hammering in my chest. Nausea swirls in my belly as I step back from him.

“Come with me, Halle. I can help you realize your true potential.”

Cade’s wolf growls savagely. “You come near me, and I’ll gut you.”

His lips curve into a smile, seemingly unfazed by my threat.

I feel power behind me and twist to look over my shoulder. The four girls are coming down the path, holding hands. Hester’s chanting under her breath, her eyes locked on the white-haired man.

He holds his hands up, supplication in the motion even as he smirks. “This place won’t keep you safe.” He says it in a light tone, but I hear the crack of a threat in his words.

A fireball fires out from Hester’s hands in his direction. He ducks, barely in time to avoid being burned. When he straightens, the look on his face is irritated. That snarky facade has disappeared.

“You think I won’t lock you in a cage? You think you’re safe here with your pathetic little wards?” He snarls. “You know how easy it was to get inside?”

As he says this, four wolves appear behind him. Abel’s wolf is a mix of colors, mainly brown, black, and white. He is also smaller than Sawyer, Jackson, and Wyatt but no less menacing as he drops his head and lets out a fierce growl.

Hester gives him a smug look as we surround him.

“Getting out probably won’t be that easy, though.”

His jaw clenches as he realizes there is no way out for him. “Do you think I would let you take me down, Hester? You know me better than that.”

I stare at Hester. She knows this asshole?

My thoughts scatter as a woman steps out from behind one of the cabins. I can feel the power surrounding her, I can smell her wolf and something else. Something familiar.

I draw in a noseful of air.

Why is that scent familiar?

As she steps into the light, I can see her. Red hair, the gap in her front teeth just like mine, and I’m sure if I could see through the shitty lighting, green eyes.

My feet move of their own accord, and Cade has to grab my arm to stop me from going to her.

She doesn’t look at me or make eye contact with anyone. Her expression is blank, as if the lights are on, but no one is home. I swallow down the emotions battering me as I stare at her, wondering if she is an apparition.

“Mom?”

The white-haired man smirks, an ugly look on his face as he says something to her. She raises her hand so it aligns with her shoulders, and I feel her swell of power before she releases it.

I brace for the impact, but it never comes. The others fire magic back, and I scream for them to stop. “You’re going to kill her!”

Cade’s arms wrap around me from behind, pulling me against his chest. “You can’t help her.”

The attack between them continues, until the white-haired man and my mom vanish into the darkness. I stare after them, sagging in Cade’s arms as the realization hits that my mom isn’t dead—she hasn’t been dead all this time. She has been a prisoner of the Order, and I have no idea how we get her back.