Page 7 of Rejecting his Mate (The Wolves of Black Mountain #2)

Chapter 7

Halle

I don’t move. I don’t think I could even if I wanted to. My body feels boneless, my limbs useless. My eyes are hot and gritty—blurry too, but it’s the burning in my throat and chest that is the worst. Every breath is excruciating.

I hold my side, bending over a little to stem some of the pain as I take shallow breaths.

“We need to get out of here,” he repeats when I don’t move. “Up.”

The impatience in his tone pisses me off, though not nearly as much as the fact he won’t look at me.

“In case you haven’t noticed, I just got my ass handed to me,” I bite at him, winded. “Give me a moment.”

I don’t know what I look like, but I’m pretty sure it’s not the picture of health. My ribs ache fiercely, and my stomach too. I’ve never had broken ribs, but the pain radiating from that area tells me they are damaged.

He narrows his eyes, and I force my gaze to remain locked on his face and not his body, which is very naked. My wolf wants to mount him like a horse, and I have to silence her before she pushes me to do or say something stupid.Why is he having this effect on me?

“If you want to die here, then by all means, stay in the dirt on your knees and wait for your mate to return. Or shift so we can get the fuck out of here.”

Asshole.

When I imagined meeting him in human form, I didn’t envisage he’d be such a jerk.

“I just nearly died. Cut me some slack.”

“Shift, now.”

I can’t, even if I want to. I fire his command back at him. “Why don’t you?”

He snorts a dark sounding laugh. “Trust me, the last thing either of us needs is for me to let my wolf loose again. He’s already agitated.”

He’s probably right. I’m sure I was a hair’s breadth from being wolf food before he changed back into his human form. I got the impression he wasn’t completely in control of his beast, and for a shifter, that’s a terrifying prospect.

“Well, you’re going to have to because I can’t shift.”

He scowls at me. “You’re a wolf.”

“Not a very good one, apparently. I tried. It didn’t work. I told you that when we were talking.”

He cocks his brow. “When?”

“When you were being all wolfie. I told you my first moon ceremony didn’t go according to plan. ”

“Because you didn’t shift?”

“Yup. That’s kind of the reason Dalton wants me dead. He can’t stand the idea of being mated to someone defective .”

He steps up to me and, placing his hands under my armpits, lifts me onto my feet with a strength that should be illegal. I let out a noise somewhere between a squeal and a groan as my side throbs.That pain is forgotten momentarily because I am far too aware of his hands holding me in place. My pulse quickens as his heat infuses me, my response uncontrollable. What is happening?

He must feel the same because he tears out of my hold as if I’ve burned him. The glare he gives me suggests he thinks whatever is happening between us is my fault.

“You’re latent.”

I flinch at the word. I would have rather he called me defective. “I had performance… issues.”

He studies me like a science experiment. “Latency isn’t something that can be fixed, little wolf. “

He’s not saying anything I don’t know, but the accusation makes me curl my lips into a sneer. “Screw you! I didn’t ask for this. I expected to go through that ceremony and shift just like every other member of my pack.”

Adeline said I was different, that I was special. I feel nothing except broken and wrong.

His hand slams around my throat, anger flashing through his eyes. “I’m not one of your wolf friends. I won’t be as forgiving of your disrespect.”

I whimper at his touch. Not because it is heavy or crushing but because it lights me up in a way I don’t expect. There's a throbbing between my legs, and I rub my thighs together, trying to create friction there. I wonder if he can smell my arousal. Heat infuses my cheeks at the thought, and anger floods me at my body’s reaction to him.

If he can, he doesn’t show any sign.

“You think they’re forgiving? My own mate tried to kill me. The rest of them would end my life in an instant to keep the pack ‘clean’.” I smack his wrist. “Take your hands off me.”

He doesn’t remove his hold, but he loosens it.

“You have plagued me for months.” He seems annoyed about this, even though I had nothing to do with it. “Why are you tormenting me, little wolf?”

His gaze slips down my neck to the claiming mark that Dalton branded on my skin. My hands itch to cover it, to hide it from him, but all I can focus on is the way his thumb is swiping over the column of my throat. I’m not sure if he realizes he’s doing it, but I want to lean into his touch. I don’t, in case he stops.

Instead, I meet his gaze with my own defiant one.

“You were the one hiding in the woods, waiting for me.” The words are raw and ragged as I push them out of my bruised throat.

He releases me, stepping back as if the distance can help fix whatever is consuming us both. I don’t think anything can help. “If you can’t shift, we need to move fast. Keep up.” The order is firm, and my wolf wants to do as he commands, but I don’t move as he turns away from me.

“I’ll take my chances on my own, thanks.”

He snorts. “Are you that eager to die today?”

I shouldn’t do it, but I lift my nose to sniff him, and it’s like nothing I’ve ever scented before. I frown. “What are you? You don’t smell like a wolf. You’re different, stronger than an alpha, but nothing is stronger than an alpha.”

He slowly turns back to face me, and those blue orbs pin me again. I get a flash of incisors as he bares his teeth, clearly annoyed at being questioned.

“Enough! I’m trying to save your life. Maybe I should leave you out here to fend for yourself.”

To die.

There is no fending for myself. I’m exhausted, hanging on by a thread, and ready to fall to my knees in the dirt. Dalton would easily end my life if he caught me.

“Just tell me what you are, and then I’ll follow you wherever you want us to go.”

He grits his teeth and grabs my arm, shoving me forward. “Walk, before I leave you here to face this shit alone.”

That threat is very real, and it’s enough to get me moving. I hold none of the cards in this hand.

I stumble and right myself, following him. I shoot daggers at his back, wishing I had real blades.

I do as he demands, though. I walk. “Can you at least tell me your name?” I ask.

“Cade.”

I didn’t expect him to answer, but it suits him. “Cade…” I test the name on my tongue, dragging out the A.

I feel his eyes piercing me. “You got a problem with my name?”

“Nope.” I give him a smile that is not entirely friendly. “I’m Halle.”

“I know.”

I scowl at him. “How do you know that?”

“I know everything about you.”

I’m unable to unlock my gaze from him at that admission. What else does he know? “Why?”

“Because I made it my business to know everything about the wolf that has snared my interest so completely. I found out everything I could about you.”

“That’s creepy.”

“Noted.”

“You didn’t know I’m latent,” I mutter at his bare back.

“No,” he agrees. “But clearly neither did you. Your parents are both wolves?”

“I guess so. I don’t know much about my mom. My dad was definitely a wolf, though.”

As I pass him to step over a fallen log, he grabs my wrist, stopping me. Electricity pulses around his touch, heating me from the inside out. I stare at his fingers against my skin before raising my eyes.

“You shouldn’t let him touch you like that.” His voice is filled with exasperation, like I allowed Dalton to beat me up.

That warm fuzzy feeling disappears as I narrow my eyes. “I didn't let him do anything. He’s the son of our alpha, and he has alpha strength. He’s stronger than I am. Fighting back is pointless.”

He raises the hand not gripping my wrist and runs his fingers over the claiming mark on my neck. My skin tingles all over, and I wonder what it would feel like if he had given me a claiming mark instead of Dalton. It is a terrible thought to have, but it doesn’t stop me from wondering what his tongue would feel like licking it.

A shiver rolls up my spine as he dips, so close to me now that our mouths are nearly touching. I can feel his heated breath against my face, and such a simple thing is enough to heighten my senses.

Is he… is he going to kiss me?

Do I want him to?

“You’re his.” The accusation snaps through his tone.

“I don’t think he wants me,” I say, my smile wry.

He doesn’t crack a smile or laugh at my attempt at levity. Instead, he locks his eyes with mine and crawls his gaze over my face. “Do you want him?”

Why does he care?

I blow out a breath. “I don’t make a habit of being attracted to people who want to kill me, Cade.”

I don’t miss the way his eyes tighten as he slides his gaze to the claiming mark marring my neck. He glowers before he pulls back.

“You’re not weak, little wolf, so don’t act helpless. Fight back.”

My jaw is so tight it makes my ears ache. “I’m not acting. I would have died back there if you hadn’t helped me. But thanks for kicking a girl when she’s down.”

I stride past him, heading deeper into the forest, feeling suffocated by how closely the trees are packed together.

“You are such an asshole,” I snap, not turning to look at him. “I fought him with everything I had. I didn’t want to die, but as everyone seems keen to remind me, I’m defective and worthless.”

I hear the growl he makes low in his throat. “I never said you were either of those things.”

“You don’t have to. I can hear it in your tone, but believe me, it’s unnecessary. Plenty of others have told me that. My pack hates me. They spit at me and call me names. Why should you be any different? Why don’t you shift and go on ahead; I’ll catch up.”

His jaw works in a way that shows his irritation. “They spit at you?”

I snort. “Like you wouldn’t do the same. Why are you even sticking around? Go brood somewhere else. I’ll manage on my own.”

“I didn’t save your life to let you die now.”

I turn around, stepping up to him and getting in his face. He’s huge both as a wolf and in human form, and although I’m five foot eight, I still have to tip my neck to look up at him. “Why did you save my life?”

“I’m asking myself that question repeatedly right now,” he mutters. “No more questions. Walk.”

I narrow my eyes before I focus on his naked back as he strides ahead.

I don’t know where we’re going, but he stops next to a big rock and an uprooted tree that is leaning on an angle.

Bending down, he uncovers a bag and unzips it. I cock a brow. “You spend a lot of time in these woods?” I ask. He must if he has clothes hidden here.

“What I do isn’t your business.”

“It is when you’ve been watching me like a creeper.”

He glances over his shoulder, his fingertips pressing into the dirt in front of him to keep him steady. “Good thing I was.”

I don’t argue. I can’t. It was a miracle he was there.

I’m suddenly distracted as he dresses. Those thickly corded muscles in his neck almost give me palpitations. There’s no denying Cade is attractive and that I’m attracted to him, but he’s arrogant, and that is annoying.

“Where are we going?” I demand.

“I’m going to get you out of the woods, and then where you go is up to you.”

“You’re going to leave me?” I ask, horrified at the prospect.

“Trust me, Halle. It’s better for you if I’m not in your life.”

“Then why keep coming to visit?”

He doesn’t answer.

Son of a—

He grabs my arm, urging me forward. “Come on. It’s about another four miles to the edge of the trees.”

For a while, neither of us talk. I concentrate on walking and taking shallow breaths to avoid the pain. Every step seems harder.

My feet drag, my eyes try to close even as I walk, and I’m trying hard to keep myself from fainting. Acid burns through my legs, and I’m wobbling.

I try to focus on Cade’s back, but I’m staggering like I’ve had too much to drink.

“What pack are you from?” I ask, needing something to concentrate on that isn’t the pain I’m in.

“What makes you think I belong to one?” he says without turning around. He hasn’t looked at me for a while now, as if he can ignore my presence completely.

“So, you’re a lone wolf?” I blink, trying to clear the haze from my vision. It doesn’t work. There are spots of fuzziness occluding my sight that won’t disappear no matter what I do.

“Didn’t say that.” He stops, and I nearly slam into him. When his hands reach out to steady me, his eyes are blazing. “Why did you choose that fucker?”

The vehemence in his tone makes me wonder why the hell he cares.

“Our match was a good one, for us and the pack.” The lie falls easily from my tongue. I have repeated those words so many times I’m starting to believe them.

I mated with him because Adeline wanted it. My aunt did so much for me and asked so little. How could I refuse the only thing she desired for me?

I never wanted to take a chosen mate. Call me sentimental, but I wanted to wait and see if my fated mate would come into my life.Even if the odds are one in a million, I wanted to be that one. I believed I could, too. Adeline was determined to get me to settle down, and thinking back, I’m wondering if that’s because she thought there was a chance I wouldn’t shift.

She told me I was different, but she never elaborated on what that meant.

Different how?

For the millionth time in my life, I feel frustrated I can’t remember anything before I was eight. If I could, it would unlock my truth.

“He tried to kill you.” Cade snarls, bringing my attention back to him.

“I didn’t say he was perfect.” I step back from him, needing space to think. He seems to cloud my thoughts when he touches me.

He growls a curse and walks away. This wolf… Maybe I should have taken my chances with Dalton.

This time, I don’t follow him, and when he realizes that, he turns back to me. “You waitin’ to get caught?” he demands.

“I would actually like to live,” I assure him. “But I don’t know you. I want to trust you, but as you can imagine, that's not easy for me right now. What are you, Cade? And don’t feed me some bullshit line again. I want the truth.”

“I’m the wolf who saved your life,” he snaps. “And if you want to stay alive, we need to keep moving. Your mate is on his way back.”

Cold clamps around my heart as Cade’s head snaps over my shoulder. I follow his line of sight, unsure what’s caught his attention, until I hear the high-pitched excited yips of wolves somewhere behind us, deeper in the forest .

I freeze in place, fear clutching me in its icy grip. My throat burns, and I rub my fingers over the bruises I know Dalton left on my skin. He’s coming to finish what he started, and from the sounds of it, he brought reinforcements.