Page 9 of Rejecting his Mate (The Wolves of Black Mountain #2)

Chapter 9

Halle

I don’t protest as Cade holds me against his chest. I’m spent, my body exhausted. My throat and lungs still ache, and my side where Dalton kicked me is throbbing. I want to sleep for a week, but first, we have to get out of these woods and survive whatever vengeance my mate— former mate—wants to throw at me.

I can’t sense him through our mating bond, so he’s not close.

I wonder if they know three of our pack are dead? Kyle is among them. I wanted revenge for him spitting at me, but I figured I’d blacken his eye, not watch him be torn apart.

The other two were younger wolves.

I should feel bad, but I don’t. They came to kill us. They would have delivered me the same fate they were given had I been alone.

Snuggled against Cade’s chest, I forget about Dalton and my pack. All I focus on is breathing in and out. What I would give to be in my room, curled on my bed with Teddy.

That makes my heart squeeze. I’ve had that damn bear from the moment I arrived in the pack’s lands. Adeline said it was a present from my mom and that I came here with it, but I don’t remember how I got it.

Losing it hurts.

It is my only link to the past, to my life before the accident where all my memories were destroyed.

Cade moves with a speed I’ve never seen, vaulting over fallen logs and stones as if I weigh nothing. Shifters are strong—that isn’t unusual—but his strength is more than I’ve seen, even from Klaus.

He is, like me, different, though he’s not ready to tell me how.

Different in our world is a curse, one that we cannot escape, so I don’t blame him for holding his tongue. I had no idea I wasn’t like the rest of my pack, and I’m struggling to come to terms with the fact I am not the purebred Beauford wolf I thought I was.

But that is a problem for another day when we’re not fleeing for our lives.

Dalton will return with more pack members, maybe even Klaus. Cade killed wolves, and that won’t be allowed to stand.

I don’t know how long we run for. I doze in his arms, unable to keep my eyes open any longer, and it is the yipping of wolves that rouses me.

Panic claws at my heart, and I try to move, urging Cade to put me down.

“Relax, little wolf. They’re friends. ”

“Friends?”

“My wolves. We’re not pack in the traditional sense, but they are my family.”

He doesn’t elaborate on that, even though I want to know more. Instead, he stops and lowers me to the ground, not letting me go, even when I’m steady. His fingers fist around my bicep as three wolves pad out of the undergrowth.

They are huge, as big as Cade is in his wolf form, and they are snarling as they approach. Cade doesn’t say a word, but the wolves glance in his direction before they lower their heads—an act of submission I have only seen between alphas and their subjects.

Is Cade… an alpha of his pack that’s not a pack?

One of the wolves, a big marl-colored one, turns and pads into the trees behind him. The others follow and Cade grabs my hand.

“They’ll keep us safe now.”

I already feel safe, but I nod anyway at his words. I don’t know why, but I trust him, so I let him scoop me back into his arms.

The walk feels like it takes hours, but it isn’t that long before we hit the edge of the tree line.

A road winds through the forest, which starts again on the other side of the asphalt. It feels like a border between my pack and his, though there are no signs or mile markers.

Mountains peek over the top of the trees, and for the first time in a long time, I feel at peace. Outdoors is where I am most happy. It is part of the reason I walked in the woods. Spending that time surrounded by nature and fresh air eased all my problems. How could I have any when surrounded by that beauty?

But I worry about Adeline. Is she being punished for my actions? What will Klaus and Dalton do to her?

I hope the Beauford name will offer her some protection from the brutality of the wolves who lost their family members. If my aunt has any sense, she’ll get the hell away from the pack as well.

The further we get from Dalton, the less I’m able to feel or sense him until he is nothing more than an impression in the back of my mind. It makes it easier for me to breathe, knowing he is not close enough to try to end my life again.

“Where is your pack territory?” I ask.

“On the other side of these woods,” Cade tells me.

There are two trucks parked up on the bend. Cade carries me over to the first one and lowers me to my feet, keeping hold of me as I wobble. As his eyes scan mine, his jaw tightens. “I should have killed him.”

“It would have solved a lot of problems,” I say with a smile that folds into a wince.

My eyes are burning. I duck down to look in the side-view mirror, and what I see horrifies me. The whites of my eyes are blood red, little spider webs of broken blood vessels crawling across the surface.

“I look demonic,” I mutter.

“It’s what happens when someone is strangled,” Cade says, letting out a little growl as he does.

He’s not happy about what Dalton did to me, either. I want to ram my fist into my former mate’s balls. “I don’t care what it takes,” I declare, “but I will sever the mating bond. I don’t want to be connected to him in any way. I hate that I have his mark on me.”

“Witches can do it,” a voice behind us says.

I glance past Cade to see a very naked, very tall man standing there. Wolves aren’t ashamed of nakedness, but for some reason, I avert my gaze. I do not want Cade to think I’m ogling his friend.

In the quick glance I got of him, I realize he shares a lot of features with Cade, and both wolves have dark beards over their faces. His hair is brown rather than black like Cade’s, and Cade has piercing blue eyes, while the other man’s are brown, though.

“Get dressed,” Cade hisses, which makes the man snigger.

He goes to the back door of the truck and pulls it open. “If I didn’t know better, Cade, I’d say you’re jealous your little wolf friend is seeing this fine physique.”

Cade glares at him, and I fear for the other wolf’s safety.

“Dressed, Sawyer, now.”

He grabs a bag from the back of the truck and pulls on clothes.

The other two wolves that were with us shift, too. One is a redhead, the other is blond. Both are a little smaller than Cade and Sawyer but still stand over six feet.

Cade makes no attempt to introduce us, so I do it myself. “I’m Halle.”

“I’m Wyatt,” the redhead says, “and this is Jackson.”

“Thank you for helping us.”

“Think we got there a little too late to be of any use,” Sawyer says, handing a bag each to the other two wolves. They pull on clothes while Cade moves me away from them.

“They seem nice,” I say.

“Don’t believe everything you see.”

“Are they… different? Like you?”

Cade’s eyes are hard as they take me in. “We’re all different. You included.”

“I’m not trying to hide that fact,” I say. “Are you ever going to tell me what you are?”

“When I trust you, yes.”

I blow out a breath. I can’t blame him for that. Even though I feel as if I know him, we are strangers to each other. “At least you know what you are,” I grouse. “I have no clue what I am.”

“You healed me in the woods,” he says in a soft voice. “Healing… is a witch thing, Halle. Never met a wolf that could do it.”

I bring my brow together. “You think I’m a witch?”

He dips his head toward my mouth, getting into my space. “Not fully. You smell like a wolf. You move like one, too, even with the latency, but you healed me.” I flinch at the ‘L’ word. It makes me feel less than whole. Cade notices and lifts my chin with his finger. “Take that look off your face. You’re perfect from where I’m standing.”

“You’re not saying anything that isn’t true. I am latent. My wolf is… stuck.” I glance over at Sawyer, who is shoving his feet into a heavy pair of boots. “What did Sa wyer mean when he said a witch can undo my mating bond with Dalton?”

Scrubbing a hand over his face, Cade seems troubled. “I’ve heard of it once. Our kind were created by magic,” he says. I nod. Every wolf knows the story of Revna and Torsten.

He was a Jarl’s son, a kind of lord at a time when men were making a living wreaking havoc across Europe as Vikings. Revna was a Seidr, some kind of seeress, and from what the story says, she was in love with Torsten. She gifted him and his father Leif an enchanted pelt. It gave the wearer the ability to change into a wolf, a powerful symbol to the Norse people.

Torsten was the first wolf shifter, the first to be part man, part beast. I’m not sure how it came to the point where he no longer needed the pelt to shift, but everyone knows the first part of the story by heart. The elder pack members often told us those stories.

“Since we were created using magic, it would make sense that a witch can undo the bindings between you and… him .” He snarls the last word, and I don’t miss the smirk Sawyer gives me. Is Cade jealous? Is Sawyer right?

“Where do we find a witch?” I ask, desperate to be unhooked from Dalton. If there’s no mating bond, he can go his way, and I can go mine. No murder necessary.

Sawyer snorts. “You don’t find a witch. They hate our kind. Did no one ever teach you that?”

I shake my head. “I’ve never met a witch. So why won’t they help us? ”

“I don’t know. It’s just how it’s always been. There are only two ways to get a witch on our side—pay them or bribe them.”

“Or if they owe you a marker,” Wyatt says, pulling on a sweater. “It’s not an option.”

Sawyer comes around the side of the truck and drapes his arm around my shoulders, ignoring the way Cade snarls at him. “It means, Halle, that we need a plan that doesn’t involve asking those hags for anything. They’ll sell your soul to the highest bidder before you even realize it.”

Cade pulls his arm off my shoulder. “Take your damn hands off her.”

The possessiveness in his voice makes me shiver, and my pussy throbs in a delicious way that is completely wrong. It feels like electricity crackles between us as Cade keeps his eyes locked on mine. This is what I wanted Dalton to be like, but he couldn’t care less if I was breathing or not.

Sawyer smirks before stepping away, his hands held up. “I’m backing away! Shit, so tetchy,” he mutters with a smile. “Ignore my brother, Halle. He’s never liked to share his toys.”

Brother? They’re brothers?

I peer at them both a little more intensely. “Cade is your brother?” I ignore the part about being called his ‘toy’. I give my attention to Cade. “I didn’t know you have a brother.”

“ Had . He’s about to become past tense,” Cade growls.

Sawyer waves the threat off as if he is used to receiving them every day of the week, and gets into the truck.

The others follow suit and I grab Cade’s arm before he can open the door.

“Am I safe with you?” I ask, suddenly needing to know that I’m not leaving one bad situation for another.

“I saved your life. How much more proof do you need that I’m not going to harm you?”

“You don’t always seem like you’re in control of your wolf. That scares me.”

He winces and shakes his head. “The only time I’ve ever lost control and felt totally connected to my wolf is when you’re around, so maybe I should be afraid of what you do to me.”