Page 43 of Rejected Wolf Mate

I crept through the corridors, hoping I was right in my guess that everyone would be occupied elsewhere. Hoping that maybe my luck had turned.

Finally, I reached a vaguely familiar hall lined with identical doors that were evenly spaced on either side. The bedrooms. My stomach clenched. If she weren’t here, I didn’t know what I was going to do. I pressed on.

As I walked, I sniffed the air, and a familiar scent reached my nose. I paused, my heart thumping as excitement soared through me. Thea. She was nearby.

I opened the door.

Thea was lying on a bed, staring up at the ceiling.

I stared, unable to move or speak as relief flooded through me. She was here. My wolf growled her approval. I nearly collapsed. It almost didn’t feel real. She was safe, and I’d found her.

“I swear to god, if you fuckers don’t let me out…” She shot up straight, nostrils flaring as her head spun toward the door. “Astrid!”

She raced toward me, wrapping her arms around my neck. I pulled her into a hug, breathing in her scent, reassuring myself she was all right.

“I’m so sorry,” I said. “This is all my fault. You were right. We should have left ages ago.”

She stepped back, still beaming. “It’s okay. To be honest, I don’t fully know what’s going on. A guy called Ansel just came to the house one day with a couple of guys and told me I was coming with them. When I asked what the hell was going on, he said you wanted him to keep a closer eye on me. I called bullshit since you would have told me. Then they just grabbed me and dragged me into a car, which brought me here.”

I rubbed my forehead. “I’m so sorry.”

She flapped her hand. “Apologize to me later when you give me the full story,” she said. “Right now, I just want to get out of here.”

I gave an ostentatious bow. “At your command.” I straightened, then pulled a thick knife from my pocket and took the gun belt from around my waist. “These are for you.”

Thea grinned. Once our parents had died, I’d insisted on making sure she learned how to use a gun and a knife. They might not necessarily kill a shifter on their own, but they at least gave her some form of protection. With an expert eye, she checked the clip, then holstered the pistol.

“Let’s go,” I said.

We hurried through the complex, trying to make as little noise as possible. My ears stayed pricked, waiting for the sound of running footsteps. I was barely breathing, but no one came running. The hideout seemed completely deserted, just as it had when I’d walked in.

A creeping suspicion washed over me the further we got. All of this felt too easy. I started to wonder if something was wrong. Had I walked into a trap? Had Ansel guessed this was how I would react the entire time? My stomach churned with unease, and my heart pounded so loud, I was certain Thea could hear me.

But we kept moving, and still, nothing came running toward us. All the smells of shifters that came my way were stale and old. If I was right, then the entire complex was deserted.

Thea seemed to notice the same thing. She glanced around, turning to look over her shoulder at me. “Does all of this seem off to you?”

“There’s a mission tonight,” I explained.

“Sure.” Her brow furrowed. “But that doesn’t change the fact that you would think someone would still be here if they had a captive.”

I nudged her, trying to inject a bit of playfulness into the gesture even as tension rippled through me. “They probably made the normal mistake of underestimating you.”

She gave a ghost of a smile. “Maybe,” she said. “We’ll see.”

As we got closer to the exit and still came across no one, a sense of relief began creeping over me. For a moment, I thought we might actually get out of here. I started breathing easier. The instant we got outside, I could shift. Thea could climb on my back, and we could run far away from here and start over away from all this nonsense.

Rand would still be in trouble, that guilty voice reminded me. I winced, trying to push the thought away. Rand would be able to take care of himself. The Silver Wolves would be fine. I’d warned Tannen. Still, the thought that I would never see Rand again set a pang of loss and longing through me that startled me with its severity. I was going to miss him.

I pushed those thoughts from my mind. They weren’t going to do me any good. I could see the door. We were almost there.

I opened my door, and my stomach dropped.

Ansel stood in front of the woods, watching with cold eyes, surrounded by a group of massive thugs. Any of whom could snap Thea like a toothpick.

Silence fell over the woods as we stared at one another. There was no use coming up with a lie. I’d gone against his orders and broken Thea out of the hideout. There was no other interpretation.

“I thought you would be in Brixton by now,” I said.

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