Page 6 of Rejected Wolf Mate

Tannen and Jameson exchanged glances of worry before turning back.

“You’re in Brixton, home of the Obsidian Pack,” Jameson said. “You’re safe here. Come on inside. We’ll get one of our guys to take a look at you. Klyte’s the best healer for miles, so you’ll be in good hands. Once things have settled down, you can tell us what’s going on.”

“Thanks,” I muttered.

“There are some guys over,” he explained. “I’ll take you to a private room, okay?”

I nodded. As I stepped into the hallway, my heart thundered. Was he here? I couldn’t pick out his scent, but there were at least a half dozen shifters in the house, making it hard to figure out. I wasn’t sure if him being here would be better or worse. I knew I would have to face him eventually. That was the whole reason I was here. But having a day to get settled and figure out a plan wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world, either.

So why the hell was my heart pounding like a schoolgirl’s? It was embarrassing. At one point, I thought I caught a whiff of his scent: the rich scent of maple wood. My stomach lurched at the memory, my pulse racing excitedly as my wolf stirred with interest. I was certain I would turn around to find him right behind me.

But the smell was gone a moment later, and there was no one behind me.

As we moved through the halls, I could hear laughter emanating from one of the rooms. Again, my heart began working overtime, and I was positive I would see him any second now. We passed a doorway, and I got a peek into a massive living room where several shifters were sitting. Scanning the group, I didn’t see him.

The relief that washed over me mixed with surprising disappointment. It wasn’t until that moment that I realized that, much to my surprise and my annoyance, I’d been looking forward to seeing Rand.

I shoved the thought away. I was here for one reason and one reason only. I wasn’t going to get sidetracked. And if this was how I was going to react at the mere thought of seeing him, then it was probably a good thing he wasn’t here right now. I needed to focus. I couldn’t let him get the better of me. Not again.

I turned to follow Jameson, and then—

“Astrid?”

My head shot up. Rand stood in the hall, beer grasped in his hand and his mouth open as he looked me up and down. My heart thundered, and my breath caught in my throat. Fuck. He was still hot. He still towered over everyone else, making them look small by comparison. Still muscular in a way that complimented his frame. He’d cut his sandy brown hair short, and a five o'clock shadow covered a strong jaw and chin. Tattoos that I remembered tracing with my fingers ran up and down his arms.

My mouth went dry, and my stomach lurched. For a brief moment, all I could think about was how his hands on me used to feel, the way they would run up and down my body, caressing me.

I pushed the thoughts from my mind. Idiot. I hated him. I was here for revenge, not to ogle at him. I had hoped that seeing him would only make me angrier, reminding me of all the reasons I was justified in wanting revenge.

Instead, seeing him brought back other memories. His scent filled my nose. My wolf stirred with interest, remembering the scent of the wolf she’d once thought was her mate. But instead of being angry or hurt by betrayal, she was happy. She’d missed Rand and was pushing at me, urging me to get closer.

I stared in stupefied silence for a long moment while Tannen and Jameson looked on in confusion.

“Rand?” I sputtered. “What are you doing here?”

He seemed to take in my entire appearance, the bruises and split lip. He bristled and let out a low growl. “I could ask you the same question,” he fired back. He turned to Jameson and Tannen. “What’s going on? Who the hell did that to her? Someone in town?”

Jameson didn’t answer, just looked between us. “You know each other?” he asked.

Rand jerked his head at me. “We used to date,” he explained.

I let out a genuine snort of annoyance. Glad to know that’s what our relationship boiled down to in his memory.

He met my gaze and raised his eyebrow. “Well, we did,” he pointed out.

“Sure,” I said. “Though you forgot the part where you dumped me by—”

“Let’s hold off on hashing out the thorny issues,” Jameson interjected.

“Wait, that Astrid?” Tannen’s eyebrows shot up as he looked at Rand.

Rand nodded, eyes locked on me now. Something primal lurked in his eyes, something that made me flush all over. Which just made me angrier. I shouldn’t be having this reaction to him. I shouldn’t want to jump his bones after everything.

“Right.” Jameson tried to get control of the situation again. He guided me over to a closed door, Rand following close behind. “You stay in here, Astrid. I’ll go get Klyte.”

“I can stay with her.” Rand stepped to the door.

“I’d rather you didn’t,” I retorted. “I’m more than capable of staying in a locked room by myself for a handful of minutes.”

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