Page 16 of Rejected Wolf Mate

Jameson nodded, not taking his eyes from the map. “That’s what I was thinking.”

For the rest of the meeting, we managed to get a bit more intel on the Gray Wolf and identify a couple of other jobs he might have been mixed up in. But by the time the meeting was over and I was heading back to my house, it felt as though we’d achieved absolutely nothing.

Astrid was sitting in the living room when I walked in, curled up on the couch, watching TV. The scene was so similar to ones from when we were dating that, for a moment, I was transported back to that time. When she would smile at me, and I’d come sit next to her on the couch. We’d talk about our days, and at some point, Thea would usually join us.

But this time, Astrid wasn’t smiling, and I remembered things weren’t the same anymore.

“Hey,” I said.

“Hey,” she replied. “How’d the meeting go?” Her voice had a nervous edge.

“It went all right,” I said. “Not as useful as I might have hoped, but we’re making some headway. We think we have a general idea of where they might have been holding you. If we can find that, then that’s a start.”

“What do you guys know about him so far?”

“We know he’s got a big gang and that he’s dangerous,” I said. “And that the Wolf’s Council is concerned about him.”

“That’s not a whole lot to go on,” she pointed out, frowning. “You have to have something more than that.”

“I wish we did. It would make all of this a hell of a lot easier.” I took a deep breath as I tried to figure out how to phrase the next bit I needed to say. “A couple of them think there might be holes in your story,” I added cautiously.

“Oh. Oh.” She nodded almost vacantly. “They don’t believe me?”

“They think there’s a chance they let you go on purpose.”

She nodded, staring off to the side as she chewed her lip, contemplating. I waited, wondering how she was going to react.

“Well,” she finally said, “that’s awkward.”

I couldn’t help it. I snorted—loudly. She cracked a grin.

“I wouldn’t worry too much about it,” I promised. “For the most part, they believe you. But I wanted to warn you so it didn’t catch you off-guard.”

“I appreciate it,” she said, her voice a little distant again. “Thanks.”

Chapter 7 - Astrid

I stared at the book in my hand, skimming the words but not taking any of them in. Instead, my mind kept dragging back to what Rand had said. The thought that the Gray Wolf had let me go on purpose was more than a little disturbing, if only because of how close to correct it was. I needed to come up with a game plan in case it became a real accusation. I thought I would probably be able to bluff my way out of it, but the thought of getting caught still nagged at the back of my mind.

I also needed to find out a way to get closer to the investigation. I felt as though I only had the most basic of intel at this point, things that wouldn’t be of much use to Ansel regardless. It seemed that so far, all I’d achieved in the few days I’d been here was getting bored out of my mind.

The couch sagged as someone sat on the opposite side. I peered over my book to see Rand looking at me.

“What’s up?” I asked.

He shrugged. “I wanted to see how you were doing. I was hoping we could finally catch up.”

“Why now? It’s not as though I haven’t been here for a few days.” Still, despite myself, I placed my book down and turned to face him. I took in the way his muscles still seemed to ripple even as he lounged. Much to my annoyance, I actually wanted to talk to him.

“Last time I asked, you were more than a little closed off,” he said. “I was hoping you might be more open now that it’s been a few days.”

“Why does it matter?”

“Because.” He left it at that.

I raised an eyebrow. “Are you going to pester me until I do?”

“Naturally.” He gave that charming grin that could melt hearts, and my own thumped a bit harder.

---