Page 23 of Rejected Wolf Mate

“None of ours did. If some random guards or passersby got hurt, it didn’t get back to us.”

I couldn’t tell if she was lying, but the knot that had been growing in my stomach over the past week or so tightened.

“Besides, what does it matter?” she said. “They’re not one of ours.”

I wanted to fight back, but again, something told me I had to be careful with my words. “The Silver Wolves think we’re dangerous,” I said. “Mostly because of information like that. I just wanted some additional information.”

“And I told you I couldn’t give it to you.”

“So you don’t know anything about a bigger plan to take over the Wolf’s Council or anything like that?”

She stared, mouth open, before bursting into laughter. “Good god, no,” she said. “That’s absurd. Is that why you’re so worried? Relax.”

I did actually relax a bit. She was right. It was stupid. This was just an intel mission, simple in and out. At least, that’s what I had to tell myself.

“Right.” Dana yawned, looking up at the sky and the dipping moon. “In that case, I believe it’s time for me to head back.”

“Nothing else?” I asked, mildly surprised.

“Not at the moment. You’ve given us good information. Honestly, it probably won’t be much longer now until you can leave.”

“Good.” And it was good. I would get to go home and see Thea. I wouldn’t have to deal with Rand anymore.

It was what I had wanted. I would get my revenge, and then leave, and that would be the end of it.

Except it felt uncomfortably hollow. Why the hell was I so disappointed to leave? It couldn’t be because of Rand, could it?

If it wasn’t, then why did the thought of leaving him and walking away make me nauseous?

“See you in a week.” Dana turned to leave, about to shift and race into the woods.

“Wait,” I said.

She paused, looking over her shoulder at me, one eyebrow raised.

“How’s Thea?” I asked.

“Good, as far as I can tell. We’re checking in on her.”

I nodded, shoulders relaxing. The truth was, I wished Thea was with me. I wanted to make sure she was safe, and our phone calls weren’t enough, though they helped some. If it weren’t for Rand or the job I was doing, I would have tried to convince her to come along with me. But she would have found out in an instant what was going on. Even if she hadn’t, she would have spoken to Rand, and he would have been able to figure out that something was off. He might have started to wonder if I was lying to him, and with Thea there, I would have had a harder time keeping the real reason I was there a secret.

***

“Where have you been?” Rand asked when I walked through the door, a tone of annoyance tinting the edges of his words. “I was just about to go looking for you. I thought something bad had happened.”

I tried not to panic. I hadn’t thought he would be home. He was supposed to be at a meeting. “Just went out for a run through the woods,” I said casually. “It was a nice evening.”

He frowned. “You do know how risky that was, right?” he asked. “What if something had happened to you? I thought we agreed you’d stay here unless someone went with you.”

“Sorry,” I said, trying to think of something plausible. “I just needed the fresh air, and I knew you were busy. What are you doing here, anyway? You told me not to expect you for another hour.”

“Meeting ended early.” He sounded bitter as he walked further into the house. “Kind of what happens when you don’t have much to go on.”

“Still nothing?” I asked.

He nodded. “Are you sure you came from the west?” he asked. “I know you entered town that way, but maybe you came from the north and got turned around?”

My brow furrowed as I pretended to try and remember. The truth was, Ansel was northwest of here, not fully west. If I told them north, there was more of a chance that the Silver Wolves would find him.

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