Page 38 of Rejected Wolf Mate

The rest of the Silver Wolves nodded. Jameson then delegated different directions for each wolf, leaving me, Mark, and Luke behind in case of an attack.

I paced back and forth, glancing at the clock every few seconds as if expecting one of them to come back with Astrid already. As I released some of that pent-up energy, the rage began to simmer down, still present, still fresh, but quieter than it had been. Quiet enough that I could think straight and begin to ask questions.

What if she had been telling the truth? I knew enough about Astrid to know she would do just about anything for Thea. I had no doubt that she would fall in with the wrong crowd if she had thought it was the best for Thea.

I remembered when we were dating, she had made it clear that Thea was always going to be in the picture. That she wouldn’t leave her behind for anyone.

Except, if her story was to be believed, she had for me.

I pushed it from my mind. There was no way Astrid would risk Thea like that. That was why I had thought she was lying in the first place. Even if she was telling the truth, she could have been manipulating me to save Thea.

Unless she got in too deep, a thought in my head said. Unless she thought telling you was the only way to guarantee her sister would be safe.

I blocked out the voice, trying to hide my growing discomfort. Astrid was lying. She had to be. End of story.

So why didn’t I believe it?

“You all right, man?” Mark asked.

“I’m fine,” I growled. “Never been better.”

He left me alone to pace after that, and my thoughts swam in murky water as I tried to make sense of the last few hours. Because no matter what I kept telling myself, something didn’t feel right, and I needed to figure out why.

Chapter 17 - Astrid

I shifted back to human, nearly collapsing from exhaustion as I threw on clothes and flopped beneath a tree. My body screamed in exhaustion, my stomach growling. I hadn’t given myself time to stop and eat or drink. I’d just been running. First toward Thea, and then away from Rand.

I fumbled for the water in the emergency bag I’d stashed. It was old and stale and warm, but I guzzled it down, drinking until my stomach hurt. Finally, I stopped, leaning against the tree and closing my eyes. The water hadn’t been enough to stop the hunger, so I fumbled through the bag and pulled out dried jerky. I nibbled at it, trying not to think about the smell of rabbit that had wafted toward me as I ran. I could have killed it and eaten it, and I almost had. But I hadn’t wanted to waste any precious seconds.

I hated the fact that I was resting now, but I could tell I was close to passing out, and that wouldn’t do any of us any good.

I sniffed the air, trying to catch any scents of shifters on the air. I had been looking over my shoulder the entire time I was running but hadn’t seen anyone. In a way, that made me even more uneasy. I knew Rand had to have told everyone. I would have thought they would start chasing me immediately. I hadn’t thought I would get anywhere near this far.

I was fairly certain I was only a couple hours away from where I thought they would be holding Thea. I wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth, so I’d take it.

The only problem was it didn’t feel like a gift. It felt like a ticking bomb.

I couldn’t let myself focus on the anxiety running through me, though. I had to figure out a plan. Ansel and his group would probably be leaving for Brixton, if they hadn’t already. Or maybe they would take cars, in which case it would take them half the time. And I had no idea how many people he might have on guard.

Another pit of fear had settled in my stomach. If Dana or anyone had been watching me to make sure I upheld my end of the bargain, then Ansel would already know what I’d done. Thea could be dead by now.

Yet, I didn’t think that was his style. As much as I hated to imagine it, I thought he would hold Thea until he could get his hands on me. He would want me to watch her die before killing me.

In a way, then, I might be playing right into his hands.

The thought sent a chill running through me, but I couldn’t focus on that. Even if that was a possibility, it wasn’t going to change what I was about to do.

The morning sun beat down, pleasantly warm in the shade. I closed my eyes, ready to get up in a couple of minutes.

When I opened my eyes again, my stomach lurched. The sun was in an entirely different part of the sky, and the shadows had moved. I had fallen asleep.

I scrambled up, trying to gauge how long I had been asleep. At least a couple of hours. But then I sniffed the air, and a new panic washed over me. A familiar scent wafted through the trees. Not Rand, thank god, but one of the other Silver Wolves, so almost as bad.

I scrambled for my pack, digging around for my knife, hoping I wasn’t too late and hoping I wouldn’t have to use it.

A cracking branch sounded behind me, and I spun around, pulling out the knife and dropping into a fighter’s crouch.

A large brown wolf stepped out from behind the trees. He stayed there for a moment, tilting his head. A moment later, the wolf was gone and Tannen had reemerged, eyes cold but not furious. His gaze flicked toward the blade, then back up to me.

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