Page 161 of Rejected By the Alpha King

“Anna, are you all right?”

I nodded. “It’s just been a long few weeks. Janelle says one of the witches was an earth witch and is tinkering with the land. Any idea what Emerson might be doing?”

“Plenty. My spell consists of earth magic. His witch could be replicating that. She could be mining the land for something. More magic would be my guess. She could be rebuilding it. It’s helpful if there’s been a forest fire. She could be expanding the boundary.”

“Wait, a witch can do that? Expand pack territory?” I wasn’t entirely certain how pack territories were established. It wasn’t just an agreement between wolves. There was magic involved. The land had to give permission.

“Yes, it’s possible.”

So Emerson could be trying to take the mountain. Still, even if he could use magic to expand his boundaries, he couldn’t hold the wolves. He wasn’t a strong enough alpha.

But maybe he was with Janelle.

“Irene, do you think Janelle has the power to steal an alpha bond?”

Irene opened her mouth, but then the screen froze. I waited a moment for the computer to fix itself, but the call abruptly ended. Technology was so finicky. I tried to call her back, but it wouldn’t go through. I tried a normal phone call and then I noticed the top of the phone.

No service.

“Finn,” I called out as I knocked on the door. “My phone just dropped service. Is yours working?”

The door opened as Finn pulled out his phone. With a frown, he shook his head. I looked at Kenzi and Saul, and they were already checking their phones.

“Is there wi-fi here? Try to make an internet call,” I said, trying not to sound as panicked as I felt.

“I was already connected to the internet,” Kenzi growled. “It’s not working.”

No internet. No service.

“Someone must be jamming the signals to the motel,” Finn said in a low voice. He walked to the window and looked out.

My heart slammed against my ribs. “Not someone. Emerson.”

“So we can’t call out until we figure out where it is? That’s obnoxious,” Kenzi said.

“Not just call out.” I met Finn’s gaze. “It means that we can’t get in touch with Jax, and he can’t call us. Something is wrong.”

75

Jax

I made a note on my phone for rain ponchos and tried not to growl. It was strange planning for such a long journey as a human and having to think about things like rain. Food.

Medical supplies. I frowned at Amelia’s text.

We don’t need motion sickness pills. We’re wolves.

Her response was immediate. And do you know if Saul or Anna or Finn have ever been on a boat? I haven’t. How do you know we won’t get sick?

Damn it.

Put them on the list.

I hadn’t wanted us to split up. I didn’t like any wolf being out on their own, but Amelia apparently wasn’t as happy being away from the motel room as I thought. She was only in the next store, but I didn’t like that I couldn’t see her.

I like it even less that the bond wasn’t there. I couldn’t feel her either.

Hats. Sunscreen. Loose clothing that we could move in. The captain had also mentioned that we’d be sharing two cabins, so I went to check out the bed rolls in the sporting goods store.

---