Page 43 of Rejected By the Alpha King

It could be magic, but with all the magic behind me, I doubted it.

Predator.

“Wolves,” Jax said flatly. “We’re surrounded.”

Would they hurt me? I didn’t know, but I did fear they would tear Jax to pieces. He would fight before he threw himself into the trap and at the mercy of the wolves.

“If you’re not going to dispel the magic, then you need to shift and run. Now.”

My eyes widened, but he’d already turned his back. A large wolf stepped out from the shadows. Then a second. A third.

More came until a dozen wolves blocked our way out.

This was Jax. There were times when I hated him, but he always tried to do what he thought was fair. Including keeping me alive when he could have killed me. I thought he was my prisoner. Maybe he just knew what awaited me in exile.

“Anna, run,” he snarled. “Now.”

He pulled on the pack bond, the magic of his command slicing through me. It was so strong and desperate, that for a moment, I almost obeyed.

Almost.

The blast of power was the only hesitation he was going to get from the wolves. They sat back on their haunches, and I did run.

In front of Jax, I turned, placed my hands against his chest, and shoved. Just before he hit the spell, I reached out and touched it. It dissolved against me, and Jax fell harmlessly through.

To my surprise, the magic reformed and knitted itself right back into place.

Well, shit. The witches had made some changes. Not only did they have a dozen werewolves guarding the fortress, but they also managed to create a spell that snapped back into place after my touch.

I could still pass through, and I started to do so when something slammed into my knee.

Goddamnit, why was it always the knee?

As I fell, I felt the giant paw of a werewolf frame my head. The ground rushed up to meet me, and pain exploded in my skull.

“Anna!” Jax bellowed, and the world went dark.

20

Jax

“Where is Anna?” I demanded as I looked down at my tea. It was a surreal moment. The small tea parlor had plenty of sun streaming through the windows despite the fact that there were no windows outside.

Five minutes ago, I was fighting for Anna’s life. Then, I was here, in a fucking tea parlor, with a dainty little teacup in front of me.

Witches. Whatever was in this cup of tea could kill me.

Three strangers were in the room with me. A short and rounded older woman with long thinning gray hair set the rest of the cups of tea down and eyed me through thick glasses. A young woman who looked no more than twenty with long red hair and a beautiful smile accepted a cup of tea and sat across from me at the table. In the corner, on the bench where an unconscious Anna lay, a middle-aged woman with a blonde messy bun and a permanent scowl on her face sat next to her and waved her hands up and down Anna’s body.

The maiden, mother, and crone. Were there really only three witches of Darkwyn coven? Did they always take on this appearance?

And what the hell were they doing to Anna?

Since they were the ones who’d pulled us free at the last minute, I had to believe that they didn’t want to kill us, but I still didn’t drink the tea.

“It’s just peppermint,” the crone sighed. “To help settle your stomach.”

My stomach was definitely queasy. I sniffed cautiously at the liquid and sipped.

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