Page 86 of Rejected By the Alpha King

Pushing the door open, Finn stepped outside. A wolf dropped from above us and immediately shoved him to the ground. “Finn,” I screamed, but before I could do anything, hands wrapped around my waist and pulled me from behind.

It was over in a matter of seconds. One second Finn had started to shift, and the next, he was still and bleeding from the neck on the gravel.

A massive red wolf stood over him.

“He didn’t have to die,” Bridget said, her arms still tight around him. “If he had just left when I told him, he’d still be alive. I didn’t expect him to be so loyal to you.”

“My God, it was you. You betrayed Jax. You orchestrated Irene’s abduction. You were working with my father? Why?”

“Your father? He was a gutless cockroach whose insane need to kill nearly ruined everything,” Bridget hissed. “His abduction of Cora set us back years. Fucking years. I don’t work for him.”

“You work for Emerson?” I kept my eyes on the red wolf. “And who the fuck are you?”

The wolf stared at me, and even before he shifted, I knew who he was. I could see it in his eyes. Hear it in his voice.

I just hadn’t made the connection until now.

“We’ve been waiting a long time for this, Anna,” Dean said in a soft voice. “Don’t fight us. We’re going to make you famous.”

39

Jax

“He killed Parker.” Pain threaded through Jenson’s voice. “He killed his own father.

Why?”

I swiped through the security feed again while Jenson drove. “Parker must have found him.

Felt him through the family bond or something. Dean killed him to keep his secret.”

In the corner frame of the video, taken two weeks before Parker’s death, Dean shifted. It almost wasn’t caught on camera, which was why it didn’t set off any alarms, but in his place, a massive red wolf stood.

Just like his father. Red wolves weren’t rare, but they weren’t super common. I should have thought of Dean when we were talking about red wolves, but it didn’t make sense. Dean was young, and not a crazed killer.

At least, when I knew him, he wasn’t.

He’d been on my land for weeks before Parker’s death. Weeks without me knowing. What the hell had he been doing?

Spying on Anna.

“Finn isn’t answering his phone. Neither is Anna or Bridget.” The restaurant was right up ahead, and immediately, I knew something was wrong. “No cars.”

“I’ll try them on the radio.” Jenson slammed on the breaks and barely put it in park before he jumped out of the car. “I smell blood.”

So did I. It didn’t take long before we found a trail of it leading into the restaurant. I practically ripped it open to find Finn trying to drag himself inside.

“Jenson, call the healer,” I shouted as I dropped down to him. There was a nasty gash in his neck. How the hell was he still alive? “Shift. Now.”

“Can’t,” Finn rasped. “Tried. Did something to me.”

“I can’t get through,” Jenson yelled. “My phone isn’t working.”

Finn gasped. “Jammer. Trying…to get…office phone. Bridget.”

“Bridget? Is she dead?”

“Bridget. Dean. Together.”

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