Page 14 of Rejected By the Alpha King

I needed her to know what Jax wanted me to do.

My call never went through.

It made sense. There were no phones deep in the mountains and definitely no phone service. However she’d made the call, it was clearly one way only.

I couldn’t warn her.

Other than that, I worried. My knee and ankle were still swollen and bruised, but I was able to put more weight on it. As long as I moved carefully and wore pants, Jax wouldn’t realize that I hadn’t fully healed.

Danny never returned. None of the employees did. It occurred to me that this was the last time I’d be here. For three years, Fanged Smile had been my home. If everything went to plan, this would all just be a distant dream.

It hadn’t all been bad. When Parker gave me space, I’d actually been able to relax some.

Listen to music, dance. When he didn’t give me space, he was pushing me. He wanted me to improve. So much so that he was a complete asshole about it.

When I packed, I put the one photo I had in a plastic bag and tucked it in one of the compartments of my backpack. His son had sent him a new smartphone, and I helped him set it up. He’d taken one picture of us.

The day before he killed himself, I found the picture on my bed. I still couldn’t believe he committed suicide, but maybe I should have known something was wrong. He wasn’t one to be sentimental. Certainly not sentimental enough to print out a photo and give it to me.

It wasn’t hard for me to pack light. I didn’t exactly have much to my name. I’d planned on taking the duffel bag, but the backpack was left at the bar yesterday with a note to use it.

It was one of those backpacks specially made for wolf shifters. The unique elastic could expand or shrink during a shift so it could still be worn as a wolf. It was great for long travels.

Except that I wasn’t going to shift. Did Jax think I was kidding?

Friday morning came with gray skies and early drizzle. Fall was lingering, but soon, those drizzles would turn to snow and the mountains would freeze over. Wolves loved to frolic in the snow, but the humans struggled. Distribution was made a little harder, so the pack would ration. Fun day trips down the mountains were stopped.

And instead of prepping for that, Jax was leaving his pack and going deeper in the mountains.

There were no instructions to meet them anywhere, so at first light, I geared up and slowly stepped out of the bar.

Six wolves were waiting for me.

Freezing in my tracks, I swallowed hard. I knew it wouldn’t just be Jax, although that alone was a terrifying notion. Still, six wolves seemed overkill.

Closing the door behind me, I walked toward them, keeping my eyes down.

“She’s limping,” Jenson growled. “We already have to travel on two legs because of her, and she’s fucking limping.”

So much for keeping that a secret.

“Believe me when I tell you that stealth is more important than speed,” I said as I still didn’t look up. “As is observation. You’ll need to shift occasionally to fight off rogue wolves, but it won’t help you navigate the magical traps.”

I could feel Jax’s displeasure. “She’s fine,” he growled.

Jenson took a step forward. “If even one of us gets hurt because of your actions, I will kill you.”

This time, I did look up. “You’re welcome to try it without me. There are trees in Wisteria Wood that will ensnare you and slowly leach life from your body. Do you think you could identify them in time?”

When Jenson growled, Jax stepped forward. “Enough. She comes. Her freedom is contingent only on our success.”

“Why so many wolves? The smaller our number, the better.”

“Not for what we need.” Jax grunted. “Saul is our healer. You know Jenson is my second. Bridget is my third. Maverick and Cassius are my highest-ranking guards.”

Shit. He was traveling with his second and third? Who the hell had he left in charge of the pack?

“Let’s go. I want to get to Wisteria Wood by nightfall.”

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