Page 145 of Rejected By the Alpha King

One night, huh? “I hope you made mine bloody.” Emerson’s eyes hardened, and I sighed and straightened. “Right. What did you need to discuss?”

Dinner digressed into a conversation of politics. Kenzi freely gave away too much information, and it was all I could do not to tell her to shut her fucking mouth. Emerson was hanging onto every word.

“Jax’s third is dead? I had no idea.” The picture of innocence, Emerson turned and looked at me. “Were you close to Bridget?”

“Not as close as you.”

“Excuse me?”

Smiling, I picked up my knife to cut the last bite of my steak. “Not you, dear. I’m referring to Bridget and Kenzi. They were best friends. You must be heartbroken.”

“You have no idea,” Kenzi whispered. I felt the hatred in her voice, and her eyes bore into mine. “Why don’t you and I go for a run together, Anna? Tonight. Sounds fun.”

“Just as girls?” I mocked.

“Problem?”

Turning to Emerson, I cocked my head. “I don’t know, dear. Will that be a problem?”

“Not at all. A midnight run sounds perfect.”

After dinner, Emerson walked me to my door. “The necklace suits you.”

Whipping my head around, I glared at him. “So you knew that Kenzi and Jax mated, and you thought you’d bring her here so I would know as well?”

“I thought it might help you let him go, dear. We could be happy here. You could be happy. If you need to take a few swipes at Kenzi tonight to make you feel better, I understand.

Then maybe you can move on. For the record, my dear, I would never let you go.”

Romantic.

He leaned in, and I slapped my hand on his chest. He narrowed his eyes, and I pointed to my cheek, still bruised beneath the makeup. “Moving on is one thing. Trusting you is something entirely different. I’ll see you at midnight, Emerson.”

66

Anna

It was a full thirty minutes after I’d returned to the apartment that there was a shimmer in the air. “It’s clear,” I said in a low voice and moved to the television. I picked a music channel with angry chick rock to play just in case the guards could hear through the door, which I doubted.

“If you’re here to trick me, I won’t think twice about shoving a knife through your heart,” I told her.

“I expect nothing less. I assume from your get-up that Kenzi is here?”

“My outfit is none of your business. Tell me what the hell is going on.”

“Very well. The short version is that unlike the other pack witches, I did not ask for sanctuary and protection. I was taken nearly three years ago. I’ve never been to this godforsaken mountain in my life. I was taken by another witch with a spell much like what happened with Amaya, only I wasn’t killed. I’ve been used ever since, and when Emerson learned that my magic isn’t all that strong, abused.”

“Why didn’t you say anything to the other witches?”

“There’s a listening device on my person. It feeds straight into security. If I mention anything about my kidnapping to anyone, Emerson is immediately notified.”

Quickly, I backed up and looked at the door. “So you’re risking both of our lives?”

“It doesn’t work around you. I hacked into the feed a couple of weeks ago and listened to my conversations when you were around. Dead silence. As far as I can tell, the guards didn’t think anything strange about it. They just assumed I stopped talking. You’re a null.”

It was a good story. Convenient? I couldn’t tell if she was lying or not. “What do you want from me?”

“I have information about Emerson. Important information. I know you’re working on an escape plan. Involve me, get me out of here, and I’ll tell you everything that I know.”

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