Page 23 of Rejected By the Alpha King

I snarled just a little at him, but Bridget nodded. “Sure. I get it. She won’t shift with us.”

“You get it?” Jenson echoed. “Really?”

“She saved your life with that flare gun stunt, Jenson,” Bridget snapped back. “If I were you, I’d be grateful.”

Jenson snapped his mouth shut. Bridget had a point.

“It doesn’t matter what any of you think. I’ve made my decision. We go alone.”

Maverick bared his teeth. “If you don’t come back, we’ll hunt her down to the ends of the earth.”

10

Anna

I was in and out of consciousness, surfacing only to feel the racing panic of someone carrying me and then succumbing to my weakness. When I woke up, I was on the ground under a thick patch of evergreens. It was cool and shaded, but I could see the sun shining brightly through the openings of the branches.

I’d lost an entire night.

“Don’t panic. You’re not alone,” Jax said, crouching in front of me. “Or maybe that will make you panic. Hard to know, but it’s just us.”

Letting out a small moan, I struggled to sit up. Leaning over, he grabbed me and gently propped me up next to a trunk. “Water. Food. Saul said it was imperative you replenish your energy reserve as quickly as possible. You lost too much blood.”

Eagerly, I accepted the water and energy bar. I drank so fast that I nearly coughed the water back up.

“Easy. There’s no rush.”

Balefully, I glared at him. Yesterday, he was totally in a rush, and now he was acting like we had all the time in the world.

“Where are the others?” I rasped as I wiped my mouth.

“I sent them away.” Sitting back on his conches, he studied me. “You were right. Our number was too large. We attracted too much attention.”

It was the first time anyone admitted that I was right before. Uncomfortable, I pushed myself up to try to stand. My vision blurred just a little, and I pitched forward. Jax caught me easily. “Saul said it would take a day or two for you to get back on your feet. We’re relatively safe here. The others erased our tracks before they left.”

“I don’t care about rogue wolves at the moment. I need to pee,” I muttered as I avoided his eyes. “I hear running water. Are we near the river? I’m caked in blood.”

“You can’t even stand. What makes you think you can swim?”

I glared at him. I’d apparently been unconscious and defenseless for hours. I was going to get myself to that river even if it meant that I had to crawl.

“I’ll carry you,” he said finally. “The water is deep, but the current isn’t all that swift, and I can stand.”

“Good for you. You can take your bath when I’m done.” I pushed his hands away and took a step forward. My knee and ankle were now completely healed, thanks to my wolf.

Unfortunately, my overall strength just wasn’t there. I wobbled, took two more steps, and nearly fell into another tree.

Behind me, Jax cleared his voice.

Damn it, I did not need his help. I didn’t want to be alone with him. I didn’t want to know how much comfort his wolf could give me. I didn’t want to know that his eyes and his touch could be gentle.

I just wanted to wash the blood out of my hair.

“Fine,” I said through gritted teeth. “You can help me.”

With a snort of laughter, he picked me up. I immediately shrieked in panic and slapped him, but he just hauled me over his shoulder. “What are you doing? I don’t need to be carried!

Put me down!”

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