Page 39 of Rejected By the Alpha King

Rubbing my chest, I just nodded. “Finn said we’re probably only a day or so away from the witch den.”

“Lead the way,” I said with a mocking bow.

With a roll of her eyes, she looked left and right. Finn had said to follow the caves north until we could find the narrow path to climb over them. From there, we’d be able to see the fortress.

We made it ten minutes before she stopped short and held out her hand. “Don’t move.”

Her voice held just a thrill of excitement, and I followed her gaze. It only took a second for me to see something shiny. “It’s just the sun reflecting off some metal.”

“Oh, no. It is not. What are the chances that you want to see what the piece of metal is?”

Pretty damn good, but I didn’t want to admit that. “What do you see?”

“Silver. Shimmery silver, like glitter,” she whispered. “It’s beautiful.”

“And deadly?”

“Maybe. Hold on.”

Once again, I stepped to the side for just a moment to see what she did. I was still having a hard time believing that she could just see it differently, see the way that it worked. She was holding something back from me.

“Tell me what you’re doing.”

“Careful.” She glanced over her shoulder. “Your power is slipping again, alpha.”

“Why do you insist on keeping it a secret?”

“Maybe because it’s so rare that I have something to myself. Would you quit moving?

This thing is bigger than you think.”

“If you don’t explain what you’re doing, how am I going to get back safely?”

“Unless you’re planning on hurting the witches, they’ll guide you safely…Jax, fuck!

I said stop!”

At the sound of her panicked voice, I stopped, but it was too late. My body seized as something invisible grasped it. It tightened, like chains around me, pulled me to the ground and began dragging me into the bush.

“Shit.” Eyes wide, she pulled her hands back and stared. “Stop fighting it. You’ll make it worse. Try to relax.”

Easier said than done. The pain was so intense, I could barely breathe. My wolf roared to the surface, and when I tried to shift, something tightened around my thigh until it cut into my skin and blood started to run own my leg.

“Breathe,” she whispered as she grabbed my hand. “Let your wolf go. It just wants to fight. Seek something soft. Something comforting. And breathe.”

I didn’t even have to give my wolf an order. It heard Anna and obeyed, immediately curling up inside me and vibrating. The panic eased, just a little, and I tried to breathe.

The pain lessoned.

“The trap wants you to fight. It likes the challenge. Go to a happy place.”

Focusing on her, I watched as she pulled her hand away and stood. Looked behind her shoulder and back at me.

Fuck. There was absolutely nothing I could do. She could walk away right now, and I’d be stuck in this trap until the vultures swooped down to gnaw at my insides.

She was going to leave me.

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