Page 58 of Rejected Mate's Baby for the Alpha King

“Glad that worked out for you.” I knew that she was opening up and sharing so I could do the same, but I didn’t even know what to say. “My baby…will it be the same?”

Janelle looked at me helplessly. “My gut instinct is to tell you that it was an amputation procedure. A spell to sever them, and then it’s over. However, it could be an active spell, something still inside of you. That might affect the baby. I really can’t even begin to figure out what’s going on.”

Anna touched my shoulder. “We’ve figured out tough things. If you give us some time, we can figure this out as well.”

“Jax isn’t going to allow Rhyson in his territory much longer. We both know that.”

“I’ll talk to him.”

“Rhyson isn’t going to want to stay here much longer. He’s here for information. Nothing else.”

Anna wrinkled her forehead. “I feel like the threat of his baby not being able to form wolf bonds would be important to him.”

Maybe, if Rhyson actually believed it was his baby. That was far too humiliating to admit right now. “I’m going to take a walk. Is there any place where I’m welcome or places I’m definitely not welcome?”

Anna grinned. “You think you can control that wolf of yours?”

“Why?”

“I could use a good run, and I’m thinking you can as well. Let’s shift and run together. Let your wolf out, as long as she’s not homicidal. Really blow off some steam. It’s good for the baby, too.”

Run my wolf when it wasn’t necessary? How amazing would that be? “She’s never really done that. She might go into hunt or protective mode,” I said regretfully. “I don’t know if it’s a good idea.”

“Maya, my wolf is submissive. She can fight if she needs to, and hold her own, but most wolves don’t find her a threat. I imagine your wolf won’t either, especially since she knows I’m trying to help her. No one here is going to hurt you, and if we need to take her down, we can do it gently without hurting her too much. I think you need this. I sure as hell would. I went a long time without shifting or running. I know how you feel.”

After some reluctance, I nodded. “I’m going to look at a few books and see if I can get in touch with Lunessa about her recourses,” Irene said. “We won’t stop until we find answers, Maya.”

Kind of them, especially since they barely knew me. “Don’t bother. We won’t be here that long, and if I go home, you won’t be able to get in touch with me. I wanted answers. That was more than I ever thought I was going to get.”

Before they could poke or prod further, I started the shift. Before, when my wolf thought Rhyson was in danger and snapped into shape, I’d plunged into the icy cold darkness, still stunned at the quickness of her shift. This time, I was hoping to control it a little better, but it was like all the other times: slow and a little painful.

My wolf rose to the surface, and I held my breath, desperate to see if she would take over. She didn’t. Instead, she stayed, just high enough to enjoy the run but not enough to take complete control. I turned my head to see Anna, a small and scarred blond wolf, watching me carefully. When I chuffed at her, she bounded through the door, and I raced after her.

It was freedom.

I gave myself into the wonder and curiosity and tried to let go of the hypervigilance and fear. We sniffed and ran. Anna even tried to play with me, although I had no idea how to play as a wolf. When she bowed to me, I tried to run, and when she started to run, I wanted to hunt. In the end, we settled for running side-by-side.

Other wolves watched, but no one joined and no one approached. Finally, when it felt like we were hundreds of miles from where we started, we collapsed and started to shift back.

Reaching into a tree stump, she pulled out a bag of clothes and tossed it my way. “Ah. I did wonder how everyone always had access to clothes,” I said without thinking.

Anna gave me a sideways look. “This is the most common method, at least here. How is it off the mountain? Do you not run for fun?”

“I can’t tell you what it’s like off the mountain,” I said carefully. “You can’t leave the mountain or come to the mountain, remember?”

Wrinkling her nose, she started to dress. “Right. Okay, then why don’t you tell me what it’s like where you’re from.”

I took a few moments to figure out what to tell her. Nobody had ever asked me that question before. My father’s pack knew exactly how I lived, and everyone outside of it believed what my father told them. There was no point in trying to argue. Here, Anna was a stranger. She’d never meet him.

“My father is in charge,” I said as I pulled on the leggings and oversized t-shirt. “He’s so likable and charismatic. Even outside of our…group, he’s well-liked and respected. He comes from a long line of dominant wolves, and no one ever questions his word or his leadership.

“He and my mother weren’t mates. She died not long after I was born, so my father is all I’ve ever known. He calls me a princess, and I guess he’s not wrong. I am a princess.”

“Kept in an ivory tower?” Anna asked sarcastically.

“An attic. It has these beautiful dormer windows with small ledges that lead to the roof. It’s isolated enough that usually no one can see me when I go up there and stare at the moon, or watch the other wolves play and run below.” Sitting down, I stared straight ahead. “My father loathes me. He says I have too much of my lowlife mother inside of me. I’ve been kept alive and raised for one purpose: to wed the wolf of his choosing. When he’s not beating me, he lets his second-in-command do it.”

“How sweet,” Anna said sarcastically. “And Rhyson is the wolf you’re supposed to wed?”

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