Page 59 of Rejected Mate's Baby for the Alpha King

I snorted. “Hardly. The night I met him, I was supposed to marry another alpha, and I was rejected and humiliated. Rhyson was there, and I used him for just one night for myself. My father was furious when he realized what happened. Apparently, he’d planned that I’d marry the alpha and then slit his throat so my father could steal his land.”

“Ah. Not a terrible plan unless you know, you’ve beaten your daughter for all of her life instead of raising her to be just like you.”

At that, I chuckled. Anna, it seemed, did understand a little of what I’d gone through. “I didn’t know who Rhyson was, but when I realized I was pregnant, I thought he might help. Unfortunately, I caught up with him right as he was putting his years-long mission into play, and now I’m just swept up in it.”

“He cares for you.”

Was she blind? Just a few hours ago, Rhyson had stalked away from me, so disgusted that he couldn’t even be in the same room as me. “You were rescued by your mate. That’s not always what happens.”

This time, it was Anna who snorted. “Oh, believe me, my life has not been a fairytale. I was rescued all right, and Jax couldn’t stand to be near me for three years. It wasn’t until recently that he realized he needed me and we were able to put our issues aside and learn to trust each other. Our wolves may have tried to make the decision, but in the end, it’s the humans who have to make it work. Just because you can’t have a mating bond doesn’t mean you can’t be happy.”

“Maybe.” I cradled my belly. “I’m probably not even going to be able to bond with my child. Maybe that’s for the best.”

“What do you mean?”

“Nothing. How far did we run and do we have to walk back on foot?”

Anna’s phone rang, and she held up her hand as she pulled it from the holster strapped to her leg. “What’s up?” Her eyes widened. “No, that sounds like fun. I’m on my way. Western border? I’ll be there in ten minutes. And I might have a friend with me.”

A friend? Did she mean me?

When she hung up, she grinned. “There’s a monster heading straight for us. Want to help us take it down?”

“A monster?” My heart quickened. “Like, an oversized giant that kind of looks like it was a wolf once?”

“Exactly. You’ve seen one before?”

“It is a wolf.”

“I know. We’re going to try to bring it down humanely and see if we can reverse the effects. Our healer specializes in the drug that turns them.”

She knew so much more about it than Gideon. I let the wolf come out. “Let’s do this.”

31

Rhyson

“So you think Emerson left the mountain and killed your brother,” the alpha on the computer screen said. Unlike most wolves I knew, and most wolves I’d seen on the mountain, Elonso kept his hair cropped short. He must have shaved it every day to keep up with it. His expression was distrusting, but it was obvious he was interested in my story.

If Elonso was Emerson’s second, I didn’t trust him at all. Jax swore that Elonso worked his way up as Emerson’s second with every intention of taking him down when he got the chance, and not out of loyalty. Since he was alpha and Emerson was dead, I guessed his plan had worked.

“I know the exact month. You would have been his second then. To your knowledge, did Emerson leave the mountain?” I asked.

“Hard to say,” Elonso said dryly. “My memory has been a bit foggy since two members of my pack have gone missing.”

Behind the computer screen, Jax rolled his eyes. “They’re not missing. Cindy is technically no longer part of your pack as her pack bond was severed, and Janelle isn’t a wolf. She can come and go as she pleases. I’m not keeping them hostage, Elonso. Anytime they want to return, they’re welcome to.”

It had been a long afternoon. To take my mind off of Maya, I’d demanded to speak to Elonso personally. Jax didn’t seem to care one way or another who I spoke too, but he refused to let me have the meeting in private. Or he was refusing to leave me in the office alone. There had to be other computers in the pack. I’d already seen cellphones and tablets all over the place. Where the hell they were getting their technology, and how they were affording it, I had no idea, but this pack was just as advanced as those outside the mountain.

Sure, their facilities were a little more rustic and sparse, but there was a large dining hall, three bars, and two schools. I’d heard mention of a security center, but I hadn’t seen it yet. I wasn’t expecting to find a movie theater, but I also wasn’t expecting to find a state-of-the-art health center here. The advancements of such an isolated community were mind-boggling.

And yet I hadn’t been offered a laptop. If I’d known I could access the fucking internet here, I would have packed one of my own.

“I’m not in a position to negotiate for Jax. Would it help if I sought out another pack and then requested information?” I asked stonily. It was all I could do not to let out my power and demand the information.

Elonso grinned lazily. “I tell you what, you contact me from Indigo Peak and just tell me what you see, and I’ll give you all the information you want on Emerson.”

“Asshole,” Jax muttered, and came around the computer. “I thought you would be better than Emerson.”

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