Page 22 of Rejected Mate's Baby for the Alpha King

“Why? I’m not allowed to speak unless spoken to, so I won’t be cracking any jokes along the path.”

She just grunted. “There’s a river nearby. I’m to escort you there so you can wash up and pee and puke or whatever you need to do. Nash is trying to cook your breakfast for you, although he’s a bit of an idiot so it might just be charred meat by the time he’s done with it.”

My stomach turned at the thought of breakfast, but I was grateful that at least it would be cooked. Tessa had said that I needed to eat.

I followed her out of camp, studiously ignoring Rhyson’s gaze. When we were out of earshot, I took my chance. “What are you guys doing here anyway?”

“Looking for someone,” she said shortly.

Ah. Polite but not ready to be overly friendly and share. Could be worse. I shivered again at the chill in the air. The river water would be just as cold. I’d probably have to shift immediately or I’d get hypothermia. “I…uh…I didn’t bring that many clothes, and I don’t want to lose the ones I have. I didn’t bring my pack,” I said quietly.

“I’ve already washed. I can carry them back for you. Why is your shift so painful? It’s cringey to watch.”

“You don’t filter much, do you?”

“Shit, sorry. Did I say something wrong? It seemed better to ask than to keep speculating about it behind your back. I’ve never seen anyone shift as slow as you do.”

“Glad to give everyone something to talk about,” I muttered as I undressed quickly and dipped my toes in the stream. It was, as I suspected, freezing. Holding my breath, I waded in as far as I dared and scrubbed my skin with my hands. After peeing in the water, I hurried out. “I don’t know why,” I told her before I started to shift. She eventually turned away and gave me some privacy to catch my breath.

I took my first step toward her before I stopped and swiveled my head. I did smell cooked flesh, but it wasn’t coming from the camp behind us. Grunting to get Juniper’s attention, I turned and moved down the river.

“Hey! Where are you going?” Juniper asked, gripping my clothes as she followed behind me. I ignored her, but I knew the moment she caught the same scent because she stopped complaining, and her eyes flashed silver as she let her wolf to the surface. We moved quietly for almost half a mile before we saw it.

Across the river was a small village, complete with wooden structures and thatched roofs. A large bonfire was in the middle, and there were several humans standing around.

My ears pricked, and I turned my head around just in time to see a man emerge from the woods, a fishing rod in his hand. He looked at us and grinned. “Didn’t mean to surprise you, and we don’t mean any harm. We got some extra food for you and your companions. Come join us for breakfast. Maybe we can help.”

11

Rhyson

“Humans,” I repeated as I stared at Juniper. “In the middle of a rogue werewolf mountain.”

“Yes,” Maya snapped from next to her. “And since I was the one who smelled them, you should be directing your questions at me. I realize it’s absurd, but they are not wolves. They smelled…a little strange, but I don’t spend a whole lot of time around humans.”

Growling, I fixed her with a gaze, but she didn’t shrink away. “And you thought it was a good idea to follow that smell?”

“Yes, Rhyson, I thought it might be prudent to see why I was smelling something strange since we’re in an unknown environment searching for…what are we searching for again?” she asked sweetly. Next to me, Duke growled, but we’d discussed not calling me Your Majesty while we were here, so there wasn’t a whole lot that he could do.

With a glare, I tried to settle my wolf. He was irrationally unhappy, although not for the same reason I was. He was pissed that I’d let her go off alone and she’d almost gotten into trouble again.

My wolf wanted his cub, assuming it was his.

“In any case, if it’s a trap, I certainly think we can handle it. If it’s not, it’s our first chance to get some information about the area,” Juniper cut in. “The sooner we get information, the sooner we can leave, and if there are humans on this mountain, you of all people need to know.”

For hundreds of years, shifters and humans have shared the same world without humans knowing. Most shifter communities were in rural areas where they could control who interacted with them, but there were shifters in the cities too.

But humans here? Juniper was right. That was something that I needed to see.

“You will eat something before we go,” I muttered to Maya. I’d overheard her conversation with Tessa, although when I’d cornered our healer about it this morning, she’d given me one of her rare frosty looks. Tessa was adamant that patient-healer privileges were important to her, and not even a king could make her talk.

All night long I’d watched as Maya shivered in her human form. I almost demanded that she shift, but what did I care if she tortured herself all night long?

We packed up our camp while Juniper and Maya ate, trying to leave as little trace of our footprints as possible. Afterward, Maya walked over to Tessa and spoke to her, but her voice was too low for me to overhear. I couldn’t help the anxiety that gripped me. Was she feeling unwell? Was something wrong with the baby?

They separated before she glanced at me and immediately turned her head. I stifled a growl and let Juniper lead the way.

There was a man-made bridge across the river, and I realized that it was mechanical and could be raised and lowered from the other side. Smart. The river made for an excellent barrier. The man lowered the bridge and gave us a friendly wave, which immediately put me on edge. They’d taken great pains to protect themselves, but they were just going to let us through even though they didn’t know us?

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