Page 13 of Rejected Wolf

I felt the path of his eyes as he dragged them back up my body slowly, examining every detail, and I tried to curb my body’s reaction to his hungry perusal. He had no right to look at me that way! Had he no sense of self-preservation? Inside this body lay a vicious killer! My wolf rolled his eyes, letting me know that he was fully prepared to roll over for belly rubs if his mate was up for it.

“You have no idea how glad I am to find you. I’ve looked everywhere! I was starting to think I’d imagined you. And then you… yousavedme!” he gushed. I could practically see the heart eyes as he melted into me and pressed his palms to my chest. “I will spend the rest of my life repaying you, inanyway you see fit.” There was no mistakingwhat he meant by that when he licked his lower lip slowly, his gaze focusing on my mouth. “I’m Morgan. And you are…?”

My skin flushed as the contact became too much to handle. His breath on my face, his hands on my chest, his hips on my… My nipples peaked, goosebumps pebbling my chest and sending tingles to every part of my body. And I couldn’t help it. I panicked.

Heart racing, I scrambled away, which sent him rolling back because he’d been lying on my arm. I just barely caught his head before it hit the ground then let go of him like I’d been scalded. His stunned expression hit me hard. I knew I should explain, he deserved that much, but when I thought of telling this man about my past and the reason I could never accept him, my throat closed up tight. I couldn’t even draw breath. I met his eyes just once, and I tried to convey how sorry I was. How he deserved better than a broken shell of a man.

Then I spun and dropped to the ground, scrambling out through the entrance. I might’ve made it through here as a wolf last night, but as a much larger man, it was a tight squeeze the second time around. I was not graceful about it. With scratches across my back and ass, I finally popped out the other side and went racing through the trees, putting as much distance between us as I could.

“Wait!” the human called behind me. “Please!”

When I was several hundred yards away, I heard his choked sob, and whether I meant to or not, I slammed on the brakes, ducking behind a tree.

I wanted to go back. I wanted to keep running forever.

I needed him. I hated him.

My chest was heaving, and I was dripping with sweat. “Fuuuuck,” I moaned, scrubbing my hands over my face. Every single fiber of my body screamed for me to go back, to draw my mate into my arms and claim him. It was my brain that fought against it.

I clamped a hand down on my cock, squeezing in search of relief, but I had a feeling only one thing would do it. My mate. He’d said his name was Morgan.

When I tried to leave, I couldn’t seem to get my feet to move. When my wolf tried to coax me back, I refused. So instead, we were stuck right where we were for the time being.We’ll just make sure he doesn’t get lost heading back to his car, I said, using solid logic.That way we can ensure Vesta didn’t foresee a different kind of danger, like running into a bear or falling into a ravine. Yeah. That sounds fair.

My wolf was sulking, giving me the silent treatment, but I could sense a certain appreciation for this middle ground I was offering. He, too, wanted to ensure our mate’s safety,even though he would prefer we were a lot closer while doing it.

I crouched there in the bushes for so long that my feet fell asleep, but eventually, I heard movement. Morgan crawled from the cave, dressed once more in his damp, wrinkled clothes. He’d put his glasses back on, and when he stood up straight, he lifted his hand to shield his eyes from the morning glare and panned his gaze across the forest. He seemed to know the exact direction to look for me, and I quickly ducked down so he didn’t see me.

“I know you’re out there,” he called. “I’m sorry if I scared you.”

I nearly snorted. Scared? Me? Not likely.

Peeking through the leaves, I knew his frail human eyesight wouldn’t be able to pick me out from the shadows. I felt safe watching him, but I didn’t particularly like what I saw. He was still too pale after his fall in the river. I didn’t know the last time he’d eaten, and he didn’t have a pack with him, so that meant he had no clean drinking water either. Did he know better than to drink straight from the river without boiling it first? I frowned, thinking of this small, weak human being so unprepared. It was no wonder he ended up in the river.

“Hello?” he shouted in my general direction. “Do you… speak English?Hablas español?” He laughedawkwardly. “I really hope you don’t, because that was the only Spanish I know, except how to ask where the bathroom is. Not really helpful right now.” He nibbled on his bottom lip. “I don’t speak wolf… obviously.”

I sighed. He certainly wasn’t like any human I’d met before.

Morgan pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose with one finger then ran his fingers through his curls—where they promptly got tangled, and he made a little distressed sound, then tried to fix his hair. “I promise I don’t always look this bad. I’m usually a lot… cleaner.”

I frowned. I didn’t think he looked bad. Maybe a little disheveled, but not bad at all. Kinda… floppy. Cute, maybe. Like a baby bunny.

“Okay… I guess I’ll go home then?” He waited for an answer that would never come. Eventually, the light dimmed from his eyes, and his shoulders sagged. “Okay.” He nodded slowly.

Morgan turned a few times, trying to decide which direction to go, and then promptly walked the wrong way, heading deeper into the woods. I dropped my chin to my chest, sighing. This was going to be harder than I thought.

I rifled through the undergrowth until my fingers closed around a small rock, then I stood and hurled it in the direction Morgan needed to go, creating a sharp crack asit ricocheted off a tree trunk. Morgan’s head snapped up, scanning the woods, before looking over his shoulder in my direction. Though he couldn’t see me, I felt like he was staring right at me. Then a little crease formed between his thick eyebrows as he considered things, then he nodded and changed direction. “This way?” he called, but of course I didn’t respond. Even though I left him hanging, a small smile tugged at his lips. “Thank you.”

Four more times I had to toss things to get him back on track, a rock, an acorn, and two pinecones. And each time he thanked me, his smile got wider.

Several times, I noticed him rubbing his fingers absently over his sternum, and I brought my hand up to my own chest. The potential mating link was anchored there, I could feel it. I hadn’t considered the possibility that a human might feel it too. I didn’t like thinking we had anything in common.

After I heard his stomach growl, I tried leading him to a blackberry patch, but he walked right past it. Seriously. This human had no survival instinct. How had he lasted this long? So instead, I picked a few handfuls and left them on a large maple leaf on the path. He stopped when he saw them, staring hard, his cheeks flushing in apparent delight. He sat right there on the ground and ate them all, makinglittle happy sounds, and when he stood up, his mouth and fingers were stained purple.

A noise slipped out past my lips, it could’ve been mistaken for a laugh, and I slapped a hand over my mouth. Morgan was smiling and sucked on each fingertip before he continued on his way.

My wolf smirked.You laughed, he accused.

I did not. But if I had, it would’ve been because he looks ridiculous all covered in berry juice. Even Malachi doesn’t make a mess when he eats berries, and he’s four.

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