Page 41 of Rejected Wolf

I sighed, leaning into Jude for comfort and strength. “I’m with you,” I said with absolute certainty, and Jude set his hands on my shoulders, squeezing gently. It probably should’ve scared me how quickly I’d gone all in with these virtual strangers, but honestly, it was the first time I’d truly felt at home somewhere. Even growing up, I hadn’t really belonged there. My parents had never known how to relate to me, and I’d never been very good at making friends. I was always the loner, the outsider. Now, I felt entirely atpeace, so it was an easy decision to do whatever it took to protect my new family.

Everyone was being so nice to me. If I thought I would feel left out as the only human, I was wrong. If anything, it made everyone curious, and they went out of their way to be incredibly kind. It would take a while to get to know everyone, but the one name I would never forget for how it kept ringing in my ears was Vesta.

Vesta had stood out from the crowd, for obvious reasons. I mean, the woman was atleast70 years older than anyone else, but it wasn’t just that. She emanated some kind of power that I could only describe as ancient. When she was introduced to me, she took my hand, her skin soft and dry, and I swore I felt a tingling current travel all the way up my arm to my chest. She didn’t even say anything, just stared at me, smiling in this all-knowing way. Her eyes were a milky white, but she still managed to stare directly into my soul. As off-putting as it was, it was also kind of nice.

The two of us sat there in silence together. I could honestly say I’d never done that with anyone before. There always seemed to be this need to fill the silence, but I didn’t feel that even once with Vesta. I lost track of how much time passed. Eventually, Jude set his hand on my shoulder and leaned in. “It’s time to go.”

“Already?” Though when I looked outside, it was later than I thought.

Vesta nodded and patted my cheek. “It was so nice to see you again, Morgan.” For the life of me, I couldn’t figure out what she meant, because we’d never met before.

I’d barely had time to settle into my new home, and it was already time to head out again. I thought for sure I was about to get left behind, considering the whole pregnancy thing and my mate being an overprotective alpha, but whenever I stepped more than a few feet outside his reach, my morning sickness began to return. Thankfully, Jude seemed to feel the same way about being away from me. He’d simply lifted me into the back of the truck, before sliding in beside me.

The drive back to Fairhome felt ridiculously long, but that might’ve had something to do with how I was overheating in the back of the truck wedged between Jude and Dylan. Tristan was driving, Shan in the passenger seat up front, his elbow propped on the window ledge. Even with the window cracked to bring in a breeze, the truck’s cab quickly started to stink a bit. I tried to be discreet about holding my breath, but I was soon called out on it.

Dylan chuckled beside me and nudged me with his elbow. “It smells a bit like wet dog, doesn’t it?”

I choked on my laugh, because yes, it was exactly that. Jude narrowed his eyes at me in mock offense, so I leaned into him and took a big old whiff of his neck. “But he’s my wet dog,” I said, laughing when he tried to tickle me.

It started off playful, his fingers pinched at my knees, but my giggling quickly transitioned to a moan when his hand slid up my thigh, dangerously close to my thickening cock, and he tipped my head back and claimed my mouth in a sensual kiss. Now, I was no exhibitionist, but in that moment, it was like I’d entirely forgotten where we were and who else was in the truck with us. If it weren’t for the seatbelt holding me down, I wouldn’t have hesitated to crawl into his lap and have my way with him.

Until someone cleared their throat, and I pulled back with a gasp, slapping a hand over my face. “Oh gods, I’m so sorry. I got… a little carried away.”

“Ahh, to be newly mated again,” Tristan said wistfully, waggling his eyebrows at his mate in the rearview mirror.

“Eyes on the road, buddy,” Dylan sassed, but he was grinning slyly, no doubt remembering it with sexy, dirty fondness.

We stopped only once to grab some greasy takeout—to cover up the wet dog smell, Tristan said, but I suspected it was just because he loved the French fries. Apparentlybaby agreed, because I started devouring those tiny burgers like it was my job.

Heading back to the city seemed like the worst idea imaginable, considering the state of how we’d left Eric and that his group of fanatics were actively searching for us, but Jude assured me that we would be in the safest place imaginable. I’d expected a police station or military base, or maybe even a bank with a heavy vault for us to lock ourselves up in. I certainly wasn’t expecting it to be a nightclub.

Tristan pulled up at the curb, and we piled out onto the sidewalk. I was eternally grateful for the breath of fresh air, which I took into my lungs with a deep inhale, but I’d forgotten how cold it was. Jude was at my side in a second. He forced my arms into the sleeves of my jacket and zipped it up, then plopped a warm knit hat on my head. “Can’t have my little human getting frostbite.” He booped my nose with a finger, then pressed a too-quick kiss to my lips.

The building was pretty nondescript, with a giant neon sign that said Hair of the Dog. “Is that supposed to be a joke?” I asked Jude from the corner of my mouth. I wasn’t sure if I should laugh or not.

He followed my line of sight, and his lips quirked. “So I’ve been told.”

It was still early, but as we stood there, a couple patrons headed in, and the deep thrum of bass was noticeable when the bouncer opened the door to admit them. I had so many questions, the least of which was what the hell we were doing here. Shan had said we were picking up our “supplies” from Dylan’s dad, but a nightclub seemed like an odd place to do this kind of business. I’d expected a rat-infested warehouse or at the very least a dark alley.

I’d expected Shan, as the Alpha, to take lead, but it was Dylan who stepped forward to the head of our little ragtag group of shifters (and one human), marching up to the bouncer. Dylan cut an imposing figure, dressed in tight black leather pants, his hair slicked back with product, arms dangling at his sides where his fingertips glinted with razor-sharp claws, and the bouncer, though significantly larger, had the good sense to look wary as we approached. Me, on the other hand, hardly looked like much of a threat, considering my heavy snow boots, sky-blue puffy jacket, and knit hat topped with a pompom tugged so far down that it nearly covered my eyes.

“Evening, gentlemen. Can I see—” the bouncer began, trying to pull on an easygoing smile, but Dylan cut him off with a feline hiss.

“Don’t waste your time on us. We’re here to see my father.”

“Your…” Even from where I was tucked into Jude’s side, I could see the man gulp. “You’re Joe’s son?” Dylan nodded, and the man’s dark skin went a shade of ash gray.

Dylan patted the burly man on the shoulder on the way past him, nudging him out of the way and opening the door himself. “He’s expecting us.”

We walked single-file past the bouncer who looked awkward as hell, rubbing a hand over the back of his neck like he couldn’t decide what to do. In the end, he just went back to his post, and the door shut behind us with a heavy click.

I was no shifter, but even I could pick up on the vibes in here. My skin prickled, and all the hair on my body stood up on end. Jude’s arm tightened protectively around me. “Stay close,” he bent low and growled in my ear, his wolf’s eyes alert and aimed at the crowd.

“Are these all shifters?” I asked in awe, trying to get a good look, my curiosity getting the better of me, but Shan moved in front of me. Tristan and Dylan boxed me in on the other two sides, blocking my view. “You guys are no fun,” I whined, rising up on my tiptoes to peek. “Can I at least have a drink?”

“No,” they all replied at once, shepherding me straight past the dance floor and through a door behind the bar.

We marched as a group up the narrow flight of stairs. It was so dark once the door closed behind us that I could barely see, but when I nearly missed a step, Jude was there to catch me. His hands found my waist with such ease that I was sure he could see in the dark. The perks of being a wolf, I supposed.

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