Page 39 of Rejected Wolf

“Did you kill him?” Shan asked. There was no judgment in his voice, he was just asking for the facts.

Shaking my head, I felt a growl building in the back of my throat. “No, but I sure came close. Before I could finish what I started, he said something… curious.”

Both Shan and Tristan waited, poised for whatever I was about to drop on them. I closed my eyes in a long blink. “He said my dad was alive.”

I waited for them to say something, but when the silence seemed to drag on, I looked up to find Shan’s eyebrows pinched, his mouth downturned, and his eyes focused on the woodgrain of the table in front of us. Tristan seemed likewise deep in thought. “What are you thinking?”

Shan huffed a breath. “I’m just debating on the chances that he was lying through his teeth.”

“I know, but that’s not even the biggest problem right now.”

Tristan groaned, raking his fingers through his messy blond hair. “We’re not going to like this, are we?”

“Not likely, no.” I tried to set my own feelings aside—the panic, the fear, the remembered terror of my childhood—and gave them nothing but the facts. “These people, scientists or soldiers of whoever they are, they aren’t the type to give up. Dr. Taylor followed Morgan out this way, so he knows the general area of our camp. With that kind of information, even without pinpointing an exact location, they’re likely to burn the entire forest down if that’s what it takes to flush us out.”

“Well, shit,” Tristan cursed, turning on his stool to stare out in the woods that made up our home. “I know it’s beena few years, but I feel like we just got here. I was hoping we wouldn’t have to move again. This is our home.”

Shan remained still and quiet, thinking everything through. There was a reason we’d unanimously chosen him as our Alpha. He was smart and cautious but also brave enough to make the tough decisions in the best interest of our pack. He would always do what needed to be done.

We were interrupted by the kitchen door opening, and I knew without looking that it was Morgan. I could feel him there behind me, closing the distance between us. Brody and Dylan were with him, though they’d left the kids with the others.

I reached for Morgan instinctively, and my mate took my hand and let me draw him into my lap as if it were the most natural thing in the world. “I missed you,” he whispered, though of course everyone heard.

“I missed you too,” I said, even though it had only been a couple minutes. I couldn’t stand being without him for even that long. Giving in to him had officially knocked down all my walls. I cradled him into my arms, and he nestled in close so I could keep him warm. I even went so far as to tuck his hands under the hem of my shirt, allowing him to place his fingers directly against my heated skin. I saw the way my packmates exchanged surprised looks,likely because they’d never seen me so open about physical contact and affection, but they all seemed to agree it was a positive change, if their sly grins were anything to judge by.

“Why so glum?” Dylan asked warily, sitting next to Tristan and taking his hand, lacing their fingers together. “What’d we miss?”

Shan looked around the table and nodded, seeming to have come to some kind of decision. “I think we need to go on a little trip,” he said.

Brody took quick measure of all our body language. “I think it’s safe to assume you don’t mean a family picnic.” He’d fallen well into the role of Alpha Omega, and he took keeping us all safe just as seriously as Shan did.

Shan lifted his chin at me, indicating I should fill them in, so I gave them the quick version. “Mad scientists hellbent on snagging themselves some shifters to experiment on, and they know where we are.” I took a deep breath, my nostrils flaring. “And it’s all my fault.”

“Fuck that,” Tristan snapped, rounding on me. “You were a child, and they fucking abused you. That’s nobody’s fault but theirs. And I say they’ll get what’s coming to them.” His blue eyes flashed dangerously, a muscle in his jaw ticking, a reminder that beneath his usual carefreeexterior, he’d taken men’s lives before. He was more dangerous than he seemed at first glance.

I took comfort in Morgan’s touch, anchoring me in the present. I was no longer that scared, helpless child. I’d grown into a man who could take care of himself—could take care of his family. “What do you propose?” I asked Shan.

“That we should take the fight to them…” Before anyone could argue, he held a hand up, eyes shifting to his wolf’s liquid gold. “Look, we have options, sure. Yes, we could run, hide, start over somewhere else, and if that’s what everyone else wants, then I’ll go along with it, but there are other packs in these woods. Innocent shifters and their communities that we would practically be handing over, including pups.”

I knew how much that kind of decision would kill him, and honestly, I couldn’t live with it either. And as I looked around the table at our small group, I knew I wasn’t the only one thinking it.

Morgan lifted his head from where it was resting on my shoulder, his brown eyes glassy. “I know it’s not really my place to say, being new and all, but someone needs to stop these monsters.”

“Itisyour place,” I said gently, my heart near bursting with love for this man. “You are my chosen mate, and youropinion matters just as much as anyone else’s here. Our decisions will affect us all, and everyone must be heard.”

Shan turned his attention to Morgan and forced a smile. “I meant it when I said you were family. Your opinion matters.”

At Shan’s side, Tristan added, “Yeah, especially since you’ve been right in the middle of this disaster since the beginning. You might be able to offer some unique insight into who these people are. I definitely want to hear what you have to say.”

I was so grateful for my pack for making Morgan feel welcome. He sagged back into me, sniffling. “That’s so… beautiful,” he said, wiping tears from his cheeks. “Sorry, it’s the hormones.”

Brody reached over and rubbed Morgan’s shoulder, buried under layers of his clothing and coat.

Tristan’s leg was bouncing under the table, sending vibrations through the wood. “Okay, so let’s assume for a second that everyone agrees to take action against these assholes. We have a few obvious roadblocks that will need to be addressed. One, where would we even find them?”

I’d known this was coming, and I’d been dreading it, but with Morgan’s support, I finally felt ready to face my demons. “I can find them,” I said, though it came out as little more than a choked whisper. Morgan squeezed myhand, and I cleared my throat and tried again. “I think I can retrace my steps. I mean, it’s all a bit of a blur, and the landscape might’ve changed over the years, but between me and my wolf… we can find them.”

“Okay, so that brings me to my next question. Who are we going to recruit? Because let’s be honest, we don’t have the manpower for this kind of thing. Not even close. These guys are equipped with military-grade weapons and training, and there’s a chance they know we’re coming. We’re nothing but a handful of wolves—no offense.”

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