Page 5 of Rejected Wolf

“Fuck,” I muttered, trying to cup my hands over it.

Tristan snorted a laugh and shook his head. “Sure, good luck with that.”

With a low growl, I reached into my tent and snagged a pair of sweatpants and tugged them on. Yeah, that wasn’t much better, but it was something.

“Hey, Jude,” I heard Shan call. “Got a second?”

I stood up straight, and my Alpha frowned. “Are you okay?”

“Fine,” I forced out through gritted teeth.

“Right… I was just wondering if you have a second to help string up a swing for the kids, but you look… busy.” His eyes flicked down to the tented material over my crotch.

I nodded. “Yep, super busy.” It was times like these I wished I’d given up my tent in favor of the newly built cabin Shan had reserved for me. Four walls and a door that locked sounded divine right about now.

Mary and Sasha were walking across camp and saw us gathered. “Hey, who wants to help with dinner? We’re having… Gods, Jude, are you okay? You don’t look so hot.”

“I gotta get out of here,” I muttered, shoving past them.

What I really needed was someone I could talk to about this whole mate business. Tristan was right out of the question because he was nosy as hell, and in his mind, the answer to every problem was sex. Shan would be respectful, but there was no way he would understand why I wasn’t going all in with my mate; he was so blissfully in love. There were others here in camp, but they were all a bunch of gossips. That left only one option: Vesta.

It was a long jog to Vesta’s cabin. I would normally just take my fur and be there in no time, but I couldn’t trustmy other half not to go rogue. It was nearly dark by the time I broke through the tree line into her little meadow. Something didn’t feel right, though. The wildflowers that normally bloomed here from spring through fall were dry, their heads drooping, and their usually vibrant hues were faded. The walls of the cabin seemed to be sagging even more than usual, and there was a dank smell of mold and rot tickling my nostrils.

I stepped forward uneasily, a chill crawling up my spine. There was a flickering light from the window, and I raised my hand to knock. I’d missed dinner, and I was starving. Maybe she’d have a pot of stew on that she wouldn’t mind sharing.

She didn’t answer the door, though. I knocked again, listening. “Vesta?” I called, then finally tried to the knob. I ducked through the low doorway. “Vesta, are you home?”

I found the old shaman asleep in her rocking chair beside the fire. “Vesta?” I whispered softly, trying not to scare her from her sleep, but she didn’t even stir, her breathing deep and slow. The frenetic energy that had carried me all the way here had shifted to something else—concern—and my wolf felt it too.

Vesta had always been old, but there’d always been this youth and vitality about her. She had a wicked sense of humor, a sweet tooth that ran bone-deep, and a love forthe pack, and she had never failed to lead us in the right direction. Now, though, for the first time, she looked her age. She seemed to have shrunk these last months, as if she were withering away. Her spark was just… gone.

I knelt down in front of her and took her hand. Her skin was like tissue paper, cold and soft. “Hey, Vesta?”

She startled and jerked her hand back to her chest. “Who’s that?” she gasped.

“It’s me, Jude,” I said softly. Though she’d always been blind, this was the first time she hadn’t recognized me, whether by my voice, scent, or whatever unearthly power she possessed.

“Jude?” She blinked a few times, frowning. “Right. Yes. Of course.” I wasn’t sure if my name meant anything or not for a moment, but then she seemed to relax and reached out for me again. “Is it morning? Why are you here?”

“No, it’s not morning. It’s barely nine. You must’ve fallen asleep in your chair after dinner.” Except now that I thought about it, there was no lingering scent of stew, no bag of bread or crumbs on the table. No sign that she’d eaten anything today.

“Oh… Is everything okay? Why are you here?” She sat up a little straighter, regaining some energy.

As much as I’d needed to talk to her about my unwelcome mate, this was not the time. “Don’t worry about it, nothing important. It can wait until tomorrow. Can I help you get to your bed?” I asked.

She smiled, but it lacked any real happiness. Vesta looked… tired. “That would be nice. Thank you.”

Her bed was a simple pallet in the back corner of her cabin. She hadn’t made the bed this morning, so I straightened out the mound of blankets and held them up until she’d lain down. I made sure she had a drink of water, then I tucked her in carefully, noting the cool draft. It felt like there was a hole in her cabin wall.

“Sleep well, Vesta. I’ll come check on you in the morning, okay?” She murmured something in reply, but I couldn’t make out her words. She was already asleep again.

Sighing, I stood up, looking around the small space. This wasn’t the home I’d come to expect from her. She’d never let her blindness stop her from keeping a tidy house. She usually had various salves, concoctions, and natural remedies laid out on her table, but now, there was only dust. How long had she been like this?

I understood that her independence had always been important to her, but this couldn’t go on. I needed to talk to Shan.

Since my wolf was just as worried about Vesta as I was, I risked taking my fur. I left my sweatpants there, and together, we cut the run back to camp in half. Shan must’ve sensed something through the pack bond, because he was standing outside his cabin, waiting for us, when we loped out from the trees.

He strode forward, a crease between his eyebrows. “What happened?” he asked, straight to the point.

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