Page 49 of Rejected Plus-Size Mate

Liam! They killed him!

I leap forward, ready to punish Chris and the other wolf for this, but then I see they have Body pinned under them. He gestures for me to attack, but I can’t. I keep looking at Liam’s body, thinking about how young he was. I can’t believe he’s dead.

Chris growls, showing his teeth and leaning towards Body’s neck. I back away slowly and fade into the trees. As soon as I can, I turn and run towards the nearby sounds and scents of my fellows.

“Kyle!” Seth calls as I join him and Trace. “Where are the others?”

“They got Body,” I gasp, stopping next to them. They’re standing in a wide circle of blood and dead wolves. It looks like they had no trouble dispatching their share of the gang.

“No!” Trace cries. “Where is Liam?”

“He’s dead,” I say flatly. “And the last two wolves are dragging Body back to camp right now.”

“We have to tell Bae,” Seth says. “We need backup.”

“Agreed.” Trace nods. “Let’s go.”

“You guys go,” I mutter. “I’m going after Body.”

“You can’t!” Seth snaps. “It’s too much for you alone. We need help.”

“Do what you like,” I growl. “I’m not leaving one of ours to get tortured by these devils.”

I know that the others will waste time arguing, time that we don’t have. Liam got off lucky—all they did was kill him. If Body survives the trip to their nearest camp, they will torture him to death.

I run through the forest, feeling every single demon of my past riding on my back and snapping at my heels. Terror is all I am. Terror, rage, and a horrible feeling of utter failure.

I can’t protect myself, or anyone else. Leslie deserves so much better than me.

I pick up the scent of Body’s blood and track them. Chris obviously didn’t care about hiding his trail, and why would he? They clearly have the advantage.

I can hear enough noise over the next rise that I know it must be a fairly large group. It troubles me greatly that they’ve made a temporary camp here because it’s miles from Sawpit but very close to Silver Meadows, and not far from Silverton.

This is their base… they’ve been this close to us all along!

I stalk through the forest, circling their camp. There are at least a hundred of them there, with rough tents pitched and firepits set up. It’s obvious they’ve been there for some time, andI curse myself for being a fool. I should have known that they would move in on us as quickly as they could.

Finally, I see Body by one of the tents. He’s in human form, tightly tied up. It looks like he’s been forced to stay human for some time, and he’s shivering badly. Shifters can handle the cold longer than humans can, but they will still succumb if they can’t shift into their animal side.

Not far away, I can see Chris and a few others drinking and talking. They are gesturing and pointing, talking about their next move. Obviously, their hit on Silverton is now a bust, so they have to come up with a new strategy.

I wonder where Jethro is.

There is no time to worry about that now.

One thing I know about these guys—they might be vicious and savage, but they are also lazy and indulgent. They would never imagine that I’d sneak in here alone to rescue Body.

That’s exactly why this will work. None of them would care to come back for a fallen brother.

I slip into the shadows by the tent and paw at Brody. He groans but doesn’t wake up. I bite down on the ropes, breaking them, and shove him. His eyes flicker, but he doesn’t move.

Fuck it, there’s only one thing I can do!

I bite him hard on the calf. He jumps, shock flooding through his body. The wolf takes over immediately, and his eyes clear when he sees me.

We bolt from the camp, fleeing into the gathering dark. I push Body ahead of me, forcing him to run. If we put enough distance between us and the others, we might make it home.

The run back to Silver Meadows is a hellish nightmare. The forest is pure black, without even a reflection from the stars on the snow to guide our way. Body falters more than once, but I keep pushing him on.

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