Page 10 of The Alpha's Forced Rejected Mate

After squaring off with Adrian in a silent debate, Hector took a step back and observed the impromptu festival. “It would be a shame to let them down.”

My heart soared. A surge of adrenaline followed shortly, putting me into a slightly bowed position with my knees bent like I was getting ready to take off and shift. From where the feeling came, I wasn’t sure. None of my thoughts made sense. Yet, regardless, my heart drummed up a rhythm that awakened an ancient song in me.

Adrian nodded. “We should honor the results of the ritual. It’s the right thing to do.”

Hector hummed. “We’re in agreement.” He clapped a hand on my shoulder. “Looks like we’re sending you to Maine.”

Blast off.

The world blurred as I sprinted away from the festival. I aimed directly for the woods, soaring past fallen branches and debris to get to the usual running trail that would take me back to the neighborhood. Past my parent’s house. Past the dim porch lights. Past the older folks who had chosen to stay in instead of hearing the news. I didn’t stop until I reached my home, where I went directly to my office and shook the mouse on my computer.

This was Robyn Wade, the shining star of her debate team in college, who had the trophies to prove it. Nobody could approach a woman likeRobyn Wadewithout the appropriate research to back an argument that even I wasn’t sure was true. Evidence would do the trick, and that was good enough for me. I collected everything I could possibly need to prove I had gone straight-laced, including my most recent bloodwork and physical exam notes from my doctor.

If anything, she’d get a kick out of it. And if she didn’t?

Well, I’d cross that bridge when I got to it.

Chapter 4 - Robyn

It was a long day of strangers knocking on my door.

As a pure wolf descendant, I was already highly sought by members of my pack. The Wildtooth Tails had been home to the Wade Family and their blood relatives since its conception. One of my greats was one of the four founders of this pack, a dedicated artisan and taxidermist who established our good reputation.

My mother quickly destroyed that good-standing reputation when she divorced my father and fought with him in front of the pack, the Gods, and the rest of the universe. Intelligent Life watching from distant planets must havelovedtuning into that number. It was embarrassing the amount of private information my mother stated about my father’sfamily jewels, as she called them, on her porch.

For whatever reason, I couldn’t stop thinking about that nightmarish argument after I put Sydney to bed early on Saturday night. We were still trucking it through early July, with the weather acting funky for no good reason. The wind was batting the shutters like they were about to get torn off. That would make more work for the morning when I already had a meeting with Sydney’s daycare teacher, my Alpha,andmy mother would undoubtedly drop by uninvited again.

Saturdays were for rest. Everyone else did it that way. Why couldn’t I just be like everyone else?

The shutters on the window next to the garage slapped the outer sill, causing my heart to pop into my throat. I held a hand to my chest as I exhaled slowly and made my way across the living room. The weather was one thing to deal with on shortnotice, but men? Sheesh, they were like vultures trying to claw their way into my home.

Motherlovedall the attention. She loved the bouquets, the self-care baskets, the gift cards, and the gifts. If the white silk wraps and holographic plastic packaging hadn’t been making a mess of my living area—of which I kept having to step around due to the amount that kept showing up—I would have thoughtshewas the one getting all the attention.

Her excitement almost made me feel jealous. Because I would have loved some luxury doting like this three years ago to take my eyes off that no-good, two-timing, lying bastard of a jerk who called himself—

Lightning flashed outside, illuminating the figure in the window.

My eyes widened. “Cliff?”

No, I thought.I’m just seeing things. I’m just filling in the blanks because I’m paranoid.

Because it was more than just unexpected visitors from outside the pack.

It was the unexpected visitors inside the pack as well.

The very same ones that had invited themselves into our dear Alpha.

Lightning flashed again, revealing an empty window with a faint halo of light from the porch. No one was there. I was just seeing things because I couldn’t shake the sense of dread that kept following me everywhere since I had agreed to see these men my mother wanted to set me up with.

And the only reason for that was sleeping in her princess-themed bedroom right now.

Outside, thunder rumbled through the air, an open call to all things nocturnal to come out and play. I heeded the call temporarily, feeling it serenade my wolf as I unlocked the door and opened it. A salty wind swept over my shoulders. I gulped it down to ground myself, then stepped outside to check the porch. Hair fluttered into my face. I shoved it behind my ears and held it there while turning about, the white-painted porch hosting a rocking chair that rocked like wheezing hinges and a giant windchime that resonated through the blasts of cool wind.

Nothing was out here.

I was about to head inside when I saw shadows dance near the other side of the house. Beyond the halo of the porch light was a dim outer layer untouched by the street lights. Darkness grew farther out. If I wandered away from the door, then someone might get inside.

I sniffed the air.Wolves. Of course, I would smell wolves here. I was surrounded by nothing but wolves. Whoever was stalking around the house was probably some creepy peeper who wanted to prey on a woman like me who didn’t live with anyone else over the age of four. Some guys thought that left me helpless and often boasted they could save me from unsuspecting invaders.

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