Page 35 of Fated to the Wolf Prince

Kane growled, and his hands started shaking. Human fingernails gave way to claws, and the tremors radiated up his arms and into his chest. When he next spoke, his voice was gravelly, his wolf pushing for control.

“You will not take my mate. She’s hurt.”

I couldn’t look at him anymore. I couldn’t, or I wouldn’t do what I had to do.

“Please, Leigh. Let’s go,” I whispered, but she heard. We took a few steps forward, struggling to get coordinated, and Reed stepped into our way, hands held high in a placating gesture.

“I don’t know what’s happening here, but I know we all need to calm down.” His words matched his body language, but when Leigh tried to steer us around him, he blocked us again.

Shay lunged forward, ears back and shoulders low, snapping at his chiseled abs with clear intent and sending him back several steps. She snarled, meeting his eyes with a pointed challenge.

His wolf’s eyes began to glow, not liking the challenge, even from a she-wolf. He didn’t flinch or look away, though, as Leigh edged us around the two of them. Shay skirted him without turning her back, keeping herself between us and the three males.

When we finally had a clear path to the dorms, Leigh took most of my weight and urged me into a jog, eager to put distance between us. The last thing I saw before the dormitory door swung shut was Kane’s wolf exploding out of him, and his mournful howls followed my every painstaking step up the stairwell and down the hall.

He sensed the rejection, even though I hadn’t said the words.

Couldn’t say the words.

TWENTY-FOUR

Kane

She left. We had shared a moment. Of connection, of joy, of beingmates, our wolves bonding. And then, between one heartbeat and the next, she left.

I could see that it cost her, smell her sorrow like sour roses. What I didn’t know waswhy. But I wasn’t going to give up. I would have her, and I would find all her objections and obliterate them, no matter what she asked of me.

I would do it for her.

I would solve the mystery of her pains. I would mate with her, protect her from the Omega Defense League. I would climb any mountain, protect her from any threat with my life. And pups. Though the idea terrified me, I would give her pups.

But first, I needed to know why she was distancing herself, pulling away from me. Second, actually. Because first I had to calm down. My wolf was raging, my heart was pounding, and I was staring through my two most trusted wolves like they didn’t exist, as they stood shoulder to shoulder between me and the path to the dormitories. Where my mate had disappeared inside, taking my heart with her.

I shook my head, sucked in a lungful of air. Her scent still clung to me. It was a temporary mark until our permanent one could be forged.

“Alpha, we should go somewhere private and talk about this,” Gael’s voice was respectful and calm, the complete opposite of everything inside me.

“Yes, I’m sure there’s an explanation. Maybe she was embarrassed, or got cold feet,” Reed agreed. “That was a lot for a new couple. She’s probably not proud of any show of weakness, and that one was particularly public.” He shot a pointed glance behind me, reminding me that my simmering rage wasalsopublic, even though I’d shifted back out of wolf form.

I clenched and unclenched my fists a few times, trying to rein it in so I could listen to calmer heads. My men had my back, and they always would. This wasn’t a problem we couldn’t overcome.

I took one step forward, then another, when I heard it.

A snigger, a few feet back.

Someone waslaughing. Then, the whispers started. I probably wasn’t supposed to hear, but they were imbeciles to whisper in my presence. Wolf hearing was exceptional. Mine was better still than most.

“Did you see that? I’d heard the rumors that the Johnson City pack had a real dud, but she couldn’t even hold a shift for five minutes!”

“You think that’s bad? That dud just rejected the high alpha’s son.Publicly.”

“With mate marks,” a third wolf added.

“No way she has mate marks already.” I knew that voice.Shane Fucking Russo.

“And until the bond is complete, it can be challenged. She didn’t seem too keen on him, so she’s still fair game.”

My spine stiffened, and I turned slowly to face the lingering crowd.

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