Page 11 of The Wild Wolf's Rejected Mate

Maybe that’s why Fate sent this wolf. I can’t mate him; there’s no way. He’s either a lone wolf, or he’s from the Last Pack. Either way, he lives in the wild. No walls, no doors, no locks. I couldn’t. Not in a million years.

And he’d want to—mount me.

There are knives in the kitchen. There is a baseball bat in Kennedy’s closet. You can run. You’ve got a clear path.

But I can’t move. I’m stuck here because my survival instincts are cross-wired. I’m a possum in a wolf’s world.

“Please go,” I murmur, knowing he’ll do what he wants. He’s male, and he’s big.

He slowly rises to his feet again, turning to gaze at me, narrow-eyed as if he’s trying to figure me out. I stare at my feet.

I know I don’t really have a choice. Sooner or later, I’ll go into full-blown heat, and then it won’t matter that I’m scared. I’ll get on all fours and stick my butt in the air until he takes me. Or, if I manage to fend off the heat long enough, he’ll break first and go into rut. He’ll pin me down, and it won’t matter how hard I fight. I won’t have a chance against him.

A fresh wave of terror barrels through me like a freight train.

The strange wolf growls as he takes a few steps away, but this time, he doesn’t scan the horizon. He keeps his gaze riveted on me. He’s figured out that he’s the danger.

He stands at a distance a little longer, his head cocked, waiting. Confused. Or disappointed.

Sweat trickles down my face, but I can’t even raise my hand to wipe it away with my sleeve.

“Please go,” I mutter into my lap.

After a few more seconds, I hear him pad away. His scent fades, and my lungs can finally expand to take in a full breath.My muscles go slack, and I slump forward, resting my forehead on my knees.

What do I do?

I listen for the familiar, almost reassuring chant ofrun and hidefrom my wolf, but she’s silent and shaking. She knows it’s hopeless. We’re trapped. There’s no way out but through.

This is happening.

There’s no way to stop it.

We’re going to have to live through hell.

Again.

2

JUSTUS, AGE EIGHTEEN

My mate’sname is Annie. She’s beautiful, but she smells bad, and there’s something wrong with her.

She sent my wolf away. That’s not surprising. Colm’s female screamed at him every time he got close to her for moons and moons when he first brought her back from North Border, but she stillate.

Annie wouldn’t eat the squirrel I brought her. She took it out to the backyard and buried it. I thought she was hiding it from the other females so she didn’t have to share, but she just left it there. She did the same with the black snake and the hare.

Maybe she’s picky. I hope so. If she’s sick—

No. I can’t think that.

I drop the dead goose dangling from my maw onto her front porch, spitting out as many bloody feathers as I can. When I’m done, I’ve only got a few still stuck in my teeth.

She should definitely like this. Goose is delicious, and this particular one is plump and juicy. My wolf and I definitely earned our fair share after the hassle of hunting it down, but we decided to settle for a little taste, saving most of it for her. She’s not got enough fat on her for winter, let alone for bearing pups.

My blood heats at the thought. I can’t wait to see my seed dripping from her pussy crack. When I knot her, she’s going to look over her shoulder at me with those big brown eyes, and there won’t be any fear anymore. She’ll know that I can take care of her, and she’ll stop stinking as if I’m about to attack her.

I pad away from the goose and sit further off, angled so that she’ll see the bloody goose bite on my haunch when she comes out. The wily fucker managed to nip a chunk out of my butt cheek before I ripped its throat out. I guess that means I’ve eaten my own ass.

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