Page 43 of A Wolf's Heart

Itried my best to sort through my flurry of emotions, but everything within me seemed irrational.

I didn’t want Weylin to claim me. I didn’t want it from Rainor, and, with every fiber of my being, I absolutely didnotwant it from Kage. I didn’t want this shifter-fated-mate-power-bond thing to control my choices, but the emotions it created were so real. Weylin’s words hit like a rejection, even though I knew they weren’t exactly that.

I said nothing to Weylin as I got dressed, lost in my own thoughts as I tried to sort out what was the true me and what was the mate bond. He led me out into the empty hall, but before we reached the next door, he stopped me. “You’re limping.” He frowned.

I was?

Weylin got down to his knees, but I stepped out of his reach, only now registering the pain in my ankle. I must’ve gotten a deep injury when Clark had shaken me. Though flesh wounds were quick to heal, deep tissue bruising and broken bones took only a little longer.

“I’m fine.”

He quickly got to his feet when a door opened, Kage storming out, with Rainor and Max following close behind. Rainor’s suit was completely disheveled, however his composure was on point as he buried his face in the tablet. Max ran to me, heeling at my side without me saying a single command.

Heat crept up my neck and to my cheeks when the two men came closer to us. Both of them tilted their head up ever so slightly, noses flaring. “I’m ready to go home,” I said.

“You’ll do no such thing. You can sit in the waiting room while we finish some business,” Kage snapped.

I narrowed my eyes at him, ready to remind him I was a grown-ass adult, and if I wanted to leave, I abso-fucking-lutely could.

“It’s done,” Rainor informed Kage, dropping his tablet to waist level.

Weylin looked between the two before wincing, but after a beat, he nodded his head in agreement. This wasn’t the first time I’d noticed their internal communication, but this was the most obvious moment.

“What’s done?” I asked.

Rainor ignored my question. “We can take you to the medical wing now, do some blood work, and have a look at your ankle.”

I pulled away from his hand when he reached out to me. “No. What’s done?”

“Nothing,” Weylin said, rubbing the back of his neck. Liar.

I glared at Kage. “Tell me what is done!”

“One of our own is exiled.” Kage stalked forward, forcing me backward until I was pushed up against the wall, avoiding any kind of physical touch from him. I didn’t want to feel the heat right now.

“Who?”

“Who do you think? Do you honestly believe I would allow such behavior from Clark? From a gamma to a beta?" He wavedhis hand to Rainor. This close, his scent was heady. The spices, mixed with a sharp alcoholic acidity, had me swaying, but I held strong.

I had to tilt my head up to look him in the eye. “What does being exiled mean?” I asked, trying to keep my voice level.

“He’s banished from this territory and stripped of his place in the pack,” Rainor answered, his voice bored. Weylin, too, seemed indifferent about the situation.

Cold. The lot of them. They were cold and heartless. Might as well be another corpse in the park. “I’m not getting any bloodwork done,” I said, like I would trust any of them with that. “I’m leaving.”

Kage smiled. “You can try.” He turned on his heel and began stalking down the hall.

Weylin sighed. “Just come with us. Sit and wait ten minutes while he chews me out, and then I’ll take you home.”

Not wanting to argue, something that wasn’t getting me anywhere, I agreed. Only because I knew it would be easier to walk out of here once I was out of their sight.

We caught up to Kage and Rainor in the hall, passing groups of shifters as they walked to and from their destinations. Just like before, they inclined their heads at Weylin—more accurately, I had suspected it was Weylin—but by the third group, I realized it wasn’t. They were inclining their heads towards me.

The elevator doors opened, and three shifters walked out, bowing their heads to me as we passed them. I had no idea what was going on, but Kage looked furious, and that pleased some part of me. Rainor kept his expression completely neutral, however Weylin fought hard to suppress his smile, failing miserably.

Up at the twenty-fourth floor, Kage pointed to a sitting room in front of a receptionist’s desk. I didn’t argue, again keeping itall to myself. I sat down on the beautiful reddish-orange sofa and gave Max a scratch as he sat by my legs.

“We’ll be back,” Weylin promised.

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