Page 45 of Rejecting his Mate

“He’s a pain in the ass, but he’s my little brother.”

That explanation says so much. Can’t choose family.

I understand that more than he thinks. Adeline didn’t choose me, she was saddled with me after the accident… or the supposed accident. I’m doubting everything I’ve ever been told right now.

“If I have witch powers, does that make me a witch?”

Cade seems as if he’s not going to answer. Then he says, “A wolf-witch hybrid is called a tau. I’ve never come across one, but sure, I’ve heard of them. The Order of the Crescent Moon hates tau wolves almost as much as they hate vargr, but they leave us alone because we’re a force to be reckoned with.”

“Who are they?” I demand. I’ve never heard of this Order.

“Hunters,” Cade says at the same time as his brother says, “Assholes.”

“They’re hunters,” Cade repeats, glancing at his brother though he doesn’t correct Sawyer on his assertion. “They believe emphatically in keeping the shifterbloodline pure. They hunt and kill anything that is outside those parameters. Half humans, half witches, half anything. We only escape their radar because, despite everything, we are still full-blooded, even if we’re feral.”

My eyes flare wide. I have never heard of this organization, and I’m starting to realize just how sheltered Adeline kept me over the years. I know nothing about the world outside the pack. “They… kill them?”

Cade scrubs a hand over his beard, his eyes hard. “They have strange ideals about how our kind should live.”

“My theory is if we exist, it’s ‘cause we were meant to,” Wyatt interjects as he stacks the dirty plates on top of one another. “Nature doesn’t allow for accidents.”

Jackson snorts. “Nature is one big cosmic accident, brother. You exist because nature fucked up.”

“Because of the magic pelts?” I ask.

Wyatt laughs, but Cade silences him with a look. “We’ve all heard that story. Theseidr,Revna, gave her lover a magically infused pelt that made him a wolf while he was wearing it. It’s a fairy tale.”

“Then how were we created?” I ask.

Wyatt fumbles for his words before he shifts his shoulders. “I don’t know. No one does, and that’s the point. None of us were alive in Revna and Torsten’s time. We have no idea what really happened, but magical pelts? I mean, it’s ludicrous.”

“Maybe he fucked a wolf,” Sawyer unhelpfully supplies around a grin. “And who are we to kink-shame our forefather for his love of our four-legged friends?”

My nose wrinkles. “How do you make a story about our origins seem so sordid?”

“It’s a skill,” he says.

Cade takes my face in his hands, bringing my attention back to him. As soon as his skin meets mine, I feel electricity wash through me. The little moan I make is a little embarrassing, but Cade keeps my focus on him. “You need to rest. I don’t know if Dalton knows where our home is, but we might need to leave at a moment’s notice. I need you strong.”

I blow out a breath. “I’m sorry I brought this to your door,” I say, meaning it.

He shakes his head, his eyes crawling over my face. “I’m not. Rest.”

He helps me lie down and pulls a blanket from the back of the couch over me. I don’t close my eyes for a moment, just watching the four wolves clean up before my lids feel heavy.

Eventually, I drift off and let the darkness claim me.

Chapter 11

Cade

The air outside is nearly as chilled as the beer bottle I’m clutching in my hand. I glance out over the property at the little slice of paradise we built for ourselves, away from hunters and judgment. For years, we have enjoyed peace, but I know everything is about to change.

I scent my brother before I hear the creak of the wooden boards under his feet, but I don’t look around as he sits beside me. The porch wraps around the house, two steps leading down to the path that goes to the workshop.

The bench dips as he settles himself on it. The wood needs replacing, a job each of us kept putting off, and now I guess it won’t get done.

“She still sleeping?” I ask, taking a sip of my beer.

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