Page 44 of Rejecting his Mate

“She had no reason to lie to me, and I had no reason not to take her at her word.”

“Unless she knew you were part witch in a pack with an alpha who killed his own blood because she was a hybrid.”

Considering this, I wonder why Adeline took me there at all. It could have been so dangerous even before my first moon ceremony.

“Klaus didn’t seem like he wanted to kill me,” I say. “I mean, when he discovered I was latent, he wanted me gone, but he never tried to end my life. His son did.”

“Maybe he regretted his actions,” Sawyer says. “He might be a cold-hearted asshole, but he’s also an alpha now and has to care for and protect many wolves. Maybe that’s softened him.”

“No, there’s a reason Klaus didn’t touch Halle,” Cade mutters.

“If you think he holds some kind of love for me, you’re wrong. Even before my failed shift, Klaus wasn’t exactly paternal.”

Cade considers it for a moment, his mind working. “This is a guy who killed his own fucking sister for being a hybrid. You think he’s going to give a shit about keeping you around when you’re latent? Klaus’s pack is about strength. Think about the members of your pack. You’re a Beauford. Other members are from important families. Klaus collects bloodlines like they’re trinkets.”

I frown as I mull that over. “Klaus didn’t seem that surprised I didn’t change,” I muse.

My thoughts scatter as Cade directs the truck down a narrow lane between the trees.

Where the hell are we going?

This feels right out of a horror movie.

I peer out the back window, noting the other two vargr wolves follow in their truck, keeping close to the back of ours.

As if sensing my discomfort, Cade glances over his shoulder at me. “You’re safe here,” he promises before turning back to the narrow lane he’s driving along. I don’t tell him that it’s not my old pack I’m worried about.

The trees are thick here and don’t open until we’re about half a mile from the road. I move so I can get a look at the house properly.

It looks a little like the main house of the Red Deer Pack, with a wraparound porch and two stories. There’s a large shed off to the side and logs piled in front of the doors.

If I didn’t know the home belonged to four dangerous wolves, I would have said it looked almosthomely. Cade stops the truck in front of the shed, the other one pulling in next to us.

I don’t move to get out, even though Cade and Sawyer both do. Sawyer opens the back door and bows flamboyantly. “Your castle, princess.”

I’m not sure if he’s being sarcastic, so I fire him a dark glare, but before I can move, Cade is elbowing his brother out of the way. He dips down, scanning my face. Whatever he decides has him moving. He pulls me into his arms, holding me under my legs and around my back.

“Cade!” I squeal as he pulls me out of the car. “What are you doing? I can walk!” Even as I say this, my ribs throb, and my vision rolls.

“Don’t argue with me,” he mutters, which instantly makes me want to bite back.

Sawyer shifts his shoulders at me, a smirk playing over his lips as his brother carries me up the porch steps and into the house.

The outside may have been like the house I grew up in, but the inside is not. It’s clear these males have never used a vacuum or a duster in their lives. The living room is massive, with the biggest television I’ve ever seen on the fireplace wall. There are plates stacked on one end of the coffee table and mugs on the other.

And the smell.

I wrinkle my nose. “You guys live here?” I ask, unable to keep the horror out of my tone.

“No need to sound quite so judgy,” Sawyer says, flopping onto the large sectional that fills most of the wall opposite the TV.

“If we’d known we were going to have company, we would have cleaned up,” Jackson adds, rubbing at his neck, his expression a little sheepish.

“It’s like a science project in here,” I say as Cade lowers me onto the chaise section of the couch, allowing me to stretch my legs.

“Feel free to go back to your old pack,” Sawyer says. “They seem so welcoming.”

“Is he always like this?” I say to Cade, who hasn’t cracked a smile yet.

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