Page 17 of Rejected Bullied Mate

One by one, the Saltfang pack began to shift into their wolf forms. Some changed immediately while others waited, enjoying the wild moment in the human form as long as they could. There was an ache in my stomach, my weak, rarely-heard-from wolf whining and pacing as if I could possibly join in with the rest of them. It was a lie. I'd never managed a full shift in my entire life, and I knew deep down that tonight would be no different.

As the energy of the night became more chaotic, more barbaric, I wanted to slip away and go home. I'd made my appearance, and I should be free to go now, since I couldn't participate anyway. Slowly, I edged towards the back of the gathering, hoping to make my escape without being noticed. I was sure Samson was too busy enjoying himself with the pack or maybe even preparing himself for a night of hunting in the woods to bother with me. No one would care that I left.

Or so I thought.

Before I could escape, someone grabbed my hand and spun me around. My body went cold, like ice had been poured into my bloodstream. The touch was not the warm, familiar sensation of Samson's hand. Instead, the grasp was tight and cruel.

I looked up, and was thrown back in time when I saw who it was. Pete, Curt, and Curt's long-time girlfriend, Francine. Three of the shifters that had made my life a living hell when I was part of the pack so many years ago. They'd always enjoyed harassing me, pushing me around, and mocking me when I couldn't even change forms like them.

"Where are you going in such a rush, human?" Curt drawled. He still had a shaved head and was even more muscle-bound than I remembered. His girlfriend stood behind him with her hands on her hips. Her eyes glittered with amusement, and it wasn't because of anything funny. She was getting a sick pleasure out of watching me suffer, the way she always had.

I forced my expression to stay even and blank, "None of your business. Just let me leave."

Pete laughed, a cold, barking sound that grated on my ears. He had been Curt's partner in crime during their youth, and he'd been even crueler than the rest of the pack when I was the center of their torment. "No one's letting you do anything." His smile was like a shark. "You think you're special because you gave the Alpha a pup? No way. You're still a pathetic human who is doing nothing but taking up space. It's no wonder your parents stopped participating in the pack after they had you—they were embarrassed."

A laugh slipped from my lips. I wasn't surprised at their words. I'd known that this part of the Saltfang pack had been waiting for an opportunity to strike back at me, and while they wouldn't try anything while Samson was around, that didn't mean they would tolerate my presence any longer. They hated the idea of a weak, non-shifting shifter among their numbers. If the Alpha wasn't watching, then there was nothing stopping them from being themselves.

But I also wasn't the cowardly Kiera they had known before.

"I don't know why you're bothering. You have better things to do, I'm sure. Shoplifting, huffing paint in a cornfield, maybe?"

Pete and Curt shared a glance, then they laughed. It wasn't a friendly sound. They were cruel, mocking laughs that made the back of my neck prickle with heat. The sound made a tremor of unease slip through me, and for a moment, I felt like that stupid, naive girl I’d once been. But then I remembered what I had survived, and it burned away the fear. I had every reason to be scared of Samson, but them? Not a chance in hell.

Pete tried to pull me forward by the wrist again, but I jerked my hand away. Overtaking any feeling from the shifter part of me, my witch magic was rising like a storm, crackling like lightning, and electrifying every atom of my being. I held it back, knowing that if I made a scene, Samson would know my secret, that I was more than just a weak shifter, but I wanted to strike my old bullies down so badly it almost hurt.

"Listen, I don't care if you believe me or not, but Samson is protective of me. You're saving yourself a lot of grief if you just go."

Francine snorted. "Yeah, right. Everyone knows he only brought you here because he wanted his kid back. You're just extra baggage."

"Yeah, sure," I didn't even know what I was saying at this point. My body was starting to ache, the shift in magic and energy around the pack starting to drive me insane. My skin felt like it was crawling, like ants were trying to crawl inside of it and nest there. I wanted to get as far away from these jerks as I could, and soon. I'd had a good day so far. I'd even enjoyed myself at the bonfire a little, but it was getting hard to concentrate on anything but my growing agitation. "Look, I've gotta go. You've all given me enough of a headache tonight. You really think the Alpha of this pack is going to appreciate you bothering me?”

I took a step forward, hoping I could get around them without an issue. Curt, however, shoved his large frame in my face and shook his head. "Nope. We want you to go back to wherever the fuck you came from, and we're not gonna stop until we get our way."

I could feel Pete at my back and Francine at my side, and it was making it hard to breathe. Panic was filtering in, and my leash on my magic started slipping. All around me, I could hear the grunts and howls of the rest of the pack finishing their shifts, and it was making me unsettled. Impulsive. "Please just let me go."

Curt smirked, the expression cold. "Make me."

I lost my hold. I snapped. The world was turning red, and my hands were on fire, heat scorching me from the inside out as I shoved as hard as I could, the energy inside me begging to be released. Curt didn't get the chance to do anything. He flew back like he weighed nothing, slamming into Pete and Francine, the three of them hitting the ground so hard they nearly bounced. The whole crowd around me had frozen, and the pack was silent. Dozens of pairs of eyes, both wolf and human, stared back at me, my fingers sparking with scarlet fire.

And then the crowd parted, and a tall figure pushed through, his blue eyes fixed directly on me.

Oh, shit. Samson had found me.

Chapter 8 - Samson

The shift was pulling at me, and I was more than ready to give in to it. There were few pleasures equal to running through the forest with the pack at my pack, wild and alive. Nothing could have stopped me or shaken me from the oncoming frenzy...

Except for my Omega.

A surge of magic cracked through the air like lightning, and every bit of my focus shifted toward it. It felt strange, but at the same time, familiar. Terrifying, but something told me there was no reason to fear it. This magic could never hurt me. It felt like the zing of fear rushing up my spine, or a rush of adrenaline, but most of all, it felt like my mate.

My Kiera.

I didn't think. I just moved. My wolf was howling, the red moon fueling my rage as I tracked Kiera's power through the chaotic, shifting pack. So many had already given in to instinct, running into the forest, but I was an Alpha. Even against the moon itself, I was in control.

When I spotted her, she was nearly glowing, her hands like two small stars, burning with power. On the ground in front of her were three of my shifters, still in human form, looking up at Kiera like they'd seen a ghost. Other pack members have stopped to look, but they may as well have been invisible to me. All I could see, all I could comprehend, was my Omega with magic sparking at her fingertips.

Kiera Langley had magic. Holy shit.

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