Page 55 of Rescued

He knows.

Oh, this is going to be fun.

I let my grin sharpen, waiting for it to sink in, waiting for him to really process what he just scented. But Zane just stands there, silent, the muscle in his jaw ticking like he’s grinding his teeth so hard they might crack.

It must be eating him alive.

The great, noble Alpha of the Gila pack, standing face to face with the ’unnatural abomination’ he helped exile. The same abomination who somehow—impossibly—has a true mate.

A shifter’struemate.

I see it now, the way his hands twitch, like he wants to shift, like his wolf doesn’t know whether to attack or run. He’s struggling, his instincts at war, becausethis isn’t supposed to happen. Not to someone like me. Not to someone his pack decided wasn’t worthy of anything beyond rejection.

I can practically hear the thoughts racing through his head.This isn’t real. This isn’t possible. Mika shouldn’t have a mate.

But I do.

And he can’t deny it.

Gabe notices immediately.“What’s he doing?”

“He’s scented that we’re mates,”I explain.“It’s impossible to miss. All shapeshifters can scent mated pairs. And he can’t ignore it.”The look on Zane’s face makes me want to laugh, and his three subordinates falter in their steps, no doubt catching the same undeniable scent. I can’t stop a smirk from spreading across my face. Gabe bites his cheek, visibly fighting not to laugh. I’m impressed by his restraint.

Zane stares at me, his confusion evident. “How…?” he starts, his voice thick with disbelief. “What the fuck?”

“You smell it, don’t you?” I say, keeping my voice light, taunting. The air between us is thick, charged, and I can feel the tension rolling off him in waves.

Zane swallows, his Adam’s apple bobbing. His fists clench at his sides.

“Yes,” he finally says, voice rough, like the word is sandpaper on his tongue.

I hum, cocking my head like I’m considering something deeply. Then I let my smile widen, all teeth. “You can’t ignore it. You can’t pretend this isn’t real. I found my mate, Zane. The bond exists.” I step forward slightly, dropping my voice to something more serious. “So tell me… What does that make me now?”

His throat works around a response that never comes.

I love this.

But the longer I watch him, the more something shifts in my gut. The look in his eyes—it’s not just anger. Not just confusion.

It’sfear.

And for some reason, that makes me pause.

Because Zane Mitchell isn’t afraid ofanything.

Gabe laughs then, sharp and unrestrained, and I can’t blame him. Watching Zane eat crow like this is delicious. The alpha glares at me, but his posturing rolls off me like water. I don’t owe him a damn thing. Still, a small part of me acknowledges that I might never have found Gabe if they hadn’t banished me. Maybe I shouldn’t hate them…too much.

But forgiveness?Nah.

Zane’s voice comes out rough, like he’s forcing the words through his teeth. “I believe you were banished.”

My smile hardens into something cold and sharp. Gabe steps forward, his laughter gone, replaced with a tension that radiates from his every move. His anger is palpable, burning as brightly as mine once had. Before he can take another step, I wrap an arm around his waist, pulling him back to my side. My grin fades as I hold him close.

“Yes,” I say, my tone sharp as a blade, “because I’m an ‘abomination,’ as the pack decided. Funny, then, that even someone like me would have a mate, huh?” I let the words hang in the air, watching as they sink in.

Mates are sacred to us—every shifter’s dream. Yet most shifters live their entire lives without ever finding theirs. I smirk at the irony. Maybe they’ve been searching in all the wrong places, clinging to their outdated beliefs. Zane’s pack had only ever known one other true mating, and that was decades ago, from someone twice my age.

Zane glances at Gabe, nostrils flaring again like he’s hoping against hope that he’s mistaken. The three men behind him exchange uneasy looks, nodding to confirm what their alpha clearly doesn’t want to believe. I feel a flicker of satisfaction but decide to show them a mercy they never gave me.

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