Page 6 of Rejected and Pregnant by the Lycan King

Maximus

The Ironhide pack had been the first pack to visit on Eli’s list. Why? I had to ask myself that on the way there. Something about hot females tended to draw attention to this pack, and Eli had heard rumors that the alpha was too harsh on the pack, which caught his interest in the channels of pack talk. I handled many tasks for the pack, but Eli acted as my voice and made public appearances on my behalf. I would rather not deal with people constantly talking to me about things I didn’t care about. That sounded like a nightmare, but not nearly as nightmarish as planning this entire affair. It had been days since we left to do this tour looking for a mate and even more days spent planning the logistics of this journey.

Eli was better at that kind of thing than I was, and he always reported back to me after every meeting with the alphas of the kingdom. Apparently, Alexander missed the last one, and some secrets spilled out during their discussions. Another alphavisited the Ironhide pack recently and didn’t like what he saw. According to Eli’s reports, the omegas were treated poorly, and one in particular seemed to be the target of just about everyone in the pack.

“Yeah, Alpha Devon stopped by before the full moon run the other day and heard someone using something like a whip upstairs. When he went to investigate, Alpha Alexander intercepted him and said he’d take care of it. When he came back downstairs, Devon mentioned smelling fear on him, like he’s involved in something he doesn’t want Devon to know about.” Eli glanced over at me. “I’m wondering if we need to look into it while we are here.”

That sounded like something I needed to investigate during our visit. The attractive females weren’t necessarily at the top of my concerns for this visit. If I found my mate here, that would be a bonus. If he was abusing his omegas, dealing with Alexander would be a priority.

“How long has this been going on, and we are only finding out about it now?” I growled. It boggled my mind how someone could raise a hand to those they were supposed to protect. Omegas were to be cared for, not abused. They didn’t have power, but they were the calm—the stabilizers of the pack. What would happen if they were abused? Did their fear and pain ripple through the rest of the pack? That thought created a snarl that made Eli scoot over toward the door.

“You good there, boss?”

My knuckles went white on the steering wheel. “No. I don’t want to imagine what abusing the omegas might be doing to that pack.”

Eli growled. “Poison the bonds, most likely. Being afraid and the pack feeling that all the time must drive the dominants insane.”

I pressed my foot down on the gas. Fuck red lights or stop signs right now. If this asshole thought it would be a good idea to frighten or raise a hand to those he swore an oath to protect, then it looked like he needed a lesson on what it meant to be an alpha. That pack was under my rule, so I could take charge of its members and retrain them on what it meant to have power over those who didn’t.

It didn’t take long before I pulled into the driveway of the Ironhide pack house. The structure was large enough to accommodate every lycan within their ranks, which was better than I expected, considering Alexander didn’t know how to take care of his people properly. It appeared to be three stories high and had enough square footage to house everyone if needed. A white fence surrounded the front of the house, but I could also scent the few lycans who were on patrol this evening. Good. At least Alexander knew better than to leave the house unguarded. That would make me angrier than I already was after hearing the rumors about the Ironhides.

Alexander walked out onto the porch, his shaved head shining under the moon’s glow. I could see the scowl he wore from here, the same one he had worn ever since his mate died. Maybe that’s why he couldn’t ensure the happiness of his people. The death of a fated mate leaves a hole in the soul that no one else can fill.

Doesn’t matter. He should never make his pack suffer because he is suffering.My lycan growled.

I had to agree with that statement.I will make him suffer if the rumors are true.

Good.

“King Maximus, I welcome you to the Ironhide pack. What is mine is yours.” Alexander bowed his head and then tilted it to the side to show me proper respect.

I heard Eli scoff behind me, but I ignored him. We didn’t need to air our plans to investigate while we were here.

“Alpha Alexander, it’s a pleasure to be here at the Ironhide pack.”

A wave of caramel and vanilla hit me like a truck, and I sucked in a breath to take in more of it. My mouth watered, and my lycan surged to the surface, screamingMATE!as he pushed against the walls of my mind to shift. I fell to my knees, struggling to restrain him long enough to look at Alexander.

Mate? How could that be? This was the first pack on our trip. How could we possibly find her this quickly?

It didn’t matter. My mate was here. I had been searching for her for years, and I finally found her. I thought this trip would result in me not finding her, yet I found her on my first try. This was amazing. My lycan howled with excitement and continued to push against my mind, desperate to shift so he could track her down himself. With the need to find her and make her mine, I thought it was a good idea.

Until I realized there was something off about her scent.

There was the bitter scent of fear mixed with caramel and vanilla, along with a large whiff of smoke. I knew the smoke accompanied this alpha, but the other scent was new. At least,that’s what I thought. I hadn’t smelled this the last time I was here. How could I have missed this amazing scent?

But why was she afraid? The beast inside me snarled, wanting to know the same thing. If I allowed him out, he would destroy everything in his path because our mate was afraid. We were the only ones who could protect her from whatever made her feel this way. If my lycan were in control, he wouldn’t ask questions. He would just kill.

Not the best look for the king.

So I needed to gather every unmated female before the lycan managed to take control.

“Bring every female you have who is not mated to me.Now!” I growled as I pushed Alexander aside and stepped into the pack house.

Eli’s hand slapped against my shoulder, stopping me from tearing the door off the hinges. There was the same fire in his eyes that I was sure was in mine. I wasn’t the only one who found a mate here.

My eyes widened at my beta. Finding a mate was rare, but two of us finding mates was almost unheard of. A male became stronger upon finding his mate, the bond helping to calm his chaotic beast. This would be an incredible advantage to have both me and Eli mated. The Moon Goddess must be up to something to grant us this privilege.

But still… Eli might have a mate here, too? The odds of that happening were astronomical. I found myself anticipating that, at any moment, my mate would walk through the door. If notmine, my best friend’s mate could enter. It had been a few years of us searching for our mates. No one had given us this feeling, their scents becoming so intoxicating that we needed to find them right then and there. My heart raced at the thought of seeing her for the first time, that caramel and vanilla scent pulling me into a chokehold and not letting go.

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