Page 13 of Wolf Traded
The shame takes over my mind. I’d had my doubts about Grayson, but never in a million years would I have rejected our mating, let alone in a way like this. This plan was perfectly executed to show me my place in the pack. That I don’t belong there. That I will never belong anywhere again.
My wolf tunes out everything around her. She doesn’t even react to the smells of the wildlife. A rabbit scuttles in the bushes nearby and her ears don’t even prick up to investigate. Her paws meet the soft forest floor as she howls again and the sound is so heartbreaking I would cry if I could.
We run for hours it’s full dark and I have no idea where we are when a low growl fills the quiet forest. My wolf hunches down her hackles raised at the sound of an unfamiliar wolf. We are still on packland even though we have been running for hours. I can still feel the others from the pack off in the distance. Who is this unfamiliar wolf and what is he doing here? My wolf barks out a warning and I get a good look at the huge black wolf with eerie yellow eyes for the first time. The eyes are vaguely familiar but I can’t place where I know him from in his wolf form.
The wolf steps closer and we snap at him trying to get him to back off but he doesn’t listen and takes another step closer. He doesn’t look like he’s going to kill me but I’m not the greatest judge of character obviously. My wolf whimpers at the reminder of the broken mate bond.
The pain is a dull ache in my wolf form. It’s a relief that I don’t feel as acutely as a wolf or we would probably be curled up under a bush somewhere waiting for some creature to pick at my rotting carcass.
That could definitely still happen. I can never go back and any other pack in the region will know my misery and shame. I will have to become a lone wolf. It’s not ideal but it’s better than ending up dead and eaten by other animals in the forest.
I can hide myself in a human city and make a new life for myself. With a growl I move to my right but the wolf sidesteps in front of me easily with a bark. What the fuck is this guy playing at? I feign to my right again and jump left but he easily blocks me. I growl in frustration. Why the hell is this wolf in my way?
I turn running the way I came with the strange wolf hot on my heels. He nips at my paws herding me back toward the pack house. Every time I veer off course he moves around me blocking my escape. What the actual fuck is happening here? Why does this strange wolf want me to go back?
Haven’t I been humiliated and dishonored enough for one day? Or did Grayson send him because he didn’t get the show he was hoping for when he so publicly rejected me?
The wolf snarls when I put on a burst of speed and shift to my right to try to circle back to the path I’d been on when he found me. He is fast but he’s also big and clunky. I am smaller and wiry and can turn on a dime when needed.
The strange wolf chases me and I think I’ve lost him when he cuts me off at the pass barreling into me suddenly and taking me off of my paws. The wind wooshes out of me as I hit the hard ground.
The black wolf pins me to the ground his teeth bared but somehow, I’m not as scared of him as I probably should be. My wolf stares back at him defiantly. I can feel the male’s strength but my wolf refuses to submit.
The wolf nips at my throat but not hard. He isn’t trying to hurt me just show me that he’s the alpha and he is in control of this situation. My wolf whines but finally submits and the wolf nuzzles me with his nose.
With a bark of excitement he nudges my side and nods in the direction of the pack house. I don’t want to go back there. I can’t. My wolf wants to follow him but she doesn’t want to go back to the shame that Grayson piled on her and me for that matter.
The wolf senses my hesitation and nudges me again. He looks angry but for some reason I sense he’s not angry at me. How I can sense that, I have no idea. He’s a strange wolf that I have never met before so why do I feel like I know him?
Begrudgingly, I move to stand. The thought of going back makes my insides shrivel up. Will the entire pack and all the alphas be there to see me come back with my tail between my legs? Why does this wolf insist on me coming back to the place of my destruction. I have resigned myself to the humiliation that is in store and move toward the pack house. Dread fills my gut as the wolf follows closely at my heels.
7
ARCHER
Sitting in the back row as I wait for the ceremony to start, I have to consciously keep myself from fidgeting. Grayson stands at the front near the gazebo whispering to his beta whose eyes widen briefly before he nods solemnly. I knew something wasn’t right here. I straighten my back as I wonder what the hell is going on here. Is he going to reject his mate? Destroying her life in the process?
Everyone settles in as the door opens and I look back at Jara. She is the most stunning woman I have ever seen. That seamstress of hers is absolutely amazing to be able to fix the claw marks in her dress in such a short time. The beads on the bodice glimmer in the fading sun but they pale in comparison to the beaming smile on her face as she starts down the aisle.
I chance a look at Grayson and my heart stops beating for a second. The look on his face is unfriendly and I have to stop myself from picking Jara up and running with her all the way back to my pack lands.
“Take it easy,” Angela whispers so quiet no one else can possibly hear. “It looks suspicious yes, but we need to let it play out.”
She’s right. I know she is, but it doesn’t make it any easier. My shoulders straighten as she makes her way closer to him. She’s hesitant now, frowning. I hate to see that. She shouldn’t be unsure at her mating but even with the way I’m feeling inside my outward appearance gives nothing away.
Every step she takes toward Grayson feels like an eternity until she moves up beside him and he takes a step away from her holding his hand up as if to ward her off. My hands clench into fists in my lap as the words spill from his lips with so much venom my wolf growls in my head.
“Jara, I reject our mating.”
I nearly jump to my feet on the spot. My emotions warring inside me. On the one hand she is free and I can trade Grayson whatever he wants for her but on the other hand. I can see the pain in her eyes, the complete devastation in her features as the older woman I saw her with days ago stands and begins shouting obscenities at Grayson as several women in the audience shriek with joy laughing hysterically at the disgraced female.
Suddenly Jara takes off and I nearly run after her. I have no idea what I would say to her if I did I mean we have never even spoken. Grayson doesn’t spare her a glance as he addresses the crowd but my eyes follow her into the dense forest. “This ceremony is over. Thank you to Jara’s family for preparing such a wonderful venue for me to renounce my mate. Now we celebrate to rejecting the fate we are saddled with.” He throws his hands up as if this is time to celebrate and I wonder about the man in the pub last night speaking nobly about not disgracing her and living the rest of his days knowing he was in love with someone else. I knew then he was full of shit. He doesn’t love anyone but himself.
An idea starts to fester in my brain. From the moment I got here all I have wanted is her. Maybe there is a way to salvage her dignity and bring honor to her family. I’m moving before I even know what’s happening but a blur cuts in front of me racing toward Grayson. Shit. That must be Jara’s mother and if I don’t stop her she will get killed by her alpha and he will have every right to do so.
“You fucking bastard.” She screams and I just barely make it in time to hold her back. An older man with salt and pepper hair and kind eyes that are staring me down hard walks over with his hands balled into fists. He must be her mate. Jara’s father. I stare back at him with a warning and after long seconds bows his head in submission. Good. I don’t mean any harm to him or his mate. Quite the opposite.
“I may have a solution,” I whisper so only they can hear me. “I will talk to Grayson, I just need you to calm down.” The woman scoffs and then cackles hysterically.
