Page 11 of Rejected Sold Mate
“You’ve got to have something special going on for an Alpha to come risk his own tail for you,” one of them laughed.
“Yeah, you must be the softest, sweetest, most submissive little Omega if you’re worth all the trouble,” another added, a hint of venom in his voice. “I'm hoping the boss man will keep you around for a little bit. It isn’t often we get premium girls—”
“Untie her.”
The words came from the rogue leader, and he didn’t look happy about it, either. Jayce walked behind him as they rejoined the fire, and while Jayce had apparently gotten the upper hand, the rogue leader obviously still had his doubts.
Which meant we needed to get away as fast as possible. Once the rogues realized they could take Jayce hostage just like they had me, we were in a lot more trouble. Being an Alpha had gotten him this far, but he wasn’ttheirAlpha, and his influence would fade before long.
One of the wolves untied me, and then he grabbed me by the hair and shoved me into Jayce’s arms. He caught me easily, my hands splayed out on his wide chest, and there was a striking look of relief on his face when he gazed down at me. The other rogues looked unsure, all of them fixating on their leader.
“I thought we were keeping her,” one moped.
The leader grunted. “He offered me something I couldn’t pass up.”
While they argued, Jayce lowered his head just enough to breathe into my ear, “We have to run. I let him think he was getting one over on me, but as soon as he realizes he got the short end of the stick, he’s going to try to keep you. Head east towards my territory. I’ll lead. Howl if you lose sight of me.”
My head was spinning with all the instructions being thrown at me at once. “But—”
“No buts. Ready?”
“Jayce—” I hissed, but then he was shifting, and a massive, slate-colored wolf stood in his place. He shocked himself off and looked up at me expectantly.
Dammit. I didn’t really have much of a choice but to listen, even if I really hated shifting in front of people.
I took one deep breath, then another, and called my wolf forward. She flowed over me excitedly—it had been a while—and in seconds I was on four legs, pawing at my face to try and ease the spots in my eyes that always accompanied the shift.
I was smaller than Jayce, which wasn’t a surprise, but it meant I had to push myself past the brink of exhaustion to keep up with his longer stride. The rogues paid us barely any mind as we raced away, and it was all I could do to keep Jayce in my sights.
Part of me was sure he wouldn’t leave me after all the trouble he’d gone through to get me free, but the way he ran had me doubting myself. Then there was no room for anything inside of me except adrenaline and the will to run so hard that I was sure my paws would be bleeding by the time we made it back to Blacktide land.
Had it been under any other circumstances, running with Jayce through a crisp fall night would have been something to savor. But fear and urgency had poisoned everything we did, and when I started to fall behind, he’d circle back and nip at my haunches to make me go faster. I wanted to whip around and nip him back, but he was shockingly fast, and when I tried, he was already ahead of me again, leading me at a punishing pace.
I didn’t feel it when we crossed into Jayce’s territory, since his pack wasn’t mine, but the change in him was instant. He stood taller, a quick shudder going through his body as if he could feel the extra strength that came from an Alpha being on his own land returning. Heck, maybe he did. I wasn’t an Alpha, so I didn’t know for sure.
When we came to a stream, Jayce finally stopped, and I had to backpedal to keep from skidding into the water. He took a few long drinks still in wolf form, and then shifted again, wiping the cool, clear water from his chin with the back of his hand.
“Good job keeping up.”
I growled, but decided my complaints were better spoken. I shifted back, too, but my anger bled away with my wolf form.We were on more equal ground on four legs, but as humans, he intimidated me quite a bit.
As hard as the run was, he’d saved my life. I decided to let the heel-nipping slide. “Jayce, thank you. I don’t know why you’d bother, but thank you. I’m, uh, going home and try to sleep—”
“Like hell you are,” he growled, grabbing me by the upper arm. “After what I just witnessed, there’s no way in hell I’m letting you be on your own tonight. You’re coming home with me.”
“What—”
“Don’t worry,” he grinned at me, and in the moonlight, his fangs still looked a little too long. “The cabin isn’t far. You remember the cabin, don’t you, Rhie?”
Chapter 6 - Jayce
The entire run through the forest, I couldn’t stop myself from glancing backwards again and again to make sure she was still there. When Rhie would fall behind, I’d be right there to keep pushing her forward until finally,finally,we were back in my territory.
At first, I thought she would be amiable, feeling some gratitude for what I’d gone through to free her, but as soon as I mentioned that she wasn’t headed home tonight, her attitude shifted.
Not that I could blame her for it. It was still the same day I’d insulted her at the bookshop. I guess there’s only so far saving her skin can get me. But I couldn’t let her go. My instincts were screaming that the rogues were right on our trail, even if I hadn’t seen any evidence of that. I wasn’t stupid enough to believe I’d seen the last of them; while they’d made a deal to not bother any of the packs in the Crystal Creek alliance or cross into our territories, something told me they weren’t the type of wolves I could trust at their word.
The leader, who called himself Buck, had given me his phone, and I’d transferred him a significant amount of money so that I could take Rhie with me when I left their campsite. To keep them away from our territories, I’d promised him a favor to be paid at a later date. Buck had refused to choose what the favor would be right then, which was dangerous, but sticking around the rogues longer than necessary was more dangerous still. I knew it was a 50/50 chance they’d end up wanting something from me besides more money, but I’d cross that bridge when I came to it. At that moment, all I’d been concerned with was getting Rhie the fuck out of there.
