Page 14 of Rejected Sold Mate
But wanting something didn’t mean shit. I was going to have to earn it. So, I sat in the quiet while she slept in the same bed that we’d shared, gently snoring, knowing that I had zero intentions of waking her up for a second watch. I’d done plenty of all-nighters in my time, but I had my doubts that Rhie could say the same.
Tomorrow, she’d fight tooth and nail against me sticking around to keep an eye on her. It would be a fresh reason for her to hate me. But for the rest of that night, I simply listened to her breathe, kept an ear out for any strange sounds outside, and waited.
Chapter 7 - Rhie
When I woke up, it was to birdsong. For long heartbeats, I didn’t open my eyes, just soaked in the sounds of morning and how nice it felt to sleep in, wrapped in a warm blanket, the scent of cedar in the air. I didn’t remember the rogues being dragged through the forest, the sharp pain on my cheekbone, or the frantic run through the forest beside the Alpha that had humiliated me.
I also didn’t remember that Alpha rescuing me, or the borderline-painful ache in my chest that had taken root since the first night we’d spent together. I certainly didn’t remember the second shift watch I was supposed to take, or the fact that Jayce could have very well been feet away from me.
And then, in an instant, it all flooded back.
I sat up with a gasp, looking around, but the cabin was empty. Guilt and annoyance warred inside of me. Of course, he hadn’t woken me up for my shift, even though he must have been exhausted. That was what Alphas did, right? Took the hard jobs to keep their pack safe?
Yet I wasn’t even packed, and he’d waited up the entire night to keep me safe while I’d slept like a rock. Something sharp twisted in my stomach at that thought. I was already in his debt for the rescue, but Jayce was apparently planning to keep playing the hero.
I almost liked him better when he was being a prick. Almost.
I sat up carefully, the joints in my shoulders, wrists, and elbows protesting from being tied up last night. My cheek felt tender, but all in all, I was in remarkably good shape for having survived a kidnapping.
Padding over to the window, I pulled the curtain aside and looked out. There was no sign of Jayce there, either. Part of me was disappointed he hadn’t even stuck around long enough to tell me good morning, but the rest of me was glad to have a free window to get the heck out of there and go home. Jayce had been so insistent that I couldn’t return to my trailer last night that I’d given in, silently agreeing that I didn’t want to risk the rogues showing back up again either. But I had no intention of staying in that cabin full of memories for another night if I could help it.
He’d undoubtedly be pissed if he was just out checking the perimeter or something, but I had to put some space between us. It was too easy to get comfortable around the Blacktide Alpha, too easy to let the awful things he’d said to me fall by the wayside.
Moving as quietly as possible, I pulled the front door open, looking around to make sure I was really alone, and shifted. I kept my nose to the ground for the first part of the run back to Shadowbay territory, but I didn’t pick up any hints of Jayce or the rogue, so I picked up the pace.
The trip home wasn’t short, but once I was out of Jayce’s territory, it was at least familiar, and it passed in a daze. The sun was out, warming my skin beneath my coat, and I had plenty of time to think over the night before.
There was too much to untangle with Jayce, but I had to make a decision about what had happened before the kidnapping. My guard had only been down because I was so focused on getting the painting done before fleeing the pack again. If I had been more level-headed, maybe the rogues wouldn’t have been able to get a jump on me. I was only able to enjoy my sunshine-soaked trot through the woods because Jaycemanaged to find me. Otherwise, I’d have been tied up by the cold campfire still, or worse.
Of course, Jayce had been the one to put me into the mindset where I thought I needed to run in the first place, so he wasn’t totally innocent. I still needed to work on that undeniable urge that cropped up whenever things got tough…but one step at a time.
All I knew was that I had no plans on running away that morning, at least. I needed some calm and some time to unwind. I thought about the painting that had been sitting abandoned in the yard since last night and winced. Hopefully, it wouldn’t take too much work to fix it.
At home, I shifted back and immediately went to change out of Jayce’s clothes. I debated throwing them away, but ended up tossing them in the washer instead. Dressed like myself and feeling more centered than I had in a while, I brewed myself some coffee and went to find my dropped painting.
When the text came in, I was twenty minutes into what would be a two-hour job of cleaning up the canvas. I had my favorite old country playlist on and was so in the zone that I didn’t notice the message for quite some time.
Which meant when I checked it, I was already almost late.
Scott: Meeting at my place at noon. Nonnegotiable.
Shit.
I stared at the phone screen for way too long, wondering if there was any way for me to get out of the meeting that was due to start in seventeen minutes. Jayce must have told Scott about the rogues, which didn’t surprise me, even if it made my heart sink. They had an alliance, and there was very littlethat superseded it. My feelings on the subject certainly weren’t reason enough to keep it quiet for Jayce, apparently.
Alpha Scott had never summoned me on my own. Our only meetings had been the brief ceremony to welcome me into the pack, and a short word after he made the decree that I and the other Omegas weren’t to be harassed by the unmated males anymore. Otherwise, I got the feeling the Alpha preferred to pretend I didn’t exist.
It was probably just a warning to be more careful, or just to get my side of the story. So why was I so freaked out?
***
I was ten minutes late to the meeting, but what I saw when I walked into the Alpha’s dining room, where everyone was sitting, made me wish I’d stuck with the plan to run away and go rogue.
There were only two people there, and neither of them was the one person I’d hoped to see—Nayeli. A friendly face and ally would have gone a long way.
Instead, it was just Scott…and Jayce.
I barely looked at my Alpha; my eyes were fixed on Jayce instead. He was leaning back in the chair, arms crossed over his broad chest, his expression unreadable. He was looking at me, too, and it made me feel like I’d been touched with a live wire.
