Page 56 of The Enforcer's Rejected Mate
“I’m probably the only one you’ll ever meet.”
“Why?”
“The others assimilated. The pack accepted them.”
“But not you? Why?”
“I didn’t have a wolf, but even if I did have one it would have never worked there. ” I tell her and then because there’s no easy way to do it, I rip off the bandaid that’s Keiran. “My mate is-was the Alpha’s son, the heir to the pack. He rejected me for someone stronger.”
Clover’s mouth drops open. “That rat bastard,” she hisses.
I huff out a laugh. “Yeah, he’s definitely that. I left the pack when they announced their engagement but it wasn’t because of him. I left because it wasn’t safe for me there anymore. It was bad before, being the lowest in rank but after the rejection?” I shake my head. “I went into heat that night and was given two choices: leave or spend my first heat with the Alpha. I wasn’t about to let the Alpha use me. He had plans after, and said he was going to pass me around the other alphas if I wanted to earn my place in the back.” I look away the second the words leave my mouth. I didn’t mean to say that.
Clover’s chair scrapes back as she stands and a second later she wraps her arms around me. “Oh, Cordelia. I’m so sorry. That must have been awful.”
I hug her back. It’s nice to hug someone like this. “It wasn’t a party, I’ll tell you but the Elder that raised me got me out and safe. She sent me here. She said I would be safe.”
“And you will be. Nothing like that will ever happen to youeveragain. Not here,” Clover hugs me tighter, so tight that I have to tap her arm to get enough room to breathe. “Sorry, sorry, I can be protective but it runs in the family.” She reaches over and grabs her chair to drag it next to mine. “I promise you have nothing to worry about with meeting Ronan today. We’ve had others join, even had a whole family of bear shifters move in this spring. Isn’t that so cool?”
“Very cool,” I tell her. I’ve never met a bear shifter but I want to.
“You tell him that you’re one of the ones that got taken from us and he’s going to be over the moon. We never gave up hope. We never forgot about any of you. Every month at the moon run we called for you to return, made offerings to the moon goddess to bring you home and here you are. The pack will be thrilled you’re home.”
Clover’s words stun me. Never in a million years did I think the pack waited for us, missed us, hoped that we would come home. Alpha Ashford never breathed a word of it to us. He made it sound like Bloodstone was wiped off the face of the Earth and yet, here Red River stands. I’m not in it yet but I saw it shining bright from my window last night.
Red River has been here all along waiting for me to come home.
Chapter
Twenty-Four
THORNE
“I’m here for Cordelia.”
Clover rolls her eyes at me but she lets me pass. I’m back in her good graces on account of fixing the door, minus the loose hinge in record time after I helped haul in the drunk hunters. The Sheriff even let me throw a few in the holding cell.
“We’ll keep these idiots here. Get the charges sorted and pass the sentences. I expect they’re banned from the woods?” Sheriff Tennison asked. For a human, he’s a good man, not even forty and determined to keep the peace between humans and the supernatural. His job has been a lot tougher since the ferals rolled into town but I haven’t seen him show that it’s getting to him.
“Definitely banned.” I turned to look at the men with a growl that had a few of them whimpering. “We catch a single one of you in the woods and it’ll be you that gets a hole blasted in them,” I say, tapping a finger against my chest.
“You hear that? And I won’t stop them because that’s their land. You go missing and I’m not going to lift a finger.”
That got the hunters squawking but I was already on my way out of the department. Being in Oak Fast is a touchy thing for me. There’s too much damn magic in the air. Lots of Fae running around. I’d even heard their Queen was in the mix and one Fae Queen is one too many for my liking. A witch is one thing but fairies?
They will fuck your shit up on sight and I happen to like my shit, so Oak Fast? A proceed with caution at best sort of place for me. I’ve already had to visit the fairy and witch infested town for the second time in as many days.
I should be tired. Downright exhausted with how little sleep I got last night, plus getting shot and hit with lightning, but that’s not the case. I’m good. Better than good. The night spent outside of Cordelia’s door left me feeling rested, like I had a full night’s sleep. I scrub a hand over my face. It's not a good sign that I’m feeling this way. I’ll crash after dinner no doubt.
Clover gives me an approving look. “I’m glad you cleaned up. You look handsome.”
I scowl at her. “I didn’t do anything other than wash up.”
“Sure you didn’t, but it was a good move. Cordelia looks really pretty tonight,” she tells me with a wink.
“What are you going on about?” I ask Clover but my meddlesome cousin is around the corner and halfway down the hallway. I almost call out to her again to explain, but Clover is one hundred percent not listening to me so I don’t even bother. Sometimes it’s best not to get too far down the rabbit hole with Clover. My cousin always has a plan in motion for every one she deems as “her people.” If she’s mentioning Cordelia then the omega has made the shift in Clover’s mind to be someone Clover’s claiming.
What happened while I was gone?
