Page 42 of Rejected Mate

No, I could not. I was definitely not ready for hisbarrelor whatever.

“One.”

I gave the barrel the slightest nudge.

It toppled and crashed, taking the whole stack with it.

“Wren!” Ares exclaimed, stepping back to make sure I wasn’t hurt as the barrels fell.

“Loba and Henri win!”

Loba jumped up and down, and her cheering section began to hoot and holler. Laurel glared at me, seemingly satisfied that, if she couldn’t win, at least I hadn’t, either. I stared at the destroyed tower, wondering what in the hell I’d just done.

Ares lifted me off his shoulders and set me down on the ground. Then he glanced at the ruined barrels. I expected him to yell at me, but he gave a sad shrug.

“Don’t feel bad. You worked harder than any of the others.”

I shook my head. “I… It slipped.”

He pushed a strand of hair out of my face delicately and with more tenderness than he’d shown me this whole time. “It’s okay. It’s just… I was looking forward to the prize.”

Then he turned and walked away, leaving me wondering what in the hell had just happened.

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