Page 12 of Rejected Moons (Rejected Moons 3)

That’s why I thought it was a dog. That’s adogkennel.

“Holy shit,” I breathe. “What the fuck are you doing in there?”

The wolf stares at me sullenly.

And then he shifts.

A moment later, I’m looking at a man. I can’t get the full measure of him, curled up in that cage the way he is, but I can tell that he’s tall, lean, and muscular. He has dark brown hair that hangs to his chin and several days growth of stubble on his cheeks.

I force myself not to look too closely at certain other parts of his body, even though my eyes are definitely drawn there.

“Who the hell are you?” he demands.

I blink. “Who the hell areyou?”

“I asked you first,” he says.

“But I’m not the one locked in a cage,” I point out. “I’m guessing this isn’t your house.”

“It’s one of my pack’s safe houses,” he says. “And they’ll kill you if they find you here.”

“So I guess they better not find me here,” I say. “Thanks for the heads up.” I adjust my backpack and turn back toward the stairs. It sucks that it’s already started raining, but I’m not going to hang out here if there’s a chance this guy’s pack is going to come back. I’ll find another house to wait out the storm in.

“Hang on,” he calls.

I look back over my shoulder.

“Let me out,” he says.

I laugh. “Like hell.”

“Come on,” he urges. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

“Yeah. And I totally trust you, a shifter locked in a cage. You just told me your pack would kill me if they saw me.”

“Theywould. I won’t. Especially not if you let me out of here. If you did that, I’d be in your debt. I’d owe you a favor.”

“I don’t need a favor from you,” I tell him. “I can handle myself.”

“Where’syourpack?” he asks.

“What makes you think I’m part of a pack?”

“I know you’re a wolf. I could smell you coming down the stairs.” His tone is smug, obnoxious, and Iama little frustrated that he knew what I was before I even knew he was here.

“Well, I don’t have a pack,” I tell him. “I’m on my own.”

“So then youdoneed help.”

“No,” I say.

“Look, everyone knows a female can’t survive in the wild on her own. Most men couldn’t do it.”

“Just for that, I’m going to leave you here,” I say, completely pissed off now. “Enjoy your cage.”

I start back up the stairs.

“Wait!” he calls. “I really need your help.”

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