Page 2 of Rejected Mate

The elevator door dinged open and I stepped out into the lobby. One of the poker table hosts ran up to me, but I waved him off. Let Winter or Sky deal with whatever unruly customers we had. I was done.

I strode toward the exit.

"Husk, wait." Fagua followed behind me as she teetered on her high-heeled sandals that weren't strapped in the back, making her legs look even longer as she walked on the balls of her feet.

"No. I've had it." I pushed the door open and winced at her close proximity.

She grabbed my arm and I jerked it away. "You can't leave."

"Watch me." I stomped toward my bike.

"I'll go with you." She hurried after me, her heels clicking on the sidewalk.

I stopped, my hands clenched at my sides. "You'll do no such thing."

"I don't like this." She glanced back. "It feels wrong to have you leave."

Yeah, and it didn’t feel right with my brothers having her either.

"Go back upstairs to my brothers. Don't make me tie you up and hand-deliver you."

She clamped her mouth shut, her face coloring, but as I moved away from her into the cool night, I assumed she decided to go back to them, seeing as we didn't move in the same direction.

I shoved my hands into my jacket pockets. The stars shone brightly and a chill wind blew against me.

I breathed in the scent of the city. Cars honked while a group of young women dressed in sequins jaywalked across the street, laughing.

Traffic whizzed by as the lights blinked red and green, daring me to cross the street. Didn't matter what time of day or night it was, Vegas was always buzzing with gamblers and tourists.

A gust of wind blew, and I tightened my jacket around me and hiked over to my motorcycle parked outside in a reserved spot. I climbed on and started the engine, my bike purring underneath me.

I zipped down the street, whizzing past cars like they were standing still, and I didn't bother to look back at her.

Yeah, I was being an ass. My brothers loved her and she was making herself at home. But I couldn't get past it. I hated how she'd waltzed into our home and messed up our private pack.

One thing to ease my anger would be to let my wolf out and run.

The breeze carried a multitude of odors. The usual scents of pollution, sweat, and cooking meat were all there, but there was another scent that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.

Wolf.

And not one I recognized.

Shit. I pulled the bike over to the side and flicked the engine off. It had to be my imagination, right? Some wolves out for a holiday in Vegas, maybe? I pushed some money in the parking meter and headed into the city's park.

I jogged ahead, following the trail, and another smell joined the first.

Two wolves. One male and the other… wolf and a hint of something else that I couldn't place. Yet my gut told me there was something wrong with these two being so close.

I picked up the pace, a snarl building in my throat. This was our territory. No other wolves were allowed here without first clearing it with one of us. Or had my brothers forgotten to mention they'd given permission?

No. I shook my head. No, they would have told me even if it had to be in a text.

The trail shifted to Las Vegas's Hidden Forest, and I increased my pace to a run. What the fucking hell were they doing so close to us and not gambling?

Hunting on another's land was taboo, and I know neither of my brothers would've allowed this, no matter who had come to visit.

I hopped over the fence and crouched in the shadows, following their scent.

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