Page 23 of Mates for the Rejected Wolf

“Jace shakes his head sadly. “On top of all that, the mayor is about to hold a town meeting about the dragon sighting. I’m concerned that because of the Nightshade Hunters, this is going to become a lynch mob type situation. I don’t know what we can do about it. I don’t know how we can help.”

“My father,” Fern says, as if it’s the obvious option. “The pack. We need to get the Iron Mountain pack on our side. We need to make sure everyone supports us.”

“You think they will support the dragons?” Slane asks curiously. He’s asking the question that I’m too afraid to ask.

I glance at Roddrur and see that all the color has drained from his face. I wonder if he’s thinking about leaving town too so it will be safer for Fern and the wolves.

“I don’t know,” Fern admits. “But we’re going to have to try. We can’t let the Nightshade Hunters and the mayor go after Roddrur and Griffin, or any other dragons. We have to protect them. e We have to make the town see that the Nightshade Hunters are theonlyenemy we have. If we all band together, then maybe we can stop them.”

I don’t know if Fern is going to achieve her objective, but I can see such passion shining in her eyes that I know she won’t stop until she does.

This just got so much more terrifying.

14

SLANE

This is not good. This cannot end well.

Never have I had a worse feeling sitting in front of Echo and all the pack elders. It’s always been intimidating, but this…this is something else. It’s made so much worse by the fact that Fern’s anxiety is rolling off her in waves. Being face to face with her father is just piling on the pressure. Such a shame that he used to dote on her so much, and now it’s just awkward.

“So?” Echo asks, extending his arms wide. “What is this all about?”

“The town meeting,” Fern jumps in before Jace or I can say a word. She might be nervous, but she’s more than willing to defend the dragons no matter what she’s up against. “I’m sure you have all heard about it. Are you going to attend to see what’s happening?”

“Of course,” Echo insists, as if this should be exceedingly obvious. “We have to be there since it affects the whole town.”

“The town has been affected more than you know. The Nightshade Hunters have the mayor in their back pocket,” Jace informs him. “I’ve been doing some research into the town officials, and it seems like he is on their pay roll, and subsequently loyal to them.”

Echo is pissed. It’s written all over his face. Good for Jace for finding out something useful that the pack didn’t know, but it isn’t helpful at this moment. We don’t need him getting all upset about the mayor being paid off by the Nightshade Hunters, we need him to focus on the mob that will be riled up to kill the dragons.

“The meeting is about dragons,” I remind him, just in case.

“Well, since we all know there aren’t any dragons living in Iron Mountain, I hardly think that’s something we need to focus on,” Echo scoffs.

“Youdon’t know that.” Everyone turns to look at Fern’s father. He hasn’t bothered to say much in any meetings for a very long time. Mostly because he doesn’t choose to attend them. But these words are very shocking. I automatically reach out and grab Fern’s hand to let her know I’m here for her. “You don’t know anything about this, Echo. Just because you haven’t seen a dragon, doesn’t mean they aren’t here.”

Echo turns around slowly to meet Frederick’s eyes. “What are you talking about? Are you saying that wedohave dragons in this town?” Echo laughs, but there is absolutely no joy in this sound. “And that they are now in danger?”

Frederick nods. It’s only the once, but he’s one of those powerful men who commands any room.

“But what if the dragons are dangerous? Maybe we should hear the mayor out.”

“They aren’t.” Fern shakes her head emphatically. “They aren’t dangerous at all. I have been spending a lot of time with them, and they are wonderful people. They are the ones in danger because of Roddrur’s royal bloodline.”

I can’t stop staring at her father, because there is something in his face that fascinates me. He looks intrigued by the idea of his daughter spending time with dragons, but also angry.

“Well, I think we should listen to the mayor first,” Echo states, probably trying to be diplomatic about the whole thing but just making himself sound silly. “We need to consider this from every angle.”

“You are really going to listen to Mayor West, knowing that the Nightshade Hunters are paying him?” Jace demands. “You know that doesn’t make any sense at all. We just need to stop this from turning into a shit show.”

“Are you sticking up for the dragons too?” Echo asks in shock. “You don’t seem like the type.”

Jace looks offended by this. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“Is there something going on here that I should know about?” Echo ignores Jace and looks to me for an answer to his question. “Because I get the feeling that you are all keeping something from me that’s very important.”

I shift uncomfortably in my seat. Of course there is something we’re keeping from him, but we’re not about to admit to a deep sexual connection between us to him. Not only would that be super awkward, it’d put Fern in a really weird position with her father. Best to keep quiet.

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