Page 17 of Mates for the Rejected Wolf

“Oh…it’s you.” Felicity doesn’t give me the same warm welcome that she did the last time I was here. “I didn’t know that you were allowed to come here again.”

Oh right, the fight. Shit, maybe I was banned that night and I just don’t remember anything about it. I wasn’t really paying much attention. That would make things challenging.

“Well, I’m not really here to hang out.” I smile thinly at her. “I’m just wondering if I can speak to Madison. I want to apologize to her and make things right.”

“I don’t know if she will want to talk to you.”

I hang my head low, acting contrite. “I know I was an asshole. I didn’t mean to be one. I was just going through some stuff at the time and I guess I acted out in the wrong way. She might not want to talk to me, and I’m sure she doesn’t want to even consider getting back with me, but that isn’t why I’m here. I just want to say sorry. I think Madison and I need to get some closure.”

Felicity cocks her head to one side and examines me thoughtfully, hopefully feeling sorry for me and buying my sad story. I don’t say anything because I don’t want to push her one way or another. I feel like she’s softening toward me, remembering I’m not actually the worst person in the world. Just because I have this stupid reputation as a bad boy, doesn’t mean I’m as bad as the Nightshade Hunters. I just need her to get Madison over here so I can get some information out of her.

“I will see if she is here,” Felicity finally says. “Give me a minute.”

I take a seat, smiling at her like she has saved the day. My knee is shaking with anxiety spinning through me at the thought of Fern and Slane alone together in her home and what I might find out from Madison about what’s keeping Fern in danger.

“Huh, so you really are here,” Madison drawls. It sounds weird, like she’s taken on the way Digby talks.

When I turn around to face her, I’m shocked to see that she’s practically naked. There aren’t many customers here yet and all she is wearing is a tiny g string and nipple tassels. I’m sure she wasn’t always this naked before. The way her hair is all big and curly and the thick, glittery makeup on her face isn’t like her either. She was always much more natural, even while working. I guess spending too much time with Digby has really affected her.

“Uh, yeah, looks like it.” I choose not to comment on any of that and focus on why I’m really here. “I just wanted to come and say sorry to you.”

She tosses her head back and lets out a bellowing laugh. “Oh, Jace, how pitiful of you. The last thing I need is an apology fromyou. Don’t you know that you mean nothing to me? We were never anything. Not like Digby and me.”

My body stiffens. I already know it, but hearing it is just wrong. It doesn’t feel right for someone I have cared about to be with someone likethat.

“Why do you care anyway?” she asks, circling my table like she’s trying to show me what I am missing. “You have a new little girlfriend, right? The freak. The dragon girl.”

Shit, does Madison know about the dragons too? I can almost feel the color draining from my cheeks. She smiles widely, knowing that she has me.

“Ah, so you know about it, huh? You know that your new girlfriend is a half-breed freak. I didn’t know you were into such kinky stuff.”

She’s lost me. I guess my expression says as much, because she leans her hands onto the table, her breasts practically swinging in my face. Not that I’m worried about her cleavage when I have this new weird information to process.

“What are you talking about, Madison? You sound like a crazy person.”

“You can’t call me crazy when you are running with a pack of wolves who like fucking dragons.” She laughs. “Digby told me all about it. If all the Nightshade Hunters know about Frederick Almaz and his fling with the dragon, Destiny, then you should too. It’s embarrassing that you don’t.”

What the hell is she even saying? I don’t understand any of this. It makes no sense. I don’t know who Fern’s mother is, I don’t think anyone does, and I guess her father has never had a mate, so what the fuck is she talking about? This is so insane I don’t even want to hear any more. I certainly won’t be repeating it to anyone. Least of all Fern.

“Why do you think she took so long to shift, Jace?” Madison says smugly, like Fern’s failure is a point of pride to her. “Because she’s a freak. Why do you think she’s so obsessed with the dragon legends? Because she is one herself. I’m surprised she hasn’t been over there to see if the dragon is real.”

“Heisreal,” I snap before I can even think about what I’m saying. Madison is one hundred percent the enemy now, so I really need to be careful about what I say around her in the future.

She scoffs, thankfully not believing me. “Sure. There are too many freaks in Iron Mountain that shouldn’t here. Fucking hell, Jace. I know that you and me are more than done, but do you even know who are you messing around with? You fuck with fire, you get burned. Don’t you thinkyoumight end up a target yourself if you keep hanging around with the her?”

I came here for a reason, but it’s hard to remember what it is when Madison is spouting such nasty, evil words. “You don’t know what you’re talking about…”

“No, Jace,youdon’t know what you are talking about.” She starts to back away from me with a delighted fire burning in her eyes. It’s obvious how much she is loving torturing me. “You are completely blind to the world. It’s actually embarrassing. You keep spending time with people like Fern, who have a target on their back, and you will die too. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. The Iron Mountain pack don’t stand a chance. They can’t win. Not when the Nightshade Hunters have all the right authorities on their side.”

Almost as if she has summoned him just to prove her point, the mayor of the town walks through the doors, calling out to Madison.

My blood runs ice cold. If Mayor West is involved in all of this, and on the wrong side, then we are screwed. If the Nightshade Hunters are somehow paying him off, then we can’t keep working for Sheriff Smart. Even if she isn’t on the take, she will be restricted by the mayor. She won’t stand a chance and neither will we. Patrolling the streets really is just busy work, just as Slane and I thought it was. I knew it was bad, but I had no idea it would be this bad. I don’t think anyone was prepared for this.

I need to get the hell out of here. I need to get back to Slane and Fern. Everyone needs to know what’s going on because this is even more fucked up than we already thought. This is a living nightmare and it can only get worse.

11

FERN

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