Page 1 of Mates for the Rejected Wolf

1

FERN

“It’s going to be a good day today, don’t you think?” I ask Brian, leader of the Iron Mountain Tour Company, with a smile on my face.

He gives me a pointed stare, reminding me that my long black hair needs to be tied back so it doesn’t blow all over my face while I’m working, then says, “It’s peak tourist season, so I think you’ll have a crowd on your hands today.”

“Not another bachelor party, I hope.” I roll my eyes. “I don’t know how I managed to keep that last bunch of guys in the boat. They were way too drunk for my liking.”

I hope Brian will tell me not to let anyone on board who’s been drinking, but I already know that won’t happen. Brianlovesthe money tourist season brings in too much. It keeps him going through the winter, which I guess I understand. I just hate it when it means I have to deal with assholes. I’m good at it, but that doesn’t mean I like it.

At least the sun is shining and that the breeze is cool, those things always get me in the best possible mood.

“Looks like your first tour is here early,” Brian announces delightedly. “You better get ready to spin that urban legend.”

Brian really is a strange guy. He lives in Iron Mountain, a town filled with humans and shifters, yet he doesn’t believe in the legends of Lake Antoine that have brought this town to life. How can henotthink a dragon lives on the other side of the lake in that beautiful cave? I love it as a tale, but really do hope it’s true. I mean, if there are animal shifters in existence, why not a dragon?

I sometimes daydream about the day the mysterious Roddrur will be freed from the cursed cave and able to join the rest of us in Iron Mountain. Because I spend so much of my life talking about him as I’m giving my tours, I often wonder who Roddrur the dragon might really be. Something about his legend fascinates me beyond belief.

I have always been drawn to the cave, and would love to go over there and find out for myself if the dragon is real. But I suppose that will never happen, because a wolf from the Iron Mountain pack such as myself isn’t allowed to explore the possibility of dragons.

Why? I don’t know, but it’s a question I would love answered. Despite my father being an elder in the pack, I’m still very much on the outside looking in. No one is really that concerned about me. I’ve always been a bit of a freak when it comes to the wolves. I should have known things were going to go that way the moment I didn’t shift on my eighteenth birthday.Everyoneshifts for the first time on their eighteenth birthday, but not me. For some mysterious reason, which I still haven’t discovered the truth of just yet, it took me two long, agonizing years to finally shift. My father’s disgust in me grew more apparent every single day, and he hasn’t changed since. I honestly don’t think he wants me around.

I don’t have anyone to talk to about it either. No one seems to know a living soul who went through this like me. I can’t even ask my own mother, who passed away giving birth to me. No one ever dares to speak of her; it seems like everyone wants to act like she never even existed in the first place. And that makes me feel like more of a burden than I already am.

Everything in my life would be so much different if I had just shifted like I was supposed to over a decade ago. I would actuallyfit in. Maybe even have a mate by now and a family of my own. But no wolf wants to be connected to a freak.

I feel so alone and pathetic, only talking about a local legend keeps me going. Without my daydreams about Roddrur, I’d be even more lonely than I already am

I push all of that as far to the back of my mind as I can manage and put on my bright, friendly smile as I get the boat ready to take out. I can’t let my gloomy past get to me here, or worry about the fact that my father hasn’t talked to me in days. It isn’t about me, or them, it’s about making sure these people have a great time, and hopefully tip well.

Brian isn’t the only one who needs to line his pockets for the winter. I have to get through the quieter months as well. The winter months are long with much less work.

“Well, hello there, everyone,” I announce in my grandiose tour guide voice, arms stretched wide, inviting everyone in. “Please climb aboard for our adventure on the lake, where you will learn about all the magical legends that keep Iron Mountain alive. Especially on a day like today when the sun is glittering in the sky and we can see deep into the depths of the water, where we might get to see something new and thrilling for all of us.”

Excitable chatter spreads through the group, which is a good sign that we’re going to have fun when out on the water. They are going to be up for whatever I need to teach them. Good thing I have all the legends memorized.

The tour starts out really well. Everyone is excited, but listens closely when I have something to say. They seem really interested in Roddrur, which ignites the passion in me. I can talk about him for hours.

“It is believed that Roddrur is stuck within the cave and cannot be set free until the curse upon him is broken.”

“Then who is that?” someone calls out just as I’m getting through my favorite part of the speech. “Up there.”

I shade my eyes from the glare of the sun, not really expecting anything. I guess this guy assumes he’s the first one to ever make this joke. I’ve heard this a number of times, and I always have to have a laugh as if it’s the best thing ever. Exhausting, but I can handle it.

“Oh my God!” What the hell? I can’t believe what I’m looking at. I have to blink a few times to make sure I’m not just imagining what’s going on here. There really is a largebeingin the sky. I don’t know if I can say this is a dragon, but it can’t be Roddrur because he is confined to the cave. It’s not a bird or a plane, no military ever tests their weird weaponry around here. This really might be the sign I have always been looking for.

I hear the click of cameras somewhere far away, even though we’re all very close on the boat. I’m in shock. I might be the one person who always believed in all of this, but I still can’t believe what I’m seeing.

“I… I…” I swallow hard, trying to think of something to say. I know I should say something, but I can’t figure out what.

The sound of something crashing into the boat is enough to drag my eyes down from the sky. A few people have been knocked to the floor, but I can’t look at them now, can’t check on my guests because what the boat has just bumped into is so shocking, I think I might be sick.

“A…a body.” I can almost feel all the color drain from my cheeks as I clap my hands to my mouth. What the hell is going on? A being in the sky, now a body in the water. “We need to…to go back. We have to turn around right away. We need to get out of here rightnow.”

I don’t realize how hysterical I’m being until I catch the eyes of a few customers. But don’t they see? Don’t they realize we just hit a body? Something terrible has happened and we need to get moving. Someone needs to tell the captain to get us out of here.

I’m getting dizzier and dizzier, fading by the second…

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