Page 27 of Mates for the Rejected Wolf

“Let’s do this,” I say as I look them both in the eye. “Let’s save the girls from Club Sin and get the drugs out of our town.”

It’s a big ask, not something we’re going to be able to complete today, but I’m truly grateful that we’re taking the first step. I have hated hanging around and doing nothing for way too long, leaving it to Echo and the police for them to ultimately accomplish nothing. This is a step in the right direction for all of us.

“The sooner this is over, the better. Let’s see what we can find out along the way,” Slane says determinedly.

He shifts into his wolf form, shaking out his long dark fur. I love watching him shift and absolutely adore his wolf form. There’s something so exciting about seeing his true self come to light. Jace does the same, his lighter, shorter fur also making me smile. With everything that’s been going on, we haven’t had time to shift in a very long time. I need to experience that side of me. A side that caused me shame for a very long time because my body didn’t follow the natural rules and basically turned me in to an outcast. I shift into my wolf form and enjoy the freedom that comes with it.

I immediately start sniffing around to see what I can sense. My human nose is nothing compared to my wolf. Same when it comes to my feet. I can run so much faster on four legs. It’s also wonderful not to be encumbered by the worries that come with being human. When I’m a wolf, my survival instinct is all that matters.

We run together, acting more like a wolf pack than ever before. I haven’t ever felt thisincludedin my life. Even before my eighteenth birthday, I didn’t feel like I fit in. Nothing feltright. Now, though, is the happiest I have ever been.

The foot hills on the outskirts of Iron Mountain seem to be where we’re all drawn to. No one really spends much time on the south side of town anymore because it’s far away from the lake, which I suppose has become the center of everything. If the Nightshade Hunters need somewhere to hide their drugs, it’d be ideal. Griffin didn’t say that he saw anything, but I don’t think knew exactly what to look for.

We stop at the sound of a couple of trucks rolling by. It’s suspicious because there isn’t anything here. Certainly not some kind of warehouse that requires delivery trucks like this. This makes me think we are definitely on the right path and should go in a little further.

There is definitely activity down town, everyone is aware of that . So much that Mayor West has to know about it. Either he’s a shitty mayor who doesn’t care about the town very much, which I suppose is possible, or he’s well aware of this and being paid to keep quiet.

I wonder what happened to him at the end of the town meeting. We didn’t exactly stick around to find out. He lost control quickly and definitely didn’t get what he wanted, thanks to my father, so I guess probably nothing good.

The moment I spot Harley standing on the side of the road, as if he’s waiting for someone, my blood runs ice cold. There’s an evil, black aura surrounding him that instantly makes me feel sick. How can people follow him? How the hell did he end up alpha of the Nightshade Hunters?

As I don’t want to, because the sight of this evil beast makes me want to run for the hills, Jace, Slane, and I have to go further. We need to see the stash house and what’s going on there with our own eyes.

It isn’t until I feel a hand on my back that I realize Jace has shifted back. There is a look in his eyes that worries me. I know his sort of ex-girlfriend is now deeply entrenched in this, which has to make it worse for him. I hope he doesn’t get too angry and lose his damn mind once we get in there. Maybe we should have thought about this before we brought Jace along. He’s a bit of a hot head.

“Come on,” I whisper to Jace after shifting back to my human form. “Let’s go and see what else we can find.”

Slane shifts back as well and slips his fingers through mine, and we walk together just behind Jace, staying hidden, to see what these bastards are really up to, and how big this drug operation really is. The closer we get, the more worried I am that this is going to be bigger than any of us are ready for.

I’m going to be strong, though, for all of us. I need to be very strong.

* * *

“What the fuck is this?”Jace asks, shocked, when we find an old abandoned warehouse just beyond the hill we’ve climbed up. “This is bad. What the hell are we going to do?”

We’ve seen a lot of young people and women coming in and out, but not anyone Jace knows. There’s been no sign of Madison or Felicity here, which is only making him that much more tense. I don’t know what we can do for him.

“We should take some photographs,” I suggest. “Obviously we can’t just storm in there with only the three of us. We’ll be massively out numbered. But if we have evidence, we can take it to the pack and try to get their help. Don’t you think?” I don’t know if I’m being too ambitious and wanting too much from the Iron Mountain wolves, but isn’t this what Echo wants as well? Doesn’t he want to make sure we get rid oftheNightshade Hunters? If we take this to him, surely he will snap into action to end this once and for all.

“I don’t know. Maybe,” Slane finally replies. “You take picture, and I’ll write down all the detail about this building so we can be sure to find it again.”

We don’t expect anything of Jace at the moment, only that he holds it together. He keeps pacing in the small space we’re hiding in, trying to keep an eye out for anyone he knows.

“There she is!” My heart leaps up into my throat when Jace whisper-shouts this. “Look. What the hell is Digby doing to her?”

“Is that…?” I gulp. This doesn’t look good. The man Jace is pointing at is basically dragging a passed out woman behind him like she’s a bag of trash. “Is that Madison?”

“Felicity,” he corrects me. “What the hell has happened to her? What the fuck is that asshole doing with all these women and kids? Piece of shit, I’ll kill him.”

He doesn’t even hesitate. Jace takes in Digby’s direction, shifting in to his wolf along the way. I share one terrified glance with Slane before we do the same. If things are about to go south here, then we all need to be together. Although that isn’t the easiest thing to do when Jace possesses some kind of super speed.

“You got this one?” Digby calls out to one of his pack members as he shoves Felicity at him, still treating her like she’s nothing more than trash. “Another bitch who overdosed. I guess none of these little assholes can handle my personal concoctions. They all want a taste, but none of them have the stomach for it.”

My skin crawls with disgust at his words and the laugh of delight coming from the other guy. It isn’t just Harley that’s evil, it’s all of them.

“Better dumping ground than the lake,” Digby comments. “Although the smell is pretty horrendous. I could do without that.”

“Yeah, that was the one benefit of the lake, but then that little twat had to go and float…”

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