Page 28 of Mates for the Rejected Wolf

“There’s always one that ruins it.”

There are bodies piled up at the back of this warehouse, which is enough to make anyone sick to their stomach. Bodies of people I don’t even think people are looking for. Is that what they’re doing? Targetting vulnerable people, knowing they will get away with whatever they want to do? That’s sick. I don’t know how these guys do it. I have to take some pictures, it’s the only way that we’re going to be able to put an end to this, but I feel too sick to do it. I can hardly bear to look at these people and their horrific final resting place, much less capture it in an image forever. The Nightshade Hunters are far worse than I ever thought they could be. I know we need to put an end to this, but I’m frozen in place, wondering how.

“Madison is in there, I just know it” Jace says, voice shaking, like it’s all too much and he’s detached from the situation entirely. This shit is too much for him, he can barely hold it together anymore. “There are a lot of women in there, and kids too.”

He runs towards Digby, shifting once more to his wolf form. He’s been back and forth so much I’m surprised his body isn’t getting confused. But there is no confusion here. There isn’t any wondering what the hell he is going to do. He’s fighting Digby now, no matter how outnumbered we are in this place. He’ll kill him, which means Slane and I need to get involved as well. There is no way we will just sit back and let Jace fight alone.

No more smart thinking, no more being careful. It’s too late for that. The time has come.

I glance at Slane, and he’s looking right back at me. We both know that this is basically a suicide mission, but we also know what we have to do. After all, we’re a team. If one of us is going in, we all are.

17

RODDRUR

“Something is wrong,” I say for what feels like the millionth time as I pace up and down in Jace’s small living room. “I’m telling you, Griffin, something is wrong.”

“Nothing is wrong, Roddrur,” he tells me through gritted teeth. “I don’t know how many times I have to say it, but nothing is wrong. We don’t know how long this is going to take, so all we can do is sit around here and wait.”

“I don’t like that.” I look down and see that I have chewed my thumb nails down to nothing. “I just have thisfeelingin the pit of my stomach that something is reallyoffhere. I think we should go out and find them.”

Griffin sighs with irritation. “Roddrur, you know we can’t do that. You would only be putting yourself at a greater risk. We don’t know what the Nightshade Hunters have done, who they might have told about you. It could be no one, we might not be a priority of theirs at all, or you could really be a target right now. We don’t knowwhois out there, trying to get rid of the last member of the Andredes royal bloodline.”

His argument is solid, but doesn’t make me feel any better. If I mess things up and get myself killed, I risk ending the Andredes bloodline forever. But this isn’t just about me. It’s about Fern. She is so precious to me that my judgement is clouded. Usually, I’m happy to have Griffin keeping me in line and making sure I don’t do anything stupid, but right now it feels like he is being pointlessly stubborn.

“I’m going out there,” I inform Griffin, my tone letting him know that I won’t be dissuaded from this. “They need help. I justknowthey are in trouble, that Fern is in trouble, and I can’t sit around any longer.”

Griffin shakes his head, but I’m not going to get caught up in his negativity. I have never felt sorightabout something. I’m willing to risk everything for their sake.

“I’m doing this,” I tell him coldly as I start to walk off. “You need to stay here so that you’re around when they come back.”

“No way.” Griffin grabs my arm before I can walk past him. “I amnotletting you do this by yourself. Are you kidding me? After everything we have been through together, after all the time I have been by your side, you think I would just let you go now?”

“But this is going to be dangerous, and I don’t want you to risk yourself. If something happens to me, then I want you to be there for Fern.”

I’m not jealous anymore, and I don’t feel bad when Griffin and Fern are together, or when any of the guys are with her. It just feelsright.I didn’t expect to fall in love with the same girl as my best friend, and I certainly didn’t expect to fall for someone who wolves are attracted to as well, but I’ve learned that life is better when these surprises happen.

“Roddrur, I am coming with you. Period. We will save her together.”

My heart pounds as I nod. I haven’t shifted since I got shot, haven’t tested my wings or my dragon body. But if I keep Fern at the front of my mind, I know I can overcome anything. Anything at all.

Griffin takes my hand for a moment and squeezes it, letting me know that he is on my side no matter what. I nod, silently let him know that I appreciate him.

We step out of Jace’s home together and risk shifting. I know Griffin took on his dragon form in the dead of night to see what he could find out, but this is different. We are both aware of what is on the line here, but we do it anyway.

We soar up into the sky, flying up above the town. I see the lake and my heart ricochets in my chest. It’s a stark reminder of how everything has changed. For the good, because I actually have Fern in my life now, and for the bad, because I am in danger and scared about what’s going to happen.

But I suppose nothing good in life comes free. And the wolves out there aren’t just fighting for themselves, they are doing so for us as well. We need to help them. But first we need to find them. Luckily, I have this feeling in my gut that leads me towards Fern. I’m confident it won’t take long for us to find her.

* * *

This isn’ta part of the town I have seen before. It has the look of a place that used to be thriving, and could easily do so again given the right leadership and planning. But for now, it is where the Nightshade Hunters have been conducting their business.

I don’t know where she is, but I can feel Fern here somewhere, and that she’s in trouble. My instinct and desperate need to help her grows by the moment. Right now, I don’t really care what the asshole Nightshade Hunters are up to, I want to know wheresheis.

So while Griffin stays up high in the sky, trying to scour the land keep well out of sight, I lower myself towards the building. My dragon eyes are usually great at picking up small details, but I just can’t seem to find Fern. I’m starting to panic when a gunshot startles me. I hear someone screaming about a dragon and then more gunshots follow, headed towards me. I know this is the moment I should escape, but I can’t. My body won’t let me move while I’m still searching for Fern. I haven’t even seen Jace or Slane either, which is seriously worrying.

The gunshots continue, but thankfully I’m better prepared this time and can dodge anything that comes my way. I can feel Griffin wanting to yank me back, but also wanting to keep himself hidden so we don’t make this any worse than it already is.

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