Page 21 of Nyte's Rejected Luna

“Excuse my beta,” he sighed. “It’s just the full moon; I think we can all understand the effect it has on all of us.”

I turned to the door; my teeth pulled back with a snarl of my own. “Be sure to have him count himself lucky. The moon is pulling me in a different direction this month. Otherwise, I’d think he was challenging me.” I left the room, making my way to check on Paige.

I stopped at my door, pushing down a growl as I realized who had been guarding my mate while I was gone. I had been so distracted during the meeting with the moon frenzy, fighting my senses to stay focused on the task of the meeting, that I hadn’t realized he was there.

Chase looked at me, his back leaning against the wall beside the door frame. “Meeting over already?” He turned to the door, knocking and calling out to Paige. “I guess I’ll be going then. It was nice talking to you. Even if it was only through the door.”

He walked past me, a faint scent of salt water and sand mixing with his natural scent. “Tell me, Chase,” I said, not bothering to look at him as I spoke, “Have you been to Sunset Cliffs recently?”

He let out a chuckle, sniffing his clothes before answering. “I have. I’ve been looking for a romantic spot for me and my mate. I didn’t realize you could smell that exact beach on me. That’s impressive, Nyte.”

His footsteps faded, my hands tightening to fists before entering my room to check on Paige.

Chapter ten

Paige

Nyte had been agitated ever since Chase left. I could tell he didn’t trust him either, even if it felt wrong not to trust the guy. He was nice! The whole time Nyte was away at his meeting, he just asked me questions about being a witch and what I could do. He even had me draw him a couple of cards…although, the reading did little to earn my trust in him.

I saw the seven of swords, the chariot, and the lovers. The story the cards told me was one of trickery and deceit. He was determined to get what he wanted, and through all odds against him, he would. Again, I wondered if he could have been the stalker who chased me through the beach. Maybe this nice guy's act was just that—an act. The cards weren’t specific. They had been far too vague with their answers as of late. Even now, as I tried to give myself a reading to know for sure if Chase was the wolf in sheep’s clothing I believed him to be, they merely circled the question.

“What are you hiding from me?” I asked out loud, forgetting for a moment that I wasn’t alone.

“What’s wrong?” he asked. He was changing into a swimsuit, preparing for the pack run tonight under the full moon. I couldn’t help but follow the lines of his muscles, descending into his shorts like a direct path to the land of milk and honey. “If you don’t stop looking at me like that, I won’t be able to stop myself from what I want to do to you.”

My eyes jolted back to his, a little heat tinting my cheeks as my heart picked up with excitement at the thought.

“What are the cards not telling you?” he asked again, nodding to the hand-painted deck.

I shook my head. “It’s silly, really. I can’t shake this uneasy feeling that the psycho from that night is close by. However, whenever I ask the cards for clarity on who he might be, they give me vague answers.” I picked up a card and frowned. “Like this.” The high priestess looked back at us, wisdom and power emanating from her gaze. “It keeps telling me that I know more than I realize and need to look inside myself to know the answer. I can’t clear my mind enough to make out the face from my vision. No matter how hard I try.”

I shuffled the cards, drawing another and sighing. “This isn’t exactly what I want to hear either.” I laid the fool card down on the bed, rubbing the heels of my palms into my eyes.

“Did your cards just call you an idiot?” Nyte chuckled, looking at the card.

“No, it’s telling me that no matter how psycho that guy is, he is my mate, and I should just give in to him.”

Nyte frowned, “The cards called your mate a psycho?” There was a bit of hurt in his voice. The sound confused me.

“Well, no,” I admitted, wanting to make him feel better. “It just says that despite the dangers surrounding this event, I need to have faith and embrace the experiences.”

“I see.” He ran his fingers through my hair absentmindedly while I stared at the cards. “Draw another one.”

“Okay,” I sighed, shrugging as I drew yet another card. The tower stared back at me, the blood draining from my face.

“What? What does that card mean now?”

I shook my head, biting my lip, taking all the cards, and placing them in the bedside table drawer.

“Paige, are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’ll be fine,” I lied, trying to hide how my body shook.

“No, you’re not. What did that last card tell you?” he demanded, lifting my chin to face him.

I swallowed hard, meeting his eyes as tears flooded my vision. “Danger. Unavoidable and life-altering changes.”

His eyes danced between me and the drawer with my cards in it, his hand tightening on my chin as he held me still.

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