Page 56 of Rejected Alpha Mate

No one argues.

Within minutes, we’re outside near the forest, the witches gathering close, and the black ops wolves standing in the formation they learned during their time away. Emily goes around with a special serum that’s meant to mask our scents so we can approach Loups de Lune quietly, stealthily, without giving them a signal that wolves are approaching. She rubs each male’s neck at their scent gland, before coming back to us to do the same.

The guys’ bodies morph and snap into their wolf forms, the cracking and popping of bones and sinew echoing across the yard.

Nicholas’s massive, powerful wolf with gray, almost silver fur, steps closer to me, his nose nudging my palm gently like he’s checking in.

“I’m fine,” I assure him through the mind link, testing if my voice only carries to his mind. When I look around, it’s evident that the others haven’t heard me, so I smile and run my hand through the fur at the top of his head.

His golden green eyes tell me he doesn’t quite believe that, and a small whimper escapes his muzzle. I lean in and plant a reassuring kiss between his eyes before rounding him and mounting his back.

The other witches do the same, climbing onto the wolves’ backs. Gwen takes Sean, Delilah is on her mate, and Arianna is on Tyler, because the witches need to preserve their energy instead of shifting back and forth. Emily shifts into wolf form, her medical kits hanging from her arms, and Dominic steps in front, preparing to lead us toward Montreal.

Nicholas glances over his shoulder at me, checking in with me before the journey, his eyes full of concern. It makes warmth bloom in my chest as I settle onto his back, fingers gripping his fur, and the moment I whisper, “Ready,” he takes off behind Dominic.

The run to Montreal is long, but the steady rhythm of Nicholas’s paws slamming into the earth grounds me, preparing me for whatever lies ahead. The cool wind stings my cheeks as the forest blurs around us, and it feels like riding a storm as we rush toward Montreal.

When we cross the boundary into Loups de Lune territory, everything changes, the night air arresting us in invisible claws.

The world around us falls silent, too quiet as the wolves slow down, only our heartbeats pulsing.

No birds, no patrol wolves, no rustling of leaves.

It’s the wrong kind of stillness, and a cold shiver skitters down my spine.

Nicholas slows, lowering himself so I can slip off safely. Dominic’s raven-black wolf prowls ahead, ears pinned upright as he sniffs the air sharply. Everyone spreads out in cautious formation, equally alert, equally surprised by the ominous air.

“What happened here?” Gwen whispers as she hops down from Sean’s wolf and turns to the other witches.

“Nothing good,” Arianna murmurs as she comes toward me, slipping her hand in mine.

The pack village is too empty, the borders barren, doors hanging open as if the wolves of this pack have been evacuated. Windows are shattered, and the faint metallic scent of fear lingers in the air.

Nicholas moves beside me, brushing his shoulder against mine protectively.

“Nicholas,” I whisper, wrapping my arms around myself. “I feel something. It’s like…something is watching us.”

He shifts back to human form in seconds. “I feel it too.” He steps closer, voice low as he scans our surroundings, then moves in front of me. “Donna, stay behind me.”

I frown. “Nicholas, I’m not helpless—”

“I know you’re not helpless,” he counters softly, eyes full of something raw when he glances over his shoulder. “That’s why I’m asking you, and not ordering you. Just…stay close. Please.”

The sincerity knocks the breath from my chest, but does little to take the edge off, to stop what I’m feeling.

Before I can respond to Nicholas, Dominic stiffens suddenly ahead of us.

A growl rumbles through his chest, a warning right before a sound that has us all alert.

A crack of twigs.

A ripple of shadows.

A shift of darkness in the trees.

Nicholas inhales sharply. “Wolves….”

A second later, the forest erupts with dozens of wolves bursting from the shadows, their eyes pitch-black pits of nothingness, bodies trembling with unnatural strength. They charge toward us with mindless violence, snarling like creatures that stopped being wolves long ago. My heart skips a beat before racing ahead of me.