Page 113 of Rejected By the Alpha

After rushing behind him so I wouldn’t tumble down the stairs, I finally made it to the ground floor and headed to grab my shoes at the door, slipping them on. He slammed the door open and hurried out.

“What’s going on?” I asked, staying inside.

The sky was still dark, and it looked like I hadn’t even been sleeping for three hours.

My lips curled into a smile. Not him planning a cute little birthday surprise! Maybe we were going to watch the sunrise in the mountains somewhere, a picnic with waffles and banana bread.

“The war,” he said. “We need to find a place for you to hide.”

“The war?” I asked.

Still, he didn’t give me any time to process anything. His hand was around my wrist again, and he was pulling me out of the house and into the forest, where the stench of blood became stronger and stronger. Howls of death echoed through the woods, making me shiver.

So much for having a good birthday.

“Where’s Pavel?” I asked, tears pricking my eyes. “Is he safe?”

“I don’t know.”

A bad feeling stabbed at the pit of my stomach. He hadn’t come home last night.

“Do you think⁠—”

“I don’t know, Ember!” Cade shouted. Then he immediately stopped and faced me, gently grabbing my face. He forced me to look up at him, brushing his thumbs across my cheeks. “I’m sorry for raising my voice at you. I don’t know where he is, and I don’t know if he is safe.”

I dropped my gaze to our feet. “I’m sorry. I know you’re stressed.”

“Don’t apologize,” he said. “It’s my fault for yelling. We have to stay quiet or else⁠—”

Before he could finish his sentence, wolves were running through the forest around us, battling enemies with red eyes, vanishing. My eyes widened, and all I could do was stare in complete horror.

War … Cade had said there would be war …

“Go!” he shouted. “Run, Em! Run as fast as you can.”

“B-but … I thought you said not to … run through this forest alone …”

“Ember, I⁠—”

Before he could finish his sentence, someone wrapped their arms around his waist from behind, tackling him, and then they both disappeared into thin air. A shiver ran through my bones as a hint of glowing red haze lingered in the fog.

My eyes widened, and I stumbled backward until my foot got caught on a root growing through the dirt. I fell on my ass, bile rising in my throat. Wolves were disappearing all around me, the forest a sea of blood.

What …

What was going on?

How was …

“Cade,” I shouted, snapping my head all around the forest. “Cade! Cade, please!”

Nothing.

Except … red eyes reappeared in the darkness, this time turning toward me. The wolf stalked in my direction, his head low, as if he was readying to pounce at any moment. I dug my heels into the puddles of blood and scrambled back.

“Please,” I whispered, holding out my arm. “I don’t have anything for you. I’m not spec⁠—”

Suddenly, he charged at me so quickly that I could see the wind whipping through his fur. I winced, covering my head with my arms and bracing for teeth to sink into my flesh, to tear it apart. This was war, just like Cade had warned.