The Alpha's Rejection...

r the rocks, its relentless flow chiming in with the hollowness I felt in my chest. I was soaked through, the hem of my dress stic

ver Claw Pack, reject you,

spers of brutal rituals enacted in other packs, where the bond between fated mates was rent apart. That had always been distant tales, never

I could be something more. That Jaxon might feel the same pull toward me that I'd felt for him since we were kids. I had dreamed it, a

tung through the wet material of my dress, but I didn't even care at this point. The numbnes

ear my head. Now, though, they seemed darker, more oppressive. Trees closed in on me, their twisted branc

ing fel

my thoughts. I sat up, blinking through the tears that still clung to my lashes. My body

into the blackness behind me in an attempt to pinpoint the location of the

was ou

ep. Closer

aked material clung wetly to my legs, growing warmer, its chill seeping through the fabric into my skin. She di

a little, barely a whisper, and I

wo forms, stepping slowly out of the shadows. Tall, b

me this is not right. These men are not pack. I would have known if th

nce, I could see the sharp angles of his face; the wind had tousled his dark hair in a haphazard

o less awesome. His eyes gleamed in the weak moonlight, watching me wi

an, his voice low and raw. It was no question. It was a f

breath even out. "Who are you?" I asked, my voice trembling

ld humorless smile. "We're just passing thr

ightening my chest. "No one passes through

ression hardening. "We're not like most people,

was that I didn't know who these men were. There was a sort of unease that rubbed something wrong off about them, a feeling that thre

aid, feeling my voice shar

even in this fleeting instant where a beam of moonlight seems to brighten him up temporarily. A ghost of a smile flickers across his lips,

hing disturbing about the way they seemed to look through me, pa

th each passing second. I was so emotionally drained

, in every sense of the word. "We are curious, Omega," he said, his voice me

like bile. I didn't have time for cryptic strangers. Not no

voice was softer than Rafe's but no less cold. "Consi

. How did they know? Nobody outside the pack could have known what had happened. Jaxon had rejected me ba

know that?" I demanded, my voice sharper than I'd mean

tween them. Then he turned back to me. His eyes gleamed

he uttered my name from his l

side, replacing earlier numbness with real, blinding fear. All of this wasn't making any se

me?" I asked, barely

nothing from you, Omega. But there are things you need to know

g through everything he seemed t

n't belong here, Tessa," he said quietly. His voice was firm b

head, trying not to believe what he was saying. "You're wrong," I

ice was firm. "We know more than