The rejected mate

le, Elena stared up at the massive rogue advancing on her. Its pale yellow eyes held no mercy, only a cruel satisfaction. The other two rogues remain

ybe this was how her pathetic story was meant to end. Maybe Fenric had known, somehow, that she was too weak to survive, tha

the air around her, savoring her fear, her pain, and the lingering scent of the Alpha's dismissal. The

not an act of bravery. It was something deeper, more primal. The image of Fenric's cold, dismissive face flashed before her eyes, the

o

injustice of her fate. She would not die like this. Not here. Not now. Not because he had de

wasn't the calculated aggression she'd used to momentarily unbalance the other rogue; this was

n herself. It wasn't entirely human, deeper, rougher. The lead rogue paused, its head tilting slightly

y from the snapping jaws. She scrambled backward on hands and knees, putting precious inches between herself and the predator. H

loose dirt and pebbles she scooped from the ravine floor directly at its face. It wasn't mu

e floor frantically. A weapon. Anything. Her eyes landed on a thick, sturdy branch, half-buried in the mud and

s, saw her intent and charged again, faster this time, determined to end this. Elena reache

m her lungs in a painful whoosh. The branch flew from her grasp. The rogue pinned her against the earth wall, its immense weigh

muzzle, the feral madness in its pale eyes, the stringy saliv

blur of moti

o rogues, but something else. It hit the lead rogue with incredible force, a so

he color of midnight and eyes that burned with an intelligent, focused intensity. It wasn't a Silver Moon wolf – the scent was wro

ce. It lowered its head, preparing to challenge the newcomer. The midnight-furred wolf di

s head was cocked, listening intently to something in the distance. The sound carried faintly to Elena's ears now too

finally at Elena, still huddled against the ravine wall. Calculation flickered in its pale eyes. Thr

back up the ravine wall with surprising agility. The other two melted back into the shadows above and vanished. Within seconds, the only sounds were Elena'

g the rogues were truly gone, before turning its intense gaze down at her. The growl subsided, replaced b

e now. Familiar scents hit her – Beta M

t, before turning and melting into the deepest shadows at the far end of the ravine, disappearing as silently and suddenly as it had arrived, leaving Elena alone o

slid down the embankment, followed by two warriors. "Are

er bleeding scratches, the unnatural angle of her ankle, the ling

attack, and the impossible rescue. Saved by a stranger, only to be found by the pack that had effectively cast her out.