The Prophecy's Reject

my life depended on it. And I could say, right now, it really did. My knuckles turned white, and legs felt rooted to the ground, as if it did not want me to move. Something moved in the dark

the Wildlands." He straightened. "Name's Mason." Mason looked at me like a curious animal. "You smell like a bond and trouble," he said. "Alpha's mark still clings to you." My chest tightened. "I..." I bit my lip. "Claimed," he interrupted me, his gaze fixed on mine."Then cast off." His mouth curved. "Poor thing." He touched my chin with care, and then lifted my face to get a closer look. His hands were soft and warm. For a moment there, I could've sworn he was human. His gaze lingered "You're hurt," I checked myself, "Do I have a bruise...or injury?" He chuckled, "Not that type of hurt," He let go as if the touch had burned him. He was talking about my rejection. "Oh..." "Come. Sit." He pointed at the log I had been on and bowed his head in a mock of courtesy. I slid down, hugging my bag to my chest. "Why are you....why are you so nice to me?" He shrugged. "We're not saints. But we don't like thieves. Rogues have rules." He studied my face, and his voice went low. "And I like to know who walks my woods." "You saved me," I said. The words sounded small and ugly next to the memory of Killian's rejection. "Why?" Mason's jaw worked. "Because you're interesting." He paused as if testing the word for weight. "Because you weren't just some weeping thing. You didn't scream. You didn't beg like the others. You looked like you carried more shame than fear." I flinched. "Shame is all I have left." "Maybe." He cocked his head. "Or maybe it's something else. Something the pack hated enough to spit out." He sat across from me on the same log. It was getting quite dark so he lit a flame. The light made his eyes seem amber. "Tell me what happened," he said plainly. "I'm...not" "It's fine, you don't have to say it if you're not comfortable," He said after he saw how I struggled getting the words out. "Thank you," I said, my voice low. Silence drew between us for a while. I swallowed. The story came out in jagged breaths, the hall, the priestess, Killian's hand, the moment he took it, the way it had felt when he claimed me,