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The Rejected Cursed Wolf 29
Heart lurching into my throat, I was almost sick. Russell stood at the door, a few fading scratch marks on his neck and bare chest and a shirt tied around his waist. His skin was pale, and he was clutching his side.Between that and the fact I didn’t see any other wolves with him, my every limb shook, and I thought I might crumple under the pressure.My wolf surged forward, keeping me standing. Even though she couldn’t speak, the message was clear—we would not look weak.“Dad,” Katelin gasped as she stumbled over to him. “What’s going on?”If Katelin didn’t know, that was a bad sign.When she reached for him, he brushed her off. Her expression twisted into hurt, but he held up a hand.That was when I noticed the blood on his right side. It dripped from the shirt onto the wooden floor. He was hurt, and he’d been in wolf form. He’d shifted from one form to the other while it hadn’t been safe.“Please tell me you got the bullet out before you shifted.” If the bullet remained inside, it c
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A warm jolt caressed my cheek, and I opened my eyes. The most gorgeous set of indigo irises stared back at me, and my breath caught. The color was back to normal, like the night sky, even though there were still dark circles under his eyes.I straightened, the world righting for the first time in days. I hadn’t realized how out of sync I’d been without him, and every cell in my body buzzed as if I’d been in a slumber with him away.“Hey,” he rasped, sounding as if he needed water. “Now this right here is exactly what I needed.” His hand brushed my cheek, which ached from how big I was smiling again.Releasing his hand, I started to stand to get him some water, but his hand tightened on mine. He linked, Where do you think you’re going?To get you something to drink. I didn’t want to think about how long he’d gone without sustenance.No. He grasped my hand. Don’t leave.My heart raced. I didn’t want to separate from him for a second, but I also wanted him to heal. It’ll only take a minu
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My tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth. Two of the people Bodey and I loved most in the world were out front, hiding behind bushes. Even though I didn’t know Katelin well, I didn’t want her harmed either.It was too late for them to move. I’d hoped they could sneak inside, but Michael had been adamant that both sides of the house needed to be watched.This had to be the attack we were waiting for, but the lone car puzzled me. Was it a decoy?I thought through our situation. The three former advisors and I had had time to heal, though they wouldn’t be as far along as me since my injuries weren’t as extensive. Bodey was still in a bad state, but he was well enough to be conscious. He might not have been that far along if I hadn’t slept while touching him, allowing our bond to thrum to life even more.Katelin and Jasmine weren’t fully trained to fight. Between that and our weakened position, we were at a clear disadvantage. The one plus we had was our rifles, but Kel would know about th
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Phil and Carl stiffened and crawled backward, moving out of the spot under the house, readying to respond to an attack.The woman stepped out and held out her phone, the sun hitting her face and catching the dark-red highlights in her light-brown hair. She looked to be in her forties, and she wore the standard long cotton dress that witches favored.“Callie, I can vouch for Prue.” Dina’s voice came from the phone. If I hadn’t been a shifter, I wouldn’t have been able to hear. “She’s a friend.”The tension in my shoulders released, and my head hung. “Thank gods.” I then linked to everyone here, The witches aren’t a threat. They’re here to heal us.Carl lowered his weapon and glanced at me. He smiled and patted my arm while he linked, You did good.I snorted. Not sure I’d go that far. I just wasted about ten minutes when they could’ve been healing Bodey and the rest of us. I tended not to be cautious enough when there was a threat and overly cautious when we weren’t at risk. Would I eve
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There was silence as the four witches exited the house.Clearing her throat, Katelin wrapped her arms around her waist. “I’m sorry. I don’t have time. I’ve got to go.” She turned and rushed out the door.That isn’t a good sign, Michael linked with Bodey and me.That was an understatement. The likely reason behind Katelin’s abrupt departure had my stomach roiling.Before Jasmine could make it past me to follow her friend, I grabbed her arm, holding her back. If she forced a confrontation, it might strain their relationship.Her head jerked toward me, and she stiffened. “She’s upset. I need to check on her.” Jasmine tried to free herself from my grasp.That was the problem. “Going after her will make it worse.”Jasmine froze and lifted a brow. “How? We’re friends. We support each other.”I didn’t want to explain it to her. My throat tightened.Bodey came to me and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. I’ll take it from here. He pulled me to his side and said out loud, “Russell wants to go
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What’s wrong? Bodey turned to me, examining my face.I didn’t consider Oregon trying to take over the rest of the states. Lynerd could be coordinating more attacks. My parents and childhood pack were no longer tied to me. All this time, I’d thought I’d be relieved once I was free, but now I felt a deep ache from losing my links to Theo, Mom, Stevie, and even Pearl. What if my family gets hurt? And we need to inform all the alphas about Oregon leaving. I’d been so consumed with Bodey and his injuries that I hadn’t considered the impact of losing Oregon on the rest of our people. What kind of queen was I turning out to be?We’ll make sure that doesn’t happen. I’ll reach out to the alphas in the Northwest Territory to spread the word, Bodey vowed. We’ll return home and make sure we protect them.My heart sank, and I thought about Bodey driving after everything he’d gone through. I connected with him, Are you sure you’re up for driving? You’re still healing, and I hate to put that pressur
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It was close to nine when we arrived home in Idaho. We had fifty wolves running the town’s perimeter as we advised the other packs—especially those close to the borders—to do the same.As soon as we arrived, the mates split apart from the others, needing time alone and time to rest before we helped keep watch.It bothered me that Stevie didn’t need me to help mourn our father and instead desired to be alone with Jack. Though I was happy that both of us had a mate, it’d been her and me against the world for so long that her turning to Jack had hurt a little. I understood. No one could comfort me like Bodey.Another thing that both comforted and worried me was that Stevie hadn’t heard from anyone from my former pack, including Theo. Although, with the way she and Jack were looking at each other, I suspected her pack alignment would change tonight.Are you okay? Bodey asked as he stepped out of our bathroom. He’d turned on the shower and stripped off his shirt, tossing it onto the dark-m
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Out of everyone who might come here and cause problems, I hadn’t expected him.Theo.I understood I’d taken Oregon away from him, which clearly had been a huge error. If I hadn’t, we wouldn’t be in the mess that Lynerd had put us in. Still, Theo and I had been childhood friends. I hoped that still counted for something.“I need to see Callie,” he repeated to Samuel.Bodey’s nostrils flared, and his breathing quickened, causing the white shirt that was damp from our shower to cling more tightly to his skin. He turned to the door.I couldn’t help but admire my mate’s physique, but I forced my attention away and removed a knife from the top drawer of our dresser before joining him.“Not calling first and showing up here demanding to see her isn’t the best way to handle things,” Samuel gritted out.“I’ve been trying, but her phone’s going straight to voice mail.”I hurried to my jeans, slipped them on, and removed my cell from my pocket. I hadn’t realized it was dead. I linked, He’s right
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Four months laterI wiped my palms against my jeans for the thousandth time. Bodey took my hand as he drove the Jeep, a huge U-Haul trailer attached to the trailer hitch.Everything is going to be fine. He squeezed my hand lovingly. You took down a queen and got all the wolf territories to share resources and work together, and you’re just nervous about us moving into our new house.I didn’t do any of it alone. I arched a brow. We involved everyone.Just like we are now. He tilted his head behind us, where the royal advisors followed us in Jack’s and Lynerd’s cars, along with Samuel, Katelin, Theo, Jasmine, Stevie, Stella, and Mom.Pearl had decided to stay in Oxbow with Charles. Surprisingly, he’d stopped being as much of a dick, but the bridge between Pearl and me was too large to bridge.Bodey was right. We weren’t doing this alone either, but renovating my parents’ mansion so Bodey and I could move back into it had my nerves on edge. All my memories of my parents had happened ther
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That was what I’d been missing during my time as queen. I’d relied on the judgment of human Callie more than my wolf. Maybe if I started listening to her and not fighting her, we’d make a great team.I relaxed and allowed her to take over.Our consciousnesses merged.Attack on my command, I linked to the former advisors. I couldn’t relay the message to Dina, but I counted on her to spring into action as soon as we made our move.I had to pretend to consider submitting to get close enough for the attack.Taking a deep breath, I prepared to argue with my wolf, keeping my head lowered slightly, but the merge we’d done had stopped her from fighting me, both sides now working together.Kel laughed. “That’s what I thought.”“No,” Bodey growled. He tried to jerk away from Lynerd, and the blade cut deeper into his skin. More blood trickled down his neck. Don’t do this. You have to protect our people. I need you to be safe.You matter more. The words were simple and true, and he felt the same
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Bodey appeared at my side as the royal advisors launched their attacks. I gripped the hilt of my dagger, ignoring the way my hand still screamed from my injury.I leaned toward the guard fisting my hair, sending him off balance since I wasn’t fighting him anymore. Bodey punched him in the face, and his grip loosened. The guard’s head snapped to the side as Bodey swiped his blade across his throat. Blood squirted from the cut, hitting Bodey in the face, but my mate didn’t flinch.An arm clenched around my waist and pulled me back against a hard chest. A guard with a mustache ran through the middle of the fighters, heading toward me with handcuffs. Kel still wanted to take me prisoner, but I’d rather die than allow that to happen.I snapped myself forward, and the guard behind me grunted as I flipped him over my body into Mustache Guard.Bodey fought two guards beside me while the others were engaged in their own battles. One smaller guard crept around the circle, and my wolf surged for
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On instinct, I threw a punch with my right hand. I hit the wolf in the side of its head, and pain exploded in my hand again. The reprieve the aloe had given me disappeared, and a fresh wave of sharp, stabbing soreness stole my breath.The wolf landed on the cement floor and swiped at my legs. I jumped, and its claws hit the rubber soles of my boots. When I landed, Bodey flashed past me and stabbed the wolf through the back of its head with his dagger.There was no holding back the vomit now. I turned to my left and emptied my stomach. That was a death like I’d never seen before, and I was certain it would haunt me.Something behind me clicked, and I knew the moment Bodey retrieved the dagger because the suctioning sound had my tummy roiling again.I’m sorry, but I couldn’t reach its heart or throat, he linked, his concern flowing through to me. I should’ve gotten to you faster.He’d just saved me, and he was apologizing because I’d vomited. Add ungrateful to my ever-growing list. You
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The smell of piss and feces hit my nose, and vomit lodged in my throat. It burned like hell, but I swallowed, not wanting to add to the horrendous stench.The garage had cement walls, and two barred cells stood across from us with a solid wall between them. One was vacant, but the other one held someone. A figure crouched in the corner, hiding its face. The only evidence that it was human was the clothes I could see and the lack of hair on the arms.Bodey gasped and gagged. “This is where they held me.”The cells’ floors were covered in straw, but it was soiled and, from what I could tell, had been for a while.White-hot rage boiled in my veins. This was where she’d kept Bodey the entire time he was away from me. I had a hard time believing Kel ever set foot in this place. I’m going to kill her.Dina straightened and stepped back outside as she placed a shaky hand over her nose as if that would filter the air. “Witches spelled this place so tightly that no one could’ve breached it.”“
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The nine of us moved efficiently. To Dina’s credit, she kept up.The woods opened up, revealing a small garden.Bodey stopped, lifting his hand, and pointed to the left, where the mansion peeked through the thinning trees. Let’s head straight there.Dina shook her head and pointed at the garden. She murmured, barely louder than a breath, “That’s all herbs, so it likely belongs to the coven. I can see an aloe plant, which would help your wounds. I’ll get some while you all scope out the house.”The garden was fifty feet away, but there was no one close by. All sounds of movement indicated that people were outside the house or heading toward the wolves we’d left behind.Why weren’t any wolves looking for us here?“Hurry,” Bodey muttered. We need to watch for a minute to see if we can figure out who’s here.I moved to the edge of the tree line and hunkered down behind some brush. Queen Kel’s mansion was huge and gorgeous, fronted by a rolling green lawn and a pond with stones around it.
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At my feet, the darker wolf shook its head like it was trying to kill my boot or take it off. It growled, reminding me of a puppy with a stuffed animal, but this was not cute. This was my foot, and I was damn lucky he hadn’t pierced through the shoe.With my free foot, I kicked the darker wolf in the snout, and a dark-beige wolf bounded toward me. The dark wolf jerked back, releasing the boot and dodging my second blow at his nose.Something had to give. We hadn’t even made it to Kel’s mansion, and Bodey and I were already injured.More wolves are coming, Reggie linked. Behind us.I tensed. Reinforcements were here. We should’ve known Kel was paranoid as fuck. Do you need us? I sure hoped they didn’t, but I refused to let my people and King Sutton’s be slaughtered.We’re fine, Reggie replied. Just wanted to let you know to watch your back.Another time, his choice of words might have been funny, but not with the dark-beige wolf breathing down my neck.Holstering my gun, I tried to rem
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The world moved in slow motion, and my wolf howled as I launched into action. I crashed into Bodey. As we went down, a sharp sting pierced the back of my shoulder.I’d been shot.Bodey’s panic flooded through me, his intensity dulling the pain.Gunfire from our group went off behind me, and Bodey rolled me over, his body covering mine.Dammit, Callie, he whimpered as he tried to cover every inch of my body. That was meant for me, not you.Snarls sounded as yet another fight broke out, but between my chest constricting in fear and Bodey, who lay on top of me, oxygen couldn’t fill my lungs.I need you to move, I grunted, trying to push him off me.He didn’t budge. No way in hell are you taking another bullet. You’re staying right where you are.Pain sliced through Bodey, strangling me as more weight pressed on my body as if a wolf was standing on top of my mate. Bodey tensed, and he groaned faintly, but he remained on top.Bodey! A scream strangled me, but I couldn’t release it since my
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Come on, Bodey linked, placing my dagger back into my hand and taking my other hand in his. We need to catch up.Your shoulder. I reached out to look at it, noting the blood coating his sleeve.I’ll heal. We need to focus. He cupped my cheek and kissed my lips.Miles appeared beside me. Let’s hurry before they get into trouble. Or we do.He was right. We were separated from everyone else.Tapping into my wolf, I took off, following the scent of our friends. A breeze picked up as we raced through the woods, the sounds of fighting echoing around us. We soon caught up with our group since they’d been running slower for the witches, and we settled back into a rhythm with them.We were getting worried, Samuel linked. Jack and Lucas were about to turn around.We’re fine, I assured him, not wanting to talk long. We dealt with the three wolves chasing us.Something cold tingled down my spine, and I turned to the right. The edge of a black dress caught my attention before it vanished behind a
