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The Rejected Cursed Wolf 35
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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Once again, he’d reinforced just how amazing he was. Even if he didn’t like Theo and most of Theo’s pack members, he’d put that aside for me and to help our people. Not many would do that, but my mate was nothing less than special.“Dude, no.” Jack shook his head hard. “You can’t seriously be entertaining this. He’s a fucking tool.”“Thanks,” Theo deadpanned. “I’m trying to be a good leader for my pack, and I get called names.”“It’d be nice to have Mom and Pearl here permanently,” Stevie said softly. “Especially if we’re supposed to be enemies now.”Jack sighed, already succumbing to defeat because my sister wanted them to join us.At one point, I’d thought the advisors were tough guys. Now I knew they were, except when it came to their mates.“Why didn’t you just call one of the royal advisors?” Samuel arched a brow. “Or pack link with Stevie?”“For one, none of you would have trusted me over the phone since you wouldn’t have been able to smell that I wasn’t lying.” Theo crossed his
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I didn’t doubt that, but I couldn’t abandon Theo even if Bodey wanted me to. It’s not an excuse, but Theo tried to do right by me and Stevie when we were younger. Zeke treated us even worse because of it, so Theo stopped. He was too young to take over the pack then.Yeah, but when he got older, he should’ve done something.It’s hard to see that when you were raised a certain way. I nuzzled into his side, making sure Bodey didn’t feel threatened by my feelings of friendship for Theo. They weren’t anything close to what I felt for Bodey, but I understood that Theo was a sore subject since he’d been trying to date me just a few weeks ago. Now that his eyes are open about his dad, he’s here, trying to do the right thing. He could schmooze up to Queen Kel and offer Mom and Pearl to her, but instead, he’s here to ally with us, and it has nothing to do with me. Now wasn’t the time to add that it probably had a lot to do with Jasmine.As long as we make it clear that you’re mine, I’ll manage.
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The next day went by quickly as Samuel contacted all the alphas in Idaho, explaining his new role, and helped my childhood pack get acclimated. Luckily, everyone arrived without incident, and they took up the ten available houses scattered throughout the neighborhood. They’d stay in them until we could build more homes on the one hundred acres of woods the pack owned about an hour away.Mom and Pearl chose to stay with Theo, Tina, Charles, and Trevor, which made me cringe. She didn’t want to stay with Bodey, Jack, Samuel, Stevie, and me. I suspected she didn’t want to see us with our mates after losing hers of thirty years.The royal advisors spent all day contacting the alphas and coming up with plans to protect their packs. The witches reinforced their spells more often, and more wolves ran the perimeter. Weaker packs were instructed to relocate temporarily to a stronger pack so they could work together. Before we knew it, it was close to midnight, and we all crawled into bed.After
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Let’s go, Samuel grasped the door handle. Our thirty wolves are together, and they’ve picked up the scent. They should reach the other wolves in five minutes. We can’t catch up with them, but we won’t be far behind if we move fast.A huge lump formed in my throat. I don’t think we should join them.He whipped toward me and froze. He blinked, then nodded. “It makes sense for you to stay here, but I gotta go out there with my pack.”He turned to march back to the door, but Bodey had already moved to stand in front of him.Samuel glared at Bodey as if he had two heads. He rasped, “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”Bodey crossed his arms. “You shouldn’t go out there for the same reasons Callie and I shouldn’t.”“Like hell,” Samuel seethed as he tried to pivot around Bodey.Bodey pushed him in the chest, shoving him back several steps.“Get out of my way,” Samuel rasped as his shoulders heaved from how hard he was breathing. “You want to stay here, fine, but I need to be out there
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Before I could answer it, Bodey placed a hand over the screen, blocking me.My head jerked up as he said, “Let it ring another time or two. We want her to think we aren’t desperate and might not answer her call.”I nodded, though I wasn’t sure if that proved we weren’t desperate. She could easily assume we were in wolf form, heading toward the threat she had a hand in.“While you answer, I’m contacting the pack that lives an hour away for help.” Samuel’s eyes glowed as his wolf surged forward, reaching out to the pack’s alpha.I allowed it to ring one more time, but I couldn’t handle waiting any longer. I inhaled sharply to steady my voice and answered, “Hello?”A dark chuckle came from the other end, followed by Kel’s bored, regal voice. “For a moment, I thought you might be sleeping in the woods or too preoccupied to answer.”Kel had called to gloat. She didn’t even pretend not to know what was going on. My blood boiled, adding to my shock.She was a sick, sadistic bitch who needed
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Stevie.Lynerd must have told Kel she was still alive. I wasn’t surprised, but I wished he’d kept my sister out of it.“Listen here,” I started, but the line went dead. She’d made sure to have the final word, and I’d foolishly let her have that control.A faint sob came from Stevie, and I tossed the phone onto the end table.Jack pulled her into his arms and cradled her to his chest as he murmured, “They won’t get anywhere near you or Callie.”“What was the point of calling you?” Stella wrinkled her nose.“To gloat?” Lucas pursed his lips.“I think she meant what she said about Callie’s heart. She knows if she takes us over by force, she’ll lose more lives and loyalty, and she was giving Callie one more chance to surrender before she orders the witches forward.” Michael pinched the bridge of his nose. “The death of witches won’t be as easy for her to wash away, but if she promised the witches something they want badly enough, they’re more likely to overlook a few of their own casualti
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The Rejected Cursed Wolf 65
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
