Rejected (Shadow Beast Shifters, #1)(17)

And just like that, I reminded him that we were enemies. That he was on my shit list, not my Christmas card one, and that he had orders to return me to the alpha.

This time when he grabbed me, it hurt, and I would no doubt have a bruise there tomorrow.

Whatever. I didn’t give a damn and thankfully, our shared moment over more innocent memories was gone as well.

Last thing I needed was to develop softer feelings toward any of them again.

That would truly be the stupidest thing I could imagine doing.





10

“Once you shift,” Victor said slowly, his dark grey eyes taking me in, “I’m going to tie you to Torma, with the strongest bond there is between an alpha and his pack. You will serve me for the rest of your days.”

They’d all been waiting for us when Jaxson had marched me back into pack lands. Half a dozen wolves including Torin, and Jaxson’s father, Dean Heathcliffe.

I cleared my throat. “Let me get this straight. You despise me because of my father, have turned a blind eye to the pack’s torment of me over the years, but now you want me to…” I held a finger up.

“And stop me if I don’t have this right… serve you?” I laughed, cementing my fate. “You better be referring to waitressing and not fucking because I promise you won’t be happy with a wolf like me in your bed.”

Victor’s expression darkened, his pale skin taking on the honey-blond color of his wolf as he stepped forward. “You think you’re too good to fuck the alpha?”

Uh, yes. A thousand times yes, but since I’d already pushed his patience today, I decided not to say that out loud. Victor didn’t appreciate my silence, either. His fist slammed into my cheek, knocking me off the step. Agonizing pain arced through my jaw and down my spine, my head spinning as black and white dots danced across my vision.

Victor moved over the top of me, a leg on either side of my torso. “If I decide to fuck you, mongrel pup,” he growled, “there’s very little you can do to stop me.”

He stepped away then, a swift boot to my side his goodbye.

“Get her back in the fucking cells and make sure no one goes near her,” he snarled to his son before he stormed out the door, dragging Glendra with him. She was in trouble, but I was too busy trying not to succumb to a concussion to worry about that stupid bitch. She’d made her bed, and now she had to lie in it with that shitbag she called a mate.

Jaxson got to me first, his touch gentler than I’d expected as he hauled me up.

“It’s the eve of the moon,” he said in a whisper. “The healing will kick in soon.”

“Ugh,” I groaned, the first sound I’d made since getting hit. I was pretty proud of myself for not even whimpering. Victor would never have the satisfaction, the sick bastard.

And I’d die before I let him touch me.

“Let’s get her downstairs,” Torin said, reaching his best friend’s side. “Before dad comes back again and does something worse.”

Maybe it was the blow to the head, but that sounded a tiny bit like judgment against his dad. I’d never heard Torin show anything other than respect bordering on reverence to the walking bag of sperm he called a father. Interesting. At least it would have been in normal circumstances. Right now, I was just trying not to pass out.

Torin held his hands out to Jaxson, like he was going to take me, but beta-in-training shook his head. “I got her. I’ll make sure she stays safe in her cell until the shift tonight.”

Torin shrugged, his interest in me already waning, especially as Sisily pranced her stupid ass into the room, looking fresh and perfect despite the early hour.

“Keep her alive,” Torin murmured before he walked away, leaving me with Jaxson.

I wasn’t too steady on my feet, so there was no choice but to let him half-carry me while I tried really hard to vomit on him. Again.

By the time he deposited me back in my original cell, the pounding in my head was worse, so I sank into the hard floor. Closing my eyes helped, as I focused on breathing in and out evenly, while praying I’d pass out for a few hours.

A clank outside my cell roused me sometime later, and I gingerly lifted my head to find Jaxson sprawled back against the wall opposite the bars, watching me.

“Creep,” I snarled, wincing at the jab of pain in my skull.

He shrugged. “You haven’t been attacked in your cell again, so maybe you should be thanking me.”

“Not even on my death bed,” I replied with all the sugary sweetness I could manage.

He just smirked, and I closed my eyes to block out his face. At some point, I dozed off, only to be woken again by an angry voice. When I managed to get my eyes open, I was ecstatic to see Dannie ripping Jaxson a new one.

“What happened to her?” she snarled. Her face was turned away from me, but I knew the expression she’d be wearing. Angry Dannie was scary.

“She insulted the alpha,” Jaxson shot back, standing up taller, towering over her. “She’s lucky to still be alive.”

Dannie scoffed and Jaxson narrowed his eyes on her. “What are you even doing down here? No one is supposed to be on this level.”

Dannie tilted her head back, meeting him glare for glare. “I’m here to check on my friend. I don’t trust you all to ensure her safety, especially since the alpha takes great pleasure in punishing that poor girl for an event that had nothing to do with her.”