Rejected (Shadow Beast Shifters, #1)(25)

Which left us in a shit ton of trouble. Whatever was going on, I did not like facing it chained and vulnerable.

The door swung open, and as the familiar forest scent hit me, I was actually relieved. “Mera,” he hissed.

“What are you doing here, asshole?” I snapped, too rattled for my usual sarcastic apathy.

Jaxson didn’t answer, instead choosing to grope me in a search for my hands. I didn’t argue or fight him because I wanted out of here more than anything. A second later, there was a snap of my cuffs and I was free.

Rubbing at my wrists, I got to my feet, my brain already in survival mode.

Earlier, when it had been light in here, I’d noticed some of Torin’s clothes on the floor, so I felt around until I found them, dressing immediately. Wearing his possibly used clothes was gross as fuck, but being naked in this sort of situation was way worse. It might only be a shirt and pair of sleep shorts, but at least I was covered.

“What is happening in the pack house?” I whispered once I was dressed.

Jaxson moved closer; his scent stronger without other stimuli to distract me.

“I have no idea,” he said in a rush. “It hit when I was driving back from town. I could literally see the lights disappear, an all-encompassing darkness taking its place. Even my car lights went out.”

Saying this was bad was a vast understatement. “How did you know I was here?”

He stopped moving. “Your scent. I could find you anywhere, Sunny.”

Jesus. Fuck.

Those were not words used lightly by shifters. Scent meant a lot to us and committing someone’s to memory was more than just normal pack behavior. It was mate behavior.

Memories of his wolf frolicking with mine hit me, the joy we’d both felt at the time, but those moments would never be strong enough to drown out the rest. Never.

“Could this have something to do with what you did earlier?” he asked seriously. “When you froze everyone with your howl? When you found out Torin was your… true mate?”

He almost choked over those last words, and it was clear he didn’t like this twist in fate. Me either, dude. Me. Either.

“What did you do on the field?” he pushed for more information.

Right. That thing. Not to mention the other thing he had no idea about, where I could apparently see shadows and touch them.

“I honestly have no idea,” I finally said. “I’ve been locked in this room since then, so whatever happened probably doesn’t have to do with me.” Right?

“We should investigate.”

He grabbed my hand, and I yanked my fingers free.

His wolf growled, low and menacing, not liking my reaction. “What the fuck, Mera?” Jaxson hissed.

Reaching out, I wrapped his shirt in my hand, jerking him closer to me. “What the fuck?

Seriously? You’re what the fucking me? What’s your game, Jaxson? You’ve treated me like shit for the last ten years, but now, out of nowhere, you’re acting like we’re friends. Call me cynical, but something stinks in the Heathcliffe household.” I lowered my voice. “Hint: it’s you.”

Jaxson shook his head. I couldn’t see it, but I heard the movement and was close enough to feel the air shift around us. “You left.” His voice was brittle. “I thought I’d be happy about that, finally having you away from me and out of my head. I hoped for it for years, to stop the torment . ”

Ouch. “I left—”

“You left me,” he said, interrupting, “and my wolf lost his fucking mind. We’ve barely shifted since you disappeared, and it was only when you returned that he’s relaxed enough to let me in.

Apparently, you’re pack.” He took another pause. “To both of us.”

I swallowed down the angry, pissed-off, mean-as-fuck comment I wanted to make, and instead pushed back on where my hand was still tangled in his shirt. “It’s too late, Jax,” I said stiffly. “We can’t come back from this.”

Sad silence met my statement, and I wondered if we were both thinking the same thing: there was too much water under the bridge, and if we stumbled into past feelings, we might drown.





15

The atmosphere was tense between us as we crept out of Torin’s bedroom, but there was way more to worry about than our mess of a relationship. The pack lands were under attack. We didn’t know how or why, but it was clear that something was very wrong.

“Where did everyone go?” Jaxson muttered, guiding me out into the hall. We still couldn’t see anything, and there was no sound of life in the corridor.

“Why were you out of pack lands anyway?” I asked, staying near him.

“I left to run an errand in town,” he murmured. “And as I said, when I drove up, everything went dark.”

Great. So neither of us knew a fucking thing except the world had gone dark when it wasn’t supposed to. “I think this might indeed be my fault,” I admitted.

I’d been trying my best to ignore the deep, panicked part of me that knew I’d done this by calling the Shadow Beast. Could it really be a coincidence that the light had fled minutes after I’d said his name?

But, seriously, what the fuck? I’d heard other people curse and call out to him. It was like a figure of speech, right? Not a literal invitation to pop his ass Earthside and shake shit up.