Rejected (Shadow Beast Shifters #1) - Jaymin Eve Page 0,24

wolf. The wolf’s vision was a mix of black, white, and grey, with a tinge of green. And despite the darkness in the forest, once the moon’s glow left our fur, we could still see as clearly as during daylight. And the scents… everything was amplified tenfold to what I usually smelled. Now it seemed I could differentiate between the various pine trees, the ghost pine being strongest in this form. The largest trees were deep and earthy with hints of citrus. The redwoods were dustier in their scent, with…

Rabbit?

My wolf lost interest in the forest the moment the small creature’s scent hit us. She turned rapidly, leaving the pack, chasing food. She was desperate for her first meal, and apparently, rabbit was on the menu. I expected to feel a little grossed out by her desire to eat a creature alive and bouncing around, but the revulsion never came. Instead, I felt her hunting instinct as strongly as if it was my own.

Our senses locked completely on the creature as we stalked its path, and just when we were about to reach our goal, the scent of another who’d clearly been following us downwind hit me. On instinct, we dropped and rolled as a huge wolf landed on us.

We hadn’t quite gotten the hang of our new body and skills yet, so we were completely at the mercy of the much larger shifter. At first, I thought it was an attack, but then as they playfully rolled me, I caught on to what was actually happening: pack bonding. Only problem was I knew who this wolf was, and while he might expect I’d never remember this moment he was trying to instigate, I would most definitely.

Jaxson didn’t get to have me like this, but running away would clue him in on my current awareness, so I had no choice but to play along. Thankfully, my wolf took over our thoughts again and I settled back to mourn the life I could have had if my father hadn’t fucked it all up. My father, who wasn’t even here to see my first shift. We’d talked about it so much. All those plans and dreams just shredded in claws and failed dreams.

Not that the last ten years were his fault alone. The pack could have taken a different approach, a more logical one that didn’t punish innocent shifters for the actions of one individual. Jaxson, especially, I’d expected better from.

This moment hurt.

And the memories of tonight would haunt me for years, but I couldn’t make myself leave.

Jaxson’s wolf and mine played for hours, frolicking like they were old friends. Technically, they were, but they were now enemies, and that was what we needed to remember above all else.

Pack. My wolf whined at me.

No, I reminded her. Pack does not attack pack. They hate us.

Finally free of her confines, she had temporarily forgotten the last ten years, caught up in the heady sensation of running free and being with her pack. To her, the wolves had never been an issue; it was the human sides that caused all the drama.

I let her have this moment, and in all honesty, both of us enjoyed it.

When the moon finally lost its luster, the early light of day creeping across the pack lands, we felt the call of the alpha, yanking on the bonds that tied us to this pack, and to that sociopath.

Fuck! We’d forgotten about escaping and now it was too late to try. Now they would be keeping an eye on me, so I would have to bide my time.

Next shift for sure.

My wolf was fatigued as we jogged with the others back toward the pack house, and it was only when the alpha came into sight that I remembered one more chilling fact: he’d said he was going to bond me to him in a way that would ensure I could never escape.

And I’d spent my only chance at escaping running with a bastard who had turned his back on me at the first sign of drama. Why was I so fucking stupid?

My wolf didn’t understand the issue. She figured we were strong enough to get away at any point, but fuck… They’d tracked me down once already, and that had been before the bonds were as secure as they are now. If the alpha tied us even closer together…

We’d be prisoners forever.

I turned my head, but Jaxson was right up my ass; there was absolutely no way for me to