My Rejected Mate

Chapter 8

SERENA'S POV

When I opened my eyes, the first thing I noticed was the smell. Something bitter and earthy lingered in the air, mixed with the faint scent of smoke. My head felt impossibly heavy and I didn't recognize where I was.

Then the memory came rushing back. The woods. The wolves. The pain. I jerked upright. Pain shot through my side so sharply that I gasped and fell back against the pillows. My breathing came fast.

I looked down at myself. Bandages covered my shoulder and part of my side. My clothes were gone, replaced with a loose shirt that wasn't mine. There were smaller bandages wrapped around my arms, and bruises covered what little skin I could see.

I stared at them. I was alive. That realization should have relieved me. Instead, one thought came immediately. Sienna.

I reached beside me for my phone but I couldn't find it. I searched the small table beside the bed, then the floor. Nothing. My heart began to race. Where was I? How long had I been here? I pushed the blanket aside and tried to stand but my legs barely held me. I grabbed the edge of the bed before I could fall.

"That's probably not a good idea."

I froze. A man's voice had come from the doorway. I looked up. He was young. That was my first thought. He couldn't have been much older than me. Maybe twenty-six at most. He had dark hair, a calm expression, and the kind of presence that made it obvious he was used to being listened to.

He stepped into the room. I immediately straightened. "Who are you?" He didn't seem bothered by my tone. "My name is Kyle Rowan." I waited. He didn't offer anything else. "Where am I?"

"Eldoria." The name meant nothing to me. I frowned. "Where's that?"

"You're in my territory." I stared at him. "Your territory?"

"Yes, I'm the Alpha of Eldoria." He said it so casually that I almost laughed. Instead, I looked him over again. There was no way this man was an Alpha. I guess he noticed my expression. "You look skeptical."

"I'm injured, in a strange room, and I don't know where I am. I'm supposed to be skeptical."

"Fair enough." He walked farther into the room. I looked at him again. He couldn't be more than twenty-five. I had grown up around Alphas. I knew what they looked like, how they carried themselves, how people reacted to them. And yet something about him made me hesitate but he didn't seem like he was bluffing.

"How long have I been here?" His expression changed slightly. "Three weeks." My stomach dropped. "Three weeks?"

"You were unconscious for most of it."

I stared at him. Three weeks. Sienna had probably thought I was dead. My father-. I stopped myself. There was no point thinking about that yet. "I need to go home." Kyle's expression remained calm. "You're not ready."

"Who are you to tell me whether or not I'm ready."

"You can barely stand."

"I'll manage." I pulled myself away from the bed. My knees buckled almost immediately. Kyle caught my arm before I hit the floor. I pulled away from him. "Don't." He released me at once. I hated the weakness in my legs. I hated the pain. Most of all, I hated that a stranger had just watched me fail at something as simple as standing.

"How did I get here?" I asked. "I found you close to death at the edge of my territory." I looked at him carefully. There was something he wasn't telling me. "Why did you save me?" For the first time since he'd entered the room, Kyle hesitated.

His eyes dropped briefly to my wrist. I followed his gaze. "I recognized the mark on your wrist," Kyle said. The small mark there was barely visible beneath the edge of the bandage. I'd had it for as long as I could remember. I'd never thought much of it. As far as I knew, it was nothing more than a strange birthmark.

I looked back at him. "Where do you recognize it from?" His expression closed off. "It's not important right now." Then he asked, "Where are you from?" I frowned. "What?"

"Your pack. Where are you from?" I said nothing. "Who are your parents?" I folded my arms despite the pain. "Why?"

"Because I found you badly injured near my territory. I'd like to know who I'm dealing with. I don't even know your name."

"Serena."

"Serena who? No family name?"

"It's not important right now." Something flickered in his eyes. Amusement, maybe. "You don't trust me."

"No." At least he appreciated honesty. He leaned against the doorframe. "If I wanted to hurt you, don't you think I would have done it in the three weeks you've been unconscious?" I didn't answer because he had a point. But that didn't mean I suddenly trusted him. People didn't always hurt you immediately. Sometimes they waited until you were strong enough to understand what they wanted from you.

"Why don't you ask me about the attack?" I said. His expression hardened slightly. "I know you were attacked."

"By wolves."

"I saw the tracks." My stomach tightened. Of course he knew. There was no way to mistake the tracks of an entire group of wolves for anything else.

I looked toward the window. "Did you contact my pack?"

"No."

"Why?" He looked at me like I was stupid. "I didn't know who you were. I still don't know who you are." The answer irritated me more than it should have. "You knew enough to save me."

"I knew enough to know you were dying."

"And the mark." His eyes met mine. "Yes." I looked down at my wrist again. What was so important about a birthmark? I had spent twenty-one years with it and never once thought it meant anything. Now a stranger had looked at it and decided I was worth saving.

That should have made me feel safer. It didn't. "I really need to leave. My family would be worried sick."

"You can't."

"I can."

"You'll collapse before you reach the end of the corridor." I glared at him. "You're very confident."

"I'm observant."

"Annoying." A faint smile touched his mouth. "That too." I didn't smile back. But for some reason, I almost did. Kyle started walking toward the door. "Rest. We'll talk again when you're stronger."

"Wait."

He looked back. I hesitated. There were a hundred questions I wanted to ask him.

Where exactly was Eldoria?

Why had he recognized my mark?

Why had he kept me alive for three weeks?

How was he such a young Alpha?

But I was just too tired to continue the conversation. "Thank you for saving me."

He smiled and he walked out. I waited until the door closed. Then I looked around the unfamiliar room. Eldoria. Kyle Rowan. A strange mark that apparently meant something. And three weeks of my life, gone.

Whatever this place was, I wasn't staying here.

I was going home.