The Rejected Queen

Chapter Three

JACI

“What’s an omega doing on my border at midnight?” he asked, shifting closer to me.

I immediately took a step back.

“My car broke down,” I muttered.

His eyes stayed on me for a long second, like he was trying to peel me open and look inside. It made my stomach turn.

“What’s your name?” he asked finally.

“Jaci.”

“Jaci,” he repeated, testing the sound of it. “I’m Knox. Now answer my question properly. What are you doing in my territory?”

I hesitated. Because technically I had no idea what I was doing anymore.

“I…” I cleared my throat awkwardly. "I'd really appreciate it if you could just point me toward a hotel or something.”

He just stared at me for a second and then he burst into laughter.

My jaw dropped.

“Hotel?" He repeated. “Out here?"

I frowned. “What?"

“There are no hotels in the Badlands, girl." His jaw twitched. “But you can stay at my place tonight if you want."

Oh hell no! Sleep in a strange man's house? Yeah. Great idea.

"No thank you,” I said quickly. "I'd rather sleep in the car.“

“The Badlands aren't safe at night.”

I folded my arms stubbornly. “And how do I know you're not dangerous too?.”

That smile on his face disappeared.

“If I wanted to hurt you," he said softly. “You'd already be dead."

Well… that was horribly honest. I scratched my head. He also had a point.

My car was dead. My wolf was barely speaking to me. I had no idea where I was and something in the woods kept making noises that sounded very interested in eating me.

So, against my better judgement, I followed him.

The cabin surprised me. From the outside, it looked small and old but once we stepped inside, I realized it was huge. Really huge.

Wolves filled almost every corner and every single one of them stared at me.

I lowered my head.

A tall blonde woman suddenly stepped into the hallway ahead of us.

Her sharp eyes dragged over me slowly and I was already starting to hate it when people did that.

“Knox,” her voice dripped with disapproval. “What is this?”

“A guest.” He didn’t slow down. “Get out of the way, Vera.”

“A guest.” She laughed harshly. “Since when do we take in pack trash?”

Trash.

The word hit harder than it should be. Maybe because I had heard it my whole life.

I opened my mouth to defend myself for once, but before I could say anything, Knox stepped in front of me completely.

“Since I decided,” Knox said, facing the woman with an expression that made the temperature drop. “And you know what happens to wolves who question my decisions, Vera.”

Her face paled. She stepped back without another word, muttering something under her breath and disappeared down another hallway.

Knox continued walking like nothing happened and I hurried after him.

Eventually he stopped in front of a door and pushed it open.

“This room is yours tonight,” he said. “It’s not much, but it’s safe.”

I stepped inside carefully. The room was small but warm. A bed sat against the wall beside a tiny woody table. It already felt nicer than anywhere I'd ever slept in Stonefang.

I turned toward him slowly. “Why are you helping me?"

Knox leaned against the doorframe, crossing his arms. The way he looked at me made my skin prickle nervously.

"We'll talk tomorrow,” he said, shutting the door behind him.

We're trapped with strangers, my wolf whispered. I smiled. It was nice hearing her voice again.

There was a knock at the door. I jerked upright.

“Knox sent me. I have food," a girl said and I asked her to come in.

She was small, smaller than me with honey brown skin and a heap of dark curls on her head.

“Hi," she set the try on the table. “I'm Rina. Knox thought you might need a friendly face"

I smiled, waving her off. "You don't need to bother.”

"Well, too bad because I'm also your roommate.”

"Roommate?”

"This is my room,” she pointed toward a pile of blankets arranged neatly on the floor. "Knox told me you could stay tonight.”

My stomach twisted. "Then where are you going to sleep?”

Rina shrugged. "I'll take the floor.”

I stared down at the tray quietly. Hot food. For me? Nobody had ever brought me food before. Not once in twenty five years.

Rina sat crossing her legs on the bed beside me while stealing pieces of bread from the tray.

"So,” she said between bites. "What are you running from? “

I should have lied. I mean I barely knew her. But my wolf felt strangely calm around her and for some strange reason… I wanted to talk. So, I told her everything. Rina listened quietly through all of it.

When I finished, she looked at me for a long moment before speaking. “You can stay here for a while."

I stared at her. “You don't even know me."

“So?" She raised an eyebrow. “You still deserve somewhere safe."

My throat tightened painfully because I didn't know what to do with kindness anymore.

"Jaci,” Rina said gently, squeezing my hands. "You're not alone, now okay? Just rest.”

Then I climbed onto the bed and closed my eyes.

Fates, I was exhausted. But sleep never came. Instead, a sharp pain suddenly twisted through my chest.

I gasped softly, clutching at my shirt, filled with overwhelming guilt.

“What have I done?” I heard in my head but the voice wasn’t mine.

It was Blaze’s. My eyes snapped open immediately.

“She was mine. I let her go.”

My breath caught and then I started to feel a woman's hands sliding across skin.

Nyra.

Her scent. Her touch. Her lips against Blaze’s throat.

I covered my eyes instantly like that would somehow stop it.

This was torture, but beneath everything else, I could feel Blaze too. His self-hatred. His guilt.

The disgust curling inside him while Nyra touched him. I shot upright in bed with a gasp.

“No,” I whispered shakily. “No, no, no…”

The rejection was supposed to sever the bond completely.

So why could I still feel him?