Wild Girl: A Rejected Mate Romance Read online

  Despite the abrupt awakening, it took me a moment to come to my senses and chase away the heaviness clinging to my mind and eyes. I tried piecing together my thoughts while taking in my surroundings from behind leaden eyelids.

  “We gave her a huge dose, so she should still be out of it,” the man said, a voice that didn’t belong to Wilder or Daxon. But with it came a strong, woodsy smell laced with the unpleasant stench of perspiration.

  “Just get it done,” another distant but familiar voice responded.

  My eyes fully shot open then, and in front of me stood a bulky guy with a short beard and bushy eyebrows that looked like they’d sprouted from his forehead. To his side towered another man I recognized all too well, and my heart seized in my chest. Dressed in an all-black uniform, was one of Alistair’s enforcers. He clutched an iron rod in his hand, and my gaze fell to the brand at the end of the weapon.

  A small cry slipped past my lips.

  The first time I’d seen the enforcer hold onto that weapon was back in Alistair's home when he branded me. When he’d spelled me with a curse to steal away the one thing that made me a shifter… my wolf.

  Terror shot through me, freezing me in place. I hastily swept the room with my gaze, and there on a metal chair several feet away was the monster, reclining, one leg crossed over the other, smirking.

  He wore an eye patch over the eye I gouged out of its socket. I guess it hadn’t healed the way it was supposed to.

  Seeing him again was all of my nightmares rolled into one.

  I felt sick to my stomach as reality collided into me. I thrashed in my seat, discovering I was tied up with my hands behind my back and my legs free. Frantically, I used my legs to scoot backward in the chair, the legs screeching across the concrete floor of what looked like an oversized garage or maybe a small warehouse. There was a black van parked at one end where the roller door was shut. Another door sat across from me, but out of reach. Fluorescent lights threw a yellow tone over the empty space. Where the hell were we?

  The three men laughed at me.

  “What am I doing here?” Of course the answer was clear… he’d found me, and now I was going to pay. That was what Alistair did. He was the devil.

  Everything was coming at me too fast. My mind was having trouble comprehending how it resulted in being tied up here. And then my last memory of Alistair finding me in the town of Amarok came crashing through me.

  “Little Moon.”

  "Alistair," I breathed, grief slicing through my body.

  He'd found me.

  I spun and whipped out of there, needing to return to Miyu’s wedding and get help. But all I managed was to slam right into a chest so rock hard, I bounced backward, falling into Alistair who stood at my back.

  His arm wrapped around my neck, pinning me in place, choking me.

  "My little moon, did you think I wouldn't find you again?" he whispered in my ear, his voice carrying a darkening threat, one I was all too familiar with. One I had hoped to never encounter again. I should have known that he wouldn't give up on me. I should have never stopped running.

  "You'll regret touching me," I hissed, stiffening against him before driving an elbow right into his gut.

  A sharp stab pierced the side of my neck, then the force of his arm around my neck slackened.

  I stumbled away from him, clasping the side of the neck, unsure what he’d shot me with. He grasped a syringe in his hand, smiling at me, but all I could think about was escape. How I would never go back with him.

  "What the fuck did you do to me?"

  Rage flooded me, my mind filled with the memory of how easily I defeated the other men in the woods who attacked Daxon and me while in my animal form. My wolf was pouring out of me before I could stop her, adrenaline racing in my veins with the thought of ripping out Alistair's throat.

  A growl tore past my throat, my body jerking from the transformation, bones snapping, white fur spilling across my body. The burning pain of the change sliced over my skin, but vanished as quickly as it came.

  Falling to all fours, I stood before the monster as my wolf, my dove grey dress shredded at my feet. I growled my threat, my upper lips peeling over sharp teeth.

  "Well hello there, pretty girl," he said, not amused in the slightest.

  I prowled closer, lifting my head, holding his gaze, never backing away. I was no longer the meek girl he once knew.

  But with the wave of adrenaline also came an unfamiliar sharp ache at the base of my skull. The world tilted around me, and I wobbled on my feet. My sight feathered at the edges and then the sensation snowballed within me, taking me down so fast I stood no chance.

  The last thing I heard before I blacked out was his maniacal laughter.

  "We're rebalancing the universe," Alistair says, climbing to his feet, and strolling across the room toward me. "Everything needs to go back to the way it was, Little Moon," he continued, glaring at me with his one eye, promising retribution if I so much as crossed him again.

  My chest tightened and a dark heaviness settled deep inside me like it used to do every time he looked at me like I was dirt. But so much has happened since I ran from him. I'd found freedom and love; things that I would fight to the end for.

  "You're wrong," I answered, and in that moment, the room spun around me from the shot they'd given me. Whatever they'd used had been strong. "Things are being restored to how they should be. I’m never going back to you."

  He snarled. "You belong to me. You seem to have forgotten your place, and I'll be sure to remind you."

  My stomach turned as he neared me and grabbed my chin, his fingers digging into the flesh of my cheek and neck. Hot tears pricked my eyes, and I hated how angry he made me, how quickly he left me feeling helpless.

  "I have so much in store for you. Things I’ll enjoy immensely." He raised his other hand and pulled back the eyepatch, revealing a huge gash still across his eyelid, not healed the way it should have. The eyeball was pale like it had washed out. It was creepy as hell, and I wondered why it hadn’t healed yet. "Eye for an eye is where we'll begin," he growled. His grip was strong, forcing me to sit still as he closed in, his breath heavy on my face. "I've missed having someone to play with."

  I swallowed the huge lump in my throat, fully aware he meant he missed torturing me. Sadistic asshole.

  A disturbingly ugly look crossed his usually handsome face and he released me, pushing my head backward in the process. He dusted his hand down his black shirt.

  I was tired of letting him scare me, or backing away. I wouldn’t go back to that girl who’d been scared of all the shadows around her. And I'd rather die than be his slave ever again. "I don't belong to you," I snapped. "You made that clear a long time ago."

  The back of his hand swung out and clipped me across the side of my face, his knuckles against my cheekbone feeling like acid. I flung backward so hard, the force sent me falling in my chair. I hit the floor with a crack, my face on fire. I cried out from the agony, feeling like my skull might have split in half.

  His shadow fell over me, and he fisted my hair then wrenched me back up, chair and all. I cried out from the pain scorching my scalp. My breaths surged past my lips rapidly, the room spinning. Something wet dripped down the side of my face, and red drops of blood splattered down onto my chest and legs. Only then did I realize I was completely naked. The bastard didn't even cover me after I'd turned back from my wolf form.

  He'd abused me for so many years, and I let him do it, too scared to ever stand up to him. Now that same fear brought back memories of how my life used to be, how I was dead on the inside to survive such an existence. My pleas had no impact on this monster, not then and not now.

  Alistair was in my face again and he grabbed my shoulder, his fingers digging into my flesh, his nails piercing skin. "You little cunt. You let another man fucking bite you. Is that what you want? Are you desperate for a bite, Little Moon? Willing to spread your legs to anyone to get it?"

  A deep emb
edded anger soared through me, and I sensed my wolf shoving to come out, to tear him apart, but with it came that spinning sensation in my head.

  He struck me again, this time across my jaw, and I tasted blood instantly. I hated that I cried out and let him enjoy my weakness, but my vision blurred in and out and my head hurt so much.

  "P-please," I ended up begging him. Unless I got a chance to transform, I desperately needed saving right now.

  I peered over to the enforcer who watched me with no emotion on his face, then to the other meat-head watching with a smile, enjoying the show of me getting beaten.

  They wanted to join him, I could see it on their faces.

  My thoughts went to Miyu's wedding, to Daxon and Wilder offering me each their hands... They wanted me to choose one of them, but I opted to run. And now I regretted that moment with every thread of my being. I would make that choice over walking into Alistair a million times over. That thought played over and over in the back of my head.

  Alistair stood tall, eyeing me. I was ashamed, but there was still something that flickered inside of me, that wanted to call out to him. Even after everything.

  I pushed that feeling as far down as I could and used my anger to burn the feeling to ash. "You’ll regret ever touching me,” I warned.

  He didn't move at first, he just held my gaze, and unlike in the past, I didn’t look away. I had no intention of being shoved aside by him again. I’d show him that I changed, that I would never bow for him again.

  Shadows crowded across his face. "Is that so?" he snarled, then turned on his heel and strode across the room to behind the van. Moments later, he returned carrying a hessian sack.

  "This is what happens when anyone betrays me," he hissed while sticking his hand into the bag and pulling something round out. It took me a few moments to work out what he held. But when he tossed it at me, and a severed head landed on my lap, the stench of death engulfing me, I shrieked.

  I shook violently, and shuffled backward in my chair, the head tumbling off me and onto the cement floor. It rolled and landed with her face in my direction.

  "You will pay for your sins," Alistair promised. "Just like Nelly did for helping you."

  I couldn't look away from her dead open eyes, from the horror imprinted on her expression from her final moments of death. She was the only person who was kind to me at Alistair’s home, the only one who offered me the occasional advice, a smile. Things I held onto on days I wanted nothing more than for death to collect me in his dark embrace.

  And now...

  I lost all confidence, lost the strength I held onto, lost my mind. Her death ripped me apart. “No, this can’t be…”

  Alistair towered by my side, and snatched my hair, yanking my head back. I was trembling and my mouth fell open with a silent scream, as my voice disappeared. All I could feel was the pain of her death, the fact he’d killed her because of me.

  That wasn't what I expected, nor what I wanted. “N-Nelly. H-how could you?”

  “This is a lesson you’ll never forget,” Alistair snarled, like he was savaging me with each word. “Brand her now,” he snapped to his enforcer. “You know, Little Moon, I wish you’d shown this side of yourself before instead of being a doormat. Maybe things would have been different between us.” He winked at me sickeningly with his one good eye.

  My heart shattered like glass, my body trembling uncontrollably, and I shut my eyes as tears raced down my cheeks. That time, my screams again found their escape.

  2

  Daxon

  It felt like I was encased in lead. As if my limbs weighed a hundred pounds, and I groaned when I tried to move.

  I was...weak. Weaker than I'd ever felt before.

  My stomach growled with hunger. I was so fucking starved.

  My gaze flickered open. Everything around me became blurry...out of focus. A soft growl burst from my chest as I tried to move and nothing happened.

  My mouth was watering, my teeth extending as my hunger grew.

  Blood. I needed it. Craved it. Was desperate for it.

  "Easy, boss," a familiar voice warbled warily from somewhere nearby. I snapped my teeth and struggled to move towards the sound of the voice.

  A face flashed briefly in my mind and I stopped trying so fucking hard for a moment as I struggled to grasp who I'd just seen.

  An angel. That's what she'd looked like. I willed the face to appear again, but my hunger was all-encompassing, like I'd been starved for months.

  "What do you need?" the voice asked again.

  "Blood," I growled out. "Give it to me."

  Listen to me. I sounded like a fucking vampire. What the fuck was wrong with me.

  So hungry...

  Footsteps moved away from me briefly, and I heard the sound of a door opening and closing.

  "I can hear you breathing," I scoffed to the room. I may not have been able to move my head but I was aware that at least one person was behind me, just out of sight.

  "I'm going to kill you when I can move," I purred, like the psychopath I was.

  "Fuck, alpha. Please, come back to us," another familiar voice begged.

  I closed my eyes, the hunger pulsing at my throat so powerful I wanted to claw out my neck. I had a headache forming at the base of my skull.

  That fucking perfect face flashed in my vision once again and a hitched howl tore out my mouth like I was in mourning.

  A door opened and footsteps returned. I opened my eyes and inhaled greedily when I saw a quivering hand outstretched in front of me holding a bloody steak.

  "I have a blood bag too, Daxon," the first voice said before tossing the steak into my throbbing mouth. As the blood from the raw meat slipped down my throat, I sighed in relief. I tore into the steak as best I could with the guy's hand still holding it since I still couldn't fucking move.

  I must have eaten at least five raw steaks before my hunger released enough for me to be able to focus more on my surroundings. I belatedly realized that I was lying on some sort of cold metal table.

  Chains were attached to each of my limbs, and I quickly grasped they weren't just normal chains. Some fucker had put chains laced with silver on me. No wonder I felt like I'd had my soul sucked out of me. The silver was keeping me weak.

  As things continued to come into focus, I saw who the man was standing in front of me. It was one of my betas, Carlos. He looked like he was going to piss his pants as he stared down at me. Which was appropriate since he was going to pay for this.

  Except right then the face appeared...and this time I knew who it belonged to.

  Rune. I gasped as everything came pouring back. She'd been taken. My body arched in agony as I laid there. It felt like I'd forgotten how to breathe.

  With strength I shouldn't have had, I pulled on my arm in desperation and a loud bang echoed around the room as the chain broke away from the table.

  "The key, now!" I ordered Carlos, pulling on the chain attached to my right wrist even though I felt like I was going to pass out at any moment.

  I heard the familiar click of a gun and my attention swung to my left where one of Wilder's idiot betas had a tranq gun cocked and loaded...and aimed at me.

  Without hesitating, I grabbed the stool next to the table with my right hand and launched it at the guy's head. It hit him with a loud clunk right in the forehead and then he collapsed onto the ground in a heap. Not sure he was going to recover from that one.

  Whoops.

  "I'm not going to repeat myself, Carlos. If you don't let me out now, it's only going to get worse for you," I threatened my beta once again.

  Carlos's gaze swung to the stairs before he gulped and pulled a key out of his pocket. "You went feral, Daxon. Wilder made us lock you up. You were attacking the whole pack."

  I stilled for a moment, trying to remember all of that. But all I could see was a red haze when I tried to think about anything after I'd found out that Rune was gone. I'd been standing at the edge of the road and then... Nope. Could
n't remember anything.

  Carlos wizened up and unlocked the chain on my left hand that I'd just about pulled from the table, before getting to work on the chains on both of my legs. He steadfastly avoided looking at the body next to us.

  As soon as the cuffs were off, I could feel the energy trickling back into my limbs. I rubbed at my wrists, hissing in pain at the red welts that adorned them thanks to the cuffs.

  "Where's Wilder?" I demanded.

  "He's already gone after Rune. He left as soon as..."

  "As soon as what?" I asked absentmindedly, hopping off the table and grabbing the pile of clothes resting nearby.

  "As soon as we got you under control," Carlos muttered.

  It was right at that moment Wilder burst into the room. He came to a surprised halt when he saw me standing there, but he quickly recovered.

  "Done trying to kill everyone?" he remarked.

  My hand sharpened into a claw and I licked the tip of one of my long nails where some dried blood lingered. "For now," I replied.

  Wilder's eyes glittered with the desire to attack me, but he held himself back. We were both ticking time bombs, our usual restraint decimated with the disappearance of Rune.

  My mate.

  Except I couldn't really say that, could I? Not since she'd rejected my mark.

  I shook the thought off. She would be my mate. I was going to make sure of it.

  "I thought you were already gone," I asked with a frown.

  "I was, until I realized someone in this town is probably the best way to find out exactly where she's been taken," he responded, pulling out his phone and looking at a message on the screen.

  "You think someone here gave her up?" It made sense. Although it was feasible that a message could have gotten out about Rune's whereabouts, the men who Wilder and I killed had seemed to know an awful lot about Rune's actions. I felt like a fool for not thinking of that before.

  I certainly would have questioned them a bit harder before killing them.