Chapter 22 - Rejected by the Beta, Claimed by the Alpha

After saying goodbye to my father and Anita, Axe and I climb Into the car. We had only

stayed until dinner because we wanted to get back before dark, and even though the visit was

short, I don't think it could have gone better.

"Thank you," I beam kissing Axe's nose while he buckles.

The only reason I'm brave enough to do so, is because the windows are tinted.

My mate smiles adorably, knowing he made my week with this surprise.

"Well I made you a promise sweetheart," he says trying to make it seem like nothing as he

always does.

I shake my head, buckling and then putting my palm flat against his and leaning on the outer part

of his hand like a pillow.

"I love you," I whisper with a yawn.

I hear the engine start and the car starts bumping on the uneven ground as we take off.

"I love you too angel. Go to sleep, we'll be home soon."

•••

A harsh jerk and a loud scraping wakes me up from my slumber, causing me to look groggily out

the window.

The sun is going down and it's almost dark. Shouldn't we be home by now?

I hear Axe curse, making me look over at him with confusion.

"What's wrong?"

His eyes dart around the windows, and he mumbles something under his breath before opening

the center console.

"Baby I need you to listen carefully okay?"

He pulls out a bottle of baby powder and shakes the bottle on my shoulders and lap, covering me

in white powder.

"Hey," I complain rubbing it in so I don't look like a crack whore.

Warewolves use baby powder to conceal their scent, concerning me as to why I need it.

"There's rouge's. They've taken over the woods on this road and they block it when we drive.

They want us to get out, but I've already called Mason and he's bringing warriors to help us.

We're only twenty-six minutes out, but it's better if we meet them halfway. I want you to jump in

the back and stay low. Don't get up until I come get you, you hear me?"

I can clearly see a few red eyes in the woods, but I can't help wanting to wait.

"Why can't we just stay put?" I ask squeezing his hand.

His face turns harder than before.

"There's too many. If we stay still too long they'll overtake us. We need to go. NOW. Get in the

back," he orders more viciously this time.

His command sends shivers down my spine and I press my lips together before nodding and

slipping over the seat. I make a nest, laying down on the floor between the front and back seats

so that I'm in the middle and not easily accessible to anyone opening the trunk or the sunroof.

Not another word is uttered before the force of the car jerking makes me hit my head on the hard

metal that keeps the front seats in place.

"Ow!" I say lifting a hand to my dizzy head.

"Shit! Lilac? Are you okay?"

Saying yes would be lie, but just to let him know I'm alive, I groan.

The car swerves and this time, I knock the back of my head against the plastic lining the car.

"Ah!'

A loud scraping, similar to the one I woke up to tenses my whole body. It sounds like someone is

scraping their claws against the outside of the car.

A loud "pop" sounds like an explosion and the car is suddenly out of control, Axe cursing wildly

and me getting thrown around the back seat.

The motion only makes me feel sick and I want nothing more than to throw up right now.

The car jerks as it crashes into something and my ears begin to ring with a deafening shrill.

I gasp and put a finger in my ear, struggling to sit up and see if Axe is okay.

It takes a minute to prop myself up on my arm, but once I do, I'm able to slide up onto the seat

and peak over.

However, as my eyes loft over the tan leather, I make eye contact with a hideous beast that is no

more than a foot away from my face.

The skin around its feral teeth pull back in a demented smile and my mouth drops open in horror.

This isn't a wolf. What the hell is this.

"Hello precious," the rumbling husky voice greets.

I'm only just barely able to pry my gaze away from the thing and look to the driver seat. Empty.

Where is Axe?!

*****

It was all a blur. Literally.

I'm not sure how hard I hit my head, but it's difficult to get a good grasp on anything happening

right now.

One minute, I watched the beast's claws rip the leather seat with little effort, the next I was

pulled out from my hiding place. I tried to scream, but I can't even be sure anything came out.

My hair. The beast was dragging me by it and the second I was yanked out of the car, his voice.

"Let her go!"

I just barley caught sight of Axe. Five dead lie in front of him, but four were holding him back.

The scrunching of his face as though he's in pain makes it clear to me that he's trying to shift, but

with one man grasping his shoulders like a lock, I'm sure he's found the pressure point that

makes werewolves helpless to shifting. He's stuck.

There's sounds of fighting coming from the other side of the car that I now see ran hood first into

a tree, so I assume Mason and the recruits are here, but they clearly have competition.

"Goddamn it! I'll kill you!" Axe yells to the beast. "I'll rip you apart for touching her!"

His eyes flash yellow for a moment, but alas, the shift is unable to be completed.

The beast chuckles darkly, his nails digging into my shoulder with a sharp discomfort.

A brief hallucination, or memory at that has me finding the irony of this position. Just an hour

ago, my father held my shoulder in this exact same spot, yet it evoked such a different feeling.

Safety. Protection. This is a threat, however. A warning.

"Oh, don't worry," the beast drawls. "I'll treat her as my own."

Axe roars, fighting against the four men holding him back as a small cut stings through my neck,

that little amount of blood loss on top of everything else being too much of a sacrifice for my

system.

My breathing evens out, if not becoming a little slower than usual before the black spots in my

vision completely take over.

Just... Blackness.