Page 17 of Rejected Wolf
I whimpered, crushing his pillow against me, imagining it was him. “I’m so sorry, Morgan. I can’t give you what you want. I can’t…” My breathing grew tight, as did my pants.
What if for just this moment, I imagined what it would be like if Icould. What if I said yes, instead of no? I pictured his hopeful expression that morning in the cave, as he’d looked up at me through those thick lashes, the path his tongue had taken as he dragged it over his smooth, full lips—and I bucked my hips. Hard.
“Fuck,” I panted. The friction in my pants, paired with his scent and the taboo nature of what I was doing, all joined together into one very bad idea.
I arched my back and ground my cock into his mattress again slowly, savoring the sensation. I knew logically that itwouldn’t feel like this. He would be so tight, slippery with slick. And even though I was completely inexperienced, I just knew he would moan. Oh gods, he wouldbegme for it.
My pulse was rushing in my ears, but all I could feel was the throbbing in my dick. I’d never felt this level of need before. It was exciting, invigorating… and scary as hell. I had no control over my body or mind. And I’d spent far too much of my life without any control that it terrified me that one man could have so much power over me.
“I hate you,” I spat into the pillow, even as my heart beat with something far closer to love.
And as my balls squeezed tight, my cum releasing inside my pants, I bit down on the pillow, my canines sharp enough to tear the fabric. My head swam, my thoughts a jumbled tangle.
Panting, I closed my eyes, waiting to feel the hot burn of shame—but it never came. Instead, the warm feeling that bloomed inside me was… satisfaction. I liked thinking that I’d somehow marked the bed where he slept every night, as though I’d also marked him. He would sleep tonight wrapped in my scent, and he would wake up tomorrow still carrying a piece of me with him. Other shifters would know he was mine.
Maybe Morgan would know it too.
After cleaning myself up using Morgan-scented soap, I knew it was time to go. It wasn’t like I could hide in his closet—it was too small, I’d checked—so I gritted my teeth and forced myself toward the door. When I stepped out into the hall, though, closing the door behind me, I frowned down at the unlocked knob.
Nope, this just won’t do.
Buildings like this had landlords or caretakers, right? I seemed to recall Tristan telling me a story of this couple he’d joined for a romp one night, before he was mated to Dylan, and the caretaker had knocked on the door and told them to keep it down because the other tenants were complaining about the noise. That meant there was someone on the premises who took care of those kinds of things.
I headed back down to the first floor and quickly found the door to apartment 101, which had a tiny stick-on sign that said “landlord.” I knocked heavily, feeling agitated, like a caged animal. I wondered if there was somewhere around here I could let my wolf out, just for a few minutes.
There were light footsteps from inside, and then the door swung open, revealing one of the building’s shifters, a crow by the scent of him. He had to lean back to look up at me, but to his credit, he didn’t seem intimidated by my size. His black hair was much like his beast’s feathers, sleek and black, his eyes beady as he cocked his head to the sidein an avian way. “Can I help you?” His nostrils flared as he identified my beast, a muscle ticking in his jaw.
My fingers twitched, and I forced myself to be as polite as possible. “Yeah. I need you to lock apartment 302,” I demanded gruffly.
My wolf shook his head at me.Not polite.
What? I’m trying, I insisted.
The crow’s eyes narrowed. “Need? Why on earth would Ineedto do that? That’s not your apartment. Maybe Ineedto call the cops.”
I huffed, grinding my teeth. “Morgan left the door unlocked, and he’s not at home. It’s not safe. Lock it. Please,” I tacked on when my wolf flashed me some side-eye. We both agreed that human cops were not necessary.
“Hmm…” The landlord crossed his arms over his narrow chest, showing off an array of rings on his fingers, and cocked his chin up. “Fine. I’ll lock it, but you’d better not have messed with his stuff.” He turned to step back into his apartment, just in time for me to hide my guilty expression. He came back with a ring of keys. “And tell your mate the rent is past due. He can’t dodge me forever.”
No food, no rent money. What else did my mate need? “How much is rent?” I asked, pulling out my wallet.
The guy scoffed, shaking his head. “More than what you carry in your wallet, I’d guess.”
He was wrong. His eyes got bigger as I started counting out the stack of hundreds that I’d taken out of the bank on my way into town. “Let’s make a deal. How about I pay the rent, and you give me a copy of that key.”
Chapter 10
Morgan
Eric’s grin was toowide, his teeth pointed like fangs, and his eyes flashed red in the artificial light. The light glinted off a scalpel in his hand, and with dawning horror, I watched as he leaned over the man I loved, who was restrained to a metal table with wide leather straps.
“Now, why don’t we cut him open and see what makes him tick,” Eric said, leering over his shoulder at me. “Don’t worry, it’ll only hurt for a moment.”
My whimper seemed loud in the small space, growing smaller by the second as the walls closed in. “No, please. Don’t hurt him!” I shouted, struggling to move, but my body wouldn’t obey my commands. It was like I was drugged, and no matter how much I tried to thrash, I was little more than a mannequin.
My wolfman turned to look at me, his eyes wide and fearful. His mouth moved as he said something to me, but no sound came out. “What?” I asked, trying to read the movement of his lips. “I can’t hear you.”
“I said wake up!” Then he tilted his head back and screamed an inhuman howl as blood spilled off the table onto the floor.