Rejected (Shadow Beast Shifters Book 1)

Jaxson had to take off after this for pack duties, leaving me alone with Torin. Now that his friend was gone, the alpha had lost some of his cockiness, his face unsure as he asked, “Would you maybe… like to go for a walk?”

My wolf cocked her head, her interest there. Mine was non-existent, but I was playing the long game now, so I couldn’t falter.

“Sure. That would be nice.”

Like getting a Brazilian wax. While wolfed out.

He didn’t touch me as we walked, but he was closer than I wanted, especially when a tiny part of me enjoyed the buzz of mate bond between us. “Were you surprised?” he asked, and it shocked me enough that I stopped walking.

“About what?”

My mind was constantly spinning between him, Jaxson, and Shadow, and I had no idea what specifically he was asking.

“That I was your true mate?”

Oh. I forced myself to move again, and he caught up to me. “I thought it would be Jaxson,” I finally admitted, being honest with him for probably the first time since I’d tried to rip his throat out. “We’ve always had a bond that went deeper than the ordinary. I mean, after my dad, that connection went to shit, but before that… he was my guy. And I honestly thought if it was anyone here, it would be Jax.”

Torin’s chuckle was strangled. “Yeah, the massive fight we got into after you left kind of indicated he had the same feeling. You were almost the breaking point in our lifetime of friendship. Again.”

“You still made him your beta,” I said with a shrug.

Torin nodded. “Jaxson is the best fucking shifter I’ve ever known. He deserves to be alpha and he’s definitely the better man for you, but fate obviously decided it wasn’t going to happen this time around, so it’s up to me to be…” He hesitated. “What you deserve. You and Torma.”

I managed to cover my disbelief with a cough.

Torin didn’t miss it, though, and surprisingly, he ducked his head and smiled. “Yeah, I might not have been off to a flying start on that, but I honestly didn’t expect you to fight me so hard. We were rescuing you, and I’ve spent half a year trying to work out my plan, so it was a little anticlimactic to know you didn’t even want to be rescued.”

Yeah, I guess from their perspective, I might have acted a little out of character. Maybe they just never knew the true depth of my hatred for them. How they could have thought any other way after the pack’s treatment of me, I’d never know, but they were dumbass dudes, after all.

“You said before that I almost ended your friendship with Jaxson again. Why again?”

I’d never known them to fight and I couldn’t crush my curiosity of what that meant.

For the first time since we’d started this tête-à-tête, Torin looked cagey, but to his credit, he didn’t try to lie to me. “When your father first attacked mine”—his eyes were pained at the mention of his executed father—“I warned Jaxson that he had to let you go. He refused, but his entire life was on the line. It was clear that your standing in this pack was gone, and if he wanted to be beta, he couldn’t lose respect like the Callahans had. He had no other choice.”

My head was spinning, and there was the weirdest ache in my chest, like indigestion. “I didn’t know that. He fought to stay friends with me?”

Torin nodded. “Yep. We didn’t talk for a month, and at almost every opportunity, he attempted to punch my fucking lights out.”

I’d been living in a world of hurt and grief and fear back then, so it was all very murky, but I kind of remembered Jaxson still being around for a short time after my father’s death.

“Why did he give up on his mission to stick it out with me?”

Torin’s face was set, hard and unyielding, the alpha in him shining clear as fucking day. “His father and mine got together and taught Jaxson a few life lessons. He almost didn’t survive, and if it wasn’t for my intervention, they might have killed him. They still managed to break something in my friend that day, and I haven’t seen it again until recently. His strength and will has returned with vengeance, and I doubt there’s anything in this world that could tear him away from you now.”

I sucked down a sob… No way would I cry in front of Torin. But this little story, one that was almost unbelievable and yet explained so much, was like a whole new dagger in my chest.

“What tangled webs we weave,” I murmured. “I had no idea Jaxson went through so much to try to save me.” It didn’t negate the shit he’d put me through, but it did help me understand, and that helped me somewhat forgive him.

Torin laughed, and in the same instant, leaned forward and wrapped his hands around my forearms, pulling me to a stop as he forced me to face him. “He’s not going to easily let you go. And here’s my proposition… I will fight side by side with him to win you over, and you can decide who is the best mate for you. I heard you before about choices being made for you, and I think I have enough to offer that I’ll gladly take my chances competing with Jax.”

My eyes were so wide now that I was genuinely worried about my eyeballs falling right the fuck out of my head. I’d never seen Torin like this—so open and vulnerable. Wearing his emotions on his face.

My disbelief must have shone through like a spotlight.

“I know I’ve done very little to convince you of this, but I’ve changed in the past year,” he said softly. “Got my priorities straight. Faced a few hard truths that I’d been shielded from in my youth. I’m not the same shifter or man you knew, Mera. I am many steps closer to being worthy of you. Just give me a chance to prove it.”

My wolf howled, and she wanted to take the chance because this was our true mate. The one who would complete our souls in a way no other ever could. But I didn’t trust this new Torin, no matter what he was saying. There was still so much unsaid, so many secrets, and I had zero idea what had happened to Dannie.

Not to mention, part of me was still waiting for Shadow to make his appearance. Maybe stupidly, but it was what it was.

Swallowing down my softer emotions, I pulled away from the alpha. “It’s going to take a hell of a lot more than perfect words, Torin,” I said shortly, my voice trembling despite my resolution to not be affected. “I’m also not the same shifter I was a year ago, and now, you’re going to have one hell of a job proving your worth.”

He smiled, and for once, it was not a smirk. “Challenge accepted, sweetheart. You’re going to be wooed like you’ve never been before.”

My heart fluttered again, but I shut that bitch down. We had a mission, and I would not be deterred from it, no matter what happened. Torin might have turned over a new leaf, but I had my doubts. Did a wolf ever really change their pelt? Would I be around long enough to find out?