Two Rejects

Chapter 35 - Two Unlikely Lovers

In the living room, I catch sight of my closest friends. Sage and Clara are sitting next to each other. River on a single seater and Tyler on his feet pacing. They're all mind linking one another—that's evidently clear to me. As soon as I walk in, Tyler's gaze hits me first and he rushes to my side.

"Holms," He hands me his arm—leading me to the sofa where I plop down. He stands in front of me with pure sadness behind his eyes, "I'm so sorry. He was so calm. His aura didn't change until the last second. It was like trying to read with whiplash. I should have pushed him out sooner. I should have done more."

In full retrospect, it was my fault for turning my back to Bren. I should have known he would react so bitterly and spiteful. I shake my head at Tyler—his head hanging in absolute disappointment.

"Stop apologizing or I'll have to get a new babysitter." I pull him down to sit next to me and give him a warm smile. Everyone is staring at me with so much remorse and pity. I try to ignore it. "Wh-what happened after I passed out?"

"What's the last thing you remember?" Sage asks me gently.

"An ice bath." I tell her vaguely.

"We called the pack doctor." Sage explains slowly, "Tyler saved your life putting you in that ice bath. Your temperature was close to seizing and you were really out of it for a few hours. We kept having to change your ice, but you cooled down. The doctor said your body seemed to be fighting it like an infection. To be honest, he had no idea what the hell was happening so he didn't give us much of a prognosis."

"We didn't know if you'd come back." Clara admits softly. There's a hint of pain in her expression as she looks down, "I thought you were going to die."

My hand reaches for the bandage. The moment I touch my neck it feels sore and open—making me flinch. Tyler places his arm around me and I suddenly turn my attention to River. "And Bren?"

River's eyes harden, "That coward left his warriors to battle us. It gave him and his Beta enough time to escape our territory. Alpha slaughtered the Spartans, which incidentally didn't leave any fun for me."

Sage sighs and clenches her fist, "Besides. As much as Alpha wanted to kill Bren, he knew he couldn't do it. The Alpha King would have his head if he killed another Alpha. I had to talk him down a lot."

I look down at my hands, gulping. "He'll be back."

"We know." River crosses his arms over his chest, "But now he'll have to deal with our entire legion. With war being declared, wolves are volunteering to fight for you."

I frown. Sparta is known for their war tactics. They're ruthless and uncaring. They're not afraid of dying because dying in combat is meant as an honor. It's how I know that Bren's warriors didn't hesitate to distract and stall Matthew.

I look around—Matthew's scent eluding me other than from his clothes I'm wearing. As if noticing my distress Tyler tells me, "He's been running for hours. Once he knew you were stable, he left. Letting his wolf get his anger out in a...healthy manner."

"Well, if you think destroying and knocking down a few pine trees and abandoned buildings is healthy..." River rolls his eyes.

I reach out to Matthew through the mind link. His wall is up, and I pound against it. For a while he does nothing until I feel it creak open ever so slightly. Just a hint of his anger peaking through into my head.

Matthew, I call out to him, but he doesn't answer. Come home. I'm okay.

He doesn't answer. Instead, I feel him close off his mind again. My wolf whimpers in the back of my mind. The dejection making her more nervous than anything else.