Rejected To Be Your Second Chance: Rejecting My Alpha Mate (Book 2)
: Chapter 83

Alpha Kade pulled up his weight on the bars, and pearls of sweat trickled down his back and disappeared down his shorts. He jumped down and walked over to the punching bag hanging in the ceiling.

The gym was where he spent the earlier hours until the rest of the pack started waking up.

The doors swung open and hit the wall.

“Alpha,” Mason said and walked in with steady steps up to his brother. Behind him was Colton and Irene, two of their head warriors, they stopped behind Mason, who lifted his head and clenched his jaw. Alpha Kade reached out his arm and stopped the bag as it bounced back. He turned to his brother, a hundred thoughts going through his mind when he saw the urgency in their expressions. “They’re gone.”

They all walked with fast strides down the stairs and through the already opened door. He looked frantically at the empty cells and then down at the body laying in their path. He scanned Darians corpse, and his eyes glanced over the open wound in his chest.

“Justin!” He growled and banged on the cellar door. Justin woke up in a daze; Mason opened the door, and Justin fumbled on his feet before steadying himself against the wall.

He looked around at the grave expressions and then at the open cells.

Justin raised his head and glared at Alpha Kade. “I called for you,” He said. Alpha Kade’s nostrils were flaring, and his chest was pushing out as the veins in his arms began to throb. His fists were ready by his side, and the target was in such close proximity.

“They filled the room with mist, Alpha; it knocked him out,” Colton said.

“FUCK!” He growled, and everyone, except for Justin, took a step back and hung their heads.

Anna and Cara came running down into the dungeon and halted to a quick stop.

“What do we do?” Cara asked, ready to recieve orders. Alpha Kade pushed past the blur of his traitorous mind and found a clear thought.

“We move in, now! We’re out of time.” They were all turning around, with only one mission in sight, attacking the Emberclaw pack and before the runaways got there. It seemed so clear; you could feel every person’s wolf stepping forward, ready to go on the hunt, when one voice rang out and stopped everyone in their tracks.

“Wait!” They looked at Justin, who reached out his hand, his eyes brimming with desperation, and his lip trembling in fear. He shook his head and drew uneven breaths.

“He knows,” he said, and they all stiffened at the tremor in his voice. It was the first time Justin had sounded weak; Emberclaws never sounded weak.

“What does he know?” Kade asked and stepped closer.

“Nathnaial knows about your meetings with Layla; he saw her memories of you two when they practiced that first time… that’s …that’s why I came here! That’s the leverage he had over me. That’s why I told her to trust him because if I didn’t, he would go after her and then come for you. He knows, he doesn’t think she trusts him; he’s playing her, and as long as you stay away she’s safe! As long as he needs her, she’s safe!”

Alpha Kade fell back two steps, the Alpha’s walls were breaking, and his worst fears were coming true; that maybe he wasn’t enough to save her.

~Layla~

I didn’t lay awake that night like I usually did. My body was sore from doing nothing and my stomach was aching. My eyes couldn’t wait to close, and my mind was desperate to drift off and get some peace. Sleep came easy, and I fell heavily into the mattress, and the pillow felt like a soft cloud. I made a vow not to get up tomorrow, no matter how hard Nathaniel banged on my door, I wouldn’t get out of this bed.

’Layla’

Clara was purring in the back of my mind, she was waking up, but why?

I snuggled into the blanket and hugged a second pillow tighter as I began to drift back to my dreams. They were always the same, Kade and I in our bedroom with candles and drawn curtains. My finger ran down his chest, drawing in the creases of his abs. It slid down his v and gently caressed his boxer line.

I tugged at them, my eyes capturing his and relishing as I watched grow darker in stages. He dragged his tongue over his lip, and his hand softly went down my back, gently touching every inch of my skin before he grabbed a tight grip of my ass. His finger dug into my flesh; his hand rose and came down hard when my hand slid under his boxers. Our eyes never faltered; I lived in his depths, drawing oxygen from his gaze and warmth from his body. He placed two fingers under my chin and lifted my head. He leaned in, his lips parted as he teased me and brushed them over my own.

My jaw dropped an inch, my lips parted for him, and he lifted my leg and placed it over his knee. His finger drew shapes on my skin, slowly moving down between my legs…

’Layla!’

I jerked awake and sat up in panic on the bed.

What, what is it?

I licked my lips and pulled my hand up from where it was, tucked under the blanket between my legs, my shorts were soaked and I groaned as I hugged the blanket and cursed the reality I had woken up to.

’Look’

There was something flickering outside my window. I got up and went to see where the light was coming from. A big smile grew on my face, a single tear fell from my eye, and I giggled on my way to grab a jacket and run outside.

The firefly was there, waiting for my presence.

“Hi there,” I whispered and followed the glowing fly as it flew away.

’Layla, wait. How is it here?’

I asked Annalise to bring us together again, it looks like she made it

I didn’t care about the how; I was running through the woods, following the firefly to wherever it took me. We crossed the border, and more fireflies waited for us there.

The smile on my face was making my cheeks ache, but I didn’t care.

It wasn’t until I stepped on a sharp rock that I noticed I wasn’t wearing shoes. The realization only made me laugh, and all I could see in front of me was Kade waiting for me. I imagined jumping into his arms, telling him how much I’ve missed him, and then ripping his clothes off.

I looked back; we were far away now. We ducked between bushes and passed more trees. Over the little hill and behind the bush where I last saw him it was dark but I knew it was there.

I walked faster, I ran until finally, I stood where we last met, but where was he?

’Something doesn’t feel right about this’

it’s fine, it’s Kade

’I don’t think it is, I don’t smell him’

My body froze to ice, and my heart skipped a beat.

One by one, the torches lit up with a bright, big flame in a circle around us.

I choked on my breath, unsure that I’d ever draw another one.

“Hi there, sweetheart. Expecting someone else, were you?” He asked with a mocking tone and a deep smirk. Around him stood ten of his men in uniform I hadn’t seen before.

“Nathaniel.”