Page 64 of Alpha's Rejected Warrior
“We need to talk, human.”
I slow my pace but don’t stop walking. “Sure. What’s on your mind?”
The other three spread out slightly, not quite blocking my path but making it clear I’m not going anywhere soon. My pulse quickens a touch. Four against one isn’t great odds, even if I wasn’t the weakest person in at least a hundred-mile radius.
Scarface plants himself in front of me. “Heard the Commander took a blade meant for you today.”
“She did.” I keep my voice even. “I’m very grateful for it.”
“Grateful?” A shorter guard with a freckled face lets out a bitter laugh. “Your gratitude doesn’t make up for putting her in danger.”
“I didn’t put her anywhere. She chose to—”
“She has orders to protect someone who doesn’t deserve it.” The third guard, a large woman with muscles that could probably crush my skull like a grape, closes the distance between us. “The Commander has responsibilities for herpack, not some human who’ll be gone after the summit, if you even live that long.”
The fourth guard — barely out of his teens by the look of him — scoffs. “They shouldn’t let you stay in Kortan, let alone train with us. Needing the Commander’s protection during a routine patrol just shows how useless you are to our pack.”
His words slam into me. Not because they’re cruel. They’re just the same thoughts that have been circling in my own head.
“Every minute she spends worrying about keeping you alive is a minute she’s not focused on protecting those that actually matter,” Scarface continues. “The ones who belong here.”
Everything in me wants to argue. I want to tell them that I’m the Truth Seer, that my skills will help solve the mystery that could save their precious summit, maybe even save them. But I can’t, because underneath their anger, I hear what they’re really feeling: genuine concern for Rhiannon, their Commander.
These aren’t just bullies looking for a target. They’re pack members watching their leader risk herself for an insignificant outsider, and I can’t fault them for that.
“Look.” I hold up both hands. “I understand your concern, but—”
“Do you?” Freckles gets right in my face. “Could you ever understand what it means when one of our own gets hurtprotecting someone who’ll never be part of this pack? Someone who couldn’t protect her back when she needs it?”
The muscular woman nods. “As if being passed over by our Alpha wasn’t enough. She’s already dealing with the Shaman accusing Jayme, and now she’s throwing herself in front of daggers for a powerless human who won’t even be here next week.”
“Just stay away from our Commander.” Scarface’s voice drops to a dangerous growl. “Whatever game you think you’re playing, it’s over. Go back to the Outer Lands before you get her killed.”
They don’t wait for a response. They file past me, two of them shoulder-checking as they go.
The crash of steel against steel and the snarling of wolves echoes out from the training grounds again. The sound might as well be coming from another realm, though. The young guards’ words loop through my mind like a broken record.
You’re useless. Powerless. You don’t belong.
It’s nothing I haven’t heard before. Nothing I haven’t thought myself.
Honestly, what the fuck do I think I’m doing in a world where everyone else has fangs and claws and I have...what? A decent memory and a talent for asking annoying questions?
Go back to the Outer Lands before you get her killed.
The worst part of their little intervention is that I don’t think they’re wrong.
Chapter 25 — Ethan
Ineed to find Rhiannon. Maybe she’s gone back to her quarters. The guards’ words continue to echo in my head as I climb the stairs to her room, but I shove them aside. Light spills through the narrow corridor windows, painting golden rectangles across the stone floor. Through the partially open door, I spot Rhiannon at her desk.
I knock, hoping the comforting sound of her voice will chase away the doubt eating me alive.
“Come in.”
She sits at her desk, thumbing through a stack of papers that appear to be guard reports. Her hair falls in a dark curtain around her face, and she doesn’t look up when I enter.
“I hope you learned more from the seers than I did with Dr. Olcan.” My hand reaches for the door handle, ready to close it behind me like I always do, but her voice stops me.
