Page 7 of Rejected By the Alpha

Next time I saw her, I had to take care of that. I had to reject her or else it would be the end for everyone that I loved.

Chapter Four

Ember

After Mr. Drama Queen shifted back into a wolf and disappeared into the woods, I blinked a few times in confusion.

I … who … what …

I stumbled to my feet with my heart pounding inside my chest and held on to a tree to support my trembling legs.

He was a wolf. A real, live, huge wolf.

I swallowed hard and stared in the direction he had disappeared. A human who had just shifted right before my eyes. I shook my head, clearly not thinking straight. Not seeing straight.

Why was I even thinking that? There was no such thing as werewolves.

My hand found the space between my thighs, and I closed my eyes. What had happened? Maybe it was my medication. That had to be it, right? A wolf definitely hadn’t just turned into a human to eat my pussy, then turn back into a wolf.

God, I need to get off that stuff.

Once I gathered myself, I headed in the direction of my new home. Wind blew my hair back, and I wrapped my arms around my body. I must’ve dropped my coffee and banana bread somewhere on the path.

But the hell was I going back. I didn’t want to hallucinate again.

Despite all the time I had painted creatures in the woods, I had never in my twenty-two years seen a wolf turn into a human. Werewolves were creatures that I only saw in my dreams … and on those dirty fiction apps, like Ream.

Stomach twisting, I looked behind me to make sure nobody was watching. Six hours in, and I already didn’t know how I felt about this place. Between Mr. Drama Queen and werewolves, I’d go insane soon enough.

As my breathing slowed, I picked up my pace. I hadn’t run like that in years.

Ahead, two fox cubs ran onto the path from the forest, the smaller one jumping onto her sister. Dark orange fur with a white underbelly, darker fur legs, the biggest pointed ears, and tiny faces, they playfully rolled around at my feet.

When one bumped into me, she jumped into the air in surprise and leaped back, hiding behind her sister. I crouched down in front of them and carefully extended my arm to show them I wasn’t a threat.

After staring at me for a few moments, they sprinted into the woods. I frowned and continued on my path back to my home. I couldn’t tell Pavel anything about my little run-in with that thing, that beast, that hallucination.

He’d send me straight to the hospital for more testing.

Leaves crunched to my right. I swallowed hard and glanced behind me, heart racing. After that freak encounter with that wolf, with that man, I wasn’t taking any chances. I wanted to get out of here⁠—

A twig snapped. I twirled around.

I scanned the woods again and spotted the two foxes poking their heads out from behind a large oak tree. I placed a hand over my heart and blew out a breath, shoulders slumping forward. God, I’d thought I was about to have another near-death experience for a second.

But what part of my life hadn’t been a near-death experience lately?

Deciding they were curious, I searched the area again for any potential predators and sat crisscross on the dirt path. They stared at me for a few moments before the closest one stepped forward.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” I whispered.

The other one stepped out from behind a tree, both now approaching me quietly. I stared at them in amazement as a small smile stretched across my face. God, I wished I had my painting supplies. This would be incredible.

When they reached me, the smaller cub hid behind her sister while the sister sniffed me. I gently laid my open palm on my knee and waited patiently to see what they’d do next. The bigger one sniffed once more, then laid her head on my hand.

The sister walked over and sniffled my fingers, shoving her head into my hand too. Their light-brown eyes glimmered in the sunbeams flooding through the trees. I gently curled my fingers to scratch underneath their chins.

“You girls are so cute,” I whispered, knowing there wasn’t any way they understood me. But, hey, that hallucination had. Their eyes closed in delight. “Maybe one day, I’ll paint a portrait of you girls.”