Rejected by Wolves (Hate to Love Shifters Book 1) Read online

  “How dare you talk to me that way?” Cynthia hissed. “You’re trash, Lacey. Don’t you get it? You’re nothing. You have no right—”

  “Oh, please,” Lacey said. “I can talk to you however I want, Cynthia. I might be the half-breed that everyone loves to hate, just because my father was a bear—”

  Gasps went up from the assembled women, and it was all Lacey could do not to burst out laughing. They treated the word bear as if it was the vilest of curse words.

  “But at least,” Lacey went on, ignoring them, “I’m not a complete bitch.”

  Everyone fell silent.

  Lacey couldn’t believe she’d finally said something that had gotten Cynthia to shut up. All her life, that had seemed impossible. Cynthia had always been the bully, the busybody, the person who could be relied upon for a cruel, cutting comment.

  And now she was silent, just staring at Lacey as if she’d never seen her before.

  She’s never taken me seriously until now.

  But Xander’s victory in his match against Derek changed things, Lacey knew. It meant that Xander wasn’t quite on the bottom of the totem pole in the same way he always had been in this pack. He wouldn’t be the alpha, of course—it was too much to imagine that he would somehow defeat Mitch. If she was really honest with herself, she had to admit that Xander’s defeat of Derek was probably a fluke.

  But they can’t write him off the way they always have. Not now that they’ve seen what he can do.

  And that meant that they were going to have to rethink the things they thought about Lacey, too.

  Our lives are going to change after today, she thought, hardly able to believe it.

  I can’t believe he actually went out there and won.

  She sat back on the grass, ignoring the women around her, waiting for the final matchup of the Games.

  Chapter Four

  LACEY

  The expression on Xander’s face as he walked out onto the field for the final match was impossible for Lacey to read.

  And that was slightly alarming to her. They had been friends for so long that she had learned to read every expression on his face. She always knew what Xander was thinking without having to ask. But right now, she had no idea.

  Maybe he was nervous. Mitch was pacing in circles, looking like a caged animal, and Lacey could practically see the steam rising from his shoulders. He looked disturbed and dangerous. And Lace was sure that he would want to take his ire out on Xander. He wouldn’t soon forgive his brother for defeating Derek.

  The two brothers faced one another.

  “Are you ready?” Xander asked Mitch quietly.

  “Don’t make me laugh,” Mitch said. “Ready to fight you? You aren’t worth my time.”

  “Don’t fight me, then,” Xander said. “I told you, I have no need to see this fight out. I’m fine walking away from this. I’ll concede it to you right now.”

  “That’s not how it works,” Mitch snapped. “The winners of the preliminary bouts face one another in the finals. The three of us were chosen because we’re the sons of the existing alpha, and Peter rounded out the field as the highest-ranking beta of our generation. These things are tradition, Xander. This is the way it’s always been done. We’re not going to change things for you just because you’re a runt.”

  “Then fight me,” Xander said. “Stop talking and do it.”

  “I’ll do it,” Mitch said. “But I’ll never forget the way you’ve ruined this day for me. I was supposed to be taking on Derek, not you. The final match was supposed to be an opportunity for me to prove my strength and my worthiness to lead as alpha. Beating you won’t prove anything at all. It’ll be like swatting a fly.”

  Lacey wanted to jump to her feet and yell at Mitch, but she knew better. Xander wouldn’t thank her for that. Having his half-breed girlfriend fight his battles would just make him look weak. She needed to let him get through this on his own.

  Still, she was reminded of why she hadn’t wanted Xander to participate in this fight in the first place. Why she had begged him to blow it off. He didn’t need to stand there and be embarrassed by Mitch. There was nothing in it for him at all.

  Beside her, Cynthia smirked. “Maybe the half-breed is right,” she told the women around her. The comment was clearly meant for Lacey, even though Cynthia was acting as if she didn’t think Lacey could hear her. “Maybe Derek was just weak. But Mitch will be looking for a mate after he takes the alpha position. He’s definitely going to want the most attractive woman in the pack.”

  “It’s you for sure, Cynthia,” Evelyn said. “No one else holds a candle to you.”

  “Oh, I don’t know, Evelyn,” Cynthia said, smiling in a way that was clearly meant to seem humble and self-effacing, although it didn’t seem that way to Lacey at all. “Everyone here has her charms. Well—” She glanced over at Lacey. “Almost everyone.”

  What’s the matter, Cynthia? Do you not like me or something? Lacey couldn’t understand why Evelyn couldn’t seem to just shut her mouth. She knew perfectly well that Lacey was with Xander and had been for years. Lacey wasn’t going to try to make a play for Mitch.

  Apparently, Cynthia was, though.

  She’s probably just humiliated that the guy she liked lost his fight. That would be it. Cynthia wouldn’t be able to stand the shame of being associated with someone the pack disrespected, no matter how much she might have liked him personally. And the pack’s regard for Derek was definitely going to go down after this.

  The whistle blew, jerking her out of her thoughts.

  The fight was on.

  It was quick and immediately violent in a way the fight between Xander and Derek hadn’t been. Lacey could see Mitch’s fury in the way he attacked quickly, the way he snapped and swiped at his brother as though willing—even eager—to draw blood.

  But she saw something else, too.

  He wasn’t being thoughtful about his attacks.

  He was fighting with pure anger, lunging at Xander again and again, biting at his face and shoulders. He wasn’t bothering to slow things down and assess the fight at all.

  He isn’t being smart.

  Xander fell back, sizing him up, and the next time Mitch charged at him he quickly sidestepped, forcing his brother to plow past him and into the trunk of a tree.

  There was a nervous giggle from the assembled pack members. No one knew how to react to that.

  Mitch shook it off and turned. His teeth were bared, and a snarl ripped from between them. The sound of it made Lacey shudder.

  He’s going to tear Xander apart!

  Mitch charged at Xander again.

  Xander leaped straight up into the air and came down hard on his brother’s back.

  And whether it was due to the shock of the impact or the force of the blow or—had Xander buried his claws in his brother’s back? It was impossible to be sure—Mitch collapsed beneath him. He was down.

  He bucked, trying to throw Xander off, but Xander bore down on him, holding him in place, grinding him into the dirt.

  Lacey could hardly believe what she was seeing. Was this some kind of mistake?

  The whistle blew.

  It wasn’t a mistake. It was real

  It had really happened.

  Mitch struggled to his feet, shot past the medical team that was there to attend to his post-battle wounds, and sprinted into the forest.

  Xander stood, returned to his human form, accepted the robe that was handed to him, and pulled it on.

  Lacey felt dizzy with disbelief.

  He won. He actually won.

  Her boyfriend—her mate—was going to be the pack’s next alpha.

  Chapter Five

  LACEY

  As Xander was led off the field, Lacey became aware of the silence all around her.

  People were staring at her. At her. As if she had been the one to win the Games.

  She swelled with pride. Her mate—the new alpha! Everyone would have to stop treating her badly now. Th
ey would have to gain some respect for her. The alpha’s mate played a significant role in the pack. Her status was higher than that of any of the other women.

  She looked over at Cynthia.

  “You can’t,” Cynthia said, sounding as shocked by the situation as Lacey felt. “You can’t. Not you.”

  “I can’t what?”

  “You can’t be mated to the pack alpha,” Cynthia said.

  Her voice was hollow. Numb. It was as if this was the worst thing she could have imagined happening to her.

  “I am mated to him.” Lacey felt suddenly giddy. “It’s done. We’ve been mates for years.”

  “You don’t deserve him.”

  “Of course I do. You’ve always said we deserved each other.”

  “But that was before.”

  “Before you knew he was going to become our alpha,” Lacey said. “Before you knew he mattered. You never thought you had to take him seriously, so you never did. But you should have. And now he’s beaten Mitch, and he’s going to lead the pack, and I’m going to be by his side when he does!”

  It wasn’t like her to gloat like this. It felt unnatural. But she finally had something to hold over the other women in this pack, and she was enjoying the fact that for once, they were going to know how it felt to be at a disadvantage.

  “No, you’re not,” Cynthia said.

  She was rising to her feet now, staring at Lacey as if she was as insignificant as a bug.

  “What?” Lacey asked.

  “I don’t know why we’ve let you stay this long,” Cynthia said. “You’re not one of us. You never have been, half-breed. And it’s clear that you don’t want to be. You don’t try to fit in. All those tattoos. Those stupid streaks in your hair. You’re not trying to belong to this pack. You don’t want to be a wolf.”

  “I am a wolf,” Lacey said, trying not to let her voice shake. “I always have been.”

  “Then prove it,” Cynthia hissed.

  And she shifted.

  Lacey found herself facing a fully grown wolf.

  Of course, she had been around members of the pack in their animal forms before. But they had never looked at her like this. As if she was something to be hunted. Something to be killed.

  She backed away.

  Cynthia advanced on her, snarling.

  And now the others were rising—Gina, Sarah, and Evelyn, the women they had been sitting with—and they were shifting too. They prowled toward Lacey in a pack.

  Someone let out a cry. “What’s going on?”

  “They’re attacking the half-breed!”

  “Get her!”

  Lacey knew there were people in this pack who wouldn’t object to her being mauled, who would consider it no more than she deserved for taking up their space and their resources for twenty-three years. They hated her here. They didn’t consider her one of them.

  None of them would step in to defend her if it was going to be a fight.

  Shift!

  She reached inward, trying to access her inner wolf, trying to defend herself—

  But she couldn’t do it. She had never been able to do it reliably, and certainly not when she was stressed or afraid.

  The wolves were drawing closer. Did they really mean to hurt her, or was this just another of Cynthia’s intimidation games?

  And then Cynthia lunged for her and slashed Lacey’s arm from shoulder to elbow.

  The sheer pain of it shocked her. She stumbled backward, then turned away and began to run.

  Immediately, she knew that it had been a mistake. The wolves were so much faster than she was. If they gave chase, they would be on her in a minute, and their blood would be up. They would be more animal than human, unable to resist sinking their teeth into her flesh.

  She caught sight of Xander. He was still in his robe. He’d emerged from the woods back into the field, and as he turned toward her, she saw him catch sight of her.

  She ran right for him.

  He’s the alpha now. He’ll stop this. He’ll protect me. She felt a massive rush of relief at the knowledge.

  But as she approached, Xander stepped aside. He turned away.

  He had seen her. Lacey knew he had.

  And he had turned away.

  With four savage wolves chasing after her and blood pouring down her arm, he had turned away from her.

  And the most heartbreaking thing of all was that she immediately understood what had happened and why. There wasn’t a doubt or a question in her mind.

  He felt the same way that Cynthia did.

  He was the alpha now, and that made him too good for her. Above her. He wasn’t the runt of the pack anymore—but she would always be the half-breed.

  She kept running, tears now streaking her cheeks, knowing that if she stopped, he wouldn’t save her.

  She couldn’t outrun the wolves, but they quickly abandoned the chase and allowed her to take flight into the woods. She could hear the sounds of their howls behind her, threatening her, warning her not to come back.

  Lacey stood still, panting, bracing herself against the trunk of a tree.

  She examined her arm. It was bleeding freely.

  I can’t go back.

  She would be seen as a threat now. Xander had made it clear that he didn’t want her. He might even resent her for the bond they had.

  He was an alpha now. He was renouncing her. They didn’t belong together. Maybe they never had.

  Lacey staggered deeper into the woods. For the first time in her life, she was completely alone.

  Chapter Six

  XANDER

  Xander stood stock still on the porch of his father’s house. He still couldn’t believe the way the last few hours had unfolded.

  After all this time, to think that he had been the one to win the Alpha Games. He’d defeated his brothers. Both of them.

  It felt like an accident. Like it shouldn’t have happened.

  Mitch still hadn’t come back from his flight into the woods, but Derek was on the porch with Xander. He hadn’t spoken when Xander had first arrived, but now he looked over at him.

  “Sorry about the cuts,” he said.

  Xander shook his head. “You were doing what you were supposed to.

  “You’re okay?”

  “I’ll be fine, yeah.”

  “Do you know where Mitch went?”

  “No idea.” Xander shifted awkwardly. “Do you know what Dad wants?”

  “Probably to congratulate you, right?” Derek wasn’t quite looking at him. Xander appreciated that his brother wasn’t being outright hostile, but he could tell Derek wasn’t happy with him. They usually got along much better than Xander did with Mitch, but it was clear that Derek wasn’t going to get over today’s defeat in a big hurry.

  “Xander,” his father’s voice called from inside the house.

  Xander swallowed. Why do I feel like I’m about to get chewed out?

  “You’d better get in there,” Derek said.

  Xander nodded and went into the house.

  His father was sitting at the kitchen table. He gestured to the seat opposite him without looking up. Nervously, Xander sank into it.

  “So,” his father said.

  Xander waited.

  “You won the Games.” It didn’t sound like congratulations. Not for the first time since his victory, Xander felt a strange compulsion to apologize for his success.

  “I guess I did,” he said instead.

  “Do you know what that’s going to do to your brother?”

  “Take him down a rank, I guess.”

  “And you don’t feel badly about that? You don’t have any regrets?”

  Xander shook his head. He wasn’t going to apologize for this. “No,” he said. “Mitch was the one who wanted me to compete. I didn’t push my way into this competition. This didn’t have to happen, and it’s his own fault that it did, every bit as much as it’s mine.”

  “All right,” his father said. “Just as long as you know that.” br />
  Xander blinked. “What?”

  “If you’re going to take the alpha role, I can’t have you questioning six months from now whether you really deserve it,” his father said. “You have to be confident in yourself. You have to step into the role and never look back. Can you do that?”

  “Oh, I think I can handle it,” Xander said.

  After all, his father was talking about leaving the role of pack runt behind for good. Xander had thought he would say goodbye to that when he grew tall and built his new muscles, but it hadn’t happened. Winning today would be the thing that changed things for him forever.

  “This means you have to abandon your old life,” his father said. “That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. You understand that, don’t you? Everything that came before today—you need to let it go. You need to be an alpha now. If I don’t believe you can do that, I can’t let you take over.”

  “I can do it.”

  His father met his eyes. “You can forget about the half-blood?”

  Xander’s stomach lurched.

  This was the part he had been trying not to think about. The way she had looked at him as the women of the pack had shifted and run her off into the woods. She had been begging him for help, and he had ignored her.

  And just this morning, she had been in his bed. He had lost himself, as he had done so many times, in the pleasures of her body. The warmth of her skin on his.

  I love her. I’m in love with her.

  But no.

  He couldn’t be in love with her.

  That had always been a mistake.

  He knew it now. He had allowed his place in the pack as the lowest-ranking male to blind him to his own potential. He had settled for her. That was all it had ever been. He had thought she was the best he could do.

  “You can’t be with someone like that,” his father said as if following his train of thought. “We all indulged it while you were just the family disgrace, but now that you’re actually going to have status in this pack, you need to find a suitable mate.”

  “I know,” Xander said.

  His gut wrenched again. It was strange how saying it out loud made it feel real. He could never have dreamed, when he had left the house this morning, that he would end the day by saying goodbye to Lacey forever.