Page 67 of Plus-Size Bullied Mate

But underneath that urge is something new and considerably less quiet. The part of me I’ve been learning to embrace more lately.

I think of the rain and the children running through it. Of the decision I made before I could truly understand what I was doing, and the moment I went through the door before the fear could talk me out of it.

With a harder expression, I stand a little straighter.

“You need to leave. You’re in Reed territory.”

Hayes smiles knowingly, and slightly to his left, one of his wolves leans against a tree with his arms crossed, in a comfortable posture that screams he expects to be entertained.

He’s tall and intimidating too, but with more scars and a cold gleam in his eyes. His somewhat longer hair makes him look older and more intense, but I have the feeling he’s closer to Hayes’ age.

“Cliff,” Hayes says, not looking away from me, but addressing the other coolly. “Did you see any signs on the way over here that mentioned something about ‘Reed territory’?”

Cliff, apparently, huffs a breath and tilts his head. “Nah… none that I saw.”

“Oh, good. Then we’re safe.”

Cliff and the others chuckle among themselves while Hayes’ grin spreads just enough to get under my skin.

Still, I bristle.

“Leave,” I say again, steadier than the first time.

Hayes tilts his head at that, and his smug look doesn’t waver. “You’re giving orders now, I see. That’s new. Didn’t you use to be invisible or something?”

When I clench my jaw and don’t respond, he only looks more satisfied.

“Ah, yes, you’re the one the pack didn’t want. You were the perfect target with the dead traitor parents.” He pauses, watching for the flinch or any other reaction. He gestures vaguely in my direction. “Look at you now… bearing a mate mark, and one from an alpha, no less. Impressive.”

“Be careful,” I warn him, feeling as frustration swells in me to the point where I can’t hide it. I feel as if it tangles with the underlying fear.

“Why, because your mate will come?”

I don’t say anything.

His smile broadens into something that lacks all warmth. “That’s exactly what I want, Tessa. Go ahead, tell him I’m here. Tell him I have his mate cornered by the cliffside, and if he wants her, he’ll have to come himself. If he and his buddies want to be the authority on how to be an alpha around here, then he better show up.”

As he says it, I sense more wolves gathering behind them, and soon enough, their faces peek through the trees in their shifted forms.

The sight of them all sends an anxious shiver down my spine, and it takes immense strength to keep it in.

Cliff pushes off the tree, still unhurried while he idles there, waiting for whatever cue Hayes might give.

There are too many of them. Far too many for just myself and Hunter.

But I know Hunter will have already felt the spike of adrenaline through the bond. Any slight disturbance will alert him, and he’ll be on me in minutes.

He’ll come just like Hayes wants him to, and the Wraith Peak wolves will already be here. With these numbers, they aren’t just here to watch. This is an ambush.

Standing at the edge of the cliff, my heart pounds while I try to keep myself together. I have to be strong now, given what I am, but it feels more like I’m a kid again, thrust back into the night that changed my life forever. The night that made me a bad omen.

Hayes wants Hunter, and he’s using me to get him.

He’s going to walk right into it.

Chapter 26 - Hunter

I started running the moment the fear reached me through the bond, and it felt more like a lightning strike than a call for help.