You Rejected Me. Remember?

“Do you want to see the ruins of the rogue palace?” Miles asked as they walked out of the hospital. The doctor had agreed to discharge her from the hospital since she had woken up and her wolf was on full alert. She had made a remarkable recovery and since her wolf was still with her, her healing process would accelerate.

“The rogue palace?” Monica inquired, glancing towards Miles.

“Yeah. The one they held you captive. Draven was recruiting rogues for years. He was trying to take over the throne after defeating his brother Damien the Crown Prince,” he explained.

Monica gaped at Miles, finding it hard to believe.

“Wow, sounds like a failed coup d’etat,” she mumbled, arching her brows.

“Yup. And the king had ordered the palace to be demolished at once. Do you want to see it before we leave?” Calli asked as they walked together.

“Yeah, let’s go and see it. I would love to see the remains of that horrid place,” Monica replied, her heart swelling with contentment. She was grateful that she survived the nasty experience and hearing about the downfall of those lunatics gave her a whole new level of satisfaction.

Monica’s heart thumped in her chest as they approached the wreckage. She stared at the place, stupefied. It was hard for her to believe that the palace that she once was held captive in was now in ruins. It was nothing but a bunch of broken bricks. However, the foundations of the palace and parts of its pillars remained.

Smiling in triumph, she walked onto the tiled part of the floor. She carefully stepped over the scattered rocks and inspected the place. She noticed the remnants of the staircase that she had used a couple of times. Her eyes shifted in the direction where the forbidden door was. The door was completely broken and lying in the form of useless pieces of wood.

The room of harrows was truly gone. The memories of what she saw made the hair rise on the back of her neck. It was truly a delight that it now ceased to exist.

“What a joy,” she whispered to herself, as she touched the remnant of a broken pillar.

“I’m loving every bit of it!” She snickered, as she looked around. “I’m glad that the vampire king destroyed this place.”

Cade felt his heart flutter when he saw how appeased his mate looked. Holding her hand, he nodded.

“Me too,” he mumbled.

Pursing her lips, she looked at a broken cage that was lying a few feet away from her.

“I feel bad for those who lost their lives. However, at least the others are free. I wish them happiness in their lives,” she sighed.

Nodding in agreement, “let’s go home,” Calli mumbled.

Just as the four of them started to walk away from what remained of Draven’s palace, a little toad hopped around the debris. Its eyes moved with the movements of the four wolves. He knew who they were. Among them was the girl he was looking for. However, he didn’t know how he could get their attention.

Elijah hopped after them, feeling a mixture of emotions. He was so close to his target, however, it was a pity that none of them would recognise him in that form.

Wait!

He wanted to call out, however, the best he could do was let out an ugly croak. It didn’t go unheard by the sharp hearing sense of the wolves. Yet, they ignored it. Hearing the croak of a toad in the forest wasn’t something bizarre.

Damn!

He cursed when he saw three of them morph into their wolves. He watched with an aching heart as Monica climbed on one of the wolves and sped off.

No!

He gasped internally. He knew they were on their way to go back to their pack. He knew that he wouldn’t be able to keep up with three wolves running at full speed. His quest to beg for forgiveness will have to wait till night falls. Until then, he will have to stay alive.

He cautiously looked around, since he understood that he had to fight for survival. He would have to outsmart any lurking predator that thought that he was a tasty snack.

A slight movement caught his eye. It was a bug that was crawling out from the leaves of a nearby bush. His mouth watered. And before he could stop himself, his toad instincts reacted and he swallowed the unsuspecting bug. A moment passed by before he realised what he had done.

What the hell! Did I just eat a bug?!

He g*****d mentally. Elijah couldn’t help but cringe. Eating bugs for breakfast was not his idea of a healthy meal. Soon, he started to feel drowsy.

f**k this toad’s life! I can’t believe toads sleep during the day!

He cursed himself as he fought to stay awake until he found a safe place to rest. When he noticed the soft earth beside a pile of rocks, he mentally rejoiced.

Yes! A place to bury me in!

He quickly crawled towards it and started to dig a hole so that he could rest inside. When he thought he had dug deep enough, he settled inside. It was time to sleep.

I can’t believe I am starting to think and behave like a toad. I better get rid of this stupid curse soon. Well, karma has got me for real. I’ll have to wait until the sun sets….

He sighed as he slowly dozed off.

***

Monica enjoyed the ride on Aspen’s back. This was the second time she rode on a wolf, however, riding on her mate’s back was a better experience than riding on Philip’s back.

His scent and the sparks of the mate bond continued to soothe her throughout the ride, making her sigh from time to time as she rode on Aspen’s back.

Asena kept whimpering in joy. This was the first time they met Cade’s wolf and both Monica and Asena agreed that Aspen was drop-dead gorgeous.

“I want to shift and meet my mate in person,” Asena m****d in Monica’s head. She held back a chuckle as she laced her fingers in Aspen’s soft, dark brown fur.

“Maybe soon,” she replied. She too wanted to shift. It would be her first, and it was an experience that she longed to have.

It took a couple of hours for the three wolves to reach their domain and as soon as they entered the perimeters of their pack, Miles and Calli left Cade and Monica alone, so that they could shift back to their human forms in peace. Monica gaped at the massive wolf when she saw how Aspen’s limbs morphed. The dark brown fur disappeared and his snout shrunk until Cade’s face emerged. His shoulder length hair matched that of Aspen’s fur and his piercing blue eyes opened as soon as he shifted back. Monica was awestruck to witness such a majestic sight.

Soon Cade was standing in front of her in his naked glory and all that Monica could do was stare, wide-eyed and open-mouthed. Smirking, Cade sauntered up to her and without any warning, he grabbed her and covered her mouth with his in a needy k**s.

He continued to tug and pull her soft lips, savouring her taste and enjoying the moment. Their faces tingled with the sparks of their bond. Soon, she started to move her lips in synchronisation with his lips, the heat of their k**s increased with each passing second. Their hearts beat together in the same rhythm, as though they were one soul in two bodies.

By the time they pulled away, both of them were gasping for breath. Cade held her tight in his arms as he rested his forehead against hers.

“I missed you so much,” he breathed out.

She cupped his cheeks and smiled as she inhaled deeply, enjoying his wonderful scent.

“I was so scared. I thought I lost you,” he continued.

Chuckling, “I am yours, Cade. Always,” she whispered in response as she played with his hair with one hand. Her other hand traced the bulging muscles of his biceps and chest and slowly trailed down towards his abs.

He shuddered. Her touch was magical. It made him feel emotions he never experienced in the past. Growling, he grabbed her hair and sniffed at the crook of her neck. Her breathing hitched.

“I don’t have much patience, Moni. You don’t know how hard it is for me to control Aspen from marking you. I don’t care that we are in the woods and I’ll be frank, Aspen surely wouldn’t hesitate from marking you here, right now. So if you don’t want me to ram into you out in the open, stop teasing me with these little fingers,” he warned.

His breathy warning made her shudder in his hold. She gulped. She could feel his stiff junior poking in her tummy. But she didn’t want to stop. She was ready for him when she was abducted from home, and now, she was more than ready.

“What if I want this?” She whispered back and Cade went stiff. He took a moment to digest what he had heard.

“Do you want this?” He asked, in a low growl. Monica gulped. The palpitations of her heart had increased tenfold.

“Yes,” she managed to whisper despite the tightness of her throat.

His eyes instantly darkened with l**t as he leaned back to gaze into her orbs. He took a moment to study her face. He saw nothing but determination on it.

“Are you sure, mate?” He asked in a gruff voice.

Her heart hammered with the excitement she felt. Feeling bold, she grabbed his already stiff member and nodded.

“Yes.”

A little whisper was enough. Cade ripped the baggy shirt she was wearing and tore the pair of jeans off her. Ever since she met Cade, Monica had always anticipated this moment. However, she never thought that she would feel comfortable being nude in front of him in the wild. Yet, here she was.

Her eyes rolled to the back of her head when he played with her using his hands and tongue.

“Relax, babe. Let me take control,” he whispered as he slowly lifted her while her back rested against the trunk of a tree.

Both of them plunged into the deep sea of desires. The whole atmosphere filled with their grunts and m***s of pleasure as they solidified their bond. Yes, it was painful, but she didn’t care. She was with the one she had fallen in love with. Her soulmate – her better half.

Cade felt his canines elongate. It was time for him to mark her as his. Just before he shot his seeds inside her, he plunged his canines into her marking spot causing her to yelp.

The pain was soon replaced with immense pleasure.

“Mmm,” she m****d while Cade ran his tongue over the mark.

He grinned as he admired it. The mark now announced to the whole world that she belonged to him. She was finally his.

Holding her tight, he brushed away the hair that was matted onto her forehead.

“You are mine,” he whispered. Gasping for breath, she let out a breathy laugh.

“Yes, yours,” she agreed.

“Let’s go back to the packhouse,” Cade mumbled, slowly putting her back on her feet. However, she wasn’t ready to stand on her own. Her legs were wobbly and her ladyhood was sore.

“Like this?” She gasped, grabbing onto his arms. “I can’t go in naked..” she frowned.

Laughing, “we will use the back door. There is a door we use to enter the packhouse after going for a run,” he informed her.

“Okay,” she mumbled, attempting to stand, however she soon realised that she wasn’t ready for that.

“Cade ….I don’t think I can walk yet,” she told him, making him laugh.

He scooped her up in his arms. “I’ll carry you,” he said grinning.

A soft smile stretched her lips.

“Isn’t he the best?” Asena whimpered. “I can’t wait to shift so I can mark him too. I can feel the connection already. But once we mark him, our bond will be stronger than ever,” Asena squealed.

“Soon, girl. I hope,” I replied.

“Yes, soon…. hopefully,” she agreed and went silent.