Forsaking His Mate

FORSAKING HIS MATE

THE WOLVES OF BLACK MOUNTAIN

BOOK 1

Enjoy this introduction to the Wolves of Black Mountain Series from USA Today Bestselling Author Jessica Ames...

When hunters come for my pack, I never imagined the wolf they were hunting was me. I have no idea why they want me dead, but as the truth is revealed I realize my life has been a lie.

I am a wolf shifter, but I also have the powers of my witch ancestors, and those who place a value on keeping the wolf line pure want me dead because of it.

The Sanctuary should have been a place to catch my breath and feel safe from the monsters coming for me, but it becomes my nightmare when I run into my mate and he rejects me.

But the more I get to know him, the more I realise he’s hiding something.

A secret.

To stop him from forsaking me and our mate bond, I have to unravel the truth…

Forsaking His Mate is a novella that introduces the Wolves of Black Mountain series. These books should be read in order to get the full enjoyment of the series, but they can be read as standalones. This is a rejected mates paranormal romance story with over the top wolf shifters and a guaranteed happily ever after. Enjoy!

Chapter One

The baying of wolves fills my ears.

I can hear the panic in those howls, the determination too, and, through my pack bond, the pain.

Some are dying, others are hanging on by a thread.

That emotional assault is why I’m lying in the dirt, my breath wheezing out of me like an old chainsaw. I was running through the trees, my heart hammering so hard I felt like it was going to explode out of my chest.

Then I felt him die.

Mason.

He is our pack delta—or he was.

Now, he’s gone.

The agony of his death ricochets through my brain like a pinball. Mason was strong. If he is gone, what hope is there for the rest of my pack?

For me.

We’re all going to die out here, and it’s my fault. My father should never have let me stay.

The thought stabs at my heart. I am responsible for the turmoil and chaos happening around me.

It would be easy to lie in the dirt and wait for the wolves hunting us down like dogs to find me, but I want to live. I have a sense that I have to survive.

Get up, Tessa…

Move…

Pressing my fingers into the mulch and sodden leaves covering the ground, I force myself up onto my knees.

I’m shaking so badly that I can hardly focus on anything, so I take a moment while the world starts spinning around me to try to hone my senses.

Where am I?

Trees surround me, rows and rows of trunks and thick foliage. The sun barely reaches through the canopy of leaves overhead, making it feel more like dusk than mid-afternoon. It casts an eerie hue over everything around me and heightens my terror.

I was running west, away from the pack lands, but I think I’ve turned south somehow and I don’t know where I am anymore. I’ve never been this far from the compound. I was never allowed. My father kept me hidden since I was a pup, and for good reason. I’m different and there are those who do not like anything different.

There are hunters, other wolves, who will tear apart any who is different under the guise of protecting our bloodline. It’s bullshit, but there are those who believe it too, those who would hand over any wolf trying to flee from the hunters because of their misguided sense of righteousness.

I try to reach down the pack bond to sense my father, but everything is jumbled and panicked. I can’t lock on to one voice, one consciousness, and there’s only one emotion coming through—fear.

I raise my head and sniff the air, letting go of my human side for a moment. As I do, I allow the animal I share my awareness with to take over. My wolf is trapped inside me, unable to shift because of what I am. Unlike the rest of my pack, she won’t ever manifest, or so my father says. He tried when I turned sixteen, when I was brought before my pack under the full moon and my alpha—my father—tried to call my wolf to the surface.

Nothing happened except excruciating pain as my wolf tried to free herself and failed. Instead, I left my body. I don’t know how I did it, but I saw things that should not have been possible. I floated above my pack, watching as my bones broke and tried to reform into my wolf.

There is no other wolf in my pack who can do that. As far as I know, no wolf should be able to.

It was then I knew I was different.

When I told my father what happened, his face became serious and he told me I was more special than I could imagine. I didn’t feel special. I felt like a freak.

He forbade me from traveling that way again, and I have kept that promise… until now.

What choice do I have? I’m at a disadvantage and this can help. I silence my mind and block out everything but my own breathing. When I’m calm, I close my eyes and reach out.

It takes me a few tries before my awareness leaves my body and I’m floating above myself. I have dirt on my back and my sneakers are coated in mud too.

I make my awareness to move and float above the forest floor, scanning for danger. I’m aware there is fighting ahead and to the east, but I’m looking for immediate danger.

That’s when I see him.

A huge marl-colored wolf is stalking in my direction. He’s keeping low, but he’s moving fast. The wolf is enormous, and from his size, I’d guess an alpha or a beta male.

He’s a death sentence if he reaches me.

I force my awareness back into my body. My mind slams back awake with a painful punch that goes through my limbs like an electric current. I snap my eyes open. I’m looking at the leaves covering the ground in front of my nose, no longer flying above the trees.

My gut twists.

I need to keep moving.

My legs ache fiercely, but I stand and even though we’re not supposed to turn it off, I silence the pack bond. I need to focus on where my attacker is coming from, and I can’t do that with so much noise.

Instantly, everything is muted, as if someone flipped a switch in my head.

The quiet is strange. Unnerving.

Then, sounds start to filter through. I can hear birds in the trees and the rustling of leaves as the wind moves through the undergrowth. In the distance, howling and barking tell me where the fighting is happening.

I know he’s behind me, but despite how fast he was moving, I can’t hear him. He’ll reach me soon, though, so I do the only thing I can.

I run.

Branches skim my arms, slicing at my skin, but I keep going. I can’t outpace a wolf, not in human form, but to stop would be instant death.

So, I keep moving, even though I know I cannot win.

A flash of fur erupts out of the undergrowth to the left of me. It hits me with so much force it drives me to the ground. Rocks and stones slice my hands as I use them to soften my fall.

I don’t give myself time to absorb the pain, scrambling to my feet and pulling a long-bladed knife from my belt.

Cold ghosts over my skin as the biggest wolf I’ve ever seen gets up from the forest floor six feet from me. He is bigger than my father, but he is not one of my pack.

The strong waves coming off him are overwhelming and his unfamiliarity has me baring my teeth as I slowly take a step backward. The wolf that shares my consciousness stalks back and forth inside my mind, wanting to come out and play, but I can’t make that happen, even though I wish she could fight this battle for me.

The marl wolf lowers his head, his hackles raised, and emits a low growl deep in his throat. Blood is matted into his fur, especially around his muzzle. Did this wolf kill my pack members, the ones I heard dying?

Even if I was able to shift, I wouldn’t be able to beat him in a fight. He is built to destroy, to attack, and right now this wolf looks like he wants to tear me apart.

I’m staring death in the face and there is nothing I can do about it.

I try to calm my heart, not wanting to show weakness, even though I want to drop to my knees and submit. Slowly, I move back another step and raise my hands as if that can save me. It can’t.

Teeth still bared, he lifts his snout to sniff the air.

I know what he’s scenting.

I don’t smell like other wolves because I’m not like any of my kind.

Every wolf has a small amount of magic that flows through them. It allows them to shift from human into their animal form and not just on the full moon. I’ve heard the lore a thousand times about the magical pelts that turned Leif and Torsten into wolves, but I am not like them.

The magic inside me is different. Corrupted.

I don’t know what I am, but I am not fully wolf. I am something else—a hybrid of some kind. The magic inside me is stronger than it should be and the things I can do scare me. When I asked my father to explain what I am, he never could. He would tell me I was his child and that was all that matters.

He was wrong though. I want to be normal. I want to run with my pack. I want to find my fated mate, and I want to have pups. I will never experience any of this because I cannot shift.

I have been kept hidden my entire life because I am different. I should have been killed at birth, or certainly when my father began to suspect something was off—definitely before hunters turned up to destroy my pack only to kill me.

Even though he is the alpha and there were risks to keeping me alive, my father couldn’t kill me, nor could he leave me among the humans. He and my pack love me. I am one of them, even despite my inability to shift and my weird gifts.

It would have been kinder for all of us if he had ended my life. I never wanted to bring suffering or pain to any of them. Now they are dying because of me.

Suddenly, the marl wolf snaps at me, catching my leg with his sharp teeth. I cry out, jolting away. I can feel blood running down into my sneaker.

My mind reminds me I can’t outrun him, but I try anyway, turning and darting around a tree before taking off at full speed.

I barely make it ten steps before a weight lands on my back. I sprawl, throwing my hands out to cushion my fall as I hit the forest floor. My body jars as I make contact, old roots smashing my knees and shins.

I don’t want to cry out, but the sound escapes my mouth anyway. My palms sting as I try to push up, trying to hide my vulnerability before this thing starts tearing at me.

As I lift myself off the ground, paws press against my spine, forcing me back into the dirt. The air is pushed from my lungs, leaving me spluttering and gasping.

Red hot agony tears down my back as the wolf attacks me. I scream, though it feels as if it gets caught in my throat.

I’m going to die.

This is my end.

As a last effort, I shove him back with my mind, and the wolf is thrown off me, whimpering. I get my hands under me and try to get to my feet, not stopping to see what has him crying or to consider the fact I just moved him with a thought. My back is on fire, and I can hardly breathe.

A vision snaps through my mind of a white wolf clashing with the marl one. I know the white wolf is my father; I’ve seen him in his form many times before. He’s coming for me and I want to scream at him to stay away.

There isn’t the time to warn him and I curse my visions. What good is it seeing the future if I can”t change anything?

I catch his familiar scent just before the white wolf erupts out of the undergrowth and leaps over me to attack the marl one exactly as I saw.

For a moment, all I can do is lie in the dirt and try to catch my breath. I can hear the barks and growls coming from behind me as the fight gets underway. My father’s strength seems to fill the air as he battles this wolf to save my life.

He has always been the one to save me.

I force myself up on to my knees, swallowing my pain to watch the fight. My father is said to be one of the strongest alphas of our kind. I wouldn’t know; I’ve never met wolves outside of the Gold River Pack, but watching him in action makes me think it might not have been a lie.

Despite being smaller, he snaps and bites at the marl wolf, his teeth sinking deep. The fight is savage, blood spraying as they both take chunks out of each other. Fear grips me as red stains my father’s white fur.

Suddenly, there’s a high-pitched whimper as the marl wolf goes down, and then silence. My father’s wolf turns to face me, blood covering his snout, his blue eyes taking me in before he collapses onto his side.

I rush to him, stumbling over my own feet and dropping into the dirt next to him as his transformation starts. Bones pop and crack, his whimpers quiet as his body fades from fur to skin.

Then, he’s lying before me, naked. His skin is covered in welts and cuts and I wince at the damage done to him.

“Tessa.” He says my name with such desperation.

“I’m okay,” I lie, because my back feels like it’s been licked by fire. As bad as my injuries are, they are nothing compared to my father’s. He’ll heal, as all wolves can, but it will take time for it to knit together.

“I tried to get to you as fast as I could,” he says, reaching his hand out to me.

“I know.”

He lets out a shaky breath. “I thought you could be safe here with us, but they will come again. Now that they know you’re here, those hunters will never stop.”

My chest aches with every word he says. He’s right.

Tears brim in my eyes and my father swipes his thumb over my cheek, wiping them away as they fall. “I should never have kept you here. It was selfish of me.” He swallows hard, his throat working as he tries to control his emotions. I feel my own stick in my throat as I try not to sob. “When you were a pup, there was a woman who came for you. She knew what you were and she wanted to take you somewhere safe. I wouldn’t allow it. I wanted you close. You are my child, the light in my darkness, my heart and my soul. Selfishly, I didn’t want to let you go, but I should have.”

“What woman?”

His tongue slips out to wet his bottom lip. “Her name’s Hester. She’ll explain it all to you,” he assures me. “You have to go.”

I shake my head. “I don’t want to go.”

He squeezes my hand. “She can protect you in ways I can’t.” Sucking in a breath, he closes his eyes. “My little Tess, I’ve always known this day would come. You’re different, special. Our kind is not tolerant of either. They’ll want to destroy you. They think you’re a freak, an abomination, but you’re a miracle. Never forget that.” My heart feels so full with his words that I can’t stop the tears from streaming down my cheeks. “There will always be a place for you here, but I need you safe. Find this woman.”

I have no idea how I’m supposed to find her when I don’t know the first thing about her.

“How?”

He smiles so sadly it makes my heart clench. “She said you’d know where she was and that you’d be able to find her when the time was right.”

The cryptic words have me frowning. What the hell kind of answer is that?

“She was wrong. I don’t even know where to start looking,” I say, a hint of desperation lacing my tone.

“You will. Trust yourself. Tessa, go!” I hesitate, unsure of what to do. He sounds crazy and I want to stay; I don’t want to leave him like this. “Go now!” he snarls.

I close my eyes and take a breath. I have to go and not because some mystical woman told him I had to, but because the threat of the hunters after me is very real and I can’t be responsible for any more deaths.

Sobbing, I kiss his cheek and stand. “I love you, Papa,” I say.

“I love you too, my girl.”

I give him a watery smile, taking in every inch of his face and committing it to memory before I turn and run. It is the hardest thing I have ever had to do. I don’t want to leave my dad bleeding in the dirt, but what choice is there? Stay and get us both killed or run and hope they come for me, not my family?

I take off at speed.

I might not be able to shift or outrun a full-blooded wolf, but I’m not as slow as a human either. I have better stamina, a faster pace, and more strength, but I still have limits.

Eventually, I start to tire, though I keep going until my lungs feel as if they are on fire. The sound of fighting and baying gets quieter until I hear nothing but the sounds of the forest. I don’t dare turn on the pack bond again to find out what is happening. I know if I hear them suffering, I’ll return, and that would put them at greater risk.

Jumping over a thick tree root, I drop into a pile of leaves. Here, there are no tracks or paths, telling me that human and wolves are not venturing this deep into the woods. I slow down my pace, the uneven forest floor making it hard to run without risking injury. Every noise has me looking over my shoulder.

I have no direction in mind and my only aim is to put as much distance between me and those hunters as possible. Questions race in my head and I wish I could have stayed to find out more.

Who is Hester, and how am I meant to find someone I’ve never met before?

The sky overhead starts to darken and my legs ache fiercely. My back is a ball of pain, but I keep moving. I don’t know why but it feels right to head in this direction and Dad did say I should trust myself.

My feet fail me, and I stumble over a rock. Throwing a hand out to stop my fall, I can’t stop the cry that escapes me as it connects with its jagged edges.

I land on my hip and wince—this is not my most graceful moment, considering I do have wolf in me. Wiping my muddy hands on my jeans, I start to slowly rise to my feet until a vision hits me so violently it drives me back to the ground. Spreading my fingers, touching the dead leaves and the dirt, I try to ground myself as pain erupts through my skull.

As the forest wavers before my eyes, I see a raven-haired woman with eyes that are almost as black. She’s studying me as if she is truly standing there.

I’m in pain; I can’t breathe without feeling like there are shards of glass in my airways, and that alone tells me this is unlike any vision I’ve ever experienced.

Hester…

The name floats through my mind, and I know she’s the one I’m looking for.

“Where are you?” she asks.

No one has ever spoken to me in a vision before. I usually just get a glimpse of something that is about to happen. This is new, and honestly terrifying.

“I-I don’t know. How are you doing this?”

She glances around, as if she is taking in everything she can see. “I’m trying to find you, but your magic is chaotic. I can’t lock onto you, and I’m not doing this. You are.”

I don’t know what that means—how can I be doing something I don’t even understand? “Who are you?”

“You know who I am. You’re looking for me.”

“Hester.”

“I knew you’d be running today. I’m in the woods, but I don’t know how close I am.”

As my vision fades, I’m on my knees in the dirt, and my heart is racing. I can taste blood in my mouth, and I realize I must have bitten my tongue at some point. Disgusted, I spit it out.

I need to keep moving.

I push up and something tells me to head straight on. It’s a feeling, an instinct that it will lead me to her, to Hester.

I don’t want to trust it, but my wolf urges me to walk, so I stumble forward, my body exhausted and spent.

The darkness is creeping in and I have to use all my senses to keep from falling over roots and rocks. I can’t scent another wolf on my trail. I can’t scent anything other than a deer in the distance and small animals hiding in the undergrowth.

I’m only focused on putting one foot in front of the other, ignoring the pain.

It’s nearly dark when I hear my name.

“Tessa.”

For a moment, I think I imagined it. Even so, I skid to a halt, twisting to see the raven-haired woman standing there.

Hester.

I blink, sure that I’m hallucinating. I’m so tired and my back is a constant ball of pain now.

She doesn’t disappear though. Instead, she smiles at me.

“What is going on?” I demand, my voice shaking.

“I’ll explain it all,” she says, “but we need to get out of these woods. Will you come with me?”

I glance behind me, wondering if any of the hunters are still coming for me. “I don’t want to endanger you,” I say.

She smiles. “Those little pups don’t frighten me. Come.”

Looking back at me over her shoulder, she smiles, beckoning me forward.

I blow out a breath, and then I follow.