Oh Hell No

Chapter 3

Silence. That's what her answer was greeted with. But it didn't last.

Braxton and David growled, tensing up at the threat they now worried Jamie would pose. Mason raised a hand to silence them, any amusement in his expression gone, "Mind elaborating?"

"Would you believe me if I said it was self defense?" He stared at her, "Didn't think so," Elaborating didn't keep her from getting kicked out of her old pack, so why did she even bother to think it would help her now. Her own friends and family didn't believe that she had a good reason, so why would complete strangers?

"You realize after a confession like that I'm not inclined to let you through, right?" Alpha Mason asks.

"I do, but I figured honesty is the best policy," She admits with a shrug, "If it would help I can promise that I don't plan on harming any of your pack members," She knew it wouldn't help. She had been labeled a murderer, and no matter how trustworthy she seemed, they wouldn't trust her. Couldn't trust her. Wolves were cautious creatures, and when it came to killing a potentially innocent rogue or protecting their loved ones, there was no question.

Mason's look only confirmed it; she wouldn't be allowed to cross. It was one thing to let an innocent rogue across, but she wasn't innocent. Even if she kept her promise to him, there would always be the chance that Jamie passes through peacefully just to begin terrorizing another pack. And Mason couldn't be the reason that a dangerous rogue hurts wolves, whether they were in his pack or not. No matter how capable his pack was it wasn't smart to intentionally make enemies. She couldn't blame him for that, especially since she didn't want to make enemies either. Only problem is she would have to make some to get out of here alive.

Outrunning this many wolves, most of whom had years of experience over her, was nothing short of stupid. But Jamie was fast. Whether she was fast enough was the question. She was the daughter of a beta, and females were naturally quick, so she might just stand a chance. The only other problem is that they know this land much better than she does. She could easily end up finding their pack house, or any of the other houses which wouldn't be good depending on how close-knit they were. The idea of a rogue being near their friends and family would only motivate them to move faster.

Because running is really her only option, other than accepting her death that may or may not be painful depending who Mason ordered to do it, she'd have to do it right. The element of surprise would be her friend here, if no one else. Come to think of it, the "no one else" part was actually really accurate in her current situation. A quick look around revealed that much.

Braxton looked about ready to snap her neck, but that was nothing new. It probably wouldn't even matter if they were mates, not that she'd want to be the mate of that jerk. Obviously he wouldn't have been so abrasive if they were mates, but with the threat of death looming over her Jamie figured she was allowed to over exaggerate in her own head.

Any friendliness in Astral's gaze had disappeared, now replaced with a cold caution. Even she had a serious side it seemed. The expression was familiar enough for Jamie to realize that she and Braxton must be related. It would explain why she had been able to get near him without the hostility that anyone else would have gotten while he was irritated.

Chris's expression was unreadable, his gaze kept flickering between her and Mason. It was safe to say that any good ground they had to stand on had been burned. She wouldn't be getting any sympathy from him, nor anyone else it seemed.

Good. If no one was going to help her that meant she didn't have to worry about letting anyone in on her plan. It would be fine; she didn't need them anyway.

Mason got up with a sigh, for once looking his age, "it's nothing personal, but-" Before he could finish his sentence, Jamie sprung from her seat, shifting mid-air. She took off running, making sure to knock into Mason to buy herself more time. The longer it took for him to go after her, the better.

Looking back simply wasn't an option so she'd have to rely on her hearing. Humans may not be able to multitask well but werewolves didn't have that problem. She could easily keep up with her surroundings, watching for roots or rocks that might trip her up, while listening to the rapid footsteps that followed her. Years of playing tag with werewolves had truly trained her well.

She swerved between trees, hoping to all the gods she could name that one of them ran into a tree. Not that it would really help her, there were too many wolves chasing her for a single one to matter, but it would have been hilarious. She could use a good laugh right about now.

For a second she actually thought that she was going to make it to the other side of their territory alive. She just hoped that they would give up once she was out of their borders. Those hopes were quickly crushed when another wolf crashed into her from the side. A tan wolf stood over her, snarling.

"Nice job, Chels," Mason tells the wolf, having shifted back once Jamie was taken down. Chris, Astral, and David shifted back while a wolf she guessed was Braxton continued to growl lowly, presumably too pissed at her to shift back, "Do you want to shift back or for us to just get it over with?" He asks.

Jamie reluctantly moved to shift, and thankfully the wolf on top of her moved out of the way, "Really thought that would work," She admits, laying on her back.

"Get up," Mason commands, "I refuse to kill someone in such an undignified position."

"Screw dignity. If you're gonna kill me anyway I might as well be comfortable," She replies, crossing her arms under her head for emphasis.

His frown deepens, "The ground can't be that comfortable."

She shrugs, or at least tries to. It isn't exactly easy to in her position, "You'd be surprised."

"Oh for goddess's sake get up," Mason commands, already sick of her crap.

Jamie sighs before slowly pulling herself up. It wouldn't do her any good to annoy him further, that would just result in a slower, more painful death. Mason reminded himself that killing her would be a mercy. She couldn't become an insane, blood-thirsty rogue if she was dead. Before he could even reach for her, a snarling wolf jumped in between Jamie and Mason. Mason paused, his eyes glazing over as he tried to mind-link the wolf. The other didn't seem to be responding, instead turning its back to the alpha. In the blink of an eye, the wolf had shifted and the man in its place had pulled Jamie into his arms, growling protectively all the while.

"Mate," He practically snarled, and it was clear that his wolf was the one in control.

Jamie tensed in his arms, taking a second longer than necessary to process what he said. She couldn't help but notice the sparks that erupted at the place where their arms touched. This could not be happening, she could not have found her mate.

"Oh hell no."