Rejected Mates

Chapter 31

Jared gave up on his restraint. He pulled Melinda into his arms, wrapping one around her back, pulling her in close to him, the other he brought to her face, brushing her tears away with his thumb. He leaned his forehead against hers, his own tears beginning to fall. Holding her in his arms gave him the greatest sense of fulfillment he could have imagined. He felt alive and awake, as if everything leading up to this moment had been a sad dream.

"I could never let you go," he whispered to her. "I tried, I wanted to let you be free of me, but I couldn't."

Melinda's knees trembled, as she crumbled into Jared's embrace. She wrapped both her arms around him for support and cried at his touch. Her skin was singing in delight, her wolf inside was gleeful and bursting with joy. She felt as if the last few years of pent-up sorrow and guilt, despair and pain were suddenly lifted away, and she was liberated and free.

"I'm so sorry, Jared" she whispered through her sobs. "I don't deserve your kindness or forgiveness."

"You are all I've wanted since that day. I've suffered every moment of pain, just to feel you, to feel connected to you," he said. "Those moments were the only time I've felt alive."

"That was the worst mistake of my life," she replied. "It's always been you, I've always known you were the only one I could love. I just wanted you to be happy."

"I love you, Melinda," he said to her, bringing his lips down to hers.

"I love you too..." Melinda began to say, but she was unable to finish, as Jared had begun to kiss her, his lips pressed softly against hers. She tasted like honey and sweetness, a fresh fruity deliciousness that consumed him. He continued to kiss her, gently at first, and then deeper as his need for her drove him.

Melinda was in ecstasy, her entire body reacting to Jared's kiss. She could feel tingles erupt along her skin, even down to her toes, and through the tips of her fingers, Melinda's body hummed at the intensity of Jared's kiss. She wanted him, needed him, and clung to him, never wanting to release him from her grasp.

Jared and Melinda were enraptured within each other's embrace, blind and deaf to the world around them. They were unaware that Adam had arrived. He, along with several of his men, were approaching from all sides.

"I've come for what's mine!" Adam shouted with a snarl, now only a few yards from where Jared and Melinda were standing.

"She's mine," Jared snapped, putting a defensive arm around Melinda, and taking a protective stance between her and Adam. He looked around nervously, suddenly aware of all the others who had now shifted into their wolves, slowly closing the circle around them. One-on-one, he could defeat any wolf that he faced. But his top priority was to protect Melinda, and he wasn't sure that he would be able.

"I asked nicely," Adam said with annoyance. "I want her back, let's not make this a thing."

"I'll never let you touch her again," Jared snarled, allowing his fangs to show.

"Let's go, Linda," he spoke leaning his head to the side, so he could look into her eyes. "I know you want to be with me."

"I don't want anything to do with you," she shuddered, cowering behind Jared.

"Don't talk like that, we had so much fun that night!" Adam said, steadily coming closer. "We were just getting started when that bitch sent you away."

"Being with you made me physically ill," Melinda said, shaking at the memory. "I loathe you, and would rather die than let you touch me again."

"I can make that happen!" Adam screamed at her, now only a few feet from where Jared stood, just in front of Melinda.

Jared was studying the terrain, and the number of approaching wolves and trying to determine the best plan of defense, his first priority being to protect Melinda.

Kira, I need you back here now, Jared communicated through his mind-link, hoping she hadn't gone too far away.

"I'll give you one chance to walk away," Jared growled out, stepping right next to the tree. "If you leave now, I'll let you live. One more step, and I'll kill you all."

Adam stopped and looked around with a smirk. "I'll take my chances," he said.

"So be it," Jared replied, grabbing Melinda and hoisting her upward.

Get into the tree and start climbing. His men can't follow you in wolf form. Jared said in his mind to Melinda just before he lifted her. He knew that Adam would have instructed his men not to her, and he hoped that if he could just keep their focus on him, he could keep them away from her until help arrived.

Adam lunged at Jared, shifting as he moved, baring his teeth with a ferocious roar. Jared also shifted, his wolf taking the brunt of Adam's attack, both of them tumbling to the ground at the impact. Immediately, two more wolves joined in the strike, each snapping and biting as they attacked. Then three more wolves joined in.

Melinda grabbed branch after branch, pulling herself higher into the tree. She had never learned to fight. Growing up in a less traditional pack, they had never focused on fighting or having prepared warriors, as the more rural packs were typically the only ones still focused on those customs. Having lived the last few years in an urban pack, physical combat was practically an unheard-of practice.

Adam was powerful and strong, and continued his assault on Jared, who was snapping and biting at his attackers. He was able to quickly dispatch two of the wolves, as they were no match for his strength and speed. But the onslaught continued. With one wolf now on his back, Adam striking toward Jared's neck, and another biting his legs, he was struggling to hold his ground.

Jared kicked ferociously at the wolf biting his legs and sending him backward into the trunk of the tree. He then spun wildly, both to get away from Adam and to dislodge the other wolf who was biting into his back. In the process of shaking himself free, he and Adam ended up rolling into the pond with a loud splash.

Melinda was in the tree and had broken off a branch that she was using to strike at another of the wolves, who had shifted back into human form and were in the process of trying to climb the tree after her. Her first attempts merely acted as a minimal hindrance, but one more swing, and she was able to strike him directly in the head, resulting in his losing his grip and falling to the ground. This continued as two more men tried to climb the tree, and Melinda kept swinging wildly at them once they were close enough, knocking them from the branches.

Jared and Adam continued to fight, biting and snarling, their fangs causing injury with each contact. The pond water was changing color, being tainted with the gushing blood, as they continued to maul each other. The wolf who had been on Jared's back joined back into the fight and was helping Adam in fighting Jared. The fight continued to move further from the shore, and all three wolves were fighting beyond where they could stand.

Jared was losing strength, as fighting off two wolves while treading water was taking its toll. He could see that Melinda was still fighting off her attackers in the tree, and he clung to every ounce of strength he could muster, determined not to lose her again. He managed to put the third wolf between himself and Adam and bit down on that wolf's neck, digging his fangs in deeply. A few seconds more, and the wolf stopped struggling and began to sink.

Adam was then able to maneuver around the body of the sinking wolf, using it to propel himself into Jared, biting his shoulder and clamping down. Jared yelped in pain, the blood beginning to flow out of the wound and Adam's teeth continued to grind. He wasn't sure how much longer he could on, feeling the weight of exhaustion and pain pulling him down. His head began to sink under the surface, as he struggled for air.