I hadn’t even decided if I was going to stick around or leave for good. Perhaps some part of me hoped that practicingmy skills as a witch would allow me to escape safely, but now that I’m pregnant, there’s no way I can leave.
Elias will track me down. It’s his child, after all.
As a hand slithers to my belly, I rub a wide circle over it, contemplating my life’s choices. It’s not like I have many, and all I have now is this child growing inside me—a child that needs to be protected from the likes of the demon.
Though it hasn’t made a move in a while, and no attacks have been reported ever since the night I faced off with the demon, it still lurks out there. Waiting. Calculating. Biding its time before it can find me again.
Elias is convinced that it wants me specifically for my powers. Now that I carry an Alpha’s child, the demon is a danger to both me and my baby.
I can’t put my baby at risk, even if I’m caught between a rock and a hard place.
It’s not like I can be content with being Alpha Elias’s mate and living with him. He’d forced me into the mate bond with him, for his own gain, and now I’m stuck here.
Sure, the prophecy he claims I had the night we shared our bodies turned out to be true when we discovered my pregnancy the other night, but it doesn’t change anything.
Logic can’t change my feelings or lack thereof. I’d walled myself up to ever being hurt by the alpha, or anyone for that matter. I won’t let myself get caught up in his web of lies or trust him again, only to get hurt.
Not happening!
Even if I can’t leave the pack, I should find something to keep me busy instead of wallowing in my sorrows. It will do me no good, and it’s not healthy for the baby whom I suddenlyfeel compelled to take care of, to protect it from all the dangers lurking out there.
Perhaps it’s my innate maternal instincts that nudge me, and I find the strength to stop worrying for a moment and leave the bedroom after taking a quick shower. With Elias out for the day, I have some time to gather my senses instead of being consumed by his presence.
It isn’t easy sleeping in the same bed with the man who’s shown me he isn’t attracted to me in that way. The only thing he cares about is his duty, like the one he swore he wished to fulfill by protecting me and his growing baby.
He has no inclination toward me, and I shouldn’t be surprised. But when I find myself in the kitchen, my mind wanders to the day I woke up in his cabin.
Elias had spoken about his parents and shared an intimate detail about how things were between his mom and dad. An idea lights up like a bulb in my head when I’m staring at the kitchen table, a thoughtful smile growing on my lips.
If I’m going to remain here in Girdwood amongst the Snehvolk Pack as the alpha’s mate, the least I can do is make things somewhat amicable between us. I may not be able to fully trust him or open up to him, but I can make our situation livable. That way, our child can grow up in a home with fond memories just like its father has of his parents.
I scan the room and decide that the only way to match the cozy furnishings would be to pick up some decor and pot plants to liven the place up a little. Because it had been abandoned for so long while Elias lived in his parents’ home, the log cabin is missing the touch of homeliness it desperately needs.
Perhaps if I made it more comfortable and suitable to my tastes, I’d feel better about being stuck in Girdwood. At the sametime, I’d be making amends with Elias, making up for burning down the main house.
It might not be an anniversary, but there is a cause for celebration. Finding out that we’re pregnant should be celebrated, not felt like a looming dread hanging over our heads like a dark cloud.
I wouldn’t have to go far to get the supplies I need, since it’s Sunday, and Girdwood is abuzz with activity in the town square. The local Sunday market is meant for the Snehvolk people to mingle and gather resources and supplies that have been brought by some of the working-class pack members from Hope. It was something I avidly avoided before, not wanting to mingle with others or have to deal with them.
This time around, I’m the luna of the pack—something I remind myself of as I head out of the cabin, feeling the cool, crisp air kiss my cheeks for the first time in days.
I have no reason to be scared. Elias only begged me not to leave Girdwood, warning me about the danger that I’d already experienced in the forest.
But there are other dangers he forgot to mention, dangers that exist inside the small town. Coming face-to-face with that particular danger just as I’m about to take the corner behind a fresh fruit stand, I’m stopped abruptly by two towering figures who probably belong in the types of magazines found on the streets of Hope.
“Aurora Sinclair…” the chiseled-faced blonde drawls. We used to attend classes together when we were children, but I’ve forgotten her name now.
I do remember her derisive nature, always belittling me and getting me into trouble with false accusations.
The brunette friend was new, though I’d seen her in the pack’s cafeteria serving dinner a few times. Delilah. Her name I do remember, but not because we were close.
“Would you look at that, D?” the blonde asks as she prods Delilah’s ribs with a manicured finger. “It’s the new Luna of the Snehvolk Pack.”
Her scornful chuckle echoes all around, buzzing through my ears and sending a cold shiver down my spine.
I try to remain as unfazed as possible, lifting a defiant chin as I remind myself of my position in the pack. It’s not just a term to be loosely thrown around, but it should give me sovereignty amongst the rest of the pack members.
Not only am I the alpha’s mate, but I’m bearing his child. It must count for something, so I reach deep within to find the strength and courage to face these she-wolves.
