6
Hector
Everythingsucked.
IknewI was acting weird, but I couldn’t help it. My whole life had been flipped upside-fucking-down in the past week. I went from being alone with the alpha I cared for and having hot, mind-blowing sex, to being surrounded by a bunch of strangers and having Virgil ignore me so he could play army manbigshot.
Oh, and I was fuckingpregnant.
When I woke up in the morning, the tent was empty. Virgil had already left to take care of business, leaving me alone with my mental and physical agony. Last night had been majorly awkward. To be honest, I didn’t evenwantto sleep in the same tent as him. I’d wanted to run to George’s tent and pass out there until - well, whenever all this shit was over. But I knew running away from Virgil wasn’t going to help anything, and since he’s so noble and nosy, he’d definitely be all up in my businessanyway.
I groaned and sat up. My body still ached from the journey, and to top it off I was also sore from mental stress. It turns out a major life bombshell like an unplanned baby knocks the wind outofyou.
I heard multiple voices outside. Even though I felt like crap, I didn’t want to be left out of the loop. Dragging myself to my feet, I exited the tent and squinted against thelight.
Over the noise, I heard Willis distinctly ask, “It’s too dangerous,isn’tit?”
I came closer and a few faces turned to look at me. My face flushed under the suddenattention. “What?”
“Nothing. We’re just discussing a game plan and we need to consider everybody who can pull it off,” Shane sort-ofexplained.
“Pull off what? Someone wanna fill me in?” Imumbled.
Everyone - all twelve shifters, including myself - were gathered around the morning campfire. I didn’t see any dishes or food, so I assumed the discussion had been so intense that everyone skipped breakfast. A few faces looked haggard, like the talk had been heated and difficult. I suddenly felt embarrassed for sleeping through most of it, but then again, nobody had wokenmeup.
Maybe Virgil told them to let me sleep, since I collapsed yesterday,Ithought.
Currently, Virgil was sitting at the other end of the circle with his brow furrowed and arms crossed in concentration. He wasn’t paying any attention to me or even looking at me. Frustration stirred in my stomachagain.
Bitterly, I thought,Fine. I don’t want your attentionanyway.
“It is risky, but there’s no reward without risk,” Darrel growled solemnly. “It would be a good step forward for us, if Virgil agreestoit.”
“I agree,” Woodrow said, rubbing his chin inthought.
I finally lost it. “Okay, seriously, what the hell are you guys talkingabout?”
Everyone turned to look at me and I instantly regretted myoutburst.
When Virgil’s dark eyes slowly turned to me, I felt a shiver ran down my spine. I forgot how sharp and stunning his gaze was - but I quickly pushed that thought away. I was still angry with him and didn’t want to focus on how sexy his eyes were orwhatever.
“Hector… We’re talking aboutyou,” Virgil saidquietly.
“Me? Whataboutme?”
“They’re thinking about sending you on a mission,” Colin filled me in. His expression was strange, like he couldn’t decide if he was sympathetic or excited.Maybeboth.
“What kind of mission?” Iasked,wary.
Woodrow kindly put a hand on my shoulder for a brief moment to get my attention before he explained. “We need more reinforcements. That much is clear. We cannot do much with twelve shifters alone, even if all of the alphas are highly skilled fighters. In order to do this, we need to infiltrate Scarlet Ridge and gain the support ofothers.”
I nodded along, wondering what any of that had to do with mespecifically.
“We think,” Woodrow continued slowly, carefully, “that you would be a good fit for the job because of yourhistory.”
“Okay.Wait,what?”
The realization of what they were asking to do just hit me. They were really asking me to sneak back into a pack and chum it up with some people who potentially -probably- wantedmedead.
