Page 46 of Forced By the Alpha

“We’ll figure it out, right? If it’s more than another two or three days, we’ll make up a new story that gives you more freedom. We’ll figure it out.” He leaned his forehead against hers and they breathed like that, in and out, slowly, deeply, until her heartbeat calmed to a steady pace and the walls receded.

“Right. It’s just that I’m losing my mind here already, and I think all I do is sleep, “she broke off, noticing him staring at her. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

He cocked his head to the side, seeming to listen for something. She watched him, confused. Nothing in the room had caught his attention, and she hadn’t heard anything from outside, but he was alert like a dog on a hunting trail.

“You smell different.” His voice was dazed, slow, and thick like honey.

“Excuse me?” Beth asked, offended. She’d showered that day, put on fresh clothes. If she smelled like anything, it was the room she was trapped in, and she opened the windows daily for fresh air. Her own sensitive nose smelled nothing but that outside breeze, Devon’s spice, and the leftover dinner.

There was a look on his face, unlike anything she’d seen before, all wide-eyed excitement, and an almost goofy grin.

“Beth.” He said, pulling back to look at her, still on his knees, “I think you’re pregnant.”

Reflexively, Beth’s hands flew to her stomach. She pressed the area with her palms and found it, of course, as flat as ever. It hadn’t been that long since they’d had sex. Could he be right?

“W-what? How could you know that?” She grabbed her planner from her desk and flipped through the pages, tracking her period—there was not much else to fill the pages these days—but she wasn’t due to bleed for a while. “There’s no way to tell yet but, I couldn’t be, right? After just those few times?”

They’d filled their days with it in the cabin, between sun-soaked swims and hikes up the hills. Her skin had felt aflame, blazing with a need for him. She’d find him making coffee in the kitchen, and her body would take over, dragging him to the table, fumbling with his clothes. Only after he’d filled her did she feel that scratching, desperate need fade. A temporary relief. Shortly after, she’d draw him down over her again.

He pulled her out of the chair and wrapped her in a full-bodied hug, her feet leaving the ground. “I can smell it on you, a change in your scent. Subtle, but there’s nothing else it could be.”

She buried her face in the crook of his neck and held him tight. Emotions stormed inside of her. Disbelief warred with trepidation, but above it all, excitement. Watching Adria’s pregnancy had filled her with the certainty that she wanted motherhood for herself, though she’d been in no hurry to achieve it.

She’d had no mate then, nor any real prospect of one. The idea of pregnancy had been a distant thing, a quiet longing set aside for the future. Now, it was here, and her circumstances were anything but the stable bliss she’d imagined for this time.

Could she bring a child into this tangled mess? A White Winter child, no less? But no, she couldn’t think of it like that. This baby was hers, Devon’s, and no one else’s.

“Are you okay, Beth? Is this unwelcome news?” He set her down gently and stepped back to take her in, anxiously scanning her face for information. “I thought since you, since we…”

Beth forced herself to speak before Devon could spiral too deeply into doubt. “It’s not unwelcome, but, you must agree, this is not the easiest time for having a baby. So much remains up in the air.”

“Don’t worry about that now,” he said, reaching to pull her close again, hands on her hips. “Right now, let’s just celebrate our baby. Our future. We’ll keep it to ourselves until things have settled down.”

His enthusiasm was catching. He seemed overjoyed at the news, and despite her concerns, it was impossible not to let the excitement creep in. She touched her stomach again, wishing she could feel the life just beginning there.

“Are you ready to be a father?” Beth asked, realizing it was a question she should’ve asked before they’d had sex. Mating for the pack’s benefit was one thing, and being a father was another.

Devon’s eyes sparkled gold. “More than ready.”

“You don’t think it’s too soon?”

He tugged at the streak of grey in his hair, blew out an exaggerated breath. “Well, I’m not getting any younger, as you like to remind me.”

“You’ll put a double meaning into them calling you their old man,” Beth laughed.

“That’s it,” said Devon, scooping Beth up under his arm like a football. She squealed and laughed, protesting as he headed for the open window. “I’ve had enough of your lip.”

She squirmed free and flung herself at him, determined to take him down. He caught her, and they both stumbled back against the wall, his large body softening their impact.

“You’ll never get enough of it,” she said smugly, kissing him.

He held her close and said, without a hint of humor, “No, I won’t.”

***

Beth waited for Devon in the garden. She and Jonah were on hands and knees, weeding one of the beds, while dragonflies buzzed around the pond, landing on the tips of reeds and, occasionally, the flowers in front of her.

“My hands are filthy,” Jonah complained, tugging off his gloves and sitting back to inspect his fingers. “What is the point of gloves if the dirt just goes right through them?”

---