Page 53 of Forced By the Alpha

“Not bad for a broodmare,” Emma said, loud enough for the pack to overhear. “Especially one incubating a Rosewood bastard.”

Devon sighed, but before he could get involved, Beth responded.

“This child is a White Winter,” Beth said, hand on her stomach, “as am I. I’m your luna, and I'm staying no matter what you want. Speak to me with disrespect again, try to undermine my plans, and you’ll be exiled from this pack, and from this land, without another warning.”

She knew the words would hit hard. Exiling Emma from this land meant cutting her off from her brother’s grave. It was extraordinarily cruel but she’d left Beth with no other choice in the matter. Emma looked to Devon for confirmation.

“I stand by Beth’s decision,” he said, voice firm though Beth knew he had agonized over it.

They had prepared themselves for the worst. If she had sowed enough doubt among the others, she might decide to take her chances in exile and take half the pack with her. She might turn it around and decide that Beth and Devon were too much trouble, too much risk, and attack them then and there.

Every eye was on them, their battlefield a meadow of wildflowers buzzing with lazy bees. Beth was ready to shift and fight if she had to. She’d protect her child at all costs. Emma’s looked behind her at the other wolves. This was it, Beth thought, she’s going to call them to battle. Her muscles tensed. Devon moved subtly in front of her, ready to push her out of harm’s way.

But the attack didn’t come. Emma’s shoulders slumped as she turned back to face Devon and Beth, and the fire in her eyes was dulled to banked embers.

“Fine,” she threw the word out with a nonchalant shrug, but Beth could see it cost her. “I submit to you as luna.”

Devon exhaled, pushing his hands through his hair and tilting his head up to look at the sky. He hadn't expected her to submit, either. After Emma’s submission, the rest of the pack moved up, each giving their vows of submission and congratulations on her pregnancy. They were anything but heartfelt, and it worried Beth that they had only done so after Emma had vowed. It meant they still looked to her in a way for leadership. That hold over them would have to be slowly worked on.

Jonah squeezed Beth into a hug after the pack had wandered off. “I knew you could do it. My god it's time for a change around here. These guys were ready to gnaw off their own legs.”

Devon watched Emma go, Caleb at her side. “I’m not sure that’s the end of it.”

“It’s not, but it’s a start. Jonah’s right. They’re ready for a change. We just have to capitalize on that and make sure Emma feels like a part of this. If she goes along with it, the rest of the pack will. We need to lean on her. It’ll make her feel important,” Beth said. She almost wished it had gone the other way, with Emma’s exile. This was the harder route. Earning Emma’s respect would be an uphill battle.

“You’re a good team,” Jonah said, pointing at Devon and Beth. “That kid is going to have the best parents, almost as good as their uncle. Almost.”

Devon snorted. “You’re going to spoil the kid rotten, aren’t you?”

“It’s part of being the fun uncle, dude,” Jonah laughed, trotting after the rest of the pack.

Alone in the field, Devon embraced Beth, mouth against her ear. “We did it. How do you feel?”

“Exhausted, relieved. Maybe a little disbelieving. Do you think she meant it?”

He took her hand and led her toward the garden. They took an overgrown path to a secluded spot, where a hammock hug between two oak trees, cooled by their shade. “I think she did, actually. I don’t think she could handle losing the glen, losing our brother. He meant the world to her.”

“And to you,” Beth said, stretching out into the hammock. It was bliss after their hard run.

He climbed in beside her and she molded herself against him, his breath tickling the top of her head.

“Yes, but I can carry him with me regardless. Emma is more… she needs that space. A place to go where she can let her guard down. “

“Your whole family needs therapy,” Beth said, hand snaking beneath his shirt. She pressed it flat against the firm muscle there and was pleased to hear his breath hitch.

The fire of the hunt was still burning inside her, fueled by the confrontation with Emma and the subsequent success. She wanted to quench it with him.

“I won’t deny that,” Devon replied, voice husky.

“Can they see us from the house?” Beth asked, looking up at him, eyes wide in the way he could never say to.

Devon shook his head. “We’re hidden, though if their windows are open, I think they’d hear anything but the quietest conversation.”

“Better find a way to muffle yourself then,” Beth said, with a wicked grin.

She felt his cock stiffen through his shorts, her hand grazing over the fabric, coaxing it harder yet. Devon’s hands were on her, and the way he knew exactly how to touch, where to touch, had her writhing against him. She wanted him, needed him, and couldn’t waste another moment on preparation.

Her fingers fumbled at his zipper, and in a moment his cock sprang free, ready and eager for her. She turned on her side and shimmied the hem of her dress up. He pulled her panties to the side and slipped a finger in first, one, then another, despite her protests that she wanted nothing but his dick.

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