Page 13 of Pregnant Kidnapped Mate

I stopped just outside the mansion, turning to see Klyte and Malcolm trotting up toward me. Klyte’s face was contorted with concern, Malcolm’s more composed, but he had been my boss when we were all spec-ops. I could tell when something was bothering him.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, looking between the two of them.

“Nothing with us,” Malcolm said. “But we were going to ask you the same thing.”

I blinked, brow furrowed. “You were?”

“Yeah. You’ve been keeping to yourself a lot,” Klyte said, frowning. “It’s not really like you. Especially not with me.”

He wasn’t wrong. Klyte was one of my best friends, and I’d never been good at keeping secrets.

“Is there something wrong?” Malcolm asked.

“I…” I hesitated, not really sure what to say. It felt weird bringing up Iris. I wasn’t sure how they would take it, especially after the way Dan had behaved. Was behaving.

“Something we can help you with?” Malcolm prodded.

“No, no. I…fuck.” I ran my fingers through my hair as I glanced between Klyte and Malcolm. I thought about how Dan had reacted when he’d seen Iris. How she had fled when she’d seen me turn into a wolf. How she’d admitted that she wasn’t sure how to trust me. I was expecting her to run again at any minute, and I couldn’t let her go back to her family. “Yeah,” I finally admitted. “I could use some help.”

“What’s up?” Klyte asked.

“Do you remember Iris?” I asked. “The human girl I told you about?”

Klyte’s brow furrowed as he stared past me, clearly trying to remember. “I think so? Didn’t she sort of vanish a few years ago?”

I nodded, taking a deep breath. “I found her again.”

Klyte blinked, then burst into a wide grin. “That’s great!” he said, clapping me on the back. “I remember you being crazy about her.”

“Yeah. There’s a problem, though.” And I told the story, the words tumbling out of me. Malcolm and Klyte listened, nodding periodically.

“You really need to work on your impulse control,” Klyte remarked when I finished. “Don’t get me wrong—it’s a good thing you got her out of that situation if it was as shitty as you’re saying it is—”

“It was,” I cut in.

“Carrying her off was a little reckless,” Klyte remarked. “How much thought did you put into it?”

I paused. “Uh, a couple of seconds?”

Klyte rolled his eyes. “The pinnacle of self-control,” he remarked wryly. “We all could learn something from you.”

“What’s done is done,” Malcolm said. “You’ve just got to move on and come up with a game plan from here. Just be patient and give her the chance to adjust.”

“She doesn’t trust me anymore,” I said. “How am I supposed to show her there isn’t anything to worry about if she doesn’t trust me?”

“She’s still here, though,” Malcolm pointed out.

I made it a face. “I don’t know how much of that is resignation because she thinks I’ll drag her back, or if it’s just because she doesn’t want to go home and has nowhere else to go,” I admitted. “I just wish there was something I could do to show her there was nothing to worry about here.”

“Well, don’t show her me or the rest of the Silver Wolves,” Klyte said. “A bunch of intimidating ex-spec-ops isn’t exactly going to endear her to you. If I were you, I’d start small. Introduce her to people who don’t look like they could tear her to shreds in a second.” He stroked his chin. “Maybe the girls?” he suggested.

I blinked. “The girls?”

“Yeah! They’re a friendly bunch. And even if they’re shifters, they aren’t nearly as intimidating as the rest of us would be.”

“That’s not the worst idea,” Malcolm agreed.

“I can talk to Jenn,” Klyte said. “She’d be more than happy to try and help.”

---