Page 18 of Pregnant Kidnapped Mate

“I don’t know,” I said, my skin prickling. “I just do.”

And it was true. Deep down, I could almost sense my brother and father looking for me, trudging through the woods, trying to track me but finding nothing to go off, swearing when they finally admitted they’d lost the trail. Though, I had no idea why. There was no reason for them to show me any interest whatsoever. They’d treated me like garbage for years. They wouldn’t come hunting after me. They were probably glad to be rid of me.

But no matter how much I told myself that, I knew it wasn’t true.

I glanced over at Malcolm, who was looking at Alek instead of me. I took a generous sip of wine, letting the sense of unease fade away into the distance.

The next couple of hours went by surprisingly fast. Malcolm kept to himself, entertaining Abby and talking to Alek. For his part, Alek had tried to step back, letting me spend time with the girls without breathing down my neck.

And the more I talked to them, the more I liked the girls. They were nothing like the horror stories I’d been taught to believe, and they didn’t treat me like a freak or like I was odd or different. They treated me like one of their own. And it was nice, getting to talk to a group of women. I hadn’t really had friends back in the village, and being around these women made me realize exactly what I’d been missing, thanks to my family.

Sooner than expected, and sooner than I would have liked, reds and golds crept into the sky as the sun began to set. Everyone started going their separate ways, including me and Alek.

As we went to the door, Jenn swept me up into a bear hug. “It was so nice to meet you!” she said. “You’re welcome to come back any time you like. Don’t be a stranger.”

“I won’t be,” I said a little awkwardly, unsure how to react to such effusive friendliness. “Thanks for having me over.”

After another hug, Alek and I finally left the house and walked into the warm summer night.

“So, what did you think of them?” Alek asked as we walked back toward his house.

“It was nice,” I said. Then, without really thinking, “Malcolm was a little weird, though.”

Alek’s brow furrowed. “Yeah, I’m not sure what was going on with him. He’s normally pretty chill. Retirement and becoming a grandfather have mellowed him out a lot. He’s still an intense guy at times, but I don’t think I’ve seen him act that way in a few years. No idea what was going through his head.”

“Just as long as it wasn’t how tasty a snack I’d make,” I said, only half-joking.

Alek’s arm went to my shoulder. I stiffened slightly, then leaned into him, letting his warmth soothe some of that unease.

“You don’t have to worry about that,” he said. “None of us are like that.”

Dan is, I thought, but I bit my tongue. Today had been weird enough as it was. I didn’t want to bring up the other shifter. But I couldn’t forget the way he’d lunged toward me. I was fairly certain that if Alek hadn’t been there, he would have attacked me.

“How do you know them?” I asked.

“Jenn’s my best friend’s mate,” he said. “Well, all of them are my friends’ mates, except for Freya.”

Mate. There was something weirdly primal about the word. It should have terrified me, just another example of what the wolfish world I’d been dragged into was like. But I wasn’t afraid. That terror that always seemed to creep up on me was nowhere to be found.

“All of your friends,” I said, “they’re ex-spec-ops, too?”

Alek paused, glancing down at me, his brow furrowed. “I told you I was spec-ops?”

“Yeah,” I said, but my brow furrowed as I tried to remember when he had told me that. He must have at some point. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have known Malcolm used to be in the military.

“Huh,” Alek said. “Anyway, yeah. All of them except Dan.”

He must have felt the stiffness in my shoulders when he said the name because he gave a soft sigh. “You don’t need to worry about him, either,” he promised.

I gave a small smile. But something in the back of my mind, some strong intuition, told me that Alek was wrong. Whatever Dan’s issue was with me, I had the sinking suspicion that we hadn’t seen the last of him.

I hoped I was wrong.

Chapter 8 - Alek

I knew something was wrong the instant I walked into the living room. Mostly, it was because of Evelyn, Oliver’s mate and a fellow former Silver Wolf, and the way she was looking at me, as if she’d been waiting for me to show up. And it was because of a level of anger I rarely saw emanating from her. It was rare to see her that angry.

I’d just come in to ask Jameson about a dispute a couple of shifters were having in town. But when I saw Evelyn, I had a creeping feeling that I was probably in for a nasty surprise.

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