Page 31 of Pregnant Kidnapped Mate

“You fucked a human, and now she’s going to give birth to a half-breed? Do you realize how fucked up that is?”

“And do you realize I don’t care what you think?”

“You’re okay with letting an abomination like that into the world?”

I flinched at the words. They stung more than I thought they would. Abomination. Was that what other shifters would think of my babies?

“Watch it,” Alek growled. “Those are my cubs you’re talking about.”

He looked back up at where I was crouched, as if trying to reassure me that none of what the other shifter was saying was true. But Dan noticed this time and turned to see where Alek was looking. I didn’t duck back in time.

“Eavesdropping, are you?” he snarled, starting to stalk toward the steps, his eyes turning wolfish as he glared up at me. “I’ll teach you to leave shifters alone—”

But before he even got a foot on the first step, Alek snarled, yanking him away and slamming him against the wall. He pinned him, his arm pressed against Dan’s throat.

“Don’t threaten her,” he growled. “You get the fuck out of here and never speak to me again. Do you understand?”

“You’re betraying your own kind for a human?” Dan snarled. “Why? Because you knocked her up? That’s not—”

Alek pressed more of his weight against Dan’s throat, causing him to sputter even as he glared.

“If you come near her again, I’ll tear out your throat,” Alek said.

He grabbed Dan by the back of his neck, dragged him to the door, opened it, and threw Dan out of the house like he was tossing out a sack of garbage. He slammed the door shut again, then turned toward me.

“Are you all right?” he asked, coming up the steps toward me.

“I’m—” I was about to say I was okay. But the second word stuck in my throat as I took in Alek’s appearance. His eyes had changed color and gone wolfish, and his teeth had lengthened to fangs. I froze when I saw it.

He must have realized what happened, because he said, “Shit, sorry.” A moment later, his face was back to normal, contorted with concern as he cleared the last few steps toward me. “I’m sorry.” His hands went to my shoulders. “I didn’t want you to have to deal with him. It’s why I told you to go upstairs.”

That was part of it, but not all of it. I could sense that he’d been worried about Dan, that Dan would take the opportunity to attack me if he got the chance. Which was exactly what had happened. My stomach churned as I thought about how differently that encounter could have gone.

Alek must have been thinking it, too, because he pulled me into a hug and held me there.

“Don’t believe anything he said, either.” He stroked my hair. “Our kids aren’t abominations.”

“What about where he said you were betraying your own kind?” I asked. “Is that what most people think?”

“Of course not,” he growled. “You think Malcolm would have offered to train you if he thought that?”

I shrugged, and I felt him sigh. “Don’t give a fuck what a couple of assholes think,” he told me.

It was easy enough for him to say that, but harder for me to execute. All my life, I’d grown up in an environment that didn’t accept me. I’d been bullied and ridiculed by my family and treated like a freak by everyone else. Saying “don’t let it get to you” wasn’t some magical switch that meant you could flick that part of your brain off. I just wanted to be somewhere I felt accepted.

What was more, I didn’t want our babies to end up in a community that was going to shun them like I had been. They deserved love and affection like the rest of us. I couldn’t let them grow up thinking they were abominations. So, yes, I was going to give a fuck what a couple of assholes think. Because it affected me, and it affected my babies.

“I’m not going to abandon you or our kids. Ever,” Alek said. “And I’ll do everything in my power to protect them.”

“What if I turn out like my parents?” The words were out before I realized what I’d said. But as soon as they were out of my mouth, I realized that had been one of my biggest fears about the whole thing. “What if it turns out I’m just as big a monster as they were?”

He didn’t even know everything that had happened with my family. I’d kept some things back, partially because I wanted to forget them and partially because I wasn’t sure what he would do if he found out. But they were my family, which meant their genetics ran through me. I might not seem like them now, but what’s to say that wouldn’t change?

“That’s the stupidest thing I think I’ve ever heard come out of your mouth,” he growled. He pulled away from me, crouching and holding my shoulders so I would look him in the eyes. “You are going to be a fantastic mom,” he said. “Our babies will be so lucky to have a mom like you in their corner. And they aren’t abominations, and you aren’t your family. You’re kind, intuitive, considerate—everything they aren’t. There’s no way you’ll turn out like them. And I can’t wait to raise a family with you.”

At some point, I’d started crying. He reached up and wiped one cheek, then the other, his eyes never leaving my face.

“You’re incredible, Iris,” he said. “And don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.”

---