Page 6 of Pregnant Kidnapped Mate

“It’s just…I don’t know.” She pushed her hair back from her face. “Dad and Justin always went on about how I wouldn’t last an hour out here on my own. They kept talking about how some creature or other would snatch me up in a heartbeat and said I was better off at home because I wouldn’t be able to handle myself.”

I didn’t want to mention that she had, in fact, been snatched up by one of the creatures her parents had warned her about. I still had no idea how to break it to her that I was a shifter when I knew she would stop trusting me the instant she found out. I remembered the stories she had told me she’d heard about shifters from other humans. We weren’t anything better than monsters in their book, and I knew it would take some time for me to be able to break it to her in a way that she could accept.

But there was something else that bothered me more at the moment.

“They’re awful to you, but they still want you to stay with them?” I asked. “Why, so they can keep bullying you?”

She flinched and looked away. “I don’t know,” she said. “It’s not exactly easy to leave what you’ve known your entire life.”

“I understand,” I said, nodding. I crouched slightly so I was looking at her, our faces inches apart. She gave a short inhalation at my proximity but didn’t flinch away. Just the smell of her was enough to make my wolf wild with need, enough to make me want to pull her toward me and kiss her right then. Our mouths were so close. It would be so easy.

But I held off, my better judgment winning out over primal instincts. Doing anything of the sort would have been a horrible idea, given the circumstances.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” I said. My hands were on her shoulders, and I wasn’t sure when they’d moved there. “I only want to make sure you’re safe. And you weren’t safe there.”

She sighed.

“Stay with me for a few days,” I said gently. “If you still feel this way in a couple of weeks, I’ll take you back. Okay?”

She hesitated, then nodded. “Okay.”

I smiled. I wanted to pull her into a kiss, but again, better judgment prevailed.

“In that case, let’s get going,” I said.

***

I had always liked my house. It was a bit big for one person, but it was away from the noise of town, and the log cabin feel of it fit in perfectly with the woods and trails that ran beyond it. The fact that it came with a hot tub on the back patio that overlooked a large swatch of forest didn’t hurt, either.

When we reached the house, I started walking up the path to the front door. It took me a minute to realize I was walking alone. I spun, expecting to see Iris darting into the woods. But instead, she was staring up at the house, her mouth slightly open and her eyes wide.

“Iris?” I asked.

She blinked, shaking her head. “Sorry,” she said, glancing uneasily at the house.

“Don’t like the décor?” I joked.

“It’s not that.” I didn’t like how shaken she looked. “It’s just…never mind.”

She followed me to the front door, that bewildered expression never leaving her face. When I opened the door, her eyes went big as saucers, and her face blanched.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

She blinked, then gave me a dazed smile. “Nothing,” she said. “Nothing’s wrong.” But something flashed across her face as she scanned the massive foyer.

“All right,” I said slowly. “In that case, your room is up the stairs and to the left. First door.”

Again, that uneasy look.

“Really?” she asked.

I frowned. “Are you sure you’re all right?” I asked. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but you’re acting a bit…”

“Odd?” she filled in, raising an eyebrow. “Yeah, I get that a lot.”

“No,” I said. “I was going to say uncomfortable. I mean, I guess that’s understandable, all things considered, but—”

“Oh.” She frowned, clearly genuinely taken aback by the statement. “No, no, I’m fine. If I’m supposed to stay here for a while, though, I might as well take a shower.”

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