Page 22 of The Alpha's Sold Pregnant Mate

“Thank you.”

She groaned lightly, and without warning, she hit his arm with a frown.

“What was that for?” He pulled away from her feeble attempt to throw more punches at him.

“You lied to me!” She fumed.

“You're so adorable,” he said, looking into her eyes as she was trying to calm down.

“Don't try to change the subject, Asher.” She didn't mean to call him by his first name; it just fell out of her mouth, but she flowed with it anyway. “You lied to me and coaxed me into coming with you under false pretenses.”

“Well, I guess it all depends on your definition of lying,” he replied.

“I define it as not telling the truth,” she said, “How do you define it?”

“Placing yourself in a horizontal position,” he chuckled.

Esme scoffed and shook her head.

“I withheld the truth from you. I should not have done that. I apologize.”

His tender voice broke through her defensive wall, and she exhaled slowly. She heard the squealing of her squirrel and turned with excitement at the cage it was in. “Jerry!” Esme attempted to stand, but Asher beat her to it.

He walked over to the table and returned to the bed with the cage.

“You locked it, why?” Displeasure flickered in her gaze, and Asher unlocked it.

The squirrel hopped onto her, and she chuckled at the tiny pitter-patter of its steps on her body. She picked it up gently and caressed its fur.

“This is what a pet looks like,” she said to him. “Not a wolf.”

Asher sighed softly. “There's something you need to know.”

She stared at him and saw the seriousness in his eyes. “Uh… Okay.”

“Back in my car, you asked me what I was worried about, and I promised to tell you when we got home.”

“Yeah. Yeah, you did.” She adjusted herself on the bed so she could listen to him. “I'm all ears.”

“Alright, but I'm going to need you to do something first.”

“What's that?”

“I want you to keep an open mind because what I'm about to tell you will be hard to take in. So, brace yourself.”

Her heart skipped at his prep talk. “Asher… You're beginning to scare me.”

“It's to be expected,” he replied. “But trust me. No harm will befall you.”

“Stalling is not helping me right now,” she blurted out. “So, spit it out already.”

“Okay,” he said under his breath. “That wasn't Elder William’s pet.”

She knitted her brows in confusion. “Okay, whose was it then?” she asked, “Wait. Was it yours?” She jerked back, alarmed.

He smiled and shook his head, “No, that's not mine. Mine is a little bigger and a lot more gray.” He savored the bewilderment on her face.

“Oh, great. You own one, too. Perfect.” The sarcasm in her tone was glaring.

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