Page 68 of Rejected Mate's Baby for the Alpha King

My stomach clenched. “It sounds like you want to stay.”

“I’m not facing the same choices as you, Rhyson.”

“I intend to kill him, you know. Your father. For what he did to you.” When she didn’t say anything, I pushed myself up to my elbows. “Maya? Do you not want me to?”

“I don’t care if he lives or not,” she said finally. “But it’s not that easy. He’s an alpha. A well-liked one, and every wolf who stands to take his place is just as bad, and they’ll want the same thing he does: power. You became king to avenge your brother, but the packs are falling apart. The alphas are greedy and cruel. My father is hardly the exception. At least here, it makes more sense.”

She was probably right, but I was not about to let her raise her child here without me. “He still deserves to die.”

“Yes, I suppose he does. I don’t need you to do it for me. I’m getting to know my wolf a little better every day, and despite the attempts he’s had to beat her into submission, she’s anything but. My father’s death is for me to handle.” Turning her head, she smiled sadly at me. “I used to wait for a mate to come and save me. So naive and romantic. That’s never going to happen though, is it? Not after what he’s ripped out of me. So I’ll save myself. You’ve got bigger things to worry about.”

36

Maya

Rhyson was gone the next morning when I woke, but I opened my door to find Duke standing there. “Are you my guard?” I asked as I raked my hair back into a tie and shut the door behind me. I was still trying to adjust to the fact that Rhyson had held me all night long. Not just for sex, but it was like he was seeking comfort.

I didn’t hate it, even though I should. Now that he had proof that I wasn’t lying, he wanted to be kind and sweet? Fuck that. I needed him to believe me earlier. I needed him, more than anyone else, to believe me over my father.

“Not a guard. One of the witches found me this morning on my run and asked to see you. I’m just passing the message along.”

I raised an eyebrow. “So you’re not going to escort me?”

For a moment, he looked stumped, and then he grinned. “I’ve never seen magic. I thought it might be fun to watch.”

Rolling my eyes, I snorted. So he was a guard, but Rhyson had apparently told him to not act like a guard. Unfortunately for Duke, he was likely straight out of the military. He probably acted like a guard on his summer vacation.

“I need food. I’m starving.” I held up the jar the fae had given me. “And I promised this to Anna. I definitely need to deliver.”

His gaze moved to my stomach, and he shifted uncomfortably to another foot. “It was unwise to bargain away your morning sickness drug. What if you need it?”

“Why, Duke?” Teasing, I planted my hands on my hips. “Does a pregnant woman make you nervous?”

His eyes narrowed. “Nothing makes me nervous. I think it’s just wise if you thought of yourself for once.”

“Everything that got me in this position was me thinking of me,” I told him. “And I don’t regret any of it because I’m better off than I was. At least I have answers for what is wrong with me, even if I don’t have a solution.”

“The wolf will always be part of you, even if you cannot bond with it.”

“It’s easy for you to say. You can communicate with your wolf,” I told him as I straightened. “Come on. Let’s eat and see if the witches have any answers. Do you know where Rhyson is?”

“Strategizing with the alpha.”

“And Paisley?” I hated the idea of the teenager wandering alone, but at least he had a clear head now. “Where is he?”

“He took a liking to Saul. I believe he’ll spend most of the day in the infirmary with our healer and theirs.”

“Good. That’s a safe place for him to be.” I nodded. “Lead the way.”

The kitchen wasn’t empty. There was a breakfast buffet set up, and wolves streamed in and out. From what I could tell, most of the wolves used the enormous dining hall on the property or cooked for themselves, but Jax had an open-door policy, so anyone who needed food was welcome to it. We got some curious looks but no one lingered.

Afterward, Duke grabbed a set of keys and grinned. “I was told I could drive one of the pack vehicles.”

“And you miss driving?” It wasn’t like he wasn’t used to driving.

“I don’t get to drive ATVs in the city.”

It was electric blue with lightning painted down the side, and I blew out my breath. Two-seater at least, and it looked fun, but for Duke, it was like Christmas had come early. “I have walked to Irene’s cottage, and it’s a pretty smooth dirt road,” I told him cautiously. “So you’re not going to get all crazy, are you?”

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