Page 1 of Betrayed Pregnant Mate

Chapter 1 - Veronica

“Here you go,” Linnea says, coming back into the living room with a little jar in her hands. “Rosa made this for me after I hurt my back, and it’s worked wonders. It should help the pain in your elbow.”

I smile at her, accepting the jar of salve, setting it on the end table next to me. As always, Linnea is going above and beyond for the people in this town. I glance at the salve, trying not to wrinkle my nose. I have no idea what Rosa put in it, but I’ll stick to Tylenol over rubbing some essential oil concoction on my elbow and hoping that’s going to fix it.

My elbow twinges again, and I wince, rubbing at it. It’s been bothering me ever since the incident a few months ago, and while the twinges in my arm are physical pain, they bring up my emotional trauma every time they flare.

I force myself to focus on Linnea and not on the mental images of being in that basement, crammed in with the others for weeks on end.

“Thank you,” I say, patting the top of the jar affectionately, though I know I won’t be using it. “That’s very thoughtful.”

“You know,” Linnea says, tucking herself into the chair and crossing her legs. “If it works, and your elbow is feeling better, we would love your help at the kick-off festival. We need people to work the medical tent.”

I smile at her but shake my head, lacing my fingers together and clearing my throat. Linnea truly has been too kind to me—her entire family has, in fact—which is part of what makes this so difficult to say. She—and everyone else—seems to be under the impression that once someone sets foot in Rosecreek, they would never want to leave.

That is not the case for me. I’ve never liked to stay in one place for too long, and I’ve already been here much longer than I wanted. Rosecreek itself is lovely, but I’m itching to get out of the area.

“I actually am feeling a lot better,” I say, “and I’m so grateful that you’ve offered me a place to stay while I was recovering, but I think it’s time for me to move on.”

“Oh,” Linnea says, jerking her head back a bit, her mouth falling open. “Oh,” she repeats, “of course—sorry, I’ve just gotten so used to having you around.”

“Yeah, I’ve enjoyed being here, but I’m feeling better and ready to get back to my life.”

What I don’t say is that it’s not particularly pleasant for me to be here, specifically because I have to see Percy around town. In the grocery store, at town hall, down at the beach—I can’t go for a walk without dreading seeing him on the sidewalk.

I think back to the night I decided to go for a jog on the path just outside of Rosecreek. Though the area has thick trees, there are also several hiking trails. Linnea said Aris’s father personally installed many of the features along the paths, like the water fountains, grills, picnic tables, and signs.

On that path, I saw Percy again for the first time in years. I was walking, having run four miles already, and realizing I was very, very lost. Every time I thought I was getting nearer to the town; I’d realize I was just wandering further into the trees. The hiking paths started to get less and less robust, even being overgrown in certain areas.

At first, when I saw him, I screamed, sure I was going to be that first girl in a horror movie, killed to introduce the murderer. Then, he’d stepped into the moonlight, and I’d realized it was Percy.

Of course, I was still pissed at him for ghosting me, but I knew him. I knew that he wouldn’t hurt me.

I thought he wouldn’t hurt me.

Since Aris’s team found us in the cabin and helped us out, I’ve been assured by everyone involved that it wasn’t actually Percy—it was some sort of poison he’d ingested. Some sort of chemical warfare that made him prone to hallucinations.

It was strange to me when the police weren’t involved. Instead, Aris offered every human a cash settlement for the time lost and the emotional damage. Linnea provided shelter to every woman who was stuck in that basement. Everyone got free medical treatment and counseling.

A few of us took the shelter offer and stayed in the underground compound. One by one, they left, returning to their lives, and I’m the only one left in the shelter, trying to muster up the courage to get back to my life.

Yesterday, I finally signed a contract for a hospital in California. I’ll leave tomorrow and start my assignment in a week. I want to get as far as possible from Rosecreek, get back to my career and life.

“Well, I am so happy for you,” Linnea says, picking at a loose thread on the armchair she’s sitting in. “Again, I want to apologize on Percy’s behalf for what happened. If you knew him before the serum, you’d know he’s nothing like that.”

Once again, I roll my lips into my mouth, wondering if I should just come out and tell them that I did know Percy before the serum. I haven’t spoken to him since the night he took me, but it’s clear that he hasn’t told anyone else about the fact that we dated. Maybe he doesn’t even remember me.

At first, I thought this serum that made him sick would be an explanation for why he ghosted me all those years ago—but the timeline doesn’t add up. He just left without any warning, blocking my number and disappearing into thin air.

The worst part was that Percy was the only man who had ever made me feel like settling down might be an option for me. After losing him, I realized there would never be a man who was worth staying with in one place.

“I’m sure that’s true,” I say, finally, trying to settle on something that’s not a lie, but also not the truth.

“Have you had any problems with the stalker?” Linnea asks, her eyes assessing me, like she might be able to tell if I’ve had a run-in with the guy just by looking at me. “I know you’d mentioned that as a reason to stay in the shelter. I don’t want you to feel like you have to leave if you’re not ready, and I also want you to know that we can provide you with extra support. Aris can—”

“I haven’t seen him,” I say, taking a deep breath and focusing over Linnea’s shoulder. “I think that the time…well, the incident, I think it may have derailed him. He wasn’t expecting me to go off the map for more than a month, so maybe he just lost track of me. Or maybe he lost interest.”

Linnea looks at me with a special kind of empathy, and I know what she’s thinking—that’s not very likely. Stalkers don’t just lose interest. They’re like that for a reason. It’s obsessive, like a compulsion they can’t overcome.

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