Page 50 of Forced Pregnant Mate

“Aren’t you even going to offer us something to drink?” Kelly asks in a catty tone. “We have been driving for quite a while.”

“I don’t think the meeting will be that long,” Gina says warmly. “You’re more than welcome to head out to the bar and get something for yourself.”

Kelly’s cheeks color a little, and she glares at Gina, who smiles brightly. I’ve never seen anyone handle Kelly so well before.

“Father,” I say, my voice low and whispery, even though I try to speak firmly. “What are you doing here?”

I heard the tail end of the conversation between Bae and Jack. I know what he’s doing here, but I want to hear it from him, I want him to explain himself.

I’m giving him this one chance to tell the truth. He can be a decent person, or he can choose manipulation.

“I had a little disagreement with Decker,” Father says, waving a hand. “It’s nothing serious. The whole thing will blow over in a day or two, then we can go home. I just thought we could come and stay with you for a few days while we let Decker cool down. We’ve missed you, and it will be nice to feel like a family again.”

He’s staring right at me with that sharp, nasty grin. If I didn’t know him, it could look warm and friendly, but I know it all too well. He’s lying through his teeth.

“What were you planning for accommodation?” Jack asks. “There are a few places in town you could stay, if it will only be a few days.”

“Nonsense!” Father announces, with a little laugh. “You have such a big house—we are going to stay with you! All of us, under the same roof again.”

He smiles at me, and it’s such a work of evil it belongs on the face of a demon.

No. Jesus fuck, no.

“What is the nature of this disagreement?” Bailey asks, his voice cutting through the super-charged energy in the room. Jack is furious, I’m terrified, Gina is flat-out shocked, and Father obviously has a rising rage that his tricks have so far been ignored.

Father turns to Bailey. “Nothing important,” he says reassuringly. “Just a minor dispute over pack politics. Don’t worry about it at all. Decker has always been a little volatile, but I forgive him. I’ll give him a call in a couple of days and let him apologize.”

I feel like I’ve been hit in the chest. Father really is a piece of work. I knew that, of course, but seeing him tell blatant lies so calmly is doing something to me. Deep inside, my fear is beginning to intensify into real, full-blown anger.

“If you plan to stay here for a short while, I should really call up the others to decide,” Bailey says. “And if you want to stay with your daughter, that decision is up to Lena, not me.”

Father turns to me, smiling. “Oh, I know my baby girl will be more than happy to have us stay. She must have missed me so much!”

Jack’s calm façade doesn’t crack, but I hear a growl echo low in his throat. His wolf won’t stand for this.

Father looks at Jack, and they lock eyes. For a second, Father looks unsure, maybe even scared. Jack did beat him up once, and at this moment, Father can’t be exactly sure what Jack told Bae.

Or what Decker has told him.

Father looks back to Bailey, who sighs heavily. He looks up at Sam, then over at me.

Oh no, he’s actually considering it!

“No,” I say quietly but firmly.

“What did you say?” Father hisses at me.

“No,” I stand up, my voice strong and clear. “I can’t stay silent, not a second more.”

All eyes in the room turn to me. Jack takes my hand and looks up at me, squeezing my hand as if to say, “You got this.”

“Bailey, you can’t let my father stay. I’m betting there is no ‘minor disagreement,’ and my family has been completely kicked out of Decker’s pack. My father has been involved in criminal activity; I don’t even know how much. But more than that, he is an abusive monster. He uses people. He charms them, tricks them, then he takes everything…”

Tears are stinging my eyes, and I wipe at them, but I don’t let it stop me.

“If you let them stay, you won’t be able to get rid of them. Father will sink into this pack like poison, and it will spread until there is infighting and crime between all your friends and family.”

Father is glaring at me now, and Bailey looks very calm. I think he must have known this, or at least some of it. He doesn’t look surprised.

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