Page 25 of Forced Pregnant Mate

The last thing I want is for her to feel pressured, though. Seeing how she was manhandled by her father, then the way she reacted on our wedding night, I need her to feel safe above all else.

I rub my hand gently on the rocking horse’s mane, wondering if Lena would like him. The idea of bringing her into my workshop and showing her my projects is an exciting one, but also gives me just a hint of nerves.

What if she doesn’t like them? She might think this is a silly gift for a baby.

A worse thought strikes me then. What if she doesn’t even want a baby?

She didn’t seem to react well when I mentioned that the cabin had a lot of room for kids. I thought it had just been too early to bring it up, but maybe she doesn’t want kids at all.

A knock on the door makes me jump. Betty, my secretary, waves from the door.

“Sorry to interrupt, boss. I’ve got Sammy on the line, and he wants to know if the concrete he ordered is on its way. I don’t have the info on the file.”

“Sorry,” I answer, getting up and hurrying over. “They didn’t have it at the main warehouse, so I had to order from a third party. It’s definitely coming today, just not by one of our trucks. I’ll talk to him.”

I get back to work, fielding calls and working on supply chain issues. For a short while, I’m too distracted to think about Lena. When lunchtime finally arrives, I tell everyone I’ll get lunch and head over to the diner to bring back food for my crew.

It’s busier than usual and I have to wait a while to put in my order. I shuffle over near the wall to wait, looking around at the packed tables. The waitress is struggling with a huge tray as she hurries to the back table to serve a small family.

Wait a minute.

I feel a chill run through me, just a touch of shock mingled with surprise. I didn’t recognize her at first with her hair pulled up under the cap, but it’s Lena.

“Lena?” I call out as she comes towards the counter. She sees me, but doesn’t smile. Her cheeks are flushed, and little strands of strawberry blond hair are escaping the edges of the cap to frame her face.

“Hi, Jack,” she says. “I’m really busy. What do you want?”

I struggle with speech for a few seconds, my mind a complete blank, shaking my head and gesturing helplessly. “What are you doing?”

“Working,” she answers. Her face is tense, and her eyes look defeated and dull.

“Why?” I’m still having a hard time putting words together.

She frowns. “To earn my keep, of course.”

Even though I can see hungry people in the background starting to look around and other workers at the diner watching us, I can’t let her go yet. Not until I get to the bottom of this.

“I told you that you don’t have to work. Not unless you really want to. I just—you look so tired and stressed right now, I can’t imagine this is a job you’d actually like to do.”

She grins just a little. “Not my first choice, to be sure.”

“So, why?”

She shakes her head. “I know what you said, but I have to put in my share. I didn’t want you to get upset with me.”

I run my hand across my face, wondering how to explain this to her. She’s starting to look really confused and even a bit hurt, and this is the last thing I wanted to do to her.

“I’m not upset. I told you I don’t mind if you don’t want to work.”

I see a flash of something in her eyes that just might be fear.

“You might say that,” she says softly. “But how long until you’re yelling at me for not doing enough? I’d rather not wait around for that.”

My confusion reaches a point that feels very like pain. I just can’t figure this out. Was her entire pack like this?

Or just her family?

My confusion is blown away by a wave of intense, encompassing fury. How dare her father treat her this way? She’s been so scarred by his abuse she can’t trust anyone.

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