Page 9 of The Alpha's Forced Bullied Mate

His smile burned bright. “I can pick anyone—pack member or not.”

“Please, Hector. I don’t want to go back. You can’t make me.”

“I don’t have to make you,” he whispered as he closed the space between us, “because I know for a fact that you’re already my mate.”

Chapter 3 - Hector

“Your mate,” Faye whispered, and I saw the realization register in her eyes. “Yourmate.”

Her throat clicked as she swallowed, and a tear escaped her right eye. It was like Cliff said, it all started with an apology. With that out of the way, I could focus on improving my pack, and maybe even producing an heir to pass along the alpha title. The sooner, the better. Though the same alpha-choosing ritual was performed with heirs, it guaranteed my child a spot in the circle that would improve their chances of success.

Yes, a child would be perfect, especially with someone like Faye Lynne. Her hips were the right size and she appeared to have taken good care of herself. The sight of her living space was a mild shock. The rose-red couches and violet flowers in the windowsills were unlike her childhood room that had been a mattress on the ground and a few sturdy boxes for furniture.

Even the floor seemed to be regularly loved, the vinyl a rich swirl of chocolate brown and obsidian with a few brightly colored decorative rugs that obviously got cleaned weekly. The place was lit well, spacious, and nicely furnished. I ignored her shocked expression to explore the rest of the space, particularly the kitchen. Bleached counters, fruit baskets, crafted décor—yes, she had become a caring and creative woman since she had run away.

She’ll make the perfect mate for a busy alpha.

“Just what do you think you’re doing?” She hadn’t left her spot across the room, but her features had changed from irritated to curious.

I swept my finger across the counter and rubbed it against my thumb. “You’ve done well for yourself, Faye. You’ll make a great mother.”

She choked. “Alright, that’s it.”

Just as I turned, she locked my arm under her armpit and swung me toward the door—which was still open to the empty foyer. Given the move was sudden, I lost my balance and stomped toward the doorway. I recovered my stance and turned to meet her punches, knocking two blows before absorbing one. She had gotten better at fighting, too. The sheer force of her punches was enough to rev me up.

After a brief sparring match, she grabbed my right arm, twisted it, and kicked me into the foyer. I let her have it. Honestly, I just wanted to see how much farther she might take the fight. But when I turned to meet another round from her fists, I found the door shut in my face. The lock clicked. The window in the front door of the foyer crowded with an ethereal gray as the sky outside grew dark.

Thunder rumbled overhead. I glanced up at the arched ceiling and inhaled the air thickening with moisture.

She had rejected me before I had a chance to make my case. With a raised fist, I considered how I could convince her that her path rightfully belonged to me and my pack. I could knock down her door. I could throw her over my shoulder and take her back with me to Silverfang Creek land, located just outside Point Pleasant, West Virginia. It was safer there than here in Beaufort Creek, South Carolina, where the town could easily discover the pack’s many supernatural secrets. Small beach towns like these were too dangerous. She had to come back with me, or she would end up hurting herself in the long run.

It dawned on me then that this level of defeat would be seen as a massive shame in the Silverfang Creek pack. Even with younger blood in the position of alpha, Adrian would still have sway over the elders of which he was now part. Any disappointment from him would be shared by many other pack members. Even some of the youth would likely adapt to his opinion until I proved my worth.

I clenched my fists.She’s sabotaging me on purpose.

Returning to them with a successfully paired mate was the first step to earning their trust. I wasn’t just protecting people—I was ensuring the success of generations, of families older than the very states in whose invisible lines we resided. My job was to make sure everything was equitable—and that required a mate at my side. That required ample protection with the mate bite to keep me from becoming too susceptible to demonic influence

She’s getting back at me for back then. I guess I can’t blame her for that.

But she was damning an entire pack with her revenge scheme.

An air of defeat surrounded me as I lowered my fist and turned to my neatly placed boots. I tugged them on, tightened the strings, and let myself out into the humid morning without tying them. A few shifters jogged past me and waved. I put on my friendliest smile without showing teeth and shrank my shoulders down as I returned the wave.

Experience showed me that my size intimidated people. Even other shifters were afraid of my bulk and baritone voice if I wasn'tbeing mindful of my stance, tone, and volume. Faye hadn’t shied away from either one of those things. In fact,she seemed pretty smitten with how close I got—how close she let me get—twice in a row.

As soon as I got in my car, I dropped the smile, cursing under my breath as I snatched my phone from my pocket. Cliff had texted three times. Who could blame the guy? He hadn’t seen his sister since she was eighteen. I clicked on his name and waited for the line to ring, thinking it was better than trying to type three paragraphs of crap that would probably just confuse him.

He answered in the middle of the second ring. “Yeah, hey, is she in the car? Can I talk to her?”

“Hello to you, too.”

“Faye, can you hear me?”

I held the phone away from my ear to take a breath. “Gods, can you justchillfor a second and let me talk?”

He was like an excited puppy panting on the other end of the line. I could hear his heart racing and could nearly smell the scent of his sweat, a pungent musk that was familiar from running, wrestling, shifting together.

I stared at the dirt road in front of me, trying to piece together everything that had just happened. “She turned me down.”

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