Page 37 of Bullied Pregnant Mate

I looked outside the window, and my entire body tensed up when I spotted someone in the woods. It was mostly the shadow of a body, but my wolf growled on high alert.

I was frozen, my mind blank on what I should do. And then I grabbed my phone, desperate to call Lucas. But I paused.

I had just told myself I was strong and that I could handle anything. The second I see someone on my land, my first instinct is to call a man. I scowled at myself, curling my fingers into tight fists.

"You do not need a man," I told myself.

I pulled myself up and walked over, slipping on my shoes. I threw on my jacket and opened the door. It was dark outside, and I let my eyes adjust for a moment before I started to walk around the perimeter of the house. Once I was in the garden, I looked back at the woods.

I scanned the tree line, looking for the shadow to be moving now, but there was nothing. I curled my hands into tight fists. Whoever was there was really starting to piss me off.

I headed down the hill closer to the woods and sniffed. I could tell someone had been there, but I had no idea who. It wasn't Chris. A small part of me had been hoping it was just him snooping.

The smell was off, and I scrunched up my nose, getting a tangle of blood in the air.

I heard a snap of a twig, and I turned. My body stiffened for an entirely different reason. Lucas was walking down the wood line, and his eyes were zoned in on me. I could feel his anger from where I stood, and even my wolf went silent, knowing what was coming.

His eyes were filled with rage as he approached, and I could see his jaw clenching together. His hands were in fists at his side, and his shoulders were tense as he marched towards me.

"What the fuck are doing out here?" he snapped, stopping a foot from me.

I looked back to the woods, and whatever I had felt, whoever I had seen was long gone now. I looked back at Lucas. "I saw someone out here, so I came to check."

His nostrils flared, and his lips formed a thin line. "And your first instinct was to come out here and check it out? Are you insane?"

I scowled at him, crossing my arms. "My first instinct was to protect my land."

He grabbed me, hooking his arm onto my elbow, and yanked me, turning us towards the house. "Hey!" I snapped, trying to break free, but his grasp was too tight. His steps were too stiff as we moved.

I walked, looking over my shoulder as we moved. I still saw no one and wondered who it had been. Who'd been watching me? How was lurking in the woods?

"You are a goddamn pain in my ass," he snapped as we moved. "Idiot! Only an idiot would come out here alone."

I looked at him with a glare. "Says the man that patrols the woods at night by himself. Calling the kettle a little black there."

"It's not the same," he snapped at me, his eyes boring into mine. "I'm not some fragile little girl who is blindly walking around the woods! It's my job! I was trained to protect. And I’m not even that close to the woods. I stand several feet away. I observe! I don’t fucking walk into the woods."

His words were like a slap, and I ground my teeth together. Yet again, he saw me as a fragile wolf that couldn’t protect itself. I hated it. "I wasn't blindly walking around! I was looking for whoever was out here!"

"And what happens if you find them? Hmmm? Do tell me how that would have gone!"

We entered the garden and started around the house. I ripped my arm free and glared at him as I crossed my arms. "I would have protected myself just fine!"

He laughed and rolled his eyes, shaking his head. "You can't even protect yourself from Chris or your family. What makes you think you can protect yourself from a stranger? From someone that wants to kill you."

I was so sick and tired of everyone thinking I was weak. Rage built up, boiling in, and I curled my hands into fists. I wanted to punch him. I wanted to do so much more than that, but I didn't. I turned and started marching inside, but Lucas followed.

“Gina, you can’t just walk away!”

“I can because I’m done talking to you.” I rounded the house and stepped inside the house. I shoved the door to shut it, but Lucas caught it and pushed his way inside.

I walked to my living room and could hear Lucas hot on my tail. "Gina, stop. You need…" Before he could finish, his words died as he stepped into the living room behind me.

"What the fuck is all this?" he growled, his eyes scanning my makeshift living space before coming back to me. I simply shrugged at him as I slipped my shoes off.

"My new living space," I said, looking at the time on my phone. It was only a little past nine now. "I was getting ready for bed before all this."

"You aren't sleeping here," he snapped. "I was pretty sure I made my feelings about this house very clear."

---