Page 9 of Impregnated By the Alpha

Her eyes flickered up to meet mine before she averted her gaze, glancing around at the crowd who had gathered to watch us. I could tell exactly what she was thinking, because it was the same thing running through my mind. It was impossible to tell what the other person truly felt when we were putting on a show for others.

Chapter 5 - Violet

I had seen the front room of Nile’s house when I had spoken to him before the ceremony, but I hadn’t been paying attention to many details. Now that I was moving in with my mate and his daughter, I was surprised by how cozy and charming their house was.

The first floor of the house had a long hallway running from the front door back to the kitchen, off of which were a number of rooms, including the front sitting room, a more casual family room, a bathroom, and a dining room. Through the kitchen was the staircase, which led to the bedrooms. My new mate took the lead as we walked upstairs, and I felt my heart pounding in my chest as I wondered what was going to happen next on this tour.

“You don’t have to share a room with me,” Nile said, showing me to a bedroom on the second floor of the house. “I’m sure you want your privacy.”

A dozen or so boxes sat in a pile—the entirety of my belongings, sent from my parents’ house in Sparkle Hollow—next to the suitcases I had packed to bring with me on my trip to Pinedale.

I winced, realizing too late that I had just deprived my parents of seeing their only child get married.

“What’s wrong?” Nile asked.

“Nothing,” I said dismissively. “Just realized I didn’t invite my parents to the ceremony. Everything happened so fast.”

I cut myself off, not wanting to think about regrets any longer, while I continued inspecting my new home. The roomwas sparsely furnished in a light blue and cream color scheme. Two other doors were open against a side wall, showing an empty closet and a tile floor that could only be a bathroom. I got the impression that it had been rarely used prior to my arrival.

“Where do you sleep?” I asked.

Nile gesticulated toward a closed door across the hall.

“My room is the mirror of this one, and the third story has two more identical rooms,” he explained.

“For Penelope?” I asked.

He nodded, and I stepped into my room to look around the space. It had large windows, as did all the other rooms in the house. They let in a good amount of light even with the setting sun.

“I’ll leave you to get settled in,” Nile said from the hallway. “Feel free to explore the house to find anything you might need or ask me if you need help with anything.”

“I’ll be fine,” I said shortly.

He seemed surprised by my tone, but after hours of playing the part of the blushing bride, I was ready to end the charade for the day. He might be acting like he cared for my well-being, but our shared past showed me it was a lie.

“Goodnight, then,” Nile said.

I closed the door as he descended the staircase and opened my suitcase. I changed quickly into a t-shirt and baggy sweatpants, discarding my wedding dress in the corner of the room. My fingers brushed over the necklace Nile had given me, and I felt a pang in my stomach. I tucked it inside my shirt out of sight before turning my attention to the pile of boxes.

By the time the sun had fully set, I had unpacked all of my belongings and put them away. I closed the door of my now-full closet, turned off the light, and crawled into bed.

The last thing that crossed my mind as I fell asleep was that the past forty-eight hours had not gone as I had expected. Tomorrow, I would wake up for the first time as luna of the Pinedale Pack.

***

The smell of bacon and coffee woke me up in the early hours of the morning. I peeled my eyes open unwillingly, trying to remember where I was.

I glanced around the room, and memories of the prior day reminded me of what had happened. The sun was barely peeking through the curtains, and a quick glance at the clock told me it wasn’t quite seven.

I rolled over to go back to sleep when my stomach rumbled, reminding me that I hadn’t eaten much yesterday. Grumbling to myself, I pulled back the covers and shoved my feet into the slippers I had placed at the foot of my bed. The smell of breakfast intensified when I opened my bedroom door, and I could hear the sizzling pan from the kitchen below me.

I shuffled down the stairs and around the doorframe, where I saw Nile standing at the stove sipping coffee. Jazz music played quietly from an old radio on the counter, and I watched for a moment as he swayed and tapped his foot to the beat.

“What are you smirking at?” Nile asked as he turned his head and caught me looking at him.

“You have absolutely no sense of rhythm,” I said. “I had forgotten that about you.”

“Har har,” he laughed sarcastically. “I have plenty of rhythm!”

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