Page 4 of Impregnated By the Alpha

“I wasn’t expecting you, either,” I admitted. “When did you become a part of Jasper’s pack?”

“I’m not. I arrived from Sparkle Hollow yesterday. I volunteered as an ambassador on behalf of Alpha Lex,” she said.

I took a step toward her, wanting to reach out and hold her. “Vi…”

“Don’t call me that,” she snapped, interrupting my plea. “Were you the alpha back then, too? Did you lie to me about everything?”

“No,” I assured her. “I swear on everything I hold dear, I never lied to you.”

She scoffed at my assertion, but I continued.

“I know that I hurt you, but if you give me a chance, I can explain everything.”

“I don’t want to hear any of your weak excuses,” she snapped. “Do you have any idea what I went through when you left?”

Her eyes shimmered with tears as her voice broke.

“You’re right. I won’t make any excuses, but I can promise to hear everything you have to say and tell you what happened to me whenever you’re ready to hear it. I don’t expect you to have any feelings for me, and if you want to hate me in private, I would understand,” I said. “But for the sake of peace, it would have to be in private.”

“What do you mean by that?” she asked, looking at me questioningly.

“If we go through with the mating ceremony, we’ll be doing it for the packs,” I said. “All I want is to better the alliance between the packs, and it seems that’s why you’re here, too. Once we’re married, you can say whatever you want about me in our own home, but in front of the packs, we’ll have to fake it.”

“Fake our marriage?” Violet replied. “How would that work?”

“All we need to do is pretend to get along in front of the wolves. If we can show them a peaceful and caring relationship between their alpha and luna, we can ensure peace for the rest of our lives. Won’t that be worth it to you?” I asked.

She didn’t answer as she continued to lock eyes with me. I could tell she was struggling with whether she would be able to maintain a façade of happiness as my mate, but I didn’t want to push her into it. As much as I wanted to be with her, it had to be her choice.

I held my breath as I waited for her response. Every word I had spoken to her was true. I wanted the marriage for the betterment of our alliances, but that didn’t cover all the reasons I wanted her to become my mate.

Now that she was here, I was willing to do anything to keep her in my life. Even if that meant I had to pretend for a little while.

The truth was that I had never stopped loving her. If she would stay, I might get the chance to prove that to her.

Chapter 3 - Violet

Of all the people I could have entered into an arranged marriage with, Nile was the last man I expected. The man I had loved so many years ago—the man who had rejected me and left me brokenhearted—was now asking me to put on a front in front of our packs and pretend that we were happy together.

I was of half a mind to tell him to stick his proposal where the sun didn’t shine just to enact some form of revenge against him for his ill treatment of me, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. I was torn somewhere between wanting to rush into his arms and wanting to slap him.

Instead of exercising either of those options, I found myself standing stone-faced in front of him.

He looked almost the same as when I had first met him, although he had more lines to his face now, and his black hair was cropped short. His face was no longer covered with a beard but rough stubble. Clearly, being alpha of the Pinedale wolves had offered him more opportunities for grooming and self-care than when he’d been a rogue living in the wilderness.

One thing that hadn’t changed was his tall, muscular form. I had always been rather slight, and his presence was just as intimidating as it had always been. If I didn’t watch myself I could tell I would be in danger of falling for him again—which absolutely could not happen. Not after he had taken away all my dreams of romance, love, and happily-ever-afters.

So far, he had done most of the talking. I had been shocked to see him and had wanted answers to a few of my burning questions, but I couldn’t quite move past the fact that he was thealpha.

“Violet, please tell me what you’re thinking,” Nile said softly. He moved ever so slightly toward me, and I gave a sharp intake of breath, eyes flickering up to meet his. He had waited while I took in my new circumstances, and I remembered how patient and protective he had always been. My heart ached for the love we had once shared as I answered him.

“I don’t know,” I admitted. “Everything, all at once. I’m thinking about everything.”

The lines between his eyebrows deepened as his emerald eyes bore into mine, drilling me with a look that was a mixture of concern and curiosity.

But how could I explain that my mind was traveling back to the memories of our time together?

My patrol duty shouldn’t have taken this long, but a scent had driven my wolf Lavender off track. There were rogues in the area, and I needed to locate them so I could report back to Alpha Lex and call in reinforcements to secure the area.

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