Page 18 of Forced Knocked-Up Mate

“Okay!” Jen announces as she stands up and claps her hands. She’s wearing a delighted smile that I don’t like. “We got us an idea,” she begins. “I had a thought, and Carson here has confirmed it. Binding spells were done by the old mountain witches and sorcerers when they wanted to bear children for wolves. It could be a blessing or a curse, depending on the pair. For years, it went on, and no one knew how to break it—until one couple got married, and the magical tether broke.”

“What?” I choke.

“What?” Peter cries in perfect unison.

Jen claps and twirls, grinning like a madwoman. “Y’all heard me! You two gotta tie the knot! Get your butts over here, and we’ll get this wedding started!”

Chapter 6 - Peter

The old woman is completely fucking batshit crazy.

And not just because she’s suggesting I marry a woman I just met. The way she gallops around, clapping and laughing, makes her look completely unhinged. I only got to sit down with Rider for a grand total of five seconds before she announced I was getting married.

“There must be a mistake,” Lucy says, trying to sound rational and calm but failing. “You’re joking, right?”

“That’s definitely a joke I’d like to pull,” Jen cackles. “But nope. This one’s all legit.”

I grab my beer, pouring it down my throat in one gulp. “I’m going to need something stronger,” I mutter to my brother.

“Me too,” Rider agrees.

“Get something for me, too,” Bae adds. “This morning just took one hell of a turn.”

“I’ll go out the front and see Shelley,” Kyle offers. “I’ll see what drink she recommends for meeting long-lost relatives and sudden, unwilling weddings.”

“I’m sure she’ll have something,” Bae replies, chuckling. “In this town, that particular drink probably has a name.”

“And it might be the most popular drink in town,” Kyle says.

The guys share a little laugh that goes right over my head.

Am I missing something? Is every marriage in this town a shotgun wedding?

Across the room, Lucy is still arguing with Jen. “I’m not marrying him!” she almost shouts. “You’re going to have to come up with something else—anything else!”

“You okay there, good buddy?” Rider asks, clapping me on the shoulder. “You’ve gone a sickly shade of white.”

“She’s… not serious, is she?” I ask.

Rider nods. “I’m afraid so. Jen is very knowledgeable, even if she does seem a bit kooky.”

“And Carson,” Bailey agrees. “He’s never led me wrong—ever.”

“Wait,” I say, shaking my head. “Are you actually suggesting that I do this?”

Rider gives me a long, serious look. I remember it from when we were kids—he looks calm, but his eyes are clouding up like the sky right before a tornado.

“You want to break the tether, right?” he asks me.

“Yes!” I reply. “For fuck’s sake. Of course I do.”

“And you’d try anything?”

“Of course I would.”

“So, why not just have a go? If it doesn’t work, the marriage can get annulled or whatever later.”

I take a deep breath, holding it in before letting it out as a long sigh. My stomach is flipping around like a fish on the bank of a river, and I’m starting to sweat.

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