Page 46 of Forced Knocked-Up Mate

“I’m starting to understand why she kept it from me,” Lucy grumbles.

My head is pounding so hard, it feels like the top of my skull is going to explode. I grab my temples as the tension builds and try to hold it all in, but I just can’t.

“I’ve had enough!” I yell. “I don’t want this—any of this. I don’t want to be in a pack, or have responsibilities. And I sure as hell don’t want you!”

The second the words are out of my mouth, I regret them, but it’s too late to take them back. Lucy flinches as if I’ve just struck her.

She turns and walks away from me, stopping at the edge of the parking lot. I can feel the electricity in the air and the anxiety deep in my guts.

This is as far apart as we can get. The magic won’t let us go any further.

All I can do is watch her, feeling empty, angry, and frustrated all at once.

I don’t know if I want to go over there and comfort her… or run like hell in the other direction the second I get the chance.

Chapter 15 - Lucy

I don’t know how long I stand at the edge of the parking lot, as far away from Peter as I can possibly get. The cold wind tears down from the mountain and tugs on my hair, creeping into my clothes and chilling me to the bone. I try not to think, even as the ache grows in my heart.

I am sorry that I embarrassed him. There were better ways of dealing with the situation, and I know that. I probably shouldn’t have even tried to go to the meeting.

All that aside, he was completely out of line. His words echo in my head, ringing through me with ripples of pain. Sensory images from the night before flash through my head. I wonder how we could get so close, only to tear each other apart like that.

It wasn’t intimacy, just stress, maybe even part of the spell. It doesn’t mean anything.

When I finally turn around, Peter is waiting by the car. I walk over to him, and he barely looks up. I open the door to get in, and he does the same, keeping his eyes down.

The tension in the air is appalling, like a storm about to rip open the sky and tear the earth open with lightning. I grip the steering wheel and manage to make it home without saying a single word.

If I talk to him, something’s going to start. I don’t know if it will be a fight or a fuck, but I’m not ready for either.

When I get inside, I go straight to my room. The sun is setting outside and the wind has gained strength, smashing against the house and making the trees bend and thrash. I know some witches can affect the weather, but I’ve never had theability. It still feels like the elements are listening to me, though. Like they’re trying to answer my distress.

Maybe I could do a spell to calm us down. Peace in the home, or something like that.

Immediately, I reject the idea. My magic got us into this mess, and I don’t trust it to get me back out again.

I hear Peter moving around in the house and put my headphones on. It isn’t easy, but I manage to calm myself enough to meditate, sinking into a dark, quiet space deep inside my mind.

When I finally wake hours later, the complete darkness and sense of anxiety sizzling through me disorient me completely. It takes a few seconds for me to understand that I’m actually awake and night has fallen.

The fierce sense inside me that something is terribly wrong drives me out of bed. At first, I wonder if the wind from earlier turned into a blizzard. Maybe the power is out, or some horrible catastrophe has happened to the town.

I run through the house, listening for the wind or any sign of emergency, such as sirens or people shouting, but the night is utterly silent.

The wind has stopped.

I look out the window, and the street is perfectly still. Nothing moves, giving the scene a spooky, otherworldly feel. The streetlights are on, so obviously, there is no problem with the power.

Wondering why Peter hasn’t turned on any lights, I go looking for him, only to find the house empty.

He isn’t here!

The horrible anxiety in my stomach increases, making my heart pound and my palms sweat.

He’s fighting the spell. He’s trying to run away.

I grab my jacket and shoes, charging out the back door towards the forest. I know that’s where he would go, just by guessing, but I also feel drawn to him as if an invisible string connects us. I have a feeling that wherever he went in the world, I’d be able to find him.

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