Page 61 of Forced Knocked-Up Mate

I get a couple of houses away and growl with frustration. My wolf is howling and writhing inside, desperate to return to Lucy.

It’s not like I have a choice. I’m almost at the edge of the spell.

I raise my hand, waving it back and forth as if I could feel the magical barrier. By now, I’d be feeling some kind of discomfort. The air would get thick, hard to breathe. Time would seem to slow down, and it would become difficult to move. But I can’t feel any resistance in the air at all.

It scares me worse than if I just ran headfirst into the barrier and the forced teleport shocked me with the strength of ten lightning strikes.

I take a few more steps forward, waiting for the moment it becomes obvious the spell won’t let me go any further. I still feel nothing, so I just stand there, stretching out with all of my senses, trying to detect the barrier.

Do I want to break it, or strengthen it?

Clenching my fists, I almost scream with frustration. I want to run. It’s been so long since I let my wolf charge through the forest, chasing prey and howling at the moon.

This is what I feared about becoming domesticated. I’ll lose my wiliness. I’ll be a fucking lapdog!

Even as I try to reject this idea, my wolf argues with me. The animal half wants nothing more than to curl up in Lucy’s lap and never leave it.

And now I have to admit, I don’t want to leave her. Even if she obviously wants me to go.

With a deep, rattling sigh, I turn to go back to the house. I have absolutely no choice in the matter, but part of me is relieved. If the spell wasn’t there, I’d run. Whenever I felt pain like this in the past, I just ran until I left it far behind me. It always caught up to me, but the only thing I’ve ever known is escape.

Now, I’m being forced back to Lucy. No matter how this situation is going to go, I have to talk to her and try to coexist until her mentor comes to break the spell.

Did I really think we could stay tethered together for the rest of our lives?

It’s an odd realization, but I really did believe that for a short while. I used the spell as an excuse to commit to this life, telling myself I didn’t have a choice.

And now that I have one, I’d choose to stay… if Lucy wanted me.

But obviously, she doesn’t.

I walk slowly across the lawn towards the door. I don’t know how to do this—to go in there and keep my shit together, to talk to her as if everything is fine when all I want to do is scream.

I go inside as quietly as I can, hoping she might have gone to bed. When I hear her moving around in the kitchen, I’m tempted to avoid her completely.

I walk down the hall, following the faint tang of peaches in the air. Standing just outside the kitchen door, I watch hertidying up. She hums under her breath, quickly taking utensils and plates from the drying rack and stacking them away. She looks much happier than when I left the house, and it confirms all my fears.

She wants me gone.

I go into the kitchen, making a bit of noise so she notices me. When her sea-blue eyes flick up to meet mine, I catch a hint of tension flash across her face before her expression smooths into calm.

It’s completely nuts, but I’m still worried about her. She looks pale, and her cheeks have lost their healthy pink glow. Even her eyes, usually so bright, look dull and flat instead of shimmering like a tropical bay.

She’s put on her thick, fluffy robe so I can’t look closely at the rest of her, but I’d swear she was losing weight. Thinking back over the last couple of days, I realize she hasn’t been eating much.

Lucy goes back to stacking plates, using a bit of unnecessary force this time.

I’m annoying her. She can’t wait for the spell to be broken so she doesn’t have to deal with me.

“Did you have something to eat?” I ask.

She shakes her head, not turning to look at me. “Not hungry.”

“You should eat. It’s been a while since lunch.”

“If you’re hungry, you make something.”

She still doesn’t turn around, and pain of a new kind rips through me. Lucy is right there, almost close enough to touch,but at the same time, she’s further away from me than she’s ever been.

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