Page 23 of Pregnant By the Alpha Wolf

“Mmm,” she gasps, my hand falling to her hip to pull her flush against me. The desire to take her is immediate. To claim her. My fangs descend slightly and scrape deliciously against her tender flesh.

“You missed me, love?” I whisper.

She giggles. “How could I, when you’re always here?” she replies, tapping her head.

“I don’t know what you mean,” I chuckle, distracting her by lifting my hand to cup her full breasts. She tips her head back, and I can’t resist; my mouth moves to her neck, sucking and kissing, my hardness pressed heavily against her back.

“Is it normal? To feel you this way?” she asks, and I still recall my earlier conversation with Griffen.

My beasts are already on the edge; I cannot have this conversation now. I need to calm their bloodlust. I don’t answer immediately, my hand drifting to the hem of her dress, bunching the fabric until it’s around her waist. “I want you to feel me at all times, Willow,” I whisper against her hair as she gasps and becomes pliant in my hands.

“We can’t, Rowan, not here. I—” She gasps as my fingers glide through her wetness.

I chuckle as she arches her back against me, her protests dying on her tongue as I rub circles on her clit. “The heart wants what the heart wants. Let us have this, love.”

She turns her head, and I see desire and amusement dancing in her eyes. Her cheeks flush as she nods. Suddenly, the anger at my discovery at the ridge, my concern over the missing data, my fears for Willow, and the looming threat of the hunters all fade away, and there is nothing but this moment and the woman in my arms.

My mate. And as I take her, I’m left with no doubt that nothing will ever keep her from me. Not members of my own pack, the hunters, the Order, or even my own secrets.

Chapter 13 - Willow

I hear the beep of the main alarm as Rowan leaves to join the morning patrol. I breathe a sigh of relief when I can stop pretending to be asleep, shoot from the bed, run for the bathroom, and heave—barely making it to the bowl.

I sway slightly as I stand, washing my face but unable to look in the mirror—my heart races. Thank the goddess Rowan has been out early the last three days on these new small patrols, but I know he’ll catch me being sick eventually.

It started as a strange bout of nausea at the lab, but I put it down to rushing out too early and the stress of wanting to run the data before anyone else was there—the stress of wondering who the traitor is. But then I woke yesterday with the now-familiar churn in my stomach and felt sick long after managing a tiny breakfast. As I stand in the bathroom, waiting to see if the second wave of nausea will pass, I’m forced to consider the possibility.

Am I pregnant?

A year ago, that would have seemed almost fanciful. Declining birthrates among the packs meant pregnancies had become almost non-existent. But now, we know the Völva have heightened fertility…so why hadn’t I even considered this as a possibility?

I take a few steadying breaths, waiting for the roll of sickness to settle. I can’t tell Rowan. Not now. Not yet. My mind races as I mentally tally up the supplies we have left in the lab and how I can run the tests in private.

My mind made up, I dress quickly, forgoing my usual coffee for some plain crackers to try and keep the sickness at bay. I check my makeup in the mirror before I leave the house,adding some color to my cheeks so I don’t look as deathly as I feel. Realistically, very few conditions make shifters feel sick like this. Being half-human, I’m perhaps more susceptible, but I have always displayed healthy shifter traits, healing quickly and strength. Walking to the lab, I’m already in full research mode—it feels like a comfort blanket to focus on the science rather than the emotional fallout.

Does Rowan even want pups?I suddenly think, my feet almost slowing to a stop on the sidewalk.Do I?I never thought it was an option.

“Are you coming in?” Griffen calls from the laboratory’s main door.

I look up, my face burning as I realize I’ve just been standing out here, lost in my own world. “Coming,” I reply, trying to mask my emotions.

Griffen grunts and holds the door for me. I slip past him into the warmth of the reception area. At first, I thought Griffen was intimidating. He’s hard and brash and has a way of staring straight through people. You never know what he’s thinking, but you can only assume that it’s not good—that was, until I got to know him. He’s still strangely silent most of the time and undeniably intimidating in his size, but underneath it all, he has a dry sense of humor that I appreciate. Plus, the way he stands with Rowan makes me see what a good man he is.

Which is why I hate lying to him.

“So, where are we setting up today?” he asks as we walk toward my office.

After the missing data and Rowan’s discovery up on the ridge, Griffen has formed an elite unit of their most trusted warriors to run covert patrols in addition to the main pack patrols. Either he or Rowan is with me at the lab at all times.

Trying to act normally while everyone else is under suspicion has been challenging, and while I prefer the days Rowan watches over me, I have come to appreciate Griffen’s company. But right now, I need him gone.

I take a breath and turn to him with a smile. “I’ve got a very boring day of categorizing a load of files by hand. To be honest, I think the best way for me to get through it is to blast some music and just plow through.”

Griffen usually reads while I work, and I know for a fact he hates loud music. He studies me for a moment, and I know he’d rather be out on patrol than babysitting me, especially if I’m going to annoy him with my music.

“You know, Sara was asking yesterday if anyone was free to help unload that big delivery of new equipment for the clinic, if you’re looking for something to do while I start here?”

Relief flashes over his features, and I know I’ve hit my mark; he’d prefer to be useful. “I’ll go see if she needs a hand, but I’m only through the clinic doors.” Turning back down the corridor, he says, “I’ll be back for our coffee break.”

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