Page 17 of The Alpha's Forced Pregnant Mate

Julian leaned against the wall, scratching his jaw as he mulled the question over. “I was gone by the time Danny and his cronies found anything out, but I still have connections in the Canines.”

“Who?” I asked quickly, hoping to catch him off guard. I’m sure Danny would want to know if one of his wolves was feeding Julian intel.

Julian scowled. “Nice try, but I’m not telling you. Anyway, my intel says that they’ve found some clues in their research and still have to confirm it before making it public knowledge…but the thought is it’s less about Faye and Sienna being witches and more about their bloodline and the fact they both have wolf AND witch blood. Saul is a heavy hitter, but he’s human through and through. I heard that Peter even offered to bite him and initiate the change, but Saul refused.”

Laura leaned forward in her chair. “What makes you think their bloodline matters? I can buy the wolf witch thing, but the bloodline part doesn’t make much sense.”

“Because there’s always a pattern with demons,” I said. “They’re smart enough to keep us guessing, but eventually you can see what they want if you pay attention. It’s a game of hide and seek for them. They hide their plan, but we’re smart enough to figure it out.”

“I just hope you’re right,” Laura said.

“We’ll find out soon enough,” I said, getting to my feet. “I’m going to get the rest of our stuff and then I’d like to take a walk and get a feel for this area.”

Julian nodded. “Let me know what you need.”

I walked out of his cabin and across the circle to ours, Laura on my heels. We unloaded the rest of the car and put everything away. It didn’t take long since we’d only packed a few bags and had brought as little as possible. We weren’t here for a vacation.

Laura tossed her bag on the bed and fell backward onto it with a sigh. “Well, that was a lot of nothing.”

“I know,” I groaned, sitting on the edge of the bed. “But I have to be thorough. We’ve never had information about demons before. If there’s something to learn, I want to learn it.”

“Even if it means being around Julian?”

“Yes,” I said. “Even if it means being around Julian.”

***

We unpacked and ate a few sandwiches before changing into our hunting gear and went to find Julian. He was armed with a shotgun and a machete that had a well-worn handle. I didn’t want to admit it, but seeing him ready for battle stirred something deep inside me. Julian looked hot as hell holding that machete and wearing cargo pants that showed off his long, muscular legs. It wasn’t fair that the enemy was so damn good-looking.

“Ready?” he asked, looking us over.

“Yeah, let’s do it.”

The drive to the spot where the first demon had been spotted took less than ten minutes, and Julian explained a little more about how the Reckless Stalkers operated as he drove. The pack was still new and made up of mostly older wolves who’d grown tired of the direction Danny was taking the Red Canines. Julian led them, and they’d chosen to move out into the woods because it was easier to get away from everything there.

I didn’t mention it to Julian, but I thought it was a pretty big waste of their time to start a new pack with nothing to do. I knew there was some tension between the Silverfangs and Red Canines, but they had set it all aside for Naomi’s sake and faced the demon threat as a united front. It was a waste of energy to fight amongst ourselves when demons were such a huge threat.

The spot looked like a rough campsite that had no rhyme or reason, and it reeked of sulfur—a clear demon sign. I pulled my phone out and started snapping pictures while I walked around, looking for anything out of the ordinary.

“They left in a hurry,” Laura said, crouching down to look at the remains of a campfire. “These ashes are cold, but there aren’t any signs that it rained recently.”

I nodded. “Julian, you said you came out here right before we did? Did it rain?”

“No, not a drop,” he said. He was standing by the edge of the campsite, his hand resting on the handle of his machete. He looked like a warrior, ready to take on whatever might come his way. I pushed the thought from my mind and looked back down at the firepit.

“Okay,” I said, looking around. “They were here, but I’m guessing they heard you coming and got out of here before you could catch them. They must have some kind of communication system because this fire is pretty fresh. It looks like it was lit a few days ago.”

“It was,” Julian agreed. “It’s been two days since we came out here, and this fire is exactly how we left it. Whatever is going on, it’s recent.”

I walked over to him, and he was so tall compared to me, it felt like standing next to a tree. “This isn’t normal demon behavior. They’re normally smarter than this, more covert. I think—"

I didn’t get time to finish my sentence before the demon dropped down out of the canopy above us, landing on Laura with an unearthly screech. Laura rolled to avoid being pinned under the demon, which was a horrible-looking thing, its decayed flesh hanging off its bones. This demon should have found a new body a long time ago, but for some reason, it hadn’t managed.

Julian’s shotgun boomed, and the demon’s head exploded into black ichor. The rest of the body collapsed as soon as the head was gone, and Laura scrambled away from it, spitting the ichor from her mouth.

I ran over to her, crouching down beside her. “Are you hurt?”

“No,” she said, wiping her mouth. “But that’s disgusting.”

---