Page 13 of Broken Pregnant Mate
That’s when I knew I had to leave.
To keep from ruining that family for her. To stay alive.
They had already found me once, and that night, when she begged to come with me, I knew there was a chance that Iwasn’t going to make it. And there wasn’t a chance in hell I was going to drag her down with me.
Not when she finally had a stable home, food in her belly, parents who loved her.
Now, Emaline says, her voice broken, “My parents?”
I nod, frown, “I don’t blame them, Emaline. I want you to know that. I’m sure there was a directive from the Blacklocks, and how could they say no to that? They would have done the unthinkable to them if they said no, refused. That’s why I left. Because I didn’t want to put them in that position.”
As I speak, something indecipherable crosses over Emaline’s face, and it takes a moment to materialize fully, for me to realize what the expression is.
It’s grief.
“What?” I ask, already feeling a sense of foreboding in my chest. “What is it?”
Emaline lets out a little bitter laugh, shaking her head and wiping another tear away. “It didn’t matter. They did the unthinkable anyway.”
Those two come to mind—the woman wearing a faded pink dress, the man looking grouchy, but smiling when he saw Emaline for the first time. They were not bad people.
I look away from Emaline, almost unable to hold her gaze. “What did they…?”
“Set fire to the house,” Emaline says, her voice dropping down into a matter-of-fact tone, like she’s a new reporter reading the details from a script. “Gerald made sure that I got out. He died from the smoke inhalation. They were old, they—”
She stops, turns her head, sucks in a breath. “Not just the house—they set fire to the fields, too. There was nothing left but ash when it was done. Some sort of magical fire that didn’t stop even when it started to rain.”
“Shit.” My heart races, my anger and hatred for Jerrod Blacklock compounding. “I’m—I don’t want to say I’m sorry. Emaline, I’m…”
To my surprise, she reaches out and grabs the sleeve of my shirt, near my wrist, but not touching my skin. When I meet her eyes, they’re wide open.
“I know, Aidan. It wasn’t your fault.”
A beat passes, and she releases my sleeve, then clears her throat and asks, “So, why did you come here?”
“It was my only option.” Images flash through my mind—out in the desert, my body turning in on itself. The poison and hunger are fighting for dominance. “I figured, I’d tell them what I wanted—to kill Blacklock—and they’d either put me out of my misery, or help me.”
“And I’m guessing they chose to help you.”
“Emaline.” I want to touch her, but I don’t. “These people…they’re good. I know we always heard of the Ambersky being vicious, cruel, but they’re not. They treat omegas well over here. They’re kind.”
“Nobody’s shocked that Blacklock has been lying.”
“Emaline, whatexactlyhappened to get you arrested? You were really fighting at the border?”
She sighs, paces for a second, then drops down into the other wooden chair at the table, letting her head fall into her hands and speaking down at the wood.
“After…after my parents died, I was back on the streets. Blacklock snapped up the land, told me to get lost—I was legally an adult at the point. So I was looking for somewhere to work. Walked into this diner, asked if they were hiring. And there was this guy, this beta…”
She sucks in a breath, lifts her head, looks to the ceiling with a nauseous expression, then goes on. “This beta said he had a job for me, just delivering something. I needed money so badly, I’d been considering doing much worse. So I did it. And after that, I was in his little group.”
“A Grayhide?” I know my voice is tight. I know it’s from thinking about this beta looking at Emaline. I know it’s because I can read the look on her face, and I know this man was more than a friend.
“Not really.” Emaline shakes her head, picks at her sleeve. “We were in Grayhide territory a lot, but not in the pack. He just kind of drifted around, sold to whoever would take it. There’s this market on the new moon, and we’d sell there sometimes. Sometimes we’d stay in this camp just near the eastern border. Most times, there was an abandoned house we’d shack up in, until Vern decided it was time to move on.”
“Vern,” I say, the name tasting like vinegar on my tongue. “And you were doing deliveries for him?”
Emaline swallows, avoiding my eye. “At first. Then he…found out about my other talents.”
