Page 30 of The Wolf's Bullied Pregnant Mate
“Yes, I do,” I lied, and stormed back to the other room cavern.
The worst thing was I wasn’t even sure if I meant that. Once upon a time, I had, but now? I hadn’t killed Adalyn. I had taken her to bed last night. But that didn’t change anything.
So why haven’t you killed your enemy already? A small voice in me whispered.Why does she still live?
Chapter 11 - Adalyn
I hadn’t had any nightmares since we had gone underground. I told myself it was because I was back-soaked in my brethren’s power and energy, chasing my uneasiness away.
The other possibility terrified me.
That was because my dreams pulled me closer to Zephyr, but now he was there, sharing space and a bed. Or at least hehad. It had been three days since he had told me he wanted every witch dead alongside demons. Ever since, we hadn’t spoken a single word to one another.
We existed in an icy, awful silence. We avoided each other, cooked separately, and when he disappeared into the other room, I never tried to intrude even though I wanted to sit in there, too, and read the words I had seen on the wall.
I hated that he was immersing himself in my history. I wanted to ask him how much of my ancient language he knew but couldn’t bring myself to. I didn’t want to know how much of my world Zephyr had learned, only knowing it was to outsmart my kind.
I had just hung up on a video call with my grandmother, while also making sure Harper was safe—her and Alex had hunkered down with my grandmother and the triplets in a safe house hidden in the mountains—when I heard Zephyr’s voice.
“Just tell me how big the threat is so I know when I’m getting back above ground,” he snapped. I heard Hector’s voice on the other end, crackling but audible.
“Demons are spreading across town. Alex has been dispatching us every few hours to take down some groups that are near us.”
“I haven’t been notified to do that.”
“That’s because big hoards of demons aren’t going anywhere near where you are. They come near, interested, but leave almost immediately.”
I cringed, hoping he wouldn’t come looking for answers.
I knew the demons didn’t frequent this place due to the sanctuary. Once or twice, a demon had gotten brave, coming up from the waterfall’s pool outside, or lurking in the trees, but the witch energy was too strong to allow them bigger entry to pose a threat.
Of course, he wasn’t enjoying his time down here with me. He wanted to be as far away from me as possible. He wasn’t the only one who hated this situation. I was already carrying the weight of shame of bringing him into a sacred place for witches.
I twisted my arm, looking at the bruises he’d landed on my wrists, knowing there were more on my throat, hips, and thighs, evidence of our rough night—bruises that I had craved so much at the time, but now I felt uneasy looking at them. He had completely shut me out afterward.
Zephyr had withdrawn, pulled away, and flat-out ignored me. Hearing his voice talking to his group was the most I heard his voice since he had talked to me after we’d slept together. Other than that, it was one coffee cup set out in the morning, one meal made for himself, a host of passive-aggressive behavior that made it clear we were not forming anything civil between us.
And the sex…
It curled my stomach—I didn’t know whether it was desire or hatred. I couldn’t believe I had gone through with it. That kiss at the party… It had sparked something, and now I didn’t like how much I craved those eyes on me.
Look at me in anger,I thought.Look at me in pure hatred, but please just look at me again.But why did I want that now? I had spent so long hating Zephyr and still did, so why did I suddenly crave him?
I didn’t know if I wanted his body pressed to mine once again or if I wanted him as far away from me as we could manage.
One thing I knew for sure was that his knowing the witch’s origins sat uncomfortably. Those stories were usually only shared for witch’s mates.
I sighed, sliding from the bed. Zephyr had been working his way through the containers stocked in the fridge. What should have done a group of five witches a week of hiding out had lasted three days with him. A shifter’s appetite was no joke, I realized. It meant one of us would have to go aboveground soon to buy more food.
“Zeph, just be patient,” I heard Hector say over the phone.
“We’re here tofight,” came his responding growl.
“No, we were here to vacation. Now, we’re here tohelp. Sometimes, that doesn’t mean fighting all the time. I know you like action, but know when to stay safe and guard those you’re with.”
“According to her, she doesn’tneedguarding,” he muttered. “She’s stubborn, Hec.”
“Suck it up, big guy.” I heard a female’s voice in the background, giggling.
