Page 18 of Pregnant Wolf's Mate

Above their heads, there was a sizzling sound as though the flaming wolf had reached the warding spell at the top of the wall. The sizzling turned to an odd sound of static and then a wolf in pain howled so loudly that it threatened to pierce Ray’s ears.

Lottie opened her mouth as if to protest or maybe even to come clean, but just then the sound of rustling alerted them both to the arrival of Macie. She slipped from the woodland looking as though it had taken a great deal of effort for her to even attempt to keep up and the way she paused to place her hands upon her knees told Ray it was going to take her a minute or two to recover.

Feeling as though he was suddenly stuck between a rock and a hard place, he glanced between the two sisters, wondering whether he should say anything else. Maybe Macie would be able to get the truth out of her sister? Or maybe Lottie would be even less likely to confess to anything?

Shit! Fuck! Balls! I don’t have time for this! Ray thought angrily, realizing that whatever had happened between him and Macie, it was beginning to cause him a hell of a lot of problems.

“I don’t have time to deal with this right now,” he snarled under his breath at Lottie so that only she would be able to hear him. He glanced at Macie again before turning on her sister and hissing, “I have to get to Dash and report this. Do you think you can handle getting your sister home safely or is that also too much for you to handle on your own?”

Lottie looked as though she was going to offer some kind of scathing remark but before she could do so, he turned and began to storm away, back the way he had come.

“Ray? What happened?” Macie asked, straightening up as he approached.

“Ask your fucking sister!” he snarled back at her, storming past before she could say another word. He was in no mood for any of this right now. Not only had he just found out that the eighteen-year-old Silverdale she-wolf he’d had a one-night stand with was pregnant, but her sister was also an even bigger screwup than he was. Not to mention the fact that there was now one more demon wolf on the loose outside Silverdale, one that likely knew far too much about the inside of their community. And if it decided to come back, maybe even with help, it could destroy everything.

Here we go again! he thought, the burning sensation in his old scars kicking up a notch as he thought once more of the battle he had fought to close the gates of Silverdale against the tidal wave of demon wolves that had just kept coming and coming. It had only been Malia and Emily’s magic and the help of a couple of demon wolves who were actually on their side—now just normal wolves after the witches had taken their demons from them—that had saved them the last time. Now they were two demon wolves down thanks to the spell Malia and Emily had performed on those who wished to join the pack. Ray wasn’t sure that the single one they had left, Emily’s very own demon wolf mate, would be enough to stop another attack.

Just get to Dash and make your report, he told himself firmly. You can worry about everything else later. His stomach clenched when he thought for a second of all the other things he had to deal with, Macie and his pup, Lottie and whatever involvement she’d had in helping the demon wolf escape, not to mention the fact that he had felt Macie struggling with her wolf again.

Can things possibly get any worse?

Standing in Dash’s office, the office of the alpha, Ray felt even more self-conscious than usual. The last time he had shared a one-on-one with the alpha, it had been Dash’s father, and things had been far less awkward than they were now even though the late alpha had given him an official pardon for having challenged his son for the alphaship. Of course, that had been a mere formality, something that happened between every alpha and the challengers after the alpha games took place, but still.

“You say you saw it scaling the wall?” Dash asked, looking up from where he had been writing on a piece of paper, looking more like a damn secretary than an alpha.

Ray nodded. “With my own eyes, alpha.”

“And it was fully formed? The demon, I mean.”

Again, Ray nodded. He shivered as he remembered the frightening fiery figure that had easily scaled the wall, throwing itself over the top as though it had no fear of falling from over ten feet in the air, as though anything on the other side of that wall couldn’t possibly be worse than what lay inside it.

“It was fully formed. It had to have gotten its cuffs off somehow, though I cannot say how it managed it,” Ray explained, and not for the first time, he surprised himself. He had been in Dash’s office for several minutes now, going over and over his report and yet, though he had been given ample opportunity, he hadn’t been able to admit Lottie’s part in everything that had happened. Worse than that, he hadn’t mentioned Lottie or Macie at all. The thought of anyone knowing that they’d had anything to do with the escape of the demon wolf made him fearful for them both. Though he had never really paid much attention to the sisters before, he knew well just how close they were and he was certain that if he gave Lottie away, Macie would most definitely allow herself to go down with her.

“Did you check the surrounding area for the cuffs?” Dash asked, and Ray’s entire body tensed at the question. He barely managed to stop himself from cursing under his breath. He had been so focused on getting away from Lottie before he did something he might regret that he had entirely forgotten to even check the area for a single clue as to how the demon wolf had escaped. Though he had his suspicions, he had no proper proof. Maybe that is why I didn’t mention them being there? he thought, trying to think of any sane reason he could think up for his not giving Lottie away. It couldn’t possibly be this newfound possessive, protectiveness that he had towards her sister.

“I didn’t,” he admitted, allowing his gaze to drop from the alpha’s, feeling his cheeks grow hot with embarrassment. “I thought it best to get back here and report in as soon as possible.”

For a second the raven-haired alpha with his blue eyes, looking so much like male mixture of Macie and Lottie, was entirely silent. Ray could feel his eyes upon him but he didn’t dare to look up in case he caught sight of the alpha’s wrath, something that would likely grow tenfold now that Dash was no longer just acting alpha.

Just when Ray was certain he would get some kind of scolding, even be forced on guard duty for a month without rest, Dash sighed and said, “You did the right thing. I’ll have a patrol sent out to check the perimeter for any sign of the cuffs or the wolf.”

Ray nodded in understanding and agreement, silently deciding, That’s what really matters, finding the wolf.

For now, at least, that was all that mattered. They could worry about how it had escaped later. Until it was found and brought down, nobody in Silverdale would be safe, including the mother of his pup.

He shivered at the mere thought of her. Gritting his teeth, he straightened up with his hands clasped behind his back. He couldn't afford to think of her right now. He had to keep his head in the game.

"Was there anything else? Anything that might be useful to tracking the wolf down?" Dash asked, still seemingly making notes.

Ray shook his head. His mind was still reeling. He could barely think straight and the longer he stood before the alpha, the harder it was for him not to tell all.

I can't give them away. Not until I know the truth, he realized. Macie would never forgive him. And who was to say that the Silverdale alpha would even believe him? They had been longtime rivals since school.

"You may go then. Get some rest while you can. None of us know what the next few hours may hold," Dash said, sighing deeply as though the weight of being alpha was already pressing heavily upon his shoulders.

"Do you want me to join one of the patrols?" Ray asked. He wasn't at all sure that going to rest would do him any good. It would give him too much time to think, too much time to wonder.

"You've already been out all day," Dash pointed out, and Ray cringed at the words, knowing his alpha was likely keeping tabs on him. He couldn't exactly blame him with his position still being so new. "Go and rest and if the patrols are unsuccessful, you'll be on the next."

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