Page 3 of Pregnant Wolf's Mate

To them, he was little more than a rival, at best a guard dog and a soldier. The burn marks that were recently healed upon his chest were a painful reminder of that. Having received them during the final battle with the demon wolves, he knew well where he stood within the pack. But his wolf seemed not to care, clawing at his insides as though Macie was a bitch in heat.

"Just go, would you, prin…"

"If you call me a princess again, so help me gods, I'll claw your eyes out!"

"Is that a threat or a promise?" Ray responded in a knee-jerk reaction, biting his lip the moment the words left his mouth.

Still glowering at him, Macie turned at a call from her sister, who had already made her way up onto the porch steps of the manor.

Good riddance, Ray thought as he watched them go, wondering what it must be like to be a female at the height of the pack hierarchy simply because they shared the name Silverdale.

He was just beginning to feel the envy and remorse of his failed fight with Dash when his cell phone started to ring in the breast pocket of his leather jacket.

Removing it, he cursed under his breath the moment he saw the name flashing across the screen. Max, Dash's second in command. Whatever he was calling about, it wouldn't be anything good.

Clearing his throat, he answered, "Hey, Max. What's up?"

As if he didn't already know.

"I'm just ringing to make sure you haven't forgotten you're on guard duty tonight?" Max said, and Ray's thoughts about the Silverdales were only solidified in his mind. Of course they would put him on guard duty for the night of the full moon. He couldn't remember the last time he had attended a full moon ritual.

"No, Max, I haven't," he said through gritted teeth. Missing tonight's ritual was probably a good thing. After the conflicting feelings he'd just had in the presence of Macie Silverdale, he wasn't sure that the emotional turmoil of watching her shift in front of the entire pack for the first time would do his wolf any good. "I'll be there."

Chapter 3 - Macie

She may as well have been naked, or at least that was how Macie felt as she stood in front of the floor-standing mirror in her bedroom inside Silverdale Manor. The flowers that had been braided into her long black locks felt like they were covering her more than the simple shift of white material that she could barely call a dress. It clung to every inch of her, leaving absolutely nothing to the imagination, and it didn’t take all that long to look and be able to see the pinkness of her nipples shining through.

She shivered, thinking about how soon she would actually be naked, standing before the entire pack as they watched and waited for her to shift. Honoring her with the spotlight to be the first to change upon the full moon ritual as was her right as the newest member to be turning eighteen. There was just one problem, she didn’t want that honor.

At the knock at the door behind her, Macie whipped around just in time to find her mother slipping in. Macie gritted her teeth, knowing better than to point out the fact she hadn’t actually invited her in. Her night was already going to be hard enough without a lecture from her mother on how she was still her pup whether she liked it or not.

“Oh, sweetheart! Don’t you look beautiful?” Gwen Silverdale exclaimed with her arms spread wide as she crossed the room to look Macie up and down. “Your father and I are so proud of you, Macie!”

Macie cringed at her mother’s words, but it was even worse when she pulled her into her arms and gave her perhaps the biggest squeeze of a hug she had ever received from one of her parents, perhaps from anyone.

“This may just well be the biggest night of your entire life!” her mother continued as she pulled back to hold her at arm’s length, looking her up and down all over again.

With every word that her mother spoke, she felt the nerves growing worse in her stomach, threatening to make her sick. And all she could suddenly think about was getting the hell out of there.

“I know, Mom,” she sighed.

“What’s wrong, honey?” her mom asked, and when she reached up to stroke a stray strand of hair away from her face, Macie could almost imagine that she was a pup again, being comforted by a mother who actually cared about her and not just one who was determined to see her daughter follow in the footsteps of every damned Silverdale before her. She was to be the absolute best she-wolf she could be, not for her own sake, but for the sake of how it would look if she wasn’t.

“Nothing,” Macie assured her, shaking her head. “I…I just need a minute. Is that okay?”

Though her mom looked unconvinced, Macie was relieved that she did not try to press the matter. Instead, she gave her another quick squeeze and then said, “I will await you with everyone else.”

That was certainly a relief to hear, and for once Macie could actually offer her mother a proper smile. She watched her go, hoping that her nerves would ease the moment that the door shut between them, but they didn’t. Instead, she stood frozen, unable to stop from thinking of what the hell was about to happen. She was going to freeze in front of everyone, fail utterly, and be forever known as the lowest wolf of the pack forever. That was if they even accepted her as a proper member of the pack without her being able to shift. Just because her parents were shifters didn’t automatically give her a seat at the Silverdale table without her wolf.

The lump in her throat, which had been growing more and more every day for the last several days since preparations really amped up for her full moon ritual, threatened to choke her. It was in that moment, as she listened to the sound of her mom’s footsteps receding down the hallway, that she decided there wasn’t any way she could go through with it.

Rushing for the door, she paused only to listen and be sure that nobody else was out there before she yanked it open and began to race in the opposite direction to what she had heard her mom traveling in.

Please, please, just let me get out of here! she thought, frantically turning around a corner in the hall, heading for the nearest exit that would lead right out onto the lawn that ran the length of the east side of the manor.

She had just barely turned the corner when she found herself running smack dab into what felt like a brick wall. Stumbling backwards, she would have likely tumbled right onto her ass if not for the hands that grabbed hold of her wrists and pulled her back up to standing straight.

“Well, well, where are you running off to in such a hurry?” the smooth, sarcastic tone of Ray immediately made Macie’s jaw clench. More than that, it made her skin crawl. The scent of him that wafted up her nostrils elicited an even stronger reaction and she automatically took a step back.

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