Page 24 of Pregnant Wolf's Mate

“What’s wrong?” he asked, his jaw clenching at the expression on her face.

“Don’t worry about me,” Macie responded, shaking her head before inclining it after his brother. “You should go on ahead without me.”

“Why would I do that?” Ray demanded, stepping back up to meet her. Macie pulled herself away from him, avoiding his hands touching her.

Ray’s heart clenched and his stomach twisted, already sensing he knew exactly what was wrong.

“You heard him, all able-bodied wolves have been recalled for a pack meeting,” she pointed out, still looking at the ground as though she couldn’t bring herself to meet his gaze. “To the rest of the pack, I’m not one of them.”

Anger flared in Ray immediately. Though he knew his brother hadn’t meant it like that and had likely only been speaking the words his alpha had told him to say, he hated that it had such a profound effect on Macie.

Before she could begin to feel any more sorry for herself, Ray gripped hold of her by her upper arms and gave her a firm but gentle shake as he growled, “Snap out of that right now. You just shifted, didn’t you?”

At his words, she finally turned her gaze back up to hers, but there was still a glare in her eyes that told him she wasn’t entirely convinced by his words.

“Well, yes, but none of the pack knows that and they don’t know why…”

Ray’s anger only deepened seeing the self-pity that glazed her eyes. He bared his teeth at her and growled low in his throat, hoping she would take him more seriously when he spoke again.

“Ryan saw you,” he pointed out, gripping her arms just a little tighter when she began to look as though she might try to pull away again. “And besides, it doesn’t matter what the pack knows. We know the truth.”

There was an oddly hopeful yet painful glare in her eyes then, and she looked at him with desperation. “Dash won’t want me there, not after the humiliation I caused him during the full moon ritual.”

“Fuck Dash!” Ray snarled back at her, and the way she flinched from his words reminded him that she was the alpha’s cousin. “He is a big wolf. He can handle his own shit and you can handle yours.”

Still, she didn't look entirely convinced. Feeling more frustrated with her than ever, Ray placed his fingertips under her chin and forced her to meet his gaze. "You're coming with me and if anyone has anything to say about it, they can take it up with me."

Chapter 13 - Macie

The anticipation Macie felt at arriving back at Silverdale Manor was like nothing she had ever felt before. For a moment, she didn’t even feel as though she was walking through the halls of her own home. The place felt alien to her and she was worried that at any moment one of her packmates might turn on her and deny her entry into the place entirely.

Though Ray had reassured her that all would be well and he had told her over and over that he would stand by her side, she couldn’t help but feel as though something dreadful was bound to go wrong.

And just when she was beginning to think she might have been overreacting, they reached the doors of the meeting room, only for her to hear someone yell, “Macie, wait!”

Gritting her teeth, Macie turned to find her sister rushing towards them. A low growl rumbled in Ray’s throat, and she offered him a confused glance before turning back to meet Lottie. “What is it?”

“Mace, I need to talk to you,” Lottie said, gripping hold of Macie’s hand. She started to drag her away from the meeting room and from Ray before either of them could protest.

With one glance over her shoulder at Ray to make sure he wasn’t going to enter the meeting room without her, Macie allowed her sister to drag her into a small alcove just down the hallway.

When she turned to offer her sister her full attention, she realized she didn’t like the look on Lottie’s face one bit. She was frantic and uneasy and looked as though she couldn’t keep still. In fact, she was practically bouncing on the balls of her feet even as she gripped hold of both of Macie’s hands.

“What the hell is the matter with you?” Macie asked, raising an eyebrow at her sister. If she didn’t know any better, she might have guessed her sister was coming down off some seriously strong drugs, maybe even withdrawing from something serious. But when her sister spoke, she quickly came to realize it was much, much worse than that.

“I need to talk to you about something but I need you to promise me, Macie, I need you to promise me you won’t tell another living soul,” Lottie insisted, and the way that she squeezed Macie’s hands was painful.

Macie gritted her teeth and squeezed back, hoping her sister would notice just how tightly she was holding onto her. It didn’t appear to make any difference. Her sister was entirely too wound up to give a damn how much she was crushing her fingers.

“I promise I won’t tell anyone anything,” she insisted through gritted teeth, “Just stop squeezing my fingers, would you? Or you’re going to break them off.”

For a second, Lottie didn’t appear convinced. Then her grip on Macie’s fingers eased off a little and she sighed deeply, closing her eyes as though it pained her to think of what she was about to do.

“Lottie, you’re worrying me,” Macie insisted when her sister didn’t open her eyes immediately to tell her what was going on. “Just tell me what this is all about.”

“I can’t,” Lottie responded, shaking her head so violently it was as if it might roll right off her shoulders. “You’ll hate me.”

Bile rose in the back of Macie’s throat, but she snatched her hands from her sister’s grip and grabbed hold of her by the shoulders. It was only when Lottie’s eyes opened again that Macie looked deep into them and insisted, “There is nothing in this world you could do that would make me hate you.”

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