Page 28 of Pregnant Wolf's Mate

"Forgive me for saying so," Ray said through gritted teeth, meeting the gaze of the man who had chosen to speak against him. "But you are the only full demon wolf here. All others gave up their demons and those downstairs have every right to make the choice either way, but the alliances made between yourselves and your mates was just that, between yourselves. It was not a pact, an official contract, between the two packs from the beginning, and it has never been seen that way by either side."

The way Daemon's face twisted slightly suggested he wasn't entirely happy with what Ray was suggesting but he kept silent, both of them knowing that neither had the last say anyway. Ray met his gaze only a few moments longer before turning to Dash to await his own reaction to the suggestion.

The alpha looked thoughtful, clicking his fingertips on the table as though it was helping him concentrate. The entire pack seemed to be holding their breath, waiting for his verdict.

In the end, it was Malia, the witch, who spoke up first. "You know, Dash, Ray may be onto something. I saw myself the way Travers’ son reacted when we caught him. He came willingly, though he did plead with us to let him go for the sake of his family. Does that sound like a soulless demon wolf to you?"

Malia glanced at Daemon as though she wished for him not to take any offense to her words. As usual, his expression was unreadable.

"Perhaps an alliance with the next leader of the demon wolves is exactly what is needed to finally put an end to this feud," Malia continued, and Ray thought he heard several mutters of agreement. They only grew when she added, "Are we not all tired of being on high alert all the time? Are we not sick of handing out execution sentences and living in fear of what might happen if they escape?"

Ray could feel the hope coming off Macie in waves now and when he glanced past her to her sister, he saw that Lottie was looking just as hopeful, though it was clear she was trying her best to hide it. Ray thought she wasn't doing a very good job but when he looked to the others around her, he saw they were all too focused on the alpha and the discussion at the main table to be worrying about what a single she-wolf was doing.

When Ray looked back at the main table, he was just in time to see Raya reach out and lay her hand upon Dash's. Though she was silent, she locked her gaze with that of her mate's and a clear message passed between the two of them.

Finally, Dash sighed and said, "I shall take your suggestion under consideration."

Macie's hand squeezed Ray's then as though she was extremely happy with the way things had gone. He could only pray that he had not given her and her sister hope for nothing as Dash added, "Until my decision is made, we remain on high alert and from now on, nobody is to guard the dungeons alone."

Ray could already tell what was coming next when Dash's jaw clenched. The alpha added, "We still don't know if or who helped with the escape and until we can be certain nobody within Silverdale aided the attempt, I do not wish to take any chances."

There were several nods and murmurs of agreement before Dash finally dismissed the meeting. Though Ray was still filled with apprehension for so many reasons, he was also hopeful.

Chapter 15 - Macie

After the nerve-wracking meeting, Macie quickly found her way to Ray's room where he seemed to have stormed off shortly afterwards. Clearly, he was upset with having to take on the alpha head on and Macie couldn't say she blamed him. After all, he hadn't been doing it for himself. The way he had squeezed her hand while he spoke, the way he'd glanced at her several times during the meeting, told her he had been speaking more for her and her sister than anything else. And she had quickly realized that Lottie was right. He did know something about the stupid things she had been doing after all.

He hadn’t needed to advocate for the demon wolf that Lottie had gotten herself mixed up with and yet he had, and Macie oddly felt the need to thank him for it. Even if she didn’t agree with what her sister had done, she couldn’t bear the thought of anything bad happening to her because of it. The way he had protected not only her from the rest of the pack but also the way he had vouched for a demon wolf on behalf of her sister made Macie realize that she had been wrong about him all along.

Yes, he was a McCormack, but what did that even really mean?

Standing outside his bedroom door, Macie took a moment to close her eyes and breathe deeply, unsure of how things were going to go once she knocked on it.

She shivered, remembering how things had gone when he had come to her room. A part of her wanted things to go similarly but in truth, all she really wanted was to be close to him and to thank him for all he had already done for her in such a short space of time.

And as though he sensed her out there, just as she raised her hand to finally know, the door opened up in front of her.

“Macie, what are you doing here?” Ray asked, standing in the doorway looking as though he was not at all surprised by her presence there.

For a second, she found she couldn’t speak. He was standing before her wearing nothing but his jeans, as though he had been in the middle of changing or maybe even getting ready for bed. Macie couldn’t say she blamed him. After the night she’d had, she could have definitely done with some sleep too. In fact, she would have given just about anything to climb into his bed and curl up in his arms.

Instead, she pushed the thought away and asked, “Can I come in?”

Ray looked suspicious and reluctant for a moment. Maybe he was annoyed at her for him having to get in the middle of the pack and her sister. Another thing she wouldn’t really be able to blame him for. But then he sighed and stepped out of the way, gesturing her into the room.

“It probably wasn’t the best idea for you to come straight here after how the meeting went,” Ray said with another deep sigh as he clicked the door closed behind her. Macie cringed a little at the tone of his voice. He definitely didn’t sound happy. “Nobody was exactly pleased at seeing us together.”

“I thought you didn’t care what others thought?” Macie retorted instinctively, feeling her hackles rise. For once, her wolf came rearing to the surface as though she was just as prepared to fight back against Ray if that was what it took.

“I don’t, but this wasn’t just anybody, this was the entire pack,” Ray pointed out, “And I’m kind of in a dangerous situation here thanks to your sister.”

Macie’s cheeks grew red at his words and she glanced down at the floor, unable to meet his gaze even as she twiddled her fingers in front of her. “That’s really why I’m here.”

When she glanced up again, Ray was looking at her with a raised eyebrow. “And here I was hoping you’d just come to see me.”

“I did!” Macie blurted, feeling her hackles rising further. “I did want to see you, but I also wanted to come and thank you.”

The cocky smirk that spread across Ray’s face told Macie that he had just been looking to get a rise out of her. She grumbled under her breath and growled at him, wishing she wasn’t so easily baited, especially when it came to him.

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