Page 8 of Forbidden Pregnant Mate

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Jameson’s mansion was massive, tucked up in the hills a little way north of town, but close enough that he was still able to work and perform his duties as alpha. When we’d first moved to town, the entirety of the Silver Wolves had lived here. But once Jameson became alpha and Georgia and her daughter Elle moved in, the rest of us started moving to our own homes nearby.

I didn’t mind. I’d felt too much like a dried bean rattling around in a giant can. But that didn’t mean I still didn’t come over regularly to take advantage of the hot tub and lake.

So there was nothing unusual about how, upon arriving at the giant house, Alek and I strolled around the outside of the building toward the back patio that looked over the crystal blue lake below. The warm summer air carried the scents of the forest. Five figures dotted the lake as we hurried down the wooden steps toward the dock.

Four women and a young girl of around eleven all stopped laughing and talking when we approached. Most of them gave us friendly waves or greetings, with the exception of Jenn, who was directing an openly hostile look right at me.

“Ladies!” I greeted as we reached the end of the dock. “How are you doing today?”

Jenn’s eyes narrowed as she treaded water. Her blond hair was plastered to her face and neck, and I could just see the dark green bikini she was wearing beneath the rippling water.

“What are you doing here?” she demanded.

“We needed to talk to Jameson about something,” I said, glancing up at the mansion. “But he told us to get lost. So we decided we would take a dip before leaving.”

“You came to talk to your alpha wearing swimming trunks?” Jenn asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I never said we decided to take a dip after we got here,” I said. “Two birds and one stone, after all.”

“Mind if we join?” Alek asked, already taking off his shirt.

Three of the women and the younger girl, Elle, all nodded. Jenn glowered but said nothing, instead narrowing her eyes even further until calling them slits would have been generous.

Alek and I jumped in, and I let myself get acclimated to the water for a moment, enjoying the way it felt on my skin.

“Elle, how are you doing?” I asked Georgia’s daughter, who was swimming laps on her own, clearly uninterested in the conversation but not about to miss an opportunity to go swimming.

“Good!” she said. “I went hunting with Uncle Sam the other day, and he said I’m getting really good at being stealthy. And Dad told me that Uncle Malcolm can start teaching me hand-to-hand combat if I want.”

“Malcolm’s a great teacher,” I said. “But be careful because he won’t hold back. I’ve still got bruises from some of my training sessions with him.”

Jenn scoffed. “Don’t scare her. No one has bruises for over a decade.”

I laughed. “If you think bruises are going to scare Elle, then you don’t know her very well. The kid’s tougher than me.”

“Not saying much,” Jenn said, but her eyes were sparkling. I couldn’t tell if it was from distaste or something akin to excitement, as if part of her hoped I’d retaliate. “You once cried for an hour over a scraped knee.”

That Christmasy scent of hers mixed with the lake water was bad enough, but that mischievous look in her eyes and the way the water shaped her legs was practically dizzying. I’d forgotten what it was like being near her. My wolf growled his approval.

“That scraped knee was masking a broken bone, if you remember,” I said. “And I’m not the one who started sobbing when she lost a fight—”

“Guys, please, you’re both pretty,” Evelyn said, bored. She glanced over at Georgia and Andi, some silent communication taking place between them. I had no idea what it was about andwasn’t sure if I wanted to know. How well those three got along was spooky sometimes.

Jenn frowned. “What are you doing here, anyway?” she asked. “Really?”

“I could ask you the same question.” I swam over to her, close enough that I could see individual droplets of water on her eyelashes. “What are you doing here? In Brixton, I mean. Because it doesn’t sound like you have any plans on leaving anytime soon.”

“I thought we weren’t going to talk about that,” she said, something burning behind her eyes.

“You know me—I don’t like mysteries. So, what was it? Running from something? Hmm?Someone?”

Something disturbingly close to panic flashed behind her eyes, and my stomach clenched at the sight. I’d been joking, just trying to get a rise out of her, but the almost queasy expression on her face told me I was closer to the mark than I’d intended.

Was it an ex? Was that why she’d left? A bad break-up? The thought made me irrationally jealous. And all of a sudden, my curiosity made it impossible for me to drop it, even if it was wiser to leave it alone. It was what she’d asked of me, but I needed to know.

Then her panicked expression was gone, and part of me wondered if I’d imagined the whole thing. Her lips curled into a seductive smile that made my wolf stir and take notice.

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