Page 36 of Betrayed Bullied Mate

Knowing Varun, he’s got something particularly nasty hidden up his sleeve, and my stomach whirls, anxious at the thought. I remember throwing up earlier and resolve to myself that I won’t get sick again—I need to have better control over my faculties.

Wading out into the woods, I start to look for the mushrooms my dad used to take me out to find. They’re a little pungent, but if I can find enough, I can make a stew. I might even be able to find some canned or powdered milk to make a cream sauce to put over the venison.

My mouth is watering, and I realize I’m really hungry—a deep-seated gnawing for food that I haven’t been paying attention to with the other things going on. It spurs me on, and I delve further into the woods. I let out a happy little squeal when I find my first mushroom. I strip off my jacket and make it into a makeshift bag, tossing the mushroom in.

“Aris would not be happy to see you out here on your own.”

I jump, flying backward, my heel catching on a rock, sending me hurtling to the ground. A hand reaches out and, with more strength than I thought, grabs my arm, hauling me back up to my feet.

Eva stands in front of me, looking unimpressed at my near-fall. I turn, grabbing my jacket and cursing when I realize the mushroom has fallen out, rolling somewhere into the undergrowth.

“What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him,” I say, straightening up and fixing my jacket-basket.

Eva grins, and I take a step back, not liking the way it looks on her. Where smiles on most people soften a person, hers looks more like a grimace, making her features sharper.

“If you say so,” she says, winking at me. “What are you doing out here, alone?”

“I’m not alone,” I say, nodding in the direction I last saw Ado. “Ado’s out here.”

“Do you think he could protect you if a rogue caught you out here?”

I blink, “Yes?”

She takes a step forward, making a point in how close she is to me. I can smell her perfume, a strong, sharp chemical odor miles away from the floral perfume I usually wear.

“If a rogue was this close to you,” she says, her voice a little higher than a whisper. “Aris would be without his mate. He would die a slow, painful death after you.”

“Jesus,” I say, taking another step backward and not losing my balance this time. “Had anyone ever told you that you’re intense?”

She throws her head back, cackling loud enough that a bird takes flight above us. When she meets my eyes again, I see a strange, desperate glimmer in hers.

“Yes,” she says, then waves her hand toward me, gesturing for me to follow her. “You are looking for mushrooms, right? Come with me. I can smell them.”

Shaking away the strangeness of the interaction, I follow her quietly, noticing that we’re getting further and further from the cluster of cabins. But, true to her word, Eva is able to point out the mushrooms with startling accuracy, and soon my jacket is heavy on my arm with the weight of them.

“What will you make?” she asks as we pick our way back toward the clearing. The sky has started to darken again, the setting sun painting the sky in a deep indigo.

“I was thinking of a stew. Or maybe venison with a cream sauce.”

“That sounds good,” she admits, and I wonder if she’s as hungry as I am for something other than dry, tough meat. “There is corn meal in my cabin. Can you make cornbread?”

I blink against tears, remembering my mom’s cornbread recipe. She was from a Southern pack, having moved back with my dad when they met on vacation. She said every woman should know how to make cornbread from scratch.

Wiping at my eyes, I clear my throat. Why am I suddenly so emotional? The mating and blood-bond situation is scrambling my emotions.

“Yes,” I say, and my voice comes out warbled. “I make really good cornbread, actually.”

Eva laughs, “And so humble, too.”

When we return to the clearing, Aris is bursting through the cabin door, his eyes wild and searching.

“Oh, no,” Eva says, reaching over and quickly taking the mushrooms from my hands. “You have angered your man.”

“He’s not—” I start, but Aris has reached me, grabbing my arm and pulling me back into the cabin surprisingly quickly.

“You said you were going to the bathroom,” he growls the second the door closes behind us.

“I… Was. But also to the woods.”

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