Page 56 of The Alpha's Forced Bullied Mate

Cliff nodded. “It seems like your friends really care about you, Faye. They were telling me about your life with the Beaufort Creek pack.”

I drifted to one of the cushion chairs. The forest green one near the window seemed the comfiest. I dropped down into it. “Yeah, I had a life over there.” I traced the baroque design in the chair upholstery. “Seems like lifetimes ago.”

Cliff smiled. “You and Kylie are close. I'd hate to get in between that.”

I frowned.Are we still close?

I glanced hesitantly at Hector. “I mean, I think a lot of people would hate to get in between that.”

My parents continued chatting in the kitchen. Their voices were low, but my hearing had sharpened this morning,so I could catch pieces of their conversation. I heard my father asking my mother about the people that had come to visit.

Mom blew a raspberry with her lips, a sign of disapproval. “That’s merely performative concern and nothing more. They just don’t want to share her now that she’s truly powerful.”

It made my heart jolt in my chest to hear that. Hector and Cliff sat down next to me on the couch.

“Hey, I have some ideas on how to keep the protective barrier up without a witch’s help,” Cliff said.

Hector leaned toward my brother. “Yeah? Tell me about it.”

“I found some old books under the gym…”

Their chatter overlapped with the conversation from the kitchen. It didn't hide any of the words that my mother continued to say,

“Twomalealphas. Can you believe that? That sounds so weird. I wonder if they're gay.”

I wrinkled my nose at the comment. I knew my mother was old-fashioned, but I didn't take her to be a bigot.

“If those two friends think she's going to go back, I hope they realize that they're going to have to pry her from our dead fingers.”

While this was a stronger comment that should have been supportive, it felt weird to hear her say it like that. I'd never had any deep attachment to my mother, and she certainly hadn't shown any inclination to be close to me.

Why was she suddenly possessive of me?

“Now that our daughter is the mate of the alpha, we'll have a potent position in the community. Nobody can say no to us.”

I sat back in the chair, feeling a sense of defeat. Goddess, I should have known she was going to milk this. Her support was, as she called it with my two friends,performative concern. I should have known that she was just doing it for herself, forherbenefit, and not for anybody else.

My questioning gaze turned to Hector, seeing his attractive nature, his charisma, and his sweetness echoing through each of his movements. The strength that he carried and the muscle that toned his body beneath his shirt told me of his prowess. I wanted to explore that with him. I wanted to keep trying. But it felt like everything was starting to fall apart again. I didn’t think I would ever have any stable ground to begin with.

“Did you see her face when I welcomed her home?” Mom whispered. “It was perfect. She trusts us. We’ll get everything we need for free. That Megara charged too much for basic things.”

That was one comment too many.

I stood abruptly and went to the hallway, marching to the guest room to find Kylie and Fred just rousing from their sleep. I gave them each a fake smile. If everyone else was going to be fake, then I would do the same thing to get through this. Whatever it took. Even if it meant being mean.

“I appreciate you coming,” I said through my teeth, “but I think you should leave.”

Chapter 19 - Hector

For days, I couldn't stop thinking about the way Faye looked in the living room of her brother’s house. Her face was flat. Her eyes were round in shock. Her energy was jagged like she was getting ready to go into defense mode. When she marched to the back of the house and curtly told Kylie and Fred to leave, I was surprised.

Though she had rudely told her friends off, she came back with a sunny smile and took my hand, saying that she wanted to go back to her house. She kissed her parents goodbye, hugged her brother, and then tugged me out of the house like her friends weren't totally aghast at her behavior.

This isn’t like her, I thought.What if she’s changed?

What if we're not really mates?

I wasn't even sure where the thought came from. Perhaps it was her persistent doubts that had put the idea into my brain. She planted a seed with her actions that couldn't be dug up from the earth. While I didn't want to water the plant, I didn't want to ignore it either. It could be an invasive species of weed that I wouldn't be able to get rid of so easily. And at the same time, it could be something that leads to a better path. I was torn between what I should do and what I wanted to do.

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