Page 129 of Rejected and Pregnant By the Alpha King

My hands come up to cup her face, cradling it tenderly. “I want you, Raine. More than anyone I’ve ever encountered. You are already doing me…a large service by allowing your baby to be shared with me. And that…is a gift that I can never truly repay you for.” Even though technically I kind of did. “I’m not going to pressure you into anything. If you simply want this to be casual or a one-time thing, that is fine.”

Her head immediately shakes. “No, I don’t want that.”

My brows furrow. “What do you want, then?”

“I want this, Nyx. I wantyou. I don’t—I want this to be serious. We’re going to be raising a baby together, right? And I think we’ve already established that we’ve got crazy chemistry.”

That makes me chuckle. “I believe that’s an understatement.”

She smiles a little. “So…I want to see where this goes. If you’re up for it.”

For some reason, her words lift a weight off my shoulders. I didn’t realize that the anticipation for her answer was stressing me out this much. Wren would die if he were to ever find out, and I’d never hear the end of it.

Relationship problems causing me stress…now that’s something new.

“I do too,” I say, leaning down to kiss her again.

She’s adorable when she lets out a soft sigh, murmuring, “Perfect.”

My hands work their way down to her hips again, pinning her back against the siding of my home when a tingle at the base of my skull sends a shiver down my spine: the familiar pull of my pack,Wren, needing me.

Pulling back from her, I sigh. “Sorry. I’m needed.”

She shakes her head. “I’ll catch up with you later. How’s that sound?”

Stealing one last kiss before I shift, I run to the source of that nagging feeling in the back of my head: my beta, ringing the proverbial summoning bell at me. I find him a ways out from our town, toward the border facing north of us.

He’s standing at the top of the incline that heads down into our town, his back to me. With him are a few enforcers and two patrol units.

Not a good sign.

Shifting back when I reach them, I say, “Talk to me.”

Wren turns to me then, uncrossing his arms from his chest. “Patrols spotted a pack of shifters coming this way.”

What?“Who?”

He shakes his head. “No idea. None of them were recognizable, so not local.”

What in the world would a pack be visiting me for? Unlike the North, we don’tdovisitors. I travel to the problem and keep my sanctuary out of other packs’ business. There is never a need for my pack to be involved in the drama of others.

That’s what made Archeron’s visit so insufferable.

Anyone trying to weasel their way into my territory will be swiftly dealt with.

“Your Grace, they’re approaching,” one of my enforcers says.

“How many are there?” I ask.

“An alpha and a pack of enforcers. Not many.”

Odd.

All of us brace ourselves as the winds dance and the scents carrying on them are ones we don’t recognize. When the brush finally rustles and a small pack of shifters steps out into view, I make my way to the head of our brigade, feeling Wren follow me closely.

At the helm of the pack is indeed an alpha with a dark golden coat. Behind him is another smaller shifter, female, with a silky brown coat. Fanning out in a V-formation are his enforcers, all of them keeping a distance from my own, but still focused intently on our party.

“To what do I owe the pleasure?” I drawl.

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