Page 25 of Rejected and Pregnant By the Alpha King

“Yes, Raine.”

“I’m not doing this with you.”

His lips thin. “Doing what?”

“You need to give me something. I can’t…it’s killing me. Walking in on that broke me. You have to know that, right?”

His expression wavers. What I said seems to have struck a nerve in him, which is exactly what I’d been hoping for. It’s not fairthat he gets to sit there and demand my loyalty when he can’t even show me any of his own.

What kind of start to a bonding is this, anyway?

“Yes. I do realize that.”

“You kissing her… taking her to bed afterward if I didn’t interrupt.”

“I wasn't—”

“Donotnickel and dime me,” I snap. I don’t care what he was planning on doing. He didn’t pull away immediately, and that’s what hurts the most.

He swallows hard. “Right. Okay.”

I breathe out slowly, belatedly realizing my hand is shaking and I’m spilling my soup everywhere.

An alpha king. Of course my bonded mate is a goddamn alpha king. It’s almost impossible to get through their thick skulls.

“Raine.” His voice is soft again.

I stiffen when he reaches out and tilts my chin toward him. His hold on my face is gentle, handling me with the same care he has for this entire time. His thumb runs over my jaw a few times while he searches my face for something.

“I’m sorry. I swear to you that she means nothing.Youare who I care about.”

My throat grows tight. “Then why?”

“It’s complicated.”

I shake my head and drop my spoon, waving his hand away from me in order to push back from the table and stand. If I sit here any longer, I’m actually going to throw up what little I have in my system.

He makes to stand too, to follow me, and instantly, I grab at his shoulder and force him back down with an amount of strength I didn’t know I had in me. “Don’t.”

His eyes widen.

“I just…” I pull away from him again. “Give me time.”

He watches me for a long moment, looking like he’s about to argue with me. However, he surprises me when all he does is nod and settle back down in his chair.

“Okay.”

I spin on my heel and head out of the dining hall, leaving my mate behind to watch me go.

11

Raine

The last night at the ball—a time I should be using to network and enjoy the last little bit of my freedom before having to return to my own packlands.

Instead, I’m standing here in a ball gown, feeling completely out of place among the rest of the shifters enjoying one last night of celebration.

My stomach hurts from how hard it’s been clenching ever since I set foot in here. Aiden has been moving around the ballroom, jumping from group to group to mingle. I don’t know if he simply doesn’t know that I’m here or is blatantly choosing to ignore me—either way, it hurts.

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