Page 97 of Rejected and Pregnant By the Alpha King

I assume that eventually once we’re mated, we will—though, there is the possibility that he never will want to touch me. Technically I’m damaged goods in terms of being a breeder. Not to mention if that’s all he sees me as, a breeder, then I’ve already fulfilled my duty.

Getting into bed with me would be an unnecessary step in the process.

“Uh, Earth to Raine?”

I blink back into reality. “Sorry, what?”

“I asked if you were ready to go?” She nods down at my empty plate. “Unless you want seconds.”

“No, I’m good,” I say, and push my plate back from me.

Along with my steadily growing feelings for an alpha I definitely shouldn’t want.

44

Raine

We end up down by a beautiful watering hole that’s just outside of Soleus’s pack line.

I can see why Rose forced me to promise her that I wouldn’t tell anyone we were out here, mainly because I think we both know that if either her brother or Nyx were to find out we snuck outside packlines, we’d be toast.

“It’s nice, right?” she says, a towel draped over her neck.

Smiling, I let the soft breeze blow over me, cool from the water a few feet away. Rose’s little oasis is just that—a watering hole that’s connected to a healthy-looking river about five feet across and four-and-a-half feet deep.

The water is a gorgeous amber color and cool to the touch when I stick one of my feet in, a nice contrast to the swelteringly hot desert air surrounding us.

Rose slips off her swimsuit cover and tosses it next to her towel, then heads right over to the water. “You’re coming in, right? I won’t have to talk you into it?”

I laugh a little and spread my towel next to hers. The nice thing about where she’s brought us is that there’s a smooth rock shelf that hangs directly over the water, giving us a nice place to come back to once we’re tired of swimming.

I slip off my shoes and disrobe myself, my borrowed swimsuit just barely fitting over my small bump. Rose may be similar in height to me, but her body is much slimmer than mine is, even without me being pregnant.

“I haven’t gone swimming in a while, so you’ll have to grab me if I drift too far,” I tease.

Thankfully the current in the river isn’t too fast—just enough to float by on in a tube without getting stranded in the middle.

“Okay, cool.” Rose plunges into the water all in one go, completely submerging herself.

I watch her rippling figure move under the water and then pop up a few feet from where she jumped in.

“Ahhh, that’s the damn life,” she says as soon as she pops up from underneath the water. Her long hair is slicked back from her face, showing off her prominent rosy cheekbones.

I grin. “How is it under there?”

“Perfect.” She splashes water toward me, not quite hitting me. “Come on in. I don’t think the fish are out to bite today.”

I dip my toes in the water again and then slowly let myself sink into the water where it’s a little more shallow. It’s a bit of a shock going from hot desert air to the cool water, but it’s a welcome change. I tread water to get my shoulders wet and then stand again.

“This is nice. I can’t believe you found this place on your patrol,” I say.

“Okay, so maybe I was doing a little more than patrolling.”

Raising a brow, I swim over toward her. “Do tell.”

“Maybe while I was out on patrol, me and my partner made a detour so we could be alone and we came upon this place.”

I laugh. “Don’t tell me you hooked up here!”

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