Page 48 of Bully Alpha's Pregnant Mate

I’m already moving, not bothering to call for Quincey or Kai. They’re somewhere on patrol, but I’m not waiting. Not with the alert so close to the house—so close to her. My wolf is itching to take over, and this time, I don’t hold him back.

A shudder runs through me as the shift starts, powerful and swift, bones stretching and reshaping. Fur prickles along my skin, thick and bristling in the chill air, and my senses ignite. The scents and sounds of the forest sharpen, wrapping around me like a pulse I can feel in my bones.

The second I’m fully in form, I’m off, paws tearing through the underbrush with long, furious strides. The ground flies beneath me, scents whirling—earth, moss, the faintest trace of smoke from the edge of the property. Every nerve is firing, focused on one thing: get to her. And I’m not stopping for anything.

The sulfur stings my nose before I’m even close. It’s a thick, bitter tang, sharp enough to cut through the fresh scent of pine and moss. My hackles rise, and every instinct in me screams to turn back, to put miles between myself and that sickly, acrid stench. But that’s not an option—not with Isadora so close.

As I dart through the trees, the scent intensifies, nearly gagging me, stirring memories of past battles and clawed wounds that took weeks to heal. The thick, pungent reek of the demon blends with the faintest hint of blood, and I slow as the scene unfolds in front of me.

There it is, trapped and thrashing, slamming against the cage in a fury that shakes the ground. Its body is a twisted, scarred mass of blackened scales and claws that scrape against the iron bars. I pad silently toward it, staying hidden in the shadows just out of its line of sight, watching it writhe and snap, frothing at the mouth. The blood—if that’s even what it is—seeps in sluggish, dark streaks from deep wounds along its side, pooling at the base of the cage like ink.

I pull in a breath, shifting back. My bones crack and realign as I stand on two feet once more, naked as the day I was born. The forest seems too quiet around us, every bird and creature gone silent as if in fearful respect for the creature snarling in the cage.

By the time I’m fully human, the icy night air feels raw against my skin, but I don’t move. I just stand there, staring, feeling that old, familiar terror settle into my bones as I watch the creature claw at its cage, seething with rage and pain.

The sight drags me back to a time I thought I’d buried. The last time I fought one of these things, it was a close call—closer than I like to remember. It took half my team just to take it down. Demons don’t quit; they don’t weaken or waver. And now there’s one here, yards from where Isadora and her sisters could have been.

Isadora comes bounding down the porch. She isn’t even blinking at the thing.

“Did… did it come through the trap?” I ask, my voice coming out rougher than I intended. My eyes flick between her and the demon, who’s glaring with those blazing eyes I know too well, testing the cage like it’s just biding its time until the right second.

She nods, sparing a cautious glance at the demon. “Looks like it. One of the traps we set up caught it when it tried to cross.”

Lianne and Janelle hover behind her, their expressions somewhere between awe and terror. I’m tempted to tell them both to get back, to stay as far away from this thing as possible, but if they’re anything like their sister, that would only draw them closer.

“You three shouldn’t even be out here,” I say instead, trying to keep my voice calm. But the words come out more like a command.

Janelle raises an eyebrow, but Isadora crosses her arms, meeting my gaze head-on. “Last I checked, I can stand on my own property without an escort. Even if we happen to catch something less than friendly.”

The demon’s growl spikes, and I shift, positioning myself between them and the cage. “This isn’t like the rogues we’ve dealt with,” I tell her, trying to keep the urgency out of my tone but failing. “You haven’t seen these things in action, Isadora. They’re brutal, and if this one wasn’t injured already, it would have torn through that trap in seconds.”

She doesn’t flinch, though. Her eyes meet mine, fierce and unyielding. “I know what it is, Alec. I wouldn’t have risked setting a trap if I didn’t think it could handle something bigger.”

She set this trap, reinforced it, and now it’s holding a demon. I want to be angry, to yell at her for taking such a risk by not calling me the second this thing showed up, but instead, I feel a flash of… pride? Maybe it’s something closer to awe. Either way, I push the thought aside, focusing on the problem right in front of us.

I just give a quick nod, taking stock of the situation. “We need to call a meeting. The pack has to know what we’re dealing with.”

It’s glaring at us, baring razor-sharp teeth. Every inch of it radiates malice. Memories of past fights flicker through my mind—the claws, the relentless strength, the way they fight without mercy.

“If the pack’s going to be ready, they need to see the threat we’re facing,” I add.

Isadora’s hand slips into mine, a light, unexpected touch that grounds me. I meet her eyes, finding that familiar fire there, and for a moment, it’s enough to push the memories back. The fear, the urgency—they all ease, just a fraction, but it’s enough.

“Alright,” she says. “Then let’s show them what they’re dealing with.”

***

Hours later, the pack has filled every inch of our living room. It’s stifling, but nothing about this situation feels comforting. The news of the captured demon spread fast, and now all eyes are on us to figure out what comes next.

Quincey takes the lead, raising a hand for silence. “Alright, everyone. You’ve all heard the news: it’s confirmed that we have a demon caught on our territory and currently contained.”

The moment he stops speaking, voices start rising, laced with anger and fear.

“Killing it’s the only answer!”

“We can’t just leave it alive, Alec!”

I feel the tightness in my throat as I face them, my hand lifting in an attempt to steady the noise. “I get it,” I say evenly. “I’d like nothing more than to wipe it out and be done with it, but that wouldn’t stop the threat. Killing this one demon won’t close the portal they’re coming through, and until we do that, there’s always the risk of more.”

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