Page 24 of Bullied Pregnant Mate

“Okay, lovebirds,” Elaine giggles. “Pay for your groceries and go get a room.”

“Oh, we will,” Jenks says, pulling out a card and letting go of me. I grab the cart and start pushing it out towards the parking lot, trying to stay calm.

My skin is singing at his touch, all the places he touched me burning with arousal. I try to focus on loading the car, but all I can think about is his hands on me.

Chapter 8 - Jenks

Hours after our cozy shopping trip, I’m halfway up the mountain with frozen paws, cold wind in my eyes, and ice on my fur.

Fuck this! Is this what patrol is? No wonder I never wanted to do it.

As I slowly make my way up another steep slope, I think wistfully of my bright, warm dining room and the sunken den with its massive fireplace. I realize for the first time in my life that I don’t actually love snow-capped mountains.

Well, I love looking at them. I just don’t love climbing them.

I put more power into my back legs, leaping through deep drifts of heavy snow. I’m exhausted already, all my muscles aching and my throat burning from panting in the cold air.

Again, my mind slips back to the comfort of the house. I made a huge fire in the den for Alisa before I went on patrol and left a huge basket of wood so she could keep it burning. My last image of her is seeing her curled up on the couch with a book and a blanket.

I’d give anything to be back there right now.

I can’t get the image out of my mind, even though I know it’s distracting me from my work. Focusing on the freezing wind and belly-deep snow is just too depressing, though.

I’ve never been the physical type. I don’t even cut my own damn firewood. I buy it.

Finally, I make it to the top of the rise. The snow is a bit thinner here, so I don’t sink into it as I trot across the peak and put my nose to the wind.

Nothing but ice and pine. Even if something was out here, how in the hell am I supposed to pick it up?

The wind swirls around me in little eddies, cutting at my ears and nose. I shake my head and blink, trying to get snowflakes out of my eyes. When the weather rolled in, I assumed patrol would be off, but Bae looked at me like I’d suddenly grown a second head. I hear his words echo through my mind.

Even if it was a full-on blizzard, we’d still patrol. You need to be conditioned to this, Jenks.

I try again to catch a scent on the wind, but I end up inhaling a leaf and have to snort heavily to get it out of my nose.

I’ve barely spent time in my wolf shape at all. This is just torture.

My need for warmth and shelter is overwhelming. I’ve never had to deny myself before, or put myself through anything truly challenging.

Maybe it’s because I use luxury and parties to distract myself from far more painful memories.

I groan, but it comes out as a thin whine. I like the plaintive sound a lot less than the mission at hand, so I turn back to the mountain and tackle the next slope determinedly.

When my thoughts inevitably slip back to Alisa, I let the images give me strength. Instead of outright wishing I was there and hating every second that keeps me from her, I look forward to the moment I can turn toward home and be with her again.

The change of perspective helps me apply myself to the climb, and I cover ground much more quickly. As I put effort into the exercise, my body warms up a little and the cold stops bothering me so much.

Well, that’s a start.

The longing in my heart gets stronger as I head up the mountain and Alisa fills my thoughts. I’m not just missing the luxury and comfort of my home. I’m missing her, and it’s a unique experience for me.

I didn’t think getting to know another person could be so intriguing.

When I look at her now, I can’t believe I bullied her the way I did. She seems fragile and innocent, not cold and distant like I always thought she was. Since I’ve had a chance to spend time with her, I can see my teasing came from my own sense of inadequacy, not from anything she did.

I was always deflecting. Since I was a kid, I knew the only way to survive being laughed at was to make myself the joke. But it was even more effective when I turned the wrath of the crowd against someone else.

She was such a good scapegoat, too. There were very few people in school who genuinely liked her, and she didn’t team up with the other witches until later. After that, people still teased her, but she had a community around her so it was difficult to single her out. Then the witches all disappeared so suddenly, and no one really thought about them at all.

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