Page 44 of Bullied Pregnant Mate

Maybe one day, the hills will be safe again. For all of us.

Then the wind changes, and I catch a scent. Every hair on my body stands on end as I realize it’s the same smell from before.

I whip around, facing the trees. The big black wolf paces slowly out of the shadows. He keeps his head down, flicking his ears back and forth. His eyes are wide, and he makes a soft whine, not snarling or baring his teeth.

What the fuck?

He shifts right in front of me into a tall guy with short, dark hair. He kneels and spreads his arms wide, palms up.

“Don’t attack me, please.”

The shift comes over me suddenly, happening so fast that I stumble. I end up on my knees.

“Who the fuck are you?” I snap.

“I know this is going to be hard to believe,” he says calmly. “But I’m your brother.”

I stare at him. “What?”

“Hear me out, please. My name is Brad, I’m from Decker pack, and I am your half-brother.”

I want to scream at him, deny everything he says, and run from this cursed peak all the way back into Alisa’s arms. I can’t,though. His voice rings with truth, and something deep in my heart yearns for this, for absolution and knowledge.

“Alright, I’m listening,” I say. “What the fuck are you doing here?”

“We’ve been watching you for a while,” Brad says. “When you were working in Silverton. We couldn’t be sure of anything, then. Father was sure your scent was familiar but didn’t know why.”

“This is bullshit,” I snap, getting up. “I don’t know what your game is, but I’m giving you five minutes before I call the pack and kick your ass all the way back to Decker.”

“Listen!” he yells, standing up as well. “Your mother didn’t tell him—she didn’t tell anyone. He didn’t know!”

Shock crackles through me, as if my blood has suddenly turned to ice. I stare at Brad, my heart pounding with the beginnings of panic.

“What?” I croak.

“Father was curious about you because of your scent. It’s not like he could just walk up to you in Silverton and ask if you’re his son. Minette ran away from him, and back then, the packs weren’t friendly with each other. He assumed she went back to Silver Meadows, but he never knew she was pregnant.”

I want to deny it and scream at him, but all of this is making a scary kind of sense.

So that’s why she hid me away… she didn’t want anyone to know my father was from Decker pack. And she didn’t want the information to get back to Silverton, either.

“I don’t believe this!” I bark, even though I actually do.

“Look, I know it’s a lot,” Brad says. “By the time Dad did some digging and he had enough information to actually talk to you, we were at war again.”

“I thought my father was a witch,” I mutter absently.

“There’s witch in you, from Minette,” Brad says. “Father told me it’s one of the things that made her so alluring and irresistible. But witches turn on you, man. Always.”

I fix my eyes on him as fury burns in my chest. I’m beginning to understand his meaning.

And why he’s here.

“The other day, that was him,” Brad says. “I was looking for you in the forest, then Dad came with me to look for you as well.”

The memory of that day roars through me, bringing red-hot waves of aggression.

You were going to hurt my wife!

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