Page 52 of Bullied Pregnant Mate

Once I’m sure Jenks is truly under, I allow the more uncomfortable thoughts to surface in my mind. I find it surprisingly easy to shield myself from him, and keep his energy stable and peaceful while my own begins to swirl like a strong current in a twisted river.

The same guys who attacked me are his brother and his father!

The news really can’t get any worse than this. The most obvious answer is that those wolves are lying, just to gain access to his house and hunt witches for Decker. I’d like to believe this, but I sense Jenks’s doubts are real.

He lived in Silverton for a while, and the big attack happened at his house. He knows the reasons they might be working him, and how badly it could go if they are.

With reluctance, I consider the idea that Jenks is making excuses because he wants to believe these two wolves are exactly who they say they are.

It’s a chance to learn about his heritage and make family connections. It could be a vital part of his self-discovery. He might even find out more about his mother, and that could bring him peace.

I snuggle up to him a bit closer, still stroking his back. I can feel how exhausted and overwhelmed he is, and my heart goes out to him all over again.

Bae and the others won’t have any sympathy for Jenks’s long-lost family. They’ll just see them as the enemy.

There’s an excellent chance that Bailey and the top circle would accuse Jenks of being sentimental, too. He has very little experience with patrols, and has never been in a situation like this.

Bae would probably even blame himself for putting someone inexperienced like Jenks in such a vulnerable position.

As I start to drift off, my confused thoughts settle until only one thing remains.

All I can do is trust Jenks—stay by his side and hope he makes the right decision. All he needs is time.

And that’s the one thing we don’t have.

When I wake in the morning, Jenks and I are haphazardly stretched across different sides of the bed, twisted up in the sheets. I reach out with a thread of energy to check on Jenks. He seems content.

His dreams might be lively, but they are happy ones for a change.

Being able to give him a break from his pain so he can rest fills me with joy. I know the only thing I can do to reconcile the bully in my past is to heal the man who lies beside me right now.

I slip out of bed, careful not to wake him. Jenks has made breakfast for me every day since the wedding, so I decide that today, it’s my turn.

He’ll be hungry after last night. He came back exhausted and hurt, and his mental state is about as wrecked as it gets.

After putting on a big pot of coffee, I fry up sausages, bacon, and eggs, making a stack of toast to go with it. I’m humming quietly to myself as I spin around with a spatula, ready to flip an egg onto a plate, when a dark shadow materializes in front of me.

“What the—” I shriek, the egg bouncing on the spatula and splatting on the floor.

“Sorry,” Jenks says, grinning. “I didn’t mean to sneak up on you.”

I narrow my eyes, almost glaring at him. It amuses me that this is an active reversal of our usual routine, but I’m also confused.

How did he sneak up on me?

“How long have you been standing there?” I ask.

He shakes his head. “Not long. I came down the hall and heard you in here. The only thing I was really thinking about was that I didn’t want to disturb you.”

“You were cloaking,” I say, amazed.

“What do you mean?”

“It’s a form of magic where you draw a curtain around yourself that hides you physically. It can even cover your aura and thoughts, if you’re good enough. You’re not invisible or incorporeal—like, if someone walks up to you, they’ll still run into you—but it’s a way of going unnoticed.”

“Cool!” he says excitedly, looking at his hands. “Will it work in my wolf shape?”

“It might,” I reply, shrugging. “Really, I have no idea. I’m just surprised you can do it at all.”

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