Page 69 of Bullied Pregnant Mate

I reach a dense thicket, crawling low on my belly to get inside. Brad’s scent is muffled now, and I know he’s risking a lot to come this close just to talk to me.

It’s either a true need to connect, a plot to entrap us… or just sheer lunacy.

As I enter an open space in the center of the scrub, I see Brad standing there, waiting for me. I shift into my human shape and approach him carefully.

“Hey,” he says with a friendly smile. “You’ve been away for a bit. Where did you go?”

“Alpha Bailey wanted me to clear out,” I answer. “He was increasing patrols, looking for you.”

“I figured as much,” Brad replies. “I’m wily, though. He can’t catch me.”

Never underestimate Bailey.

“What are you doing here?” I ask, a hint of challenge in my voice. “This is a big risk you’re taking.”

“Yeah, it is,” he agrees. “But Father and I want to get to know you. It’s been a mess on both sides, man. Dad cheated on my mom with Minette, and he’s never forgiven himself for it. He had no idea she was pregnant when they broke up.”

“I get that,” I say. “I got a raw deal, too. She kept me under lock and key, she was so scared of anyone finding out about it.”

“Yeah. Dad says she was a bit strange, but it was part of what he liked about her. He said she was impossible to forget, and it almost broke him. Is she still around?”

“No,” I say flatly. “She took off when I turned twenty-one. I’m guessing that by then, she didn’t care if anyone found out about the scandal because I was grown up enough to deal with it myself, and she could take herself far enough away that it wouldn’t be her problem anymore.”

“Witches, man,” Brad says, shaking his head. “They’re nothing but trouble. Can’t you see what they’ve done? We had peace. A kind of peace our packs have never known. Then the witches show up, and everything goes to hell.”

“That wasn’t our fault!” I hiss at him, barely keeping my voice down. “I was here the night of the attack, when Decker and the wild wolves came for us. My friends were slaughtered!”

“I wasn’t part of that,” Brad says with a heavy look in his eyes. “Not everyone supports Decker. There could be a leadership challenge any day now.”

A tingle runs through me as I realize this is exactly the information Bae needs to know.

Who do I betray? My alpha, or my brother?

“Does it have anything to do with the wolves Decker locked up?”

“It sure does,” Brad confirms. “No one is happy about it, but the wolves that support Decker see it as necessary.”

“Why won’t anyone challenge him if the pack is split?”

“The Ancient Ones,” Brad answers. “Everyone is scared shitless. That Kelta bitch, she’s crazy, man.”

I frown a little, trying not to show any reaction. It’s the second time he’s spoken of women with disrespect, and I don’t like it.

“You don’t sound fond of witches,” I say, challenge in my tone. “So why do you oppose Decker?”

“I might not be fond of witches, but I don’t want to kill all of them.”

“So why did you attack one right in my backyard?”

Brad looks into my eyes, his expression guarded.

He looks like he knows he fucked up, and now he looks suspicious as hell.

“Do you know her?” he asks carefully.

I nod. “I do,” I say, deliberately keeping the answer vague.

“I need to get out of here soon,” Brad says, changing the topic, “or the patrols will catch me. But my offer still stands—Dad wants to get to know you. It’s killing him that he has a son he never knew. We just want to be involved in your life, and try to mend the bonds between us.”

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