Page 73 of Bullied Pregnant Mate

Pigeons are messengers, and they always know their way home. This will help them find me if I’m lost and can’t find my way.

By the time Jenks comes back inside, I’m all done with the spell and curled up on the couch like I never even moved. After he freshens up, we go straight to the kitchen to cook dinner, but the atmosphere is strained. There’s no easy banter or jokes, just awkward silence. Jenks keeps looking at the sky as if he can force night to come. It’s barely even dark when he says we should drive to the other end of town.

“Isn’t it a bit early?” I ask.

He shakes his head. “No, it will take a few hours to hike down to Ophir. If we drive over now, then we should arrive right on time.”

“Okay,” I agree, nervousness shooting through my guts. “It’s up to you, Jenks.”

He looks at me with wide eyes, and I can see the conflict raging in him. He wants to call this off—quite desperately—but he can’t.

Let’s just go and get this over with.

We tidy up and head out to the car. Jenks reaches for my hand and squeezes it, but it feels like there is no warmth between us. I still can’t think of anything to say, and a lump starts to form in my throat.

Keep it together!

I can’t. I miss the energy between us, the warmth in our casual touching. All of it seems to have disappeared, and I feel cold, abandoned, and alone.

He’s just struggling with his own emotions. It’s not personal!

As we drive across town, it starts to feel pretty personal. Jenks barely looks at me, just keeps his eyes fixed on the road. By the time we reach a parking lot near the hiking trail, my nerves are bubbling over, making me feel jumpy and nauseous.

I’m sure my condition doesn’t help with that.

I’m careful to guard my thoughts. The last thing I want is for Jenks to find out about the baby by accident.

I want all this settled before I tell him. Then he’ll have the support of his family… or the knowledge that they can never be a part of his life.

“Okay,” Jenks says, giving me a little smile. “Let’s move.”

He takes my hand, but his touch does nothing to comfort me. We start to hike out onto the trail, and I realize he wasright about it taking time to get to the meeting place. Jenks could cover the distance in an hour or so in his wolf shape, but I definitely can’t.

“It’s really steep here,” I say breathlessly. “Are you sure this is the way?”

“Yeah, it’s the only trail,” he answers. “And we have to move off it soon, to go to the place we agreed on. It’s secluded, just out of our territory, but not quite in theirs. Bae’s running few patrols in this area, so we don’t have to worry.”

I am worried!

I’m more relieved than ever that I put the spell on myself because we’re going so far out, I know I’m going to get lost. The locator will allow the others to find me, no matter where I am.

“This way,” Jenks says, getting off the trail. “I’ll go ahead of you and break a bit of a path. I can’t fully clear it, though. I don’t want any sign that we’ve passed through here.”

“Okay,” I pant.

I’m regretting my decision to come on many levels now, and all I want to do is sit and rest. I’m sure Jenks can feel this, but he keeps pushing forward.

What’s going on?

“Come on,” he urges, reaching for my hand and tugging me through the thick scrub. “The moon is almost at zenith.”

I want to protest or at least tell him to slow down, but I can’t catch my breath. Trying to read Jenks’s emotions gets me nowhere. He feels like a blank slate all of a sudden.

Is it because I’m scattered and can’t read him, or is he deliberately hiding himself from me?

The latter thought is so terrifying, I can’t bear to think about it. Jenks keeps pulling on my hand, finally tugging me through some thick trees and into a small clearing.

“Are we there?” I ask, gasping for breath.

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