Page 142 of Claimed

“Not yet,” he says. “Not easy falling asleep with all this shit goin’ on and certainly not easy to sleep with my wife lying in another alpha’s fuckin’ bed. Don’t matter he’s got no scent; I still know whose goddamn bed it is.”

“I didn’t want to sleep in that bed,” I remind him.

That’s what’s odd about Jared. But now isn’t the time to ask about it.

My mate flexes his jaw muscles but says nothing.

My mate is angry with me. Maybe he needs space.

“I’m gonna go get breakfast for the kids. Then I’ll help with the next rounds of medicine dispensing before starting to cook for everyone else.”

“Sent Boyd to the supermarket already for eggs and bacon and fruit,” Grey says. “Wait and give the kids some of that.”

“Okay,” I say.

He looks me in the eyes. “Anything else you wanna tell me?” His eyes travel to my toes and back up again. I don’t like the vibe coming off him.

I bite my lip and then release it.

Gus walks by, giving us a nod, and going into the mess hall. And something dawns on me.

“Gus told you he heard me talking to Cat?”

I know by Grey’s expression that the answer isyes.

“Cat told me some shit, not realizing you hadn’t already told me yourself. What the fuck does Gus know?”

Darn.

I shake my head. “Gus might have heard me talking to Cat… I…”

“More secrets?” he accuses.

“No, not secret exactly.”

“Thenwhat, exactly? Cat Savage tells me you’re afraid you can’t carry our child with the miscarriage and stillbirth rates here. You tell her this, not your mate?”

“I told you I was worried about not being able to get pregnant. About thinking it was the water here.”

“You did, but you didn’t tell me every pregnancy in the last couple years around here ended in miscarriage or stillbirth.”

“I’ve been worried about being unable to carry a child. But there’s more. Other things I didn’t ask Cat about with the lack of privacy when we had that conversation.”

“What? What else are you keeping from your husband, woman?”

Ouch.

I can’t blame him for being upset that I didn’t share my fears, but it feels like my heart is breaking right now that he’s frustrated and upset with me amid everything else going on.

“I…” I blow out a hard exhale and scratch my forehead, contemplating. “Can we talk about this somewhere more private?”

He gestures ahead, tags my hand, and walks me forward until we get to the front office. We go inside and he sits on the reception desk, arms folded, waiting for me to speak.

But something about his body language reminds me too much of my brother. I feel sick to my stomach, suddenly, even thinking of Greyson being in Wyatt’s league. I know he’s not like Wyatt. I know he’s not going to hurt me.

But being here, in Silver Hills, inside this building where I’ve spent so much time… where I’ve been backhanded… where I’ve had things thrown around while I’m trying to work because Wyatt is pissed off or can’t find something…

It feels like years since I’ve been in here. So much has changed for me. I used to spend most days here and nothing has changed here, butI’mchanged. Deeply.

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