Page 10 of The Alpha's Forced Pregnant Mate

I couldn't take him on my own, not in this condition, but I didn't need to kill him myself. I just needed to call for my allies. My pack would end this power fantasy that he was indulging in fast.

One more burst of energy to get him off me long enough to get my phone and call Laura or anyone else in the pack, and I'd be free of Julian in no time. I was so damned tired, but it had to be done. I thought about how Danny had taken Naomi and it made my mouth go dry. Danny turned out to be a good guy, but Julian had already shown us his true colors.

He tried to kill Naomi. Well, he'd be more likely to kill me than get me to accept him as my mate—because it wasn't happening.

He was talking, rambling about mating rituals and alliances, but I had tuned him out to plan my escape from his grasp. The last thing I wanted to do was hear his voice or look into those gorgeous eyes. It wasn't fair that he was so damned attractive and awful at the same time.

Tall and packed with muscle, Julian was one hell of a male specimen, evil or not. His hair was midnight black, and his eyes were an odd hazel color that had gold, green, and brown mixed into them. When the sun hit them, like it was now, green was dominant. He had a strong nose, almost too big but somehow perfect on his face, and a smile that pulled up farther on the left than the right. Dark hair dusted his chest, and while there was the temptation to look lower, I held back. His scent of black pepper and leather made it hard to concentrate, but I was a professional. A warrior at heart. And I just needed to wait until his guard was down once more.

Then it came. He dipped his head, running his nose up my neck and drinking in my scent, his hold on my wrists letting up just the slightest bit.

That's all I needed.

I used every last ounce of strength and wiggled out from under him, rolling away and getting to my feet as quickly as possible. I didn't need to see where he was—I could feel him. The mate bond was thin and new, but still present enough that I knew exactly where Julian was.

It was unsettling, to say the least.

When he whipped around to grab me again, I kicked out, my boot meeting his jaw with a sickening crack. I winced internally—it was a pretty jaw, and that sounded painful as hell—but he was a wolf. We heal fast. And Julian would have plenty of time to heal after I escaped.

I turned, ready to run, but he was on his feet in a flash, growling and stalking toward me. I swallowed hard at his expression—he was pissed. But so was I.

And my phone was already in my hand.

I pressed the button for the last person I'd texted, Laura, and ran like hell.

Julian was behind me in a flash, and I could feel him closing in on me. I didn't know where I was going or what I was doing, but I knew that I couldn't let him catch me. Not now. Not ever.

I was breathing hard, my body exhausted, but I didn't dare slow down. Julian had already shown himself to be cunning and vicious, and I had to stay one step ahead of him if I wanted to get out of this alive.

Laura was a demon slayer, and she was only about 10 minutes away from me. I knew that she would bring help and that we could defeat Julian together. I just needed to stay alive until then.

It was getting harder and harder to breathe. My lungs were burning, my throat dry, and my legs felt like they were going to give out at any moment. Julian was behind me, a constant shadow that never stopped chasing. I had to fight the urge to glance back and see how close he was.

The trail was starting to slope up, the incline growing steeper with every step. But I had hope, my phone still in my hand. I barely had any breath to speak, but I figured Laura must have picked up by now, and I raised the device to my ear—

Call failed, it read. No reception.

"FUCK!" I screamed, my voice echoing through the trees.

I heard Julian snarling behind me, and I knew that the end was near.

I couldn't get away from him. I was going to die here, all alone on this god-forsaken hiking trail, killed by the man who had tried to poison my friend and then kidnapped me. Because he'd have to kill me. I wasn't going with him. Not now. Not ever.

With my senses heightened, I knew he was about to be on me, and I tucked my hands, my phone still clutched in one of them, to my chest to make sure I didn't lose the device when he hit me from behind. I tried to brace myself, but it didn't help much.

Julian slammed into me, his arms wrapping around my waist as he tackled me to the ground. We rolled a few times, and then he was on top of me again. I let out a scream as my head cracked against a large rock on the ground, pain blossoming across the back of my skull.

He growled in my ear, "Shut up, or I'll make you."

I whimpered, wanting to fight him, but there was no way that I could. He was too strong, and I was already injured. My vision was swimming, and I could feel blood trickling down the back of my neck from the blow to my head.

His nostrils flared as he scented the blood, and Julian's expression changed in an instant. The anger on his face was replaced by concern, and he reached up to gently brush the hair away from my face. I flinched at his touch, but he ignored me, turning my head slightly so he could see the wound.

"Oh fuck," he murmured. “You're bleeding."

I glared at him, "No shit, Sherlock."

"Don't be like that," he said, a hint of anger creeping back into his voice. He pressed around the wound, and while it hurt, it was surface level. "A bad cut, but your skull seems intact."

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