Page 13 of The Alpha's Forced Pregnant Mate

“Hey,” she said when she slid into the seat across from me. “You’re early.”

I shrugged, unable to stop staring at her. “I’m always early when it’s something I want.”

Her cheeks flushed slightly. “Oh, okay. Well, I’m not hungry, so let’s get down to business.”

I frowned. “You’re not hungry? After the workout you gave me this morning?”

“Don’t try to be cute. I hate you, Julian. Please keep that in mind during our conversation.”

I grinned. “Noted, but I know you want me.”

She narrowed her eyes at me, but her cheeks were pink.

“Okay, then,” I said. “You want to start with the Red Canines or the Silverfangs?”

She leaned back, crossing her arms over her chest. “It doesn’t matter. They both hate this plan and want to rip your throat out. Hector has a hard time believing that the Reckless Stalkers are worth sending Laura and me with you, while Danny wants you dead and in the ground. If it were up to them, you’d be shit out of luck.”

That didn’t surprise me. “So what changed?”

“Faye. She conceded that they were stretched thin trying to guard the perimeter when everyone was reluctant to be away from home for too long when there is a demon threat. It still almost all fell apart because Danny was so against it. Hector asked him if accepting the deal would hurt their alliance, and if Danny had said yes, there would be no deal. But Danny finally relented—on the condition that you never go near him or Naomi again. I have permission to travel with you for as long as it takes to find out where the demons are coming from, and as soon as it’s dealt with, I’m supposed to come home.”

I raised an eyebrow, surprised at her description of the alphas. “Just like that, huh? “

She shrugged one shoulder, looking unconcerned. “Outside of Hector and Faye, I’m a pretty high-ranking, trusted pack member. They trust me, and they don’t want me to go, but it’s the safety of the pack over the safety of a single member—me. It’s just the way of things. Alphas have to make hard decisions sometimes, and that’s one of them. They want to protect their people.”

I nodded, but my mind was whirling. She didn’t seem to be lying, which meant that we were on the clock. I wanted Whitney isolated, and that meant getting her away from her pack as soon as possible.

The server came by and despite her earlier claims that she wasn’t hungry, Whitney ordered a porterhouse steak and a loaded baked potato. I ordered the same and when the server left, I leaned forward with a smile.

“Good news for you, then,” I said. “My territory is close to where the most activity has been recently. My men have reported at least two separate groups of demons moving in the area, but they haven’t been able to get close enough to know how many there are or where they are coming from. It’s the perfect opportunity to check things out.”

Whitney was quiet for a moment. “It’s not the run-of-the-mill demons that are the real issue. It’s finding out why they seem to be targeting certain individuals above others.”

“Faye and her daughter. Don’t worry, I didn’t spy on your precious pack. I was still with the Red Canines when Danny made it public knowledge.”

“Oh.”

I waited for her to say something else, but she was quiet. “We can leave tomorrow morning if you don’t have anything holding you up.”

She nodded, but her mind seemed far away.

The server came by with our food, and I watched Whitney tear into the steak like she’d been starved for days. The hunger had finally hit her. She finished it in record time and then sat back looking embarrassed. “Sorry,” she said. “I guess I was hungry after all.”

“It’s fine. You need to eat more than that to keep up your energy, though. You’re going to be fighting demons, not taking a stroll in the park.”

“I know how to feed myself. And I promise you, I know way more about fighting demons than you do. I would have eaten earlier, except an asshole attacked me in the woods.” Her gaze was pointed and accusatory. “And then I lost my appetite after I had to get these.”

Whitney pulled some of her white-blond hair aside to show me the staples closing the wound on her scalp. She had hit the rock pretty damn hard, but werewolves are made of strong stuff. The wound was red and angry in the paleness of her hair, but it wasn’t bleeding and there was no sign of infection.

I swallowed hard as I stared at the wound. “Well, you survived.”

“Yeah, lucky me,” she snapped.

I shook my head at her, confused. “You really are a mystery to me, Whitney. You act like you don’t want me, but your words aren’t matching what your body is saying.”

She snorted but didn’t say anything.

“Tell me about yourself,” I said. “You know all about me. Now it’s your turn to spill.”

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