Page 19 of The Alpha's Forced Pregnant Mate

“No, not really. I can do a few things, but I’m not strong enough to be considered a true witch.”

Julian took a step back from me, looking like he was going to be sick. “How long have you known?”

I almost laughed. “Is that a real question? My entire life, Julian.”

Laura was still watching the trees, but I knew she was listening to every word we said. Julian opened his mouth and then snapped it shut again, staring at me in disbelief. It would have been funny if we weren’t standing next to the bodies of demons we’d just killed, and I hadn’t just told one of my pack enemies my deepest secret.

“Your entire life,” he finally said, his voice quiet and flat. “You’ve always known.”

“Yes,” I said, putting my hands on my hips. I hated talking about my witch blood. I was raised to keep it a secret from everyone because it wasn’t enough to make me a true witch. All it did was put me in danger, especially as a demon slayer. No wolf wanted to get tangled up with a woman who might not live long enough to have a child, and the few drops of witch’s blood made me even less desirable.

Julian had a number of emotions cross across his face, but the last one left was anger. He was mad. No…he was furious. “You…you’ve been putting yourself in danger when you’re exactly what these demons are looking for? Have you lost your mind?”

My mouth dropped open in shock. “How dare you?” I hissed. “I’m not a child, Julian, and I don’t need you to tell me what to do.”

“It’s my job as your mate—"

“No,” I said, my voice a harsh whisper. “That’s where you’re wrong. You are not my mate, you are my enemy.”

Julian glared at me, and Laura stepped between us. “We should go back to camp,” she said. “There could be more coming, and we need to figure out what this all means.”

“Of course there could be more,” Julian snapped, stalking off toward the trail leading back to the campsite. “It’s only been a few hours since we found the first demon.”

I was going to kill him. No matter what, he was going to end up dead before this was all over. My blood was boiling as I stomped after him. Laura had to jog to keep up with us, and once we made it back to the SUV the drive back to camp was tense and silent.

“Do you really think there are more?” Laura asked when we made it back, looking at Julian.

“I’m positive,” he said, tossing his machete onto the table outside his cabin. “They knew we were here, and they came after Whitney. Whatever they’re planning, it involves her.”

Laura looked at me, her face pale. “Do you think they know about your bloodline?”

“That’s the only thing that makes sense,” I said, crossing my arms and looking down at the ground. I’d always hated the fact that I was a witch, even though it had barely been enough to call myself one. Most of the time I didn’t even bother. But now…now it might be what gets me killed. “Although I don’t know why they’d even bother…or how they found out in the first place.”

Julian was pacing again, his fists clenching and unclenching at his side. Finally, he stopped, pinching the bridge of his nose. “They have some sort of intel on all of our packs. That’s the only answer. That’s why they know Faye’s bloodline is important, and why they know you have witch blood.

“But how do they get this information?” Laura asked, glancing back and forth between us. “We’re in the middle of nowhere and demons aren’t exactly known for their communication skills. Unless…” She trailed off, and Julian and I both turned to her.

“Unless what?” I asked.

“Well,” she said, “The demons have seemed to be more powerful than the ones we’ve seen before. Right?”

“Yeah,” I said, nodding slowly as I started to understand where Laura was going with this. “We’ve seen a few that were definitely more advanced than the others. But that means—"

“That means they’re getting stronger. Smarter.” Julian finished. He looked angry and sick all at the same time, his hazel eyes boring into me like he was trying to lock me into place. “You’re in serious danger. We’ve got to perform the mating ritual. Tonight.”

I barked a laugh, shocked at his audacity. “You’re JOKING. You can’t be serious. I’m not doing shit with you, Julian. You’re insane.”

“No, I’m not joking,” he said. “And you have no choice. I’m not going to sit here and watch while you get torn apart by demons.”

I felt my lip curling up in a snarl and Laura stepped between us before I could say something that I’d regret. “Okay, let’s just take a minute here. No one’s getting torn apart by anyone or anything else. The important thing is that we know what’s happening. We know they’re getting stronger, and we know that the demons are after witches and wolf-witch hybrids.”

“So?” Julian asked. “How does that help us?”

“Because we can prepare,” I said, looking past Laura’s shoulder at Julian. He looked like he was about to lose his mind. “If the demons are getting stronger, we need to know how. There has to be something they’re doing, and if we figure it out maybe we can stop them. We have to find out what they’re planning.”

“And how do you propose we do that?” he asked, crossing his arms and glowering at me. He was being an ass and I wanted to punch him in the face. “We just got back from finding their scouting party, and they came after you. It’s pretty clear what they want.” He pushed forward and grabbed my upper arm, his grip painful. “We have to perform the ritual. You’ll be safer once I’ve bit you.”

“Are you insane?” I hissed, yanking my arm away from him. “I’m not letting you bite me, you psycho! And even if I did, it wouldn’t change anything. They’d still come after me!”

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