Page 21 of The Alpha's Forced Pregnant Mate

Anything.

Laura was a demon hunter and a capable wolf all on her own, but I knew that Whitney was the major power on her team. Laura could hold her own against demons, but the more I thought about it, the more I thought that she’d stand no chance against five wolves…which is exactly how many Reckless Stalkers were left there while the rest were defending Silverfang Creek territory.

Whitney would do anything to protect Laura. And if Laura’s freedom could only be earned by completing the mating ritual with me…well. It was one hell of an idea, but if I fucked it up then I’d never see Whitney again, I was sure of it.

So I kept my expression neutral and pretended to mull over Laura’s words. “You think she’d change her tune if I fixed my reputation?” It was a pointless question, but I needed to lay the groundwork for the new plan I was working out in my head.

“No, dumbass, I think that’s one step of a million you need to take. Having some of your pack guard the Silverfangs is a good step, but it’s only been a few days. It might take YEARS for the damage you’ve done with Naomi and Danny to be worked through. Your pack is small and barely recognized, you’re known as a potential mate killer…I can’t even guess how you could turn that all around, but Whitney isn’t going to lower herself to your level.”

“Well,” I said, “Then what should I do?”

Laura sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose. “Just give her some time to cool off. Go get something to eat, check in on the wolves who are still here, and make sure nothing else has gone wrong. We’re here for at least two weeks, right? So you have time to at least make her not pissed at you before we go home.”

She was right about one thing, I couldn’t just charge into Whitney’s cabin and demand that she mate with me, no matter how much I wanted to. My wolf was already pissed at me for not claiming our mate when we first saw her, and he was pissed again for having to wait now. But there was something I could do that would get us closer to what we wanted.

But Whitney wasn’t going home. She WAS home. She just didn’t know it yet.

“Alright. Look, I’m going to order pizzas for the pack that’s still here and I’ll get one for you and Whitney. Come to my cabin at 7 pm and pick it up if you’re hungry.”

“Okay,” Laura said, looking surprised that I was listening to her. “I’ll see you then. Thanks, Julian. For the pizza, I mean. You’re still a prick.”

“You’re welcome,” I said sarcastically, watching as she walked away. The instant she was out of sight I pulled out my phone and started texting, sending orders to the four wolves left behind from guard duty.

Me: Laura is getting food at my place at 7 tonight. It’s going to be laced with sedatives. You all have two jobs. Grab her and keep her quiet once the sedatives have kicked in. You’re going to have to store her away from the cabins so Whitney doesn’t find her as soon as she wakes up. Then the rest of you need to find a witch that can perform a mating ceremony. Any witch that isn’t affiliated with another pack will work.

Ethan: Yes, Alpha. But can we ask why?

Me: This is for Whitney. The demons are after her and the only way to keep her safe is to make her my mate. She’ll do anything for Laura, including accepting me as her mate. I don’t care what you have to do or who you have to kidnap, just make it happen.

I was putting a lot of trust in my wolves, which made my stomach clench when I remembered what Rick and Tanner had done to Naomi. I had told them to use a normal sedative, and those fucking morons had used wolfsbane. But that fuck up had gotten them kicked to the bottom of the pack hierarchy, and while my second, James was leading the first rotation of Silverfang Creek territory guards, Ethan was competent enough without the streak of cruelty that Rick and Tanner seemed to share.

With that thought, I pulled my phone back out and added a last message.

Me: Ethan, lead Laura’s kidnapping. Claudio find the witch. Rick and Tanner answer to you two.

They all sent back a barrage of ‘Yes, Boss’ messages, and I was satisfied for the moment. I gripped my keys in my jeans pocket and looked longingly at my motorcycle. It would be nice to take a long ride to chill out, but I couldn’t bring back pizzas on the back of a bike. So a long drive would have to do.

Feeling my anticipation growing, and the satisfaction of having a plan in place, I walked toward my old Jeep wearing a smirk. I hoped the girls had a nice few hours together because they were about to be separated—sooner rather than later.

***

The next night

I spent the rest of last night and the following day preparing for the mating ritual and making sure that my wolves didn’t fuck up the jobs I gave them.

The pizza portion went fine, which almost made me feel bad. Almost. Whitney and Laura trusted me enough to eat the food I provided, but I knew that wouldn’t be the case anymore. Not after they got knocked out for hours on end.

I had the keys to all the cabins and Ethan had taken Tanner to snatch Laura out of her and Whitney’s shared cabin. I considered just taking Whitney then, too, but I needed her to be alert and in good enough shape to actually go through with the ritual, not groggy and out of it, so it was better to let her wake up naturally.

Plus, the shock factor was something I was counting on. I wanted her pushed into a corner when she stumbled on my plan, and to make the decision to complete the ritual as quickly as possible. It wouldn’t be easy to get the smart and quick-thinking Whitney to be impulsive, but I figured that having Laura hostage was my best chance.

Claudio had a harder time finding a witch on short notice, especially since he couldn’t reach out to other pack witches for references. He’d had to go into town and skulk around a few occult shops and clubs to make some connections.

Finally, though, he found an unaffiliated witch named Erin who had the right skill set and agreed to do the job without asking too many questions. As long as she got paid, she didn’t care about the circumstances. Claudio picked her up and they met with me and the other two wolves at our rendezvous point—an abandoned barn a little ways outside of our ring of cabins.

It was still light out, but the sun would be setting soon and I wanted to have everything ready before then.

“Hey, Boss,” Claudio said as he pulled up in his truck. A pretty girl with a short blue pixie cut hopped out of the passenger side and looked at me with a mix of curiosity and distaste.

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