Page 27 of The Alpha's Forced Pregnant Mate

“You’ll stay here tonight,” I told her matter of factly. “The mating ritual magic will make it almost painful for us to be apart this close to the mating.”

“I know,” she still sounded angry, but also tired. “I was raised in a pack too, you know.”

Feeling a little more confident that she wouldn’t run, I grabbed the takeout I had ordered for after the ritual, knowing that she would need calories after such exertion. I threw both containers into the microwave and brought them both to the table when they were finished.

Whitney jumped when I sat the food in front of her like she had been totally lost in thought. I’d ordered two enormous servings of pasta with extra chicken for protein, and while I saw interest in her eyes, she stopped halfway from picking up the fork.

“Is this one laced with sedatives too?” she asked, her words full of acid.

I reached across the table with my fork and speared a bite of her chicken, and then a forkful of noodles, popping it into my mouth to show her that it was safe. “It’s not. I’m not stupid enough to try the same trick twice.”

“No,” she said. “You’re just stupid enough to think I’m going to stay here and let you keep me.”

I smirked as she stabbed at her noodles, taking an angry bite. “I didn’t expect you to let me. You’ll come around in time.”

Her scowl deepened. “I doubt that.”

“We’ll see.” I knew better than to argue with her, so I dropped it. She was too tired to fight anyway, and she needed food if she wanted to heal faster.

Whitney ate in silence, her eyes fixed on the plate in front of her. I watched her as we ate, unable to keep my eyes off of her. Even though she was exhausted and filthy from the ritual, there was still a fire burning in her eyes, and I couldn’t help but feel mesmerized by her.

She was my mate, and she would be mine forever.

“Stop looking at me like that,” she said, glaring at me. “I’m not a piece of meat.”

“No,” I agreed, leaning back in my chair. “You’re a beautiful woman, and my mate. I’m allowed to look.”

She didn’t respond with words, her mouth full, but flipped me off instead.

“You can have the bed tonight,” I told her, pushing my empty plate away and standing up. “But it will be more comfortable for us if we share it. The mate ritual magic should be faded by tomorrow afternoon…but you’re welcome to stay here with me as long as you want.”

“Yeah, no. I’ll be moving back to the other cabin with Laura.”

“So you still intended to stay the full two weeks?”

Whitney rubbed her face, looking defeated. “Mating or not, the demon threat is still out there, and you weren’t lying about the clues we might find around here. There’s no point in letting this derail me any further. We’ll get it done and go home. We’ll deal with the mating stuff when it starts to become a problem.”

I almost felt bad for her. As good as it felt to have her, I couldn’t help but wonder how different things might have been if she had come to me willingly. My reputation will be even worse with the other packs if Whitney makes it public knowledge that I manipulated her to get the ritual finished, and she might always see me as a burden. It made me…sad. An odd thing to feel when I’d spent so much time being angry.

I could be a good man for her if given the chance. A good mate. But I just didn’t see any avenues left for more chances.

“Look, Whitney. I know you’re pissed with me, but we could really be good for each other. I’ve told you I won’t try to stop you from doing your job or hold you down. What in the hell would it take for you to consider giving me the time of day?”

At first, I thought she would bite my head off again and tell me to fuck off. But maybe it was the leftover mate magic or her exhaustion, but she didn’t immediately balk. “It’s not happening. But let’s say that I was more open-minded in some other world where you weren’t a complete jackass…I guess the first step would be telling me what in the hell really went on with you and the Red Canines.”

“And by that you mean you want to know about Naomi, right?”

She patted her mouth with a napkin before taking a drink. “Well, yes, but I have a feeling there was a lot leading up to you having her poisoned. You’re the worst, but you’re not stupid.“

I pushed my now empty plate away and sighed. “I don’t like to talk about this shit.“

“You asked what it would take for me to consider your presence as anything but antagonistic. And this is the start.”

“Fine. But I don’t expect a Silverfang Creek to understand my point of view on anything. You all are so stuck up your own asses—" I caught myself before I dug the hole any deeper, but the anxiety was already growing inside me when talking about this with her. “Never mind. I don’t think you could despise me any more than you do right now, so let’s just get into it.“

“Good.“ Whitney leaned back in her chair, and a hint of a smile was on her lips. “Before you get started, did you get any dessert?“

I almost laughed. Providing for her fulfilled some desire deep inside of me, but I didn’t want her to see I was taking any pleasure in it, considering she was doing everything possible to make me unhappy. “I did. Chocolate cake or cheesecake?“

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