Page 32 of The Alpha's Forced Pregnant Mate

But was it really? Was everything going to be okay? I had a feeling that everything was about to change.

She had a million questions for me and I told her everything. There was no point in holding back now. I thought she’d run out of the cabin and kill Julian with her bare hands at first, but she relaxed a little when I admitted that I had consented to the mating at the very last minute. It made my cheeks burn with embarrassment to tell her, but I wanted everything to be crystal clear between Laura and me from here on out.

No secrets. No lies. No omissions.

“He’s a piece of shit,” Laura growled, her face red with anger. “I can’t believe he did this to you.”

“It was a shitty situation,” I said, sitting down on the couch and patting the seat next to me. “But we’re stuck with each other for the time being, so I have to tolerate him. Plus, being mated to him has given me a little strength boost.”

“You’re being awfully cool about this.”

“I have to be. There’s no use getting upset over it. What’s done is done.”

Laura let out another frustrated sound, then sighed and sat down beside me. “You’re right, of course. I’m just angry that he did this to you.”

“We’ll figure something out,” I said, smiling at her and reaching over to squeeze her hand. “Everything will be fine, Laura. It will work out.”

She didn’t look convinced, but she squeezed my hand back. “Okay, I trust you. But if he gets out of line, just let me know and I’ll kick his ass.”

I couldn’t help but laugh, and I pulled her into a hug. “Thanks, Laura. You’re the best. And I’m so fucking sorry they kidnapped you like that.”

Laura hugged me back, sighing softly. “I’m just glad you’re okay. How are you holding up?”

I pulled back, meeting her eyes. “Fine. I mean, he’s my mate, so everything worked out in the end. I just don’t know what will happen now.”

“Now we figure this out together. This is going to be okay, Whitney,” she said, nodding decisively. “You deserve to be happy.”

“So do you,” I said, leaning forward to touch her face gently. “Are you okay? Did they hurt you?”

She shook her head. “No, I’m fine. They were all so busy trying to figure out their next move that they didn’t pay much attention to me.”

“I’m so glad.”

Laura pulled away and smiled at me. “They gave me some food and water, and I managed to get a good night’s sleep. So don’t worry about me. What matters is how you’re doing.”

“I’m okay. It was pretty intense, but…” I let out a soft huff of a laugh and shook my head. “Well, you know how these mating things go. It wasn’t so bad. We just talked most of the night.”

Her eyes widened, and she blinked at me a few times. “You talked? The whole time?”

“Most of it, yeah.” I cleared my throat, feeling my cheeks heating up. “He was surprisingly…open. It was a good conversation.”

“Well fuck,” Laura muttered, shaking her head. “I don’t know what to say. I was expecting you to be traumatized and tell me that he’s a brute.”

“No, not at all.” I reached up, brushing a strand of my hair out of my face. “I think we’re going to be fine.”

“That’s good to hear, but I still don’t trust him as far as I can throw him.”

“Well, I’ll take care of him if he does anything stupid, don’t worry.” I stood up, stretching and letting out a loud sigh. “Now, I don’t know about you, but I’m starving.”

***

Julian was the obvious enemy, but Laura and I found a secondary villain in the witch that the Reckless Stalkers had hired to perform the mating ritual.

When we left the cabin after lunch and spotted her out in the open, the blue-haired witch had frozen in her tracks, looking terrified. Laura snarled beside me, and I was sure she was going to shift right then and there.

“Not so tough now that I’m not tied up, huh?” she yelled, taking off after the witch. The woman yelped and ran in the opposite direction, and I grabbed Laura by the arm, stopping her.

“Laura, don’t. There has to be some reason that she’s still here.”

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