Page 36 of The Alpha's Forced Pregnant Mate

"Of course. We won't say anything about this for now. But eventually, he's going to notice that you're pregnant."

"I know, I just…need a little time to think."

She nodded. "Okay, let's go." She reached over and took my hand, squeezing it. "You've got this, I promise."

I returned her smile, but it was just for show.

I really wished I could believe her.

Chapter 14 - Julian

When I returned from the delivery—a massive load of guns—I was immediately on edge that Whitney wasn't at the cabins. I'd had my wolves reporting back to me about her location, what she was doing, and anything else that might be important while I was gone. But after looking into her cabin and seeing that all of her and Laura's things were still there I relaxed and decided to use the time she was away to convene with my pack.

We hadn't gotten a chance to really talk since Whitney arrived, especially with half of the pack gone on the Silverfang Creek patrols. I didn’t look forward to having to have the meeting a second time when the patrols switched out, but I supposed that was one of the downsides of being an Alpha—doing things over and over again.

I needed to discuss the future of the pack with them now that I had a mate. A no-name she-wolf from any other pack wouldn’t change things much, but the Silverfang’s head demon hunter? Whitney’s presence was going to shake things up, so I had to get ahead of things and control it all.

I gathered the members of the pack that weren’t on the patrols—Claudio, Ethan, Tanner, and Rick—in the largest cabin, where we normally had our meetings. The air was tense when they arrived, and I watched them file into the room without a word. I leaned against the wall beside the door, letting them take their seats around the large, round table in the middle of the room.

When everyone was seated, I let out a slow breath. “As you all know, things are changing,” I said, looking around at them. “My mating with a Silverfang has changed everything for us. Before I tell you how it’s going to go, I want to hear your concerns.”

I braced myself for the questions and anger that was sure to follow, but I was surprised when everyone looked around at each other and then looked down at the table.

I frowned, crossing my arms over my chest. “Well? Come on. No one has anything to say?”

“No, Alpha,” Ethan spoke up. “We just want to know what this means for the pack.”

“Nothing has changed, as far as I’m concerned.”

“Except your mate is from a rival pack,” Tanner pointed out, leaning forward so his eyes were oddly in shadow. “And this is looking a hell of a lot like what happened with the Canines. A Silverfang mate making the Alpha go soft. Not that you’ve gone soft yet, Alpha, but—"

“I am not soft, and I never will be.” I clenched my jaw. “I know how to run a pack. Whitney is going to be a positive thing for us, not a negative.”

“I hear you,” Tanner continued, “But I just can’t believe that a Silverfang, especially one like Whitney, would be okay living in a place like this and taking part in all of our under-the-table dealings, if you catch my drift. They are all goody-two-shoes. Naomi fucked up Danny completely, and she was a lamb compared to Whitney.”

I bristled, my wolf growling within me. I’d been holding onto a tight leash since I came back to find my mate missing, and I was getting tired of playing nice. If these wolves didn’t fall into line soon, I was going to have to make some examples.

“Let me make myself clear,” I said, pushing off of the wall and stalking toward the table. “Whitney will become a member of this pack and live here because that’s what we do with our mates. We’ll figure out her position in the pack later, but it’s important that she stays.”

“Why?” Ethan asked, frowning at me. “You could have any number of mates from any number of packs. What makes her so special? Why are you so insistent that it’s her? I get that there was the mate match ceremony, but we’ve all heard her say she wants to go back to her old pack.”

Even the idea of taking a different mate made me want to throw the table across the room. There was no one for me but Whitney. No one. But they’d never understand. “Because she’s strong, and respected, and her reputation will make us more powerful,” I said, looking around at them. “That’s what this pack is about, right? Getting respect and power? I don’t want us to be this small, scraggly pack forever. Other packs will take us more seriously if I have Whitney at my side, and wolves that might have been interested in joining before will be more likely to, especially women.”

Tanner smirked. “Are you telling us that you’re trying to fuck your way to the top of the Alpha wolf hierarchy?”

I snarled, leaning forward and gripping the edge of the table. “Careful. I’m your fucking Alpha, Tanner, don’t make me remind you of it.”

“I’m just saying…” he trailed off, shrugging.

“And I’m just saying that we need to start thinking about how we’re going to change this pack into something bigger and better.” I straightened up, crossing my arms over my chest again. “Nothing is going to change immediately, but gun and drug running can only get us so far. We have to scrape out a place among the East Coast packs. Whitney is the first step in that direction.”

Claudio, who had been quiet thus far, finally spoke up. “You’re sounding more and more like Danny, Man. I know you don’t want to hear that but I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t speak up.”

I growled, gritting my teeth together. “I am nothing like Danny. Don’t you dare say that again.”

“All I’m saying is his mate came along and everything changed.” Claudio shrugged, leaning back in his chair. “I get where you’re coming from, I really do. We need more wolves to make us stronger, and female wolves in particular. And there’s no denying that a mate from a big-name pack is going to make us seem more powerful than we actually are, but you have to understand that they’re going to have an expectation of what you’re going to be like as an Alpha.”

“I know, that’s why I’m telling you all that things are going to change,” I snapped, irritated with the entire situation. Fed up, I stood quickly, my chair flying backward. “Look, if any of you have an issue with this, challenge me. Right now. Show that you’ve got what it takes to lead.”

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