Page 4 of The Alpha's Forced Pregnant Mate

The soft knock at my front door pulled me out of my thoughts, and I sighed before standing up and walking over.

"Yeah, come in," I said, opening the door. My second-in-command, a rogue wolf named James, stepped inside and shut the door behind him. He looked worried, and I knew he was about to drop some bad news on me.

"What's wrong?"

"Naomi and Danny left their territory a little while ago."

Fuck. "How long ago?"

James shrugged. "I don't know, exactly. I talked to my cousin who is still with the Canines. I don't think he meant to tell me, and he shut down when I pushed for information."

Why in the hell would they be leaving when the demon threat was so bad? It was so irresponsible, so dangerous…and also not something I should be concerned about.

"Any idea where they're going?"

"My cousin mentioned that Hector called them out, so I'm assuming Silverfang Creek territory."

I nodded. That made sense, considering Hector was mated to Faye, the powerful Silverfang Creek pack witch. She was probably having premonitions and warning of some sort of attack.

I knew I should be concerned with building my pack and nothing more, but I couldn’t shake the thoughts about the demon attacks. They had been skulking around Reckless Stalker territory, and I was curious what exactly was going on, especially if Hector had called Danny and Naomi out. The Canines were weak and ineffective, but Danny and Naomi were good fighters, and any information they brought back to Hector could prove valuable.

The problem was, how could I get that information?

An idea struck me. It was risky, but the more I thought about it, the more I thought it was worth a shot. If it worked, I’d have the knowledge that Hector had, and maybe even something else to offer him.

The Silverfang Creek pack is full of families, and no matter how well those wolves can fight, they aren't going to want to put those families in danger. The Reckless Stalkers, on the other hand, had no families. If I offered them the protection of my pack to keep Silverfang wolves off the battlefield, I might be able to get what I needed out of Hector.

And what I needed was a witch.

Faye, Hector's mate, was one of the most powerful witches in the country. She had the connections I needed to find a witch willing to join an unproven pack like mine. Wolf witches were nearly impossible to find, but I'd be fine with a human witch. All I needed was someone with enough power to make their spells stick.

Faye had always been a little distant toward me, but if I could convince her that I was here to help, maybe she'd listen.

But would Hector?

I didn't know. Hector had never liked me, and now he hated me after the mess I made with Naomi. But I could make him see reason, I knew I could. And even if I couldn't, the fact was that if my pack could keep their families safe from the demon attacks, then it was worth a shot.

I looked over at James and nodded. "I'm going to go talk to Faye and Hector."

James's face twisted in confusion, and I was surprised. "But they hate you, Julian."

I shrugged. "Yeah, but we're all on the same side here. The demons are the problem, not me."

"But they're going to think you just want information."

"That's because I do." I paused, looking him over. "Look, I have a plan. I'm not going to explain it right now, but it's a good one. I know how to handle Hector and Faye, so you don't need to worry about that. I need you to keep everyone busy here while I'm gone. Do whatever work you can, and if we get word from my contacts about a job, I'll need you to handle it yourself."

James looked like he wanted to argue, but he stayed quiet for a moment before nodding. "Okay. If you say you have a plan, I trust you. Just…be careful, okay? We need you."

I nodded, feeling a little more confident. This plan was risky, but it had the potential to pay off big. I just had to stay focused and remember why I was doing this. The Reckless Stalkers needed a witch, and if I could offer up protection for Hector and Faye's pack in exchange for one, then so be it.

Chapter 3 - Whitney

Faye had told me to arrive at noon. I made it at 12:05, with mud and demon blood on my boots, hoping beyond hope that somehow I would be able to get through the ceremony unseen.

It wasn't even that I thought I looked bad or anything—I knew that I looked good, just not in a way that was appreciated by the male wolves Faye seemed to think were my potential mates. They wanted a clean-cut, flower-smelling woman, not a bloody warrior. But I wasn't going to hide who I was.

My fighting clothes, which consisted of dark jeans and a dark tank top, weren't exactly the best outfit for meeting your future mate. I couldn't help that, though. My team and I had been tracking a small group of demons just outside the Silverfang Creek packlands. The demons had split up and we'd given chase. It was an impromptu hunt, but when we saw demon signs so close to packlands we had no choice but to seek them out.

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