Page 5 of The Alpha's Forced Pregnant Mate

I took on the larger group—three demons—and it had taken me longer than I thought it would to kill them. By the time I made it back to where I left Bruce, Laura, and Keifer, they had all finished their demons off and were waiting impatiently for me. I knew it was a bad look to show up to a ceremony when the Alpha's wife demanded I attend, but I was sure she'd understand when I explained.

My team, on the other hand, was not thrilled about disobeying Hector and Faye by delivering me late.

"They're going to be pissed," Bruce said as he fell into step beside me, hair blowing back from his face in the breeze.

I shrugged, glancing at him out of the corner of my eye. "It's not my fault demons got close to pack territory. You know what we have to do."

"Of course I do. But that doesn't mean we won't get in trouble for this."

"I'll deal with Hector when I see him," I said firmly. My packmates sighed in unison, but I ignored them. If I could explain to Hector why I was late, then he would understand. It was just that simple.

Laura fell into step next to Bruce. She had dark hair, dark eyes, and tan skin. She was pretty in a delicate way, and all the wolves in the pack treated her like a princess. She hated it and had taken up fighting to make everyone take her more seriously and see her as the threat that she really was. She was a natural, and even though she was tiny she was one of the best fighters I'd ever seen.

"They'll probably just punish you," she said to me. "It's not fair."

"Life isn't fair," I told her, forcing my voice to stay light. I didn't want her to see how upset I was by the fact that she might be right. Faye might have been my friend, but she was also the pack matriarch. She had responsibilities to uphold, and it wasn't a good idea to disobey her. But I was only five minutes late, surely it wasn't a big deal.

We made it to the meadow where the mate match ceremony was traditionally held, and I breathed a sigh of relief seeing that we weren't the last to arrive. I allowed myself to blend into the crowd of late-comers, and I was pretty sure Faye and Hector were too busy to notice me anyway.

I could see the Alpha and his mate hovering around her cauldron, and their special guests watching intently at their sides. Danny and Naomi had traveled all the way from Athens to attend the ceremony to see how it worked before it was implemented in the Red Canine pack. I laughed to myself, thinking about Saul running a mate match ceremony—the male human witch was a different breed than Faye, tattooed and overly serious. He didn't exactly inspire romantic thoughts, and I had a hard time thinking about him fishing out rose petals from boiling water to announce new mates.

Faye, on the other hand, was a natural. I watched as she stirred her cauldron, talking to Naomi and Danny but keeping most of her attention on the match spell. Soon she would pull two petals from the liquid which would have the names of the new mates on them. Faye would read the names, the crowd would cheer for the lovers, and then everyone would disperse. Easy. And once it was done I could explain how close the demons were to the territory, and the bloody fight that had made me late. The sooner it was over, the better.

I glanced around the crowd, surprised at how many people were there. Of course everyone was curious about how the mate match ceremony worked, but it was still odd to see so many people gathered in one spot. Usually, people didn't leave their jobs unless they had to, but with Hector's announcement that the demons were getting closer and more organized, everyone had become restless.

It was a dangerous situation. Demons were already a huge threat to us. We were strong, but we didn't know how many demons were gathering, or if they were in any way organized. We had only been able to deal with small groups of demons attacking secluded areas and lone wolves.

This was something different. This was a demon army, and they were getting bolder. The last thing any of us needed was a war.

Faye stepped forward to speak. Her long hair was pulled back into a braid that reached the middle of her back and she wore jeans and a loose-fitting green blouse. She looked nothing like a witch, but she was powerful, and I'd seen her use her magic for some pretty incredible things.

"Everyone, please!" she called out, waving her hands in the air.

The crowd of wolves and humans fell silent. Hector stood behind her, his arms crossed over his chest, looking every inch the Alpha that he was.

"I know everyone is anxious," Faye said. "I can feel it. But our match ceremonies, our families, and our pups are the core of the Silverfang Creek pack. Our unity makes us strong, and we can't give that up just because of some demonic threat."

People shifted around me, but I stayed where I was. Faye looked up, searching the crowd, and I knew she was looking for me. I swallowed hard. Maybe Bruce was right. Maybe I was going to be punished for being late.

Faye's eyes landed on me and she raised an eyebrow, then gave a short nod of her head. I let out a breath I didn't know I'd been holding, relieved. She understood why I showed up looking like I had been rolling around in the dirt. Or at least she would, once I explained.

"Before I begin," Faye said, looking over the crowd again. "I want everyone to know that even the most unlikely sounding matches can work out. Case in point, Naomi and Danny here, who seemed impossible at first. Now look at them, totally in love and perfectly matched. The spell does not lie." Her gaze rested heavily on me. "Even if we don't like the results at first."

Naomi blushed and looked down, but I could see a smile on her face. Danny pulled her to his side and kissed her temple. I watched them with envy. Their love was so obvious, it was like they were almost glowing. I sighed. I wanted that. I always had. But how was I supposed to have a happily ever after when my mate could be any one of the wolves who had already decided I wasn’t worth pursuing?

"Alright," Faye said, clapping her hands together. "Let's get started. The petals are starting to rise to the surface."

She nodded to Hector, who walked over to stand next to her. He reached out and took her hand, squeezing it before letting go and taking a step back. "I know some of you are concerned about the demons that have been attacking us for the last few months," he said. "And I know some of you are afraid that you will be matched with someone outside of the pack. But the fates know best, and we will not allow the demons to break us."

Hector looked so strong and powerful at that moment. I knew the demons were a threat. I'd fought them many times in my life, and every time they got a little harder to defeat. Now that they seemed to be banding together into one massive army, they were dangerous. Hector had every right to be worried, but he was standing tall and proud, inspiring everyone in the pack to do the same.

My thoughts were interrupted when Faye let out a loud gasp, drawing my attention to her cauldron. She had reached inside and pulled two rose petals from the liquid. One of her hands was cupped around the petals, hiding them from view. I held my breath. Surely, surely she wasn't about to—

I watched Faye's throat bob as she swallowed hard, and her eyes flicked up to meet mine. Her pupils were pinpricks and her chest was rising and falling fast—she was stressed. Panicky, even.

"Who is it?" I asked, the words coming out in a harsh whisper. I wasn't even sure if Faye could hear me, but her eyes dropped down to the petals in her hand before looking back up at me. She shook her head slowly, and I could tell by the way her mouth turned down that whatever name was on those petals, it wasn't one that anyone wanted.

Hector stepped up next to his mate, and Faye looked at him. He placed a hand on her back, rubbing it up and down in a comforting gesture, and nodded to her. She took a deep breath and squared her shoulders, looking back at the crowd.

---