Page 20 of Bullied Pregnant Mate (Silver Meadows Wolves #7)

For the next week, I live in a kind of wonderland. A place where only Alisa and I exist. A place with no worry, no responsibilities, and no shame.

I decide to spoil her as much as I can, taking her shopping every afternoon until she has a new wardrobe of designer clothes, extremely expensive jewelry, and luxury cosmetics. She’s shy at first, but as I encourage her to splurge, she slowly gets more confident about asking for what she wants.

As I wake with her in my arms after a full week in the hotel, I realize I’ve become so accustomed to the new routine, I barely remember my old one. I don’t even miss the house.

What was keeping me there? Nothing. I don’t know if I even care about my brother, father, or pack. I have Alisa, and maybe that’s all I need. We could run away together, and never come back.

Even though it’s a nice idea, I know Alisa wouldn’t just leave her friends. With a long, defeated sigh, I accept the fact that I’d also feel bad for running out on my pack. I can’t just disappear.

I don’t feel at home with them, but they are still my family. One of the reasons my wolf hurts so much is because we need the pack. I have to do anything I can to be part of it, or that ache will never leave me.

My heart only needs Alisa, but my soul still has the cravings of a wolf. The mate may be everything to a wolf, but without a pack, any wolf is lost.

I roll over in bed, grabbing my phone to scan the code by the bed and bringing up the room service menu. Ordering breakfast every morning without even getting up is definitely something I could get used to.

Although, I do miss our routine of having breakfast together in the kitchen. It was just starting to become a thing with us, then we had to leave.

Alisa stirs as I finish the order, and I put my phone down to wrap my arms around her.

“Hmm, did you order breakfast?” she whispers.

“Yes.”

“Waffles?”

I chuckle softly. “Yes. And fruit, and pastries.”

“Coffee?”

“Yes, my love.”

She giggles, snuggling into my chest. “Sorry if I’m too demanding, but it’s all your fault. You made this monster, so you have to deal with it.”

“I had no idea monsters were so cute,” I say, bopping her nose gently with my finger. “If I knew, I would have started making them a lot sooner.”

Something flickers in her pale eyes, and her smile falters. Before I can ask what’s wrong, there’s a knock on the door.

“That’s breakfast,” I say, getting up. “Wait here, m’lady.”

“I sure will,” she answers, grinning. “Hurry back.”

I open the door for the attendant, tipping him once he’s brought in all the trays. He practically bows to me before heading back down the hall with a jaunty step.

They must be fighting over who comes to my room. A whole week, and I haven’t slowed down with tips. My accountant is going to kill me.

I take the trays into the bedroom, where Alisa is sitting up, watching cartoons. Over the past week, we’ve discovered we actually have a lot in common. One of them is goofy adult cartoons.

“What are we watching?” I ask, putting her tray down in front of her.

“ Ugly Americans . It’s really old, and it only got one season. It’s really good, though.”

“Oh, I know this one. I’ve only seen one episode, though.”

“Well, prepare to be educated,” she says, grinning at me.

I feel so much lighter here. Like I can actually be my true self. I know this is all an illusion, though. Sooner or later, we’ll have to go back.

“What did you want to do today?” Alisa asks, stroking my arm as she rolls over in bed. “Do you want to go out, or stay in bed all day?’

“Hmm… how would we entertain ourselves if we stayed in bed?” I tease, tapping my chin.

“I have no idea,” Alisa says, blinking with wide-eyed innocence. “I was hoping you could suggest something.”

I lean down and kiss her very gently. “I thought you wanted some time to recover from yesterday?”

She chuckles a little. “I meant the hangover, not the sex.”

“It wasn’t my idea to have champagne for breakfast.”

“I didn’t hear you complaining.”

I kiss her harder, ready to push her back down on the bed and take her again. She kisses me back, but then she pulls away a little and reaches for her coffee.

“Damn. I was getting lucky,” I grumble.

“You’re nonstop lucky, all the time,” she says, winking at me. “And you know it’s only a matter of short time until I need your cock again, so don’t you dare pout at me.”

“I can’t help it,” I say, definitely pouting. “You shouldn’t be so hot.”

“Oh, okay, I’ll stop then.”

“Don’t you fucking dare.”

She giggles as she takes another sip of coffee, and again, I slip into the fantasy of never going back home.

This moment is so perfect… why can’t this be our life? She’s come out of her shell here, teasing me, loving me, having so much confidence… is this the woman she’s always been?

“I could go out, actually,” she says. “I don’t know about more shopping, though. I’ve already got a ton of stuff to take home.”

“I’m pretty sure we’ve hit every shop in a ten-mile radius, too,” I say wryly. “There can’t be much left in Silver Meadows to buy after the damage we’ve done.”

“Thank you, Jenks,” she says, looking up at me with sudden seriousness. “You didn’t have to spoil me like this. Really, your love is more than enough. But… it has been very nice.”

I laugh, sitting down beside her. “I’m glad I made you happy. What good does my money do, just sitting in the bank? Of course I want to spend it on you.”

She leans against my chest. I just enjoy the moment, the warm weight of her against my chest and the delicate smell of her hair.

I love you.

I know she can hear my unspoken thoughts, almost all the time. It isn’t scary at all, and I even hope she can see straight into my heart.

Then she’ll truly know how sorry I am. If she sees it in my heart, it will mean more than any words I could ever say.

“Let’s go for a hike,” she suggests. “Just a short one, nothing too strenuous. What do you think?”

“Sounds like a great idea,” I answer. “I’m going to find some clothes, if you want to finish breakfast first.”

“Almost done, anyway,” she says, sipping her coffee.

I hunt down my bags and find some clothes that are suitable for being out in the snow. Luckily, I went completely overboard with the shopping and have plenty of clothes to choose from—suitable for anything from hiking to a formal dinner.

What I said to Alisa was true—I barely spend my money. I should do something with it. Something that makes a difference.

Before I can think too hard about it, Alisa calls out that she’s ready to go. When I see her in tight ski pants and a big fluffy jacket, my desire for her peaks again.

“You look amazing,” I whisper, shaking my head.

“You think I look amazing no matter what I wear,” she points out with a giggle.

“It’s a theory we should test. Quick—get your clothes off right now.”

Alisa gives me a playful shove. “Then what?”

“Then I very carefully examine you for signs of hotness, and carefully contemplate how every inch of your skin looks insanely good no matter what you’re wearing.”

“Sounds boring.”

“Not to me. It sounds absolutely captivating from my perspective.”

“I’m sure it does, but what am I supposed to be doing while this is going on?”

“Drinking champagne,” I say, stroking her hair. “Eating chocolate. Maybe rubbing lotion on your skin?”

“Okay, this is starting to sound pretty sweet.”

“Do you still want to go out?”

“Unfortunately, yes,” she says, laughing. “I just need some fresh air.”

“Lead on, then.”

I follow Alisa out to the elevator, enjoying the sight of her tight butt in the snug ski pants. When we get to the lobby, a lot of employees wave at us. I wave back, a little bashfully.

I’m going to be a damn celebrity in this place if I don’t watch out.

Once we get outside, Alisa goes in the direction of the snow lifts, but turns towards the trees instead of going to the slopes. I catch up with her and take her hand, enjoying the silence of the woods and the crisp, icy air.

We walk for a short way into the woods until we come to a little clearing. Alisa sits down on a stump, looking up into the cloudy sky. I sit next to her and take her hand, and to my surprise, I sense a deep, aching loneliness within her.

“What’s wrong, my love?”

She sighs, looking away. “I don’t really want to bring it up.”

“Why? You can tell me anything.”

“I don’t know… I kind of feel like it’s already been addressed. Maybe I don’t have to say anything else.”

“Alisa,” I say, turning her towards me. “Tell me what’s wrong, please.”

She blinks slowly, and inside, I feel her walls coming down. After just thinking about how I wanted her to see right into me, as deeply into my heart as it was possible to go, it’s almost frightening that she is now doing exactly that.

Shards of pain ripple through her, images from her past pierced by ugly words and actions. As I let myself fall into her memories, I suddenly see my own face.

Every day of her young life, I’m there, making fun of her. Hurtful words, nasty pranks. It’s like I never left her alone.

“I’m so sorry,” I whisper. “Please, Alisa, please forgive me.”

“I have,” she says. “Can you see that?”

We turn to face each other, and she opens her heart even more. I take her hand and put it on my chest, right over my heart.

“See into me,” I almost beg her. “See how much I’ve hated myself for this.”

She closes her eyes, nodding slowly. I open my heart as much as I can, showing her all the vulnerable parts of myself I’ve always had to hide. I’ve never felt so much of her pain before, and I can see for the first time just how badly I broke her.

She changed herself for me… she became something else entirely, just to escape my wrath. And even then, it didn’t work.

And the worst thing is, I’d murder anyone who dared to do the same!

“I can see, Jenks,” she says. “I really can. I know how sorry you are.”

“Good, because I honestly don’t know how to explain it to you,” I almost stutter. “I don’t deserve your forgiveness.”

She smiles, and it’s a beautiful, patient expression. “It made me a stronger person, that’s for sure. Most of the resilience—okay, stubbornness—I have now comes from those days.”

“That doesn’t make it any better,” I counter.

“Maybe, but I’m grateful for everything that’s happened, Jenks. And I do mean everything. All of it led me here… to you. I wouldn’t change a single moment.”

Her words strike through me like arrows. There is pain in them, but also love.

More love than I’ve ever known. How can she accept me, when she knows what I am?

I accept you, because I know what you are.

I wrap my arms around her, hugging her tightly. “I’ll never let any harm come to you, ever again,” I whisper in her ear.

“I know, Jenks. I know.”

We stay wrapped together under the cold sky for some time, immersed in each other’s emotions, healing all the scars from our past with each other’s love.