Page 24 of Bullied Pregnant Mate (Silver Meadows Wolves #7)

The words hit me like arrows to the chest. I’m so shocked that for a moment, all I can do is stare down Brad and my father. Two wolves I so desperately wanted to know, and hoped I could trust.

Alisa looks up at me with wide, terrified eyes, but I’m still too frozen to move. I feel stupid as well as incompetent. I knew there were bad vibes from Brad, but instead of going home, I pushed on. I let my heart override my head.

Jerry takes a step forward, and so does Brad. They step out to either side as if they are getting ready to flank me. It’s painfully obvious to me in this moment that I have never been in a fight, and I have absolutely no idea how to combat their moves.

I can’t believe this. They were gunning for Alisa this whole time! They lured me here just to get to her!

Fury grows in me as I think about my last conversation with Brad. He played it cool, like he didn’t know I was connected to the witch in my backyard. I deliberately didn’t tell him, but he obviously knew.

They have been watching my house since the attack. I know it. It’s the only thing that makes sense.

Alisa looks up at me, and I can barely turn my head to look at her. The emotions crashing through me are so powerful and chaotic, I’m frozen by the strain of trying to process them.

Jerry and Brad take another step outwards, Brad towards me and Jerry towards Alisa.

I have to stop them from flanking me!

“Wait!” I yell, stepping forward and shoving Alisa behind me. “What is this?”

I have to stall until I can figure something out! Why the hell did I come out here all alone?

“It should be pretty obvious,” Brad snickers.

“How could you do this to me? You played me, lured me out here, just so you could kill my wife?”

“You married a witch, son!” Jerry yells. “I’m doing you a favor. Just let me have her. Once she’s dead, the spell will be broken, and you’ll be free of her.”

“You’re out of your fucking mind!” I yell back at him.

“I’m speaking from experience,” he says. “Your mother never let go of my heart.”

“Don’t bring that up now,” I growl, my voice deep and guttural. “Do you think talking about her is going to soften me up? I’m beginning to wonder what you did to her that made her so scared of you.”

Jerry’s eyes glint in the bright moonlight, and I see cruelty simmering deep in his soul.

What did he do to her? I thought she kept my father a secret because she was afraid of a scandal… but maybe she was afraid for our lives?

Sadness rips through me. My mother and I parted on such bad terms. I blamed her for everything, and she was protecting me the whole time. I’m seeing her in a whole new light, and she looks strong, determined, and powerful.

Not a flake or a psycho. A damaged, beaten woman trying to protect her son.

“She got away from me before I could really give her what she deserved,” Jerry mutters. “If I had known she was carrying my child, I would have chained her up and never let her go. And I would have raised you myself—the right way.”

Jerry stays where he is on my right, but Brad takes another step closer on my left. Keeping Alisa behind me, I take a step back.

“I’ll come with you right now,” I say. “You can raise me right—I’ll stay with you and listen to you, I promise. Just let my wife go.”

“Sorry, son. That’s not going to work. We came for the witch, and we aren’t leaving without her. Witch blood is a powerful thing to have in these times, and when we bring her in, Decker will be very pleased.”

What the fuck is he talking about?

This sounds like it goes much deeper than what I’ve heard.

“Explain this to me,” I say, trying to stay calm. “Maybe I want in on the deal.”

Both Brad and Jerry laugh, slapping their knees and really letting go. “Oh, oh, son,” Jerry chuckles, practically wiping his eyes. “That’s a good one. But any fool can see how much you love that demon. You won’t be giving her up, no way! I’m going to give you one last chance to get out of the way. I really don’t want to hurt you.”

“And if you take her,” I growl, “what will you do to me? You’ll have to kill me if you want to stop me from coming after you.”

“Oh, we have a plan for that,” Jerry says, folding his arms. “You’ll go to the underground cells with the other traitors. Decker and Kelta have very inventive ways of turning foes back into friends. So far, most of them have become rabid monsters, but we’re refining the technique.”

Somehow, I don’t think he’s just talking about torture.

“Wait—” I say, but Brad cuts me off.

“Enough of this,” he says. He waves his hand, and several wolves emerge from the forest around us.

We’re surrounded! How did I not even notice them?

I feel completely useless, not to mention ridiculously stupid.

I’m not prepared for this. As if a party boy like me could ever hold his own in a real fight!

My heart is sinking, but my fury rises to overcome it. The one and only thing I’m sure of right now is that I will protect Alisa with my life.

I’ll happily go down fighting if she can get away.

The circle of wolves comes in closer, and to my dismay, I recognize some of them. We drank together in the Wizard’s Den, and hunted together as a wild, united force.

They were my friends!

It hurts even more that they did this on purpose, knowing I’d be reluctant to fight my friends. The pain in my heart is so extreme, I can barely breathe, but through it all, my love for Alisa burns brighter than ever.

The energy in the circle around us changes, and I know they are about to attack. I leap forward and shift, throwing my head to the sky and letting out a mighty howl. I know I’m probably too far away for Bae to hear, but I put all my loss and longing into the sound, begging the mountain to carry my voice to my pack.

Give me your favor, old spirits. If not for me, then for my wife, the witch you love so much.

As I look around the circle of wolves, all of them seem to pull back and hesitate. As I spin around, growling and deciding where to pounce first, I realize I’m bigger and stronger than I’ve ever been.

Don’t get confident. I still have no fucking clue how to fight.

I pace a little, daring the others to come at me. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Alisa sinking down on her knees, chanting softly. She looks so lost and vulnerable, I almost turn my back on my enemies to go to her.

But that’s when Jerry springs at me.

As we tumble together, snapping our jaws and trying to tear each other apart, the other wolves close the circle, barking and baying as they urge Jerry on. I twist and writhe, desperately trying to gain the advantage. Even though I’m much bigger and stronger, Jerry is wily, and cruel.

As Jerry closes his jaws on my ruff, I fling myself away, throwing him over me into the circle of wolves. He recovers fast, leaping towards me and almost grabbing my throat. I dance backwards and duck, trying to latch onto him anywhere I can.

Suddenly, Brad jumps me from behind. I howl as I go down, held by the weight of both of them. No matter how hard I struggle, I can’t throw them off.

This was never going to be a fair fight.

I look for Alisa, hoping that she got away. As much as I want her face to be the last thing I ever see, I’m praying that I gave her enough time to run and she’s miles from here, safe with her coven and our pack.

To my horror, I see her standing at the edge of the clearing. She takes a few steps towards me, and a desperate whine tears from my throat.

No! Stay back!

She keeps walking, the rays of the full moon illuminating her, making her skin glow and her hair shimmer like a curtain of shooting stars.

Then I hear it.

The drumming of hundreds of paws.

A howl rips through the silence nearby, and the first wolf I see is Peter. He’s so huge that Lucy is riding on his back.

Another howl sounds on the other side of the clearing. Brad and Jerry are so distracted they release their grip and let me go. Only seconds have passed, but to me, it’s as if time has stood still.

I can hear the rest of my pack charging through the forest, and I don’t wait a second longer. I turn on Jerry, wrestling him to the ground. He howls as I get a firm hold on his ruff and shake him, trying desperately to get to his throat.

All around me, snarls and growls break out, intensifying into loud barks, yips, and howls. The two sides have clashed, and the Decker pack is getting hammered.

Jerry goes limp in my jaws, and I drop him, staring into his eyes as I snarl into his face. I want to kill him, but I also want to know more about my mother.

What did you do to her, you absolute bastard?

Suddenly, Jerry leaps from the ground, going for my throat. I hesitated too long, and he was waiting for me to expose myself. As we go down in a tangled pile, I curse myself for being so stupid.

I have to learn how to fight! I can’t protect my wife or my pack like this.

Howls break out around us, echoing back into the hills. Decker pack are retreating, and Bae’s pack is chasing them down, killing anyone who lingers behind.

I finally manage to get the advantage over Jerry and sink my teeth into his neck. I shake him hard and hurl his body down in a crumpled, bloody heap.

I back away slowly, trembling with shock.

Did I kill him?

Jerry yips, a tiny, plaintive sound, and his body trembles. I’m not sure if I want to finish him off or let him go, but I’m spared the choice.

Behind me, someone screams Alisa’s name. I turn my back on Jerry and run back to the tree line where the witches are gathered.

Jerry is not a threat right now. Bae will decide what to do with him.

My heart aches with sorrow as I run away from my father’s beaten body. I had so much hope in my heart that I could learn about where I came from, fill that hole inside me that never stopped yearning for a real connection.

Now I don’t just have my old wounds to carry. I endangered my wife, my pack, and myself out of blind hope and ignorance.

Burying these feelings as deeply as I can, I shake off the lingering shreds of melancholy.

The only thing that matters is Alisa. She’s the only connection I ever needed, and I was just too blind to see it.

By the time I get to the edge of the clearing, the witches are gathered in a small circle, and I can’t see her anywhere.

Where is she?

As I get closer, I realize she’s in the middle of the circle, and the others are gathered around her. I push my wolf shape harder than I ever have, feeling my body reach new levels of strength and stamina as I overcome the injuries I just sustained.

“Alisa!” I yell once I’ve shifted back to my human shape and reached the circle.

She looks up at me. Our eyes meet for the briefest of seconds before she wavers and collapses all at once like a wooden doll that had its strings cut.