Page 27 of Bullied Pregnant Mate (Silver Meadows Wolves #7)

Sitting by the long windows that line the deck, I enjoy the crisp alpine air blowing down from the mountains, bringing the fresh scent of pine and newly fallen snow. I snuggle baby Tahlia a little closer to my chest, pulling my shawl over her so she doesn’t catch a chill. Behind me, Jenks is singing as he cooks breakfast, his robust voice rising and falling in a silly, made-up melody.

“Are you done crooning to the sausages?” I call out. “Or should I stay out here and enjoy the air a bit longer?”

“Almost done, my love!” he replies. “I think I need to sweet-talk the eggs a bit, but otherwise, breakfast is ready.”

I head inside, leaving one of the back sliding doors open so we can enjoy the early morning sun as well as the fresh air.

“You’ve outdone yourself, Jenks,” I remark, sitting down at the table.

“You know I go to great lengths to please my girls, especially when they’re hungry.”

“That is true, but I was referring to your song. I’ve never heard a ballad to bacon before.”

He chuckles as he brings platters over to the tables. “I don’t know what to say. The words just come to me. It’s like there’s music in everything I do, and I have to sing with it.”

“Did you hear back from the record company?”

“I sure did. He wants me to send in a few more of my tapes. I believe their exact words were, ‘I have never before heard such an impressive blend of traditional country tunes and modern electronic sound. The vocals are entirely fresh, with a truly vivacious, ground-breaking energy.’”

“You memorized what they said, didn’t you?” I ask, grinning.

He laughs. “I might have.”

“How long until the others get here?”

“Carla won’t be long, I assume. Even though the party is supposed to start at midday, I know her too well. She’ll have to take over my kitchen at least three hours prior.”

“Oh no.” I let my face fall with mock sorrow. “How will you cope?”

“With extreme difficulty,” he says with resignation. “I shall suffer every moment with woe in my heart as I watch her beat my poor appliances into submission.”

I giggle softly. “I didn’t know the toaster and air fryer had such complicated emotions.”

“You’d be surprised.” He comes over to gently take Tahlia from my arms. “You go ahead and eat. I’ll hold her for a while.”

I’m so caught up watching Jenks hold his daughter that I almost forget to fill my plate. The light in his eyes when he looks at her, and his gentle smile, show me how enchanted he is by his baby daughter.

“Hi,” he whispers to her, wiggling his fingers above her face. Tahlia giggles and tries to catch them, so he dives his hand down to tickle her tummy, making her giggle even more.

Our breakfasts together are almost a sacred tradition by this point. No matter what else we have to do for the day, we always make sure to leave at least an hour free in the mornings. It never fails to remind me of that very first day he served me breakfast in this kitchen, when he was so eager to please me, he was practically falling over his feet.

Life has gotten so busy, it’s not always easy to find the time. Jenks has spent months in training with the young wolves, sometimes working a crazy schedule as the others condition him with a wide variety of challenges. He’s become an integral member of the pack, and his touch of witch powers has given him exceptionally well-honed instincts.

I’ve worked with the coven to fully integrate us into the pack, regularly attending meetings and holding gatherings. Some of us have taken up a market stall with Fiona and her traveling stalls, selling small charms and a variety of raw ingredients we prepared in the traditional pagan ways.

I had Amanda and Lucy test Jenks’s powers. Both of them agreed he has some natural talent that had to come from his mother’s bloodline. Since the circumstances of Minette’s parentage aren’t well-known, and still something of a scandal, it’s not something we can openly investigate.

Minette herself promised to return, but so far, she hasn’t. None of us can question her decision after finding out what a rat Jerry was. We still don’t know if he’s dead or alive, or what the aftermath of the battle was like for Decker pack.

“Hellooo!” a cheerful voice calls from the front door. “I’m coming in!”

“It’s open, Carla!” Jenks calls back.

“I can see that,” she chuckles, coming into the kitchen. “Just like the old days—these doors were never closed when Grandma was alive.”

“And they never will be, ever again,” Jenks emphasizes.

Carla leans over and gives him a hug. “Hand over that baby,” she commands. “Your breakfast is getting cold.”

“Well, alright,” Jenks chuckles. “But I have to warn you, she’s a monster.”

“Of course she is,” Carla laughs. “She’s yours!”

While we eat, Gina, Bae, and Jack arrive with Lena and Gray.

“Excellent,” Bae comments as he sits down. “I’m starving.”

“Don’t you dare fill up,” Carla says sternly. “I’m making a huge lunch.”

“I’ll be hungry again,” Bae promises, filling his plate. “You know there’s no end to my stomach.”

“Ah, a grateful man,” Carla says sagely. “A rare creature.”

For a few minutes, everyone focuses on their food, except for Carla, who plays with Tahlia. It isn’t long before I hear more cars pulling up out front.

“Where’s Natalia?” Carla asks.

“Out,” Gina answers with a sigh. “She’s almost a teenager now. She thought a family gathering was boring, and she’d rather go to the movies with her friends.”

“Headstrong, that one,” Carla says. “No idea where she gets it from.”

Boots stomp on the wooden floor as the next crowd of people come through into the kitchen. To my surprise, I see Jen with Rider and Fiona.

“Bailey, can we clear the room a bit?” Rider asks quietly.

“Sure,” Bae answers. “Mother, can you handle it?”

“And you wonder why I still call you alpha pup!” she huffs. “Always doing your dirty work!”

“I’ll help, Auntie Carla,” Caleb offers, coming in behind his mother.

“That’s a good young man,” Carla coos at him. “Come on, let’s sort out the riffraff.”

The room swiftly empties, leaving Bae, Jack, Jen, and Gina sitting with us.

“This sounds serious,” Jenks says in a low voice.

“It is,” Jen says. She looks absently around the room, her eyes glinting with a milky white sheen.

She’s going blind!

“You’re all so interested in the Ancient Ones, then?” she asks us. “You want the word on them?”

“Yes,” Bae answers somberly. “Nate has still kept us waiting. All I know is that they are powerful, and savage. Practically unstoppable. This information is passed down to each alpha, but I don’t know any more than that.”

“Jethro was obsessed with them,” Jen recalls. “He thought if he could find them, he’d rule the territory. He never realized they’d probably crunch him up in one bite.”

“Jen, please, tell us,” Jack implores. “We need as much information as we can get.”

Jen stares out into space, her milky eyes unfocused, her pupils fixed on something none of us can see.

“They are the first wolf shifters,” she finally says. “I don’t know how they came into existence, but there were five original blood wolves. All of us are descended from them.”

“They must be hundreds of years old!” Gina exclaims.

“True,” Jen affirms. “And the tale goes, they were locked into their wolf forms by witches.”

“Why?” I ask, the question out of my mouth before I can stop it.

“I don’t know,” Jen shrugs. “Might have been love gone wrong, or vengeance for some other act, or mercy. I doubt we’ll ever know. But this led to the war between witches and wolves, and the complications in later years where witches thought if they married wolves, they could steal their powers.”

“How do you know this, Jen?” Jack asks.

She whistles, a low, long sound, a lot like mountain wind curling through rocky peaks.

“My sight is going, but my other senses are far keener. It is almost time for me to take the long walk into the snow and become one with the mountain.”

“No, Jen!” Fiona cries. “You deserve to be wrapped up warm in bed for your final days! You don’t have to die like your mother, forgotten in the snow!”

“And I won’t, child. Mother was abandoned before her time, but mine has certainly come.”

“Jen,” Bae urges, “tell us about the Ancient Ones. What do they want, and how do we stop them?”

“They want witch blood,” Jen whispers. “Only the blood of a witch can restore their human form, and once they regain the ability to shift, they will be unstoppable. They have slumbered in the earth for so long, and now they wake to the scent of their enemy.”

“That’s how Kelta won them to her!” Jack cries out. “By promising the blood of a witch!”

“Aye,” Jen agrees, nodding.

“How do we stop them?” Bae demands.

Jen shakes her head. “For that answer, you need to ask the only witch who stood against one, and survived.”

Amanda.

I push my plate away and get up to step out on the deck. The cold wind comforts me, stripping away my fear and doubt.

The mountain is restless. I can’t deny that, but I don’t need to think of ancient curses today.

“Are they done in there?” Carla asks, stepping out from the kitchen. “Time’s getting on, and I have a turkey to cook.”

“I hope so,” I mutter to her before walking down the long deck towards the yard. I’m barely past the stairs when I hear footsteps drumming on the wooden planks, catching up to me.

Jenks.

As he comes up behind me, I turn and face him, laughing as he grabs me around the waist and spins me. His arms wrap tightly around me, and I snuggle against his warm chest, listening for the strong, steady sound of his heartbeat.

“Are you okay?” he asks.

“Yes,” I say. “I just don’t need to hear the serious stuff today. We’re supposed to be celebrating.”

“We could always have a private party,” he says mischievously. “I happen to know there is a bottle of wine chilling in the ballroom, as well as some snacks and big fluffy pillows.”

“Well, how did those get there?” I ask slyly, tapping his nose with my finger.

“Elves,” he says with certainty. “Couldn’t have been anyone else.”

“I guess we better go and see, then,” I laugh. “We wouldn’t want to upset the elves.”

Jenks takes my hand, and we run around the side of the house, giggling like kids. As we come to the edge of the east wing, Jenks lets us through the side door into the huge, tiled ballroom.

“Look at this,” I say, shaking my head. “Those elves were certainly busy.”

“How about getting busy?” he says, running his hands along my waist.

I lean into his touch, pressing my body up against his and sliding my hands up his back. When he leans down to kiss me, I wrap one leg around him, my breath coming fast as arousal builds.

“And I thought I was seducing you,” he gasps. “You’re a siren!”

“Hmm, I do try,” I murmur. “If you’ve got a problem with it, I can stop.”

“Never,” he whispers. “Never stop.”

He kisses me gently, slowly deepening the kiss. I cling to him, leaning back and opening my mouth, inviting him into me as I search for his tongue with mine.

Suddenly, he grabs me around the waist, picking me up and bouncing both of us onto the thick pile of pillows. He lets me go, and I tip over on my back, my legs kicking up into the air.

“Jenks!” I squeal, giggling. “What are you doing?”

“You know exactly what I want to do,” he says, his voice thick with hunger. Before I can sit up, I feel his hands under my skirt, running up my legs and tearing off my panties.

He pushes me down, opening my knees with a firm grip. When his tongue finds my clit, a long moan rips from my mouth. I buck my hips under him, begging for more.

“Good thing this place is soundproof,” he mutters.

“Jenks, don’t talk with your mouth full.”

He laughs softly, leaning down and plunging his tongue into my slick, wet pussy. I feel his hands grab my ass as he slides along the floor, getting a better angle to eat me out with his lips and tongue.

The heat inside me builds until my entire body radiates with pleasure. Every stroke of his tongue and caress of his lips brings new waves of ecstasy, and I writhe under him as the first orgasm crests, breaking me apart under a roaring, red-hot release.

As the climax subsides, I try to remember how to breathe, murmuring soft nonsense as my thoughts flee. Jenks runs his hands up my thighs, lightly digging his fingers into me. The combination of soft touches and hard pressure collide, making me squirm as he brings his mouth back down to my clit.

When he wraps his lips around it and sucks, teasing me with flicks of his tongue, I just go wild. My pussy spasms with deep inner throes of pleasure, the waves cascading across my skin like an onslaught of hot sparks.

When I can finally think again, Jenks’s face is right above mine. He watches me open my eyes, his satisfied smile giving him a truly devilish look.

“I think you’re having fun. You’re having fun, right?” he teases me.

“I think I went off the planet for a bit there.”

“No, you didn’t,” he says very seriously. “You’re right here in my arms, always and forever.”

The intensity in his eyes tugs at my heart, and a great yearning grows inside me as I gaze at him. Reaching up, I pull his face down to mine and kiss him, opening my knees to wrap my legs around his waist. As I deepen the kiss, I thrust and writhe, feeling his hard cock stroking against me with every movement.

With a fierce growl, Jenks pins down my shoulders, kissing me hard as he thrusts his hips forward. I thrash under him, trying to scream through our kiss as the thick, hard length of him slams into me.

He pulls back and looks into my eyes, and even though he’s wild and savage, he’s also the sweetest, most loving soul I’ve ever known.

He kisses me softly once more, then wraps one arm around my shoulders and the other around my waist. I coil around him like a snake, keeping our bodies as tightly wrapped together as possible when he starts to thrust.

He rams me with short, hard strokes that slam me into the soft bed of pillows, slowly getting faster and harder as he grips me even more tightly with every thrust. As he thickens inside me, I feel my body gripping him, clenching, spasming as another massive orgasm explodes through my core and shatters every inch of me.

“Jenks!” I cry, clinging to him as he thrusts so hard and fast, I can barely hold on. “I love you!”

“And I love you,” he whispers against my cheek. “Now, forever, and for all time.”

With those words, I feel his cock harden, filling me almost to the point of pain. When his release finally comes, I climax again, our bodies matched in states of pure pleasure and ecstasy.

I press my cheek to his, wrapping my arms around him, hugging him tight. I never imagined that the boy who hurt me so much had done it because he was running from the pain in his own heart.

And I loved him then, as if I knew—as if I always knew—that there was loss inside him that only I could heal.

“You’ll never be alone again, Jenks,” I whisper against his ear. “Never.”

His arms tighten around me, and he sighs, a sound of pure contentment.

Safe.

“Yes, my love. Safe now, and forever.”

In my arms.

*****

THE END