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

Even though Jenks said he’d clean up, I rinse the dishes, stack everything in the dishwasher, and get it started. I want something to keep my hands busy while I try to quiet my thoughts.

It works for a short while, but once the kitchen is tidy, I end up standing at the back doors, staring out across the deck and into the forest. Even though the scene is breathtakingly beautiful, I’m barely paying attention to the snow-dusted trees and dramatic cliffs.

I can’t hide from him in his own house. So long as he understands how I feel, I can be civil to him. It’s just hard.

Forgetting what he did to me is impossible. Years of torture can’t just be erased, and I’ve never forgiven him. Still, I don’t want this to be hell for either of us. And if he’s trying, so should I.

Breakfast was nice. I never expected party-boy Jenks to work so hard at anything—ever.

I was surprised when he asked me to go shopping later, but appreciative. It’s a sign that he really wants me to feel comfortable here. And after last night, I needed to hear it.

Was he being a jerk, like years ago, or was he just locked in an old pattern, clumsily forging his way into this new relationship? He might not know any other way of interacting with people.

A twist of anxiety flickers through my guts. I’m so attracted to him, it would be easy to make up colorful excuses for his behavior and believe them. He might be the same nasty bully from high school, attempting to make nice for his pack, but barely restraining himself from his true nature.

The ugly thought sours my mood, and I turn away from the windows, not even sure where I’m going. I stop by the home theater—a spacious room with four rows of comfy seats facing a wall-sized screen. Even though I love movies, it feels kind of wrong to sit in here by myself.

When I get to the den, I wander up and down the bookshelf, not finding anything that really grabs my attention. When the doorbell rings, my relief is so strong, I get goosebumps.

Thank fucking God.

I hurry out of the den and up the hall to the front door.

It’s funny, I had the thought I couldn’t hide from him in his own house—but the place is so huge, I probably could.

When I open the door and see Gina, Amanda, and Lucy, I hurl myself into their arms, squeezing everyone in a four-way group hug.

“I’m so glad to see you!” I exclaim, my voice muffled by somebody’s hair.

“It can’t be that bad,” Amanda replies, untangling herself. “It’s only been one night.”

“You should have seen my house after one night with Peter,” Lucy says with a low whistle. “It was pretty devastating.”

“So I heard,” Amanda answers with a grin and a wink. “And that all turned out okay.”

“Come in, please,” I say, grabbing Amanda’s hand and practically dragging the girls inside. “I can’t thank you enough for coming over, really.”

“I wanted to make sure you were settling in,” Gina replies. “It’s important that Jenks is committed to his role in the pack.”

At that moment, I’m reminded that she’s the luna, and this marriage is not entirely about me or the coven. Jenks is a wolf. By marrying him, I’ve also become a part of his pack.

Does that mean I’m supposed to bow or something?

“Come on,” Gina says, smiling at me. “We’ll help you take down the decorations from yesterday, and you can tell us how it’s going.”

My nervousness returns. I haven’t really dealt directly with the pack before. Knowing Jenks is at an official meeting makes me even more jumpy.

What if he fails? If he turns on his old party-boy personality and can’t do what’s been asked of him, what happens to us?

We take some snacks and iced tea with us out to the deck, where we unwind streamers from the edge of the roof. Then, we take down the flower wreaths hanging around the edges of the pool and barbecue area. With the three of us all helping, the job doesn’t take long, and soon we’re stretched out on deck chairs, enjoying the biscuits and tea.

“It’s so nice and warm out here right now,” Gina says, tilting her head up to the sun. “This house has always gotten amazing light.”

“It’s pretty fancy,” I say. “Who built it?”

“Our great-great-grandfather would have put up the foundations. Back then, it was a decent-sized cabin. I think the end of the west wing still has the original frames. The rest of it is fairly new.”

“Who liked to party?” Lucy asks, tilting her glass to finish off her iced tea.

“Our great-grandma,” Gina smiles. “She started small renovations when she was young, and then in her mid-twenties, she hit some kind of wealth—I’m not sure how, but my mom might know—and then she renovated it up to what you see now. The house is to be passed down to each generation and never sold. It was a condition in her will.”

“How did Jenks end up living here by himself?” I ask. “It’s such a huge place. Isn’t there any other family to share it with him?”

Gina looks troubled, a frown darkening her eyes. “Jenks’s mom, Minette—my mom’s sister—never told anyone who his father was. She inherited the house when she was very young, and she lived out here with Grandma before she had to move closer to town for doctor’s appointments and things like that. Minette was mostly alone out here, but she did have girlfriends who stayed frequently. The place got a reputation for pack parties when my grandma was still in her younger years, and even though Minette kept up traditions, the place felt incredibly empty all the time.”

I’m so focused on Gina’s story, my glass slips out of my hand when she stops talking. Lucy sits up and points at it, and just after the glass hits the deck and shatters, it reforms itself and rolls over to my feet.

“Stop showing off,” Amanda chides.

“This from the woman who charmed the roof streamers into snakes so they’d come down to us?” Lucy points out.

“You didn’t want to climb up there, did you?”

“Point taken.”

“Go on, Gina, please,” I press, wanting to hear more about her and Jenks’s childhood. She sits up and takes off her sunglasses, looking at me with her beautiful, dark blue eyes.

A lot like Jenks’s… I wonder if they are the same as their grandmother’s.

“I don’t know all the details. My mom was upset with her sister a lot. Minette didn’t seem to have loyalty to the pack, and her behavior was erratic. She started staying away for weeks at a time. Nobody even knew she was pregnant until she was almost due.”

“Who is his father?” I ask, trying to hide my shock.

Of all the things I imagined about Jenks, I never guessed any of this.

“No one knows,” Gina answers, shrugging. “Minette never told anyone. After she had Jenks, she kept him isolated up here. When he first started school, he was an incredibly shy, quiet kid. So socially awkward that he could barely function. Then one day, instead of hiding from the taunts and laughter, he started laughing, too. From that moment on, he was the class clown.”

This information strikes me right in the heart. I can clearly imagine the skinny little kid standing in the classroom, getting laughed at by everyone in the room and learning his only defense was to purposefully become the joke.

I wasn’t at the same school until a few years later. By then, he was already party-boy Jenks.

“My mom tried to intervene,” Gina says, sighing. “As she always does. She took him in after school and invited him over on weekends, trying to give him a normal life. But Minette went absolutely nuts over this. She demanded Jenks stay with her and not interact with the pack.”

“Jesus,” I mutter. “What the hell was wrong with her?”

Gina shakes her head. “I don’t know. Maybe my mom does. The only thing we know for sure is that the second Jenks turned twenty-one, Minette signed the house over to him and left town.”

Deep in my chest, a fierce, sharp ache throbs, almost making me cry. I’m taken back to moments in my memory when I felt so much love for Jenks, even when he was bullying me. I was confused about it then, but maybe I could sense this pain in him.

Careful. Nothing excuses cruelty.

“Poor guy,” Lucy says, shaking her head. “Does he know who his father is?”

Gina shrugs and doesn’t say anything. I want to ask a billion questions. I never had a single clue about Jenks’s upbringing, but I’m starting to feel like I’m invading his privacy.

Gina has admitted she only knows what she heard from her parents, and rumors. None of that is trustworthy information. If I want the truth, I’ll have to ask Jenks.

“Hey, girls,” Jenks’s voice carries across the deck from the back doors. I jump in my seat a little.

Did he hear us?

“Hey, Jenks,” Gina greets, smiling at him. “How was the meeting?”

“Good,” he answers, smiling. “No problems. I was just wondering if Alisa wanted to go out shopping. But if you girls are busy, it can wait.”

“No, I think we’re done,” Lucy says. “What do you think, Alisa? Do you want us to hang around a bit longer?”

“No, it’s okay,” I answer, feeling conflicted despite my words. “I’d like to go shopping with Jenks.”

I’m not exactly ready to be alone with him, but I can’t keep the girls here for the rest of our lives.

We say our goodbyes and go our separate ways, the girls piling into Gina’s little car and waving as they pull out of the driveway. After they’ve gone, Jenks opens the door of his black Mercedes for me,

“M’lady,” he says, bowing.

I smile in spite of myself. “You’re too kind,” I answer in a faux-lofty tone.

He chuckles as he shuts the door and goes over to the driver’s side.

I knew he was rich, but I didn’t realize he was fucking loaded!

“Where would you like to go?” he asks, starting the car. “It’s totally up to you.”

“We’ll just start at the supermarket,” I reply. “I don’t need anything fancy.”

He nods and pulls out onto the road. The silence stretches out, and even though I try to keep the question in, eventually it just bursts out of me.

“Jenks, how are you so rich?”

He chuckles. “Well, for a start, the whole family is. From Grandma. You know who built the house, right?”

“Yeah… but doesn’t Bae work at the sporting goods store? Why would he need to do that?”

Jenks laughs. “He owns it. Built it from the ground up with his share of family money.”

“Oh,” I say. “I understand. But you still seem to have more than the others.”

Jenks doesn’t answer for a moment and stays quiet for so long that I think he isn’t going to answer. When he finally speaks, it startles me.

“My mom,” he almost whispers. “She’s a musician, a singer and songwriter. She played in town a little when she was young, but she was really self-conscious about performing publicly. She recorded albums and music videos at home—there’s a whole studio set up next to the ballroom. She sold her songs, and albums, for ridiculous amounts of money.”

“Wow, okay. I never knew you were so interesting, Jenks.”

“I’m not,” he chuckles. “I haven’t done a damn thing with my life.”

I want to say something reassuring, but words fail me. Luckily, we pull into the parking lot, and I can change the subject without being too awkward.

As we grab a shopping cart and go through the front doors, we immediately see Lena, Jack, and their son, Gray. “Hi, newlyweds!” Lena chirps, hugging me. “Great to see you. Everything’s going good so far, I hope?”

Jenks grabs my hand and squeezes it. In that moment, I realize, we have to look like a perfect team when we’re in public.

If I’m all frosty like I was this morning, it could go badly for him in the pack.

“Yep, all good,” I answer, leaning on Jenks a little. Jack smiles his approval as we pass each other and Jenks and I go to the first aisle.

“Thanks,” Jenks says to me quietly. “I’ve got patrol tonight, and I'd rather not answer questions about how our marriage is going.”

“No problem,” I answer, giving his hand a squeeze.

I want to elaborate, but my feelings are a mess. My old arousal and strong feelings for Jenks have resurfaced, and now there’s a heavy element of sorrow for how he was brought up. Mixed in with this, I still have fear, caution… and blame.

I can’t help it. The bullying was so brutal. It’s not like I can just forget it.

“What do you think of these?” Jenks asks, grabbing a pack of triple chocolate chip biscuits.

“I’m definitely a chocolate lover,” I say. “But I prefer butter chocolate chip.”

“Let’s get both,” he says, grabbing a few packets. “What do you want for dinner?”

“I was thinking lasagna.”

Jenks crumples his face up. “Not my favorite thing. I’d love a steak.”

“Ew!” I giggle. “I’m not vegan or anything, but I don’t enjoy huge slabs of meat, either.”

“This marriage is off to a great start,” he jokes, face-palming himself and shaking his head.

“Could be worse,” I answer. “I could be into something gross, like octopus.”

“Now that I could not live with,” he laughs. “Finally, we agree!”

I laugh along with him, enjoying his antics as we walk through the aisles.

It’s nice to be in on the joke, and not the subject of it.

When we get to the register, I’m surprised to see my old friend Elaine at the counter.

“Well, hey, you!” I exclaim, leaning over to hug her. “How come I’ve been in town all this time, but I haven’t seen you?”

“I’ve been laying low,” she says, winking. “Always up to no good.”

“Come on, seriously,” I laugh. “Silver Meadows’s not that big. Weren’t you going to model or something?”

“I was,” she agrees. “But it turned out to be too much work. I like doing the bare minimum as a check-out girl, then goofing off all night.”

“That does sound like you,” I tease, helping Jenks stack and load the groceries.

“So,” Elaine says, cocking an eyebrow. “How is life, as newlyweds?”

Suddenly, I remember how much Elaine likes to gossip. It was a running joke in high school that if you wanted to send out a public announcement, you told Elaine—and also told her it was a secret.

“It’s great,” Jenks says, wrapping his arms around my waist. I try hard not to jump, instead leaning back against his chest.

“Couldn’t be better,” I agree, snuggling against him.

“Aw, that’s so cute!” Elaine squeals, ringing up the groceries. “I never pictured the two of you together, but it looks like it’s really working out.”

“It sure is,” Jenks agrees, running his hands over my waist. Still leaning against him, I turn and reach up to stroke his cheek. When he looks down at me with his big, blue eyes, I run my hand down his chest, letting my fingers rest against his heart.

“Okay, lovebirds,” Elaine giggles. “Pay for your groceries and go get a room.”

“Oh, we will,” Jenks says, pulling out a card and letting go of me. I grab the cart and start pushing it out towards the parking lot, trying to stay calm.

My skin is singing at his touch, all the places he touched me burning with arousal. I try to focus on loading the car, but all I can think about is his hands on me.