Page 17 of Her Bully Alpha (Honeycomb Valley Alphas #1)

I glanced at Sam as I parked the car. We were in front of the town hall, where a party was put together to celebrate Sam's news. Word traveled quickly after we told the Council. It was just the next morning that she was getting phone calls from people she didn't even know, congratulating her.

I remembered her looking at me confused and asking how in the world they even got her number. I'm sure the Council gave it out, which irritated me. Shouldn't we have been the ones that decided who knew about this? Shouldn't we have been able to share the news?

We had both dressed up. Sam was wearing a deep navy blue dress with shimmer in it. She'd paired it with black heels and a small black purse. I had worn a nice pair of dress pants and a navy blue shirt to match her. I had combed my hair and shaved.

"How is your stomach doing?" I asked, knowing I found her in the bathroom most mornings. She had a pretty terrible case of morning sickness, which I was hoping would end soon.

She shrugged. "It's fine. It's only the mornings that it's been bothering me."

I looked back at the town hall, seeing the packed parking lot. There were more people here than I expected.

We both got out, and she linked her arm with mine as we headed inside. I held her arm tightly, watching her as we headed inside. I knew Sam wasn't a big fan of large parties or events.

As we got inside, I was stunned to find the place was packed. But more surprised to see Henrik waiting by the doors. He had his arms crossed as he leaned against the wall, his eyes on his sister.

"Sam!" he yelled her name, and Sam tensed up as she spotted him. "I heard about the great news. Though I would like to know why I didn't get told by my sister instead of through the grapevine."

Sam cringed as she offered her brother a smile. "In my defense, we weren't going to tell people until we were ready."

Henrik walked towards us and scowled. "I'm not like most people. I'm your brother. I'm a little hurt. How long have you known this?"

Sam swallowed. "A while." He reached out and pulled Sammy into a tight hug. "Just because I'm hugging you doesn't mean I'm happy. I'm still mad but can't stay mad when it's your special day. My little sister, the magic welder." He tightened the hug and squeezed Sam. I tensed up, staring at her stomach.

"There isn't a lot of welding going on," she grumbled in response. "And this." She waved her hand around the space. "Is a bit much. I don't need a party for this."

"It's not," Henrik said, shaking his head as he broke the hug. "And I planned this, so it's not. This is exciting news, Sam. This is great news for the pack and you guys as a couple. I'm sure even Jay can't argue that."

I couldn't. It was good news, and it looked good to both of us. And the pack as a whole. Having an Alpha married to a magic user was strong and concrete.

Henrik squeezed Sam's arms and chuckled. "Put on a good face, and smile. People are going to be congratulating you all day. You always said you wanted to be in my shoes. Well, here you are."

Sam grumbled, and Henrik smirked, clearly proud of himself.

We all turned and headed inside the event room, and we found the space decorated. There was a table of gifts and a couple of tables filled with food. Sam leaned towards me and whispered, "I'm pretty sure this is a bigger deal than our wedding."

I couldn't help the laugh that broke free; everyone seemed to turn to us. Sam tensed up, and I felt her nails dig into my arm.

"The guest star has arrived!" Henrik yelled, and Sam looked at me like she wanted to barf. I patted her hand, reassuring her.

We made our way around, accepting each person who stopped us. People asked how she figured it out, and instead of going with we were making out at her brother's house, we decided to go with another story.

"We were just chatting, and I felt it. We broke a glass on the counter," Sam said, putting on a smile.

"Wow," A group of people listening to the store looked amazed at her. "That must have been so cool to find out."

Sam smiled, and I could see it was genuine. She had felt something when she found out she had the ability to weld magic.

"It's been a hassle to figure it out, but I'm sure we will in no time. We've been doing a lot of research and practicing."

I held back a smirk. Practicing, sure, fucking was part of that.

The group nodded in agreement with her. I tightened my hold on Sam, knowing the groups weren't exactly her thing and certainly not one that revolved around her. I could feel her nervousness, and every once in a while, her nails would tighten on my shirt.

As close as I had her against me, she was leaning away from me, leaving a little gap between us. I disliked it. I felt she was pulling away from me, and she'd been doing it since she showed me the pregnancy test.

I understood why. The plan had been to only have Sam around until she got pregnant. Not that we had really spoken about what we all wanted. But from the Council's point of view, she was only needed until we had a child. And now that she was, she was free to do what she wanted. But why did it feel off? Why was I unsatisfied with everything?

This was exciting news for us, yet it felt off. I wanted to hold her tightly and look forward to each step this meant for us. But what did it mean?

"You must have been relieved," a gal said to Sam.

Sam raised her eyebrows slightly. "Relieved? I guess I don't understand why I would feel that."

The gal shrugged. "You're married to the Alpha. A human and an Alpha are just…well, they don't fit. But a magic welder and an Alpha. Well, that's a no-brainer. They would make it. They would be a couple to look up to, a couple you don't screw with."

The rest of the group nodded in agreement. "It changes things. I'm sure you guys planned to part ways once you finished having children. Is that still the case?"

Sam's smile slipped away, and her lips formed a straight line. "Oh," she said softly.

I curled my hands into fists, disgusted with them. Did they really think Sam was a different person because she had the ability to use magic? Like that minor difference changed her?

Sam was the same person. She was soft and sweet. She was caring and understanding. Yet she wasn't someone you wanna fuck with. She held her ground and knew what she wanted. They act like her having magic made her worthy of me, but she had always been worthy of me.

"If you don't mind me asking," Sam tilted her head at the girl who said the remark. "What do you do?"

"I'm a stay-at-home mom," the woman remarked, smiling and proud of the comment.

"And what does your husband do?"

She looked at Sam, confused by the question. "He's a business owner and runs a construction company."

Sam nodded her head. "So, he must have been relieved when you started bearing children? Otherwise, you were just a woman, right? Without children, you're not worthy?"

The woman's face froze, and Sam held a calm expression as she looked at another. "And what do you do?"

A man standing next to her stiffened before he answered. "I'm an accountant."

She nodded. "And I imagine you work closely with humans, correct? Would you rather work with a newly appointed accountant who was a shifter to look over your work, or would you rather have a human who's been working for twenty years look it over?"

The man shifted on his feet, clearly uncomfortable.

"Kind of goes against your statement, doesn't it?" she asked, looking back at the first woman. "Thinking humans aren't worthy or that magic changes me entirely."

"We didn't mean it that way," the gal quickly tried to say.

"Maybe not, but that's how it came out," Sam said. "If you'll excuse us, we have others to chat with." Sam tugged on my arm, and I went with her as we walked away from the group.

"Sam," I softly whispered to her, trying to pull her closer.

She ground her teeth together, and I could see tears building in her eyes. "Please don't," she whispered. "I'm trying to look like a strong person, and if you say anything, I will cry. So, don't."

"Do you want to leave?"

"We can't, it's my party." She took a deep breath in and shook her head. "I'm fine."

I followed Sam along with each person who stopped us. Everyone was eager to ask about the stories and her visions. Sam clearly grinned and bore the entire event.

Sam sat in a chair and sighed as the last person left the room, leaving Henrik and me with her.

"That went swell," Henrik said, yanking his jacket on.

Sam nodded, looking defeated.

"Well, I have to get going. I'll see you." He gave Sam another tight hug before he slipped out. I shoved my hands into my pockets as Sam looked at me.

"Are you ready to go home now?" I asked.

She nodded. "I'm ready. I'm ready to put this entire thing behind me."

The drive home was quiet, but I held Sam's hand the entire ride. She stared outside the window and softly sighed. "Does it change me?"

I knew she was referring to the magic. "No, it doesn't."

Sam frowned. "Well, everyone else seems to think so."

I scowled. "Do not let a handful of people that don't understand things make you think that is what the pack and the surrounding packs believe. You are the same person you were when I first met you. With or without magic, you are you."

She glanced at me and gave me a weak smile in response. She looked back outside the window, her eyes trained on the view. But I could see the conflict in them.

As I pulled into the house, we got out and headed inside, and she stilled. I slipped my shoes off and glanced at her. She looked at me. "I don't want to be alone."

My eyebrows went up slightly. "Okay?"

She chewed on her lower lip. "Can…you stay with me? Just for a little longer."

I walked towards her, pulled her into my arms, and kissed the top of her head. "Of course. I'll do whatever you want, Sam."

I felt her arms wrap around me as she leaned against me. We headed up to her bedroom, where she yanked her sheets back. She slowly stripped down until she was just standing in her underwear.

At any other time, I would have been so filled with lust and wanted her, but at that moment, I just wanted to hold her. To lessen whatever mess was going on inside her mind.

After taking my shirt and pants off, I crawled into bed on the other side. Sam quickly pulled herself close to me, resting her face on my chest. I held her close, wrapping my arms around her.

I heard her softly sigh as I ran a hand down her hair. I kissed her forehead. "Do you want to talk about tonight?"

She was quiet for a moment, and I looked down at her. She looked exhausted. "You handled them extremely well, if I might add. Put them into their place."

She glanced at me for a moment before she shook her head. "I just want to go to bed."

I leaned my forehead against hers and nodded. "Okay, we can go to bed."

She pulled the sheets up tighter and closed her eyes. I watched her, letting my body relax into her bed. I rested my chin on her head and sighed. I wished I could fix this. I wanted to fix this, but there was nothing that I could do. I just hoped she would lean on me rather than shut me out entirely.