Page 21 of Her Bully Alpha (Honeycomb Valley Alphas #1)

I hurried down the hallway and glanced at my phone once more. Shit. I was ten minutes late. I would like to say they weren't going to notice, but they all would. They were all going to comment on it, and there was no excuse I could use that they would accept.

I pushed the door open and found all five guys waiting. Henrik smirked at me as I walked towards my chair.

"Look who decided to grace us with his presence," Henrik said, leaning back in his chair. "We were starting to think you weren't coming."

I pulled my seat out and sat down. "My apologies. I lost track of time. It won't happen again."

Aaron snorted across the table, leaning back in his chair. "I don't believe that one bit. You are normally the first person to arrive. I doubt you just lost track of time. You were probably busy." He wiggled his eyebrows at me.

"Or did perhaps a certain someone have your attention?" Maddox asked, a smirk pulling at his lips.

I wasn't going to admit it was because of Sam. Since her magic has come out, she's been extra happy. We may or may not have been doing it all morning. And when a certain someone wanted to try a different position, I wasn't going to tell her no.

We started the morning in bed and took a break to get some food. I ended up spreading her on the counter and having her once more. And then again in the shower. I couldn't seem to have enough of her, and I was eager for more just a few moments after we finished.

That was what made me late. She just had to look at me a certain way, and I unbuttoned my pants for her.

I shifted in my chair. "Are you all going to sit here and question me, or shall we begin this meeting?"

"Oh, the meeting started ten minutes ago. We're all more interested in why you turned up late and with a hickey on your neck." Aaron asked, pointing at my neck. "Looks pretty fresh, too."

Shit.

I rubbed at my neck, not that it was going to help. I sighed. "We are all adults, or at least some of us are adults. So, can we move on? I was late. I apologized, let's move on."

Frank laughed and elbowed Henrik. "Well, looks like he really shacked up with your sister. How do you feel about that?"

Henrik scowled. "I don't want to be a part of this conversation."

"And we aren't having that conversation," I quickly added. "Let's get into the meeting."

"So you aren't denying it," Frank quickly added.

“She…I…” I stumbled for words. I wanted to rub the fact I was getting laid in their faces, but I also didn't want to see Henrik vomit. If he knew just how much sex we were having, he'd probably make himself sick.

"Can we please move on?" I asked, desperate to change the subject.

"Oh, come on! This is fun! We don't get to see you flustered. Let alone be so calm and content."

I scowled. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Even Henrik nodded in agreement. "Well, we have all noticed that you've been gentler since Sam and you were paired up. People have said that you've been nicer and open about more things. You're less grumpy."

Have people been saying that? Who said it? And when did they start saying it?

I glanced at Henrik. "And you agree with that statement?"

He shrugged. "I can't ignore what's in front of me. Even when you visited my house, you guys were getting along, and you were less….moody. Minus when you got pissy about Tuck. I'm telling myself it's because my sister is amazing, and it's not because you've been….together."

"He means fucking," Aaron quickly added, leaning onto the table. "Like animals."

"Okay, we aren't fucking like animals," I grumbled.

"The question we should be asking is, is Sam pregnant?" Jones asked, leaning onto the table. "Rumors going around she is. But you guys haven't made an official announcement."

Henrik's eyes widened. "She's pregnant!?"

I leaned back in my chair and sighed. "Yes, Sam is pregnant."

"What the fuck!" Henrik glared at me. "Why didn't either of you two tell me!?"

"We haven't told people yet. Sam is still in the first trimester."

Henrik fumed and I had a feeling he had more to say but was keeping it inside. I'm sure once this meeting was over, he was going to let me have it.

I sighed. "Please, let's move on."

Somehow, we finally did. We got into the meeting and how everyone was doing. Each town in Honeycomb Valley was becoming more careful about the virus, and each of us had even suffered losses.

"Does Katie have any new information we can go off of?" Frank asked, looking frustrated now. "I've got women becoming uneasy with this new news."

I shook my head. "No. She's been trying to figure it out, but she said important pieces are missing that still need to be figured out."

"This is becoming ridiculous. How has she not figured out what's going on by now?" Frank slammed his hand down on the table. "We don't have time for this."

Frank had always been a little more hot-headed than the others, but we knew it came from his care for his people.

"We are all suffering, Frank," Henrik quickly told him. "Yelling isn't going to change anything. We are all in this together, trying to figure it out."

Frank leaned back in his chair with a huff.

"Has she found anything that is close to a cure?" Jones asked, raising an eyebrow at me.

I shook my head. "No, nothing she has tried helped. It's always just been the inability to bear children, but now, with the sudden deaths and the compromised immune system, we're at a loss." I ran my hands over my face. We had no idea where to go. Katie was even shocked by the change. I knew she'd been locking herself in her lab trying to figure it out. Sam told me she had stopped a few times to check on her.

The meeting was over a few minutes later, and I sighed. I slept pretty well, considering Sam curled beside me all night. We had been sharing a bed since her magic came out. A lot had changed after that. We'd been closer than before, almost like a normal couple.

The guys cleared out, eager to get home. Henrik, however, hung back, staring at me. I could see the irritation in his eyes.

"What?" I asked, disliking the way he was staring at me.

"I would like to ignore the hickey and the mental picture of you in the sheets with my sister, believe me." He made a face before he sighed. "Why didn't you guys tell me she was pregnant?"

I sighed, knowing that was coming back around. "We had a lot going on, Henrik, and I wasn't going to tell. I was leaving that for her to decide when to get people." I looked at him. "And I think she didn't tell anyone because she was worried she could lose it."

Henrik frowned. "She's human."

"That doesn't mean the fear isn't there," I said. "There are tons of women around her losing babies and unable to have babies. It's only natural she wanted to keep it quiet for a little while."

I watched his shoulder relax slightly, and he sighed. "I guess I can understand that."

"Am I free to go now? Or did you want to keep yelling at me?"

Henrik scuffed. "I was hurt. She's my sister, after all. I do feel I should tell you we weren't joking when we said you've become softer."

I scowled. "In a bad way?"

Henrik shook his head. "No, in a more caring way. You've always cared about your people, but you also kept everyone at a distance. Since being with Sam, you've opened up."

"Well, your sister is an amazing person."

Henrik nodded. "I know. I've been saying that for years. She's always been that way. She was a lot like our mother. She was the same way, and a lot of people overlooked her."

I thought of Sam when we were younger, and I paid her no attention. She was always just the annoying little sister. She hung around Henrik, and I never understood why he allowed it. I figured if I had a human sister, I wouldn't want her around.

But we both grew up in very different households. I had always seen Henrik's father as someone who ruled with an iron fist, but Henrik always told me that was just one side he showed. I never saw the soft side.

"A lot has happened since we were kids," I said as I leaned back in the chair.

Henrik laughed. "That is true."

I knew that Henrik was soft because of how he was raised. Having a human sister made him aware of humans and what they went through. He didn't allow bullying, and even I knew to hold my tongue when it came to comments. We'd had several fights about it.

"I never saw your father being nice," I tell him. "But Sam says he was. That he was kind to you guys and to your mother."

Henrik nodded. "He was. He was a soft ruler, but he also led, knowing he was the person that kept everyone safe."

I thought of my father. He just ruled with an iron fist, and it showed in the people in our pack. Humans weren't as welcome when I took on the Alpha role. It took years before I could even get humans to move back into our town.

"He obviously didn't do a great job because Sam still ended up moving away." Henrik sighed sadly.

I wanted to tell him I was part of the reason that she left. But if Henrik knew that I didn't know how he would react. He would likely be angry at the fact I treated his sister terribly enough to move away. To restart her life.

I felt my chest tighten, hating that I had been a huge cause of Sam's pain. How had I treated her so terribly when she was one of the sweetest caring people I knew?

I stiffened as I realized that I didn't just care about Sam. I loved her. I had fallen in love with her.

"Is my sister happy?" Henrik asked, pulling himself up. "I hope you make her happy. I know how much she liked the life she was living and enjoyed her freedom."

I frowned. Was Sam happy? Or was she just accepting the situation she was put into?

"I think she's happy," I explain, hoping I'm not wrong.

We'd been spending a lot of time together, but that didn't mean Sam didn't miss her old life. That didn't mean she felt the same way about me.

I needed to talk to her, to ask her what she wanted. Did she want me? Did she want to keep this relationship together and stay together? Or did she want to separate? Now that she was pregnant, that was an option, especially if we had a son.

"Well, I need to get back. I have a few other meetings. Let me know if you hear any changes from Katie about the virus." Henrik got up and left, leaving me alone.

I tapped my fingers on the table and thought about my options. I knew I needed to talk to Sam. I needed to tell her how I felt and that I wanted this to all be real.

I pulled my phone out and called her up. I felt the words bubbling up, and as she answered, I paused.

"Jay? Is something wrong?"

I didn't want to say these words over the phone. "No," I shook my head. "Just finished the meeting and thought I would call and see what you were up to."

"I was just about to head over and see Katie."

I smiled, happy she had a friend she could visit. "When do you think you will be home? We could have a nice dinner."

"That sounds nice," she said, and I could hear her moving around. "I won't stay long with Katie. I was just thinking of making a quick trip. She's been so busy she forgets to eat, so I was going to drop something off."

"Well, I can order something in, or I can cook," I pulled myself out of my chair and made my way towards the exit.

I heard her moving, and then she went quiet. I pulled my keys free as I walked towards my car. "Which sounds good?"

Still silence.

I froze. "Sam? What's wrong?"

"Jay, your parents are here."

I stiffened. "What? What do you mean my parents are there?"

I then heard the doorbell go off and the sound of knocking on the front door. Shit. What the hell were my folks doing there? They never just dropped by unless they knew I was home. That being, maybe they didn't want me to be home.

"Sam, you don't need to answer the door. You can just ignore them until they leave."

"I can't do that," she snapped back. "That's rude."

Considering I didn't know my folk's intentions, or correction, my father's intentions, I didn't exactly trust them with Sam alone. She was just finding herself, and I didn't need any comments to make her feel like she was anything less than amazing.

"Sammy, you don't need to.." The line ended, though.

"Fuck." I growl and hurry to my car.