Page 48 of Rejected and Pregnant by the Alpha (Forbidden Alpha Kings #52)

Hannah

Small kisses on my shoulder bring me from my slumber.

My body, although sore, no longer feels the pain of heat coursing through me.

The kisses continue to move along my skin from my shoulder to my neck, and I smile, turning over to find Julian above me, his green eyes clear of the lust caused by his rut.

“Good morning,” he whispers, pulling me into his arms, and I flick away a feather from his shoulder, one of many scattered about my room from him choosing to bite the pillows instead of placing a mate mark on my neck.

“Good morning,” I whisper back, breathing in his scent. It no longer smells like spicy mangoes; instead, it has returned to normal.

“That was a long three days,” I say, feeling Julian run his fingers along my spine, making me shiver.

“It was,” he agrees.

“Who knew your heat would cause my rut to appear so soon after the last one?” he says with a chuckle.

“Or that we would be stuck in bed helping each other through it,” I add, sighing as I sink further into his embrace.

Julian had taken me in every position imaginable, his rut stronger than the one that conceived our son.

My heat was just as strong, making me submissive and accepting of Julian’s cock as he fucked me senseless.

“I expected you to throw me out and that I would have to call Fabian to take me to the guest house for a very cold and long ice shower,” he admits, and his honesty is something I am still getting used to.

For the last three days, we have spent our time wrapped up in each other’s embrace, fucking away my heat and his rut.

Without his touch, I would have been left in agonizing pain for Goddess-knows-how-long, and without mine, his rut would have turned him feral, as he told me when our hormones were calm after fucking each other senseless.

His ruts are coming too frequently now, sometimes even once a month.

At times, he has nearly attacked and maimed she-wolves who got too close to his room when Fabian or Mikos weren’t guarding his door.

He was praying to find his mate during this year’s royal tour and hopefully bring her back to the royal pack as his luna queen.

He just never thought he would find me at the first pack he visited or that I had been telling the truth five years ago when I said I was his mate.

I was honest, telling him that I never wanted to be luna queen and was content with being his hidden guard. This led to a heartfelt conversation between us, with Julian admitting how wrong he had been and how he would spend the rest of his life making it up to me.

“So, what are the plans for today?” he asks, running his hands through my hair.

“The plans are to check on my packmates, business, and Saben before scrubbing the smell of raw sex from my bedroom walls,” I answer with a groan, looking around at the mess that has become my bedroom.

“Not necessarily in that order, but I need to make sure the house is clean before Saben returns home,” I add.

“Does our son have a heightened sense of smell?” Julian asks, pulling back and gently moving my face with his hand so that we are looking at each other.

“Yes, and he has an uncanny ability to sense when things are wrong,” I answer, a soft smile on my lips. “He has your strength. Saben is strong for his age,” I continue, delving into details of being called to Saben’s class to calm him down.

Julian listens, his eyes sparkling with amusement and worry as I talk more about our son. I can see a slight sadness in his eyes, and I hesitate to say more.

“I missed out on a lot,” he whispers, closing his eyes as I catch the tears threatening to spill. “And it’s all my fault,” Julian adds so quietly I barely hear it.

I say nothing but look down, a lump forming in my throat.

“At the time, I thought that since you didn’t want me, you wouldn’t want our pup,” I say quietly, unable to look at Julian.

“It was hard being a single mother and a new alpha. I built this pack to give him a life of love, surrounded by wolves who also needed a fresh start and a family.”

“A life you lost because of me,” Julian cuts in, his words stinging slightly.

“Yeah. A life I never got to have,” I agree, pressing my forehead against Julian’s chest. I hear his heart beat steadily despite the sadness seeping out of him, and I feel reassured by the sound.

“Would you leave Haven Trail to join me back in the royal pack?” he asks, gently pinching my chin and lifting my head.

I open my eyes, meeting his green gaze that Saben inherited, and I sigh, not sure what to say.

“This is home for me and Saben now,” I say, biting my bottom lip. “As much as I want to say yes, the truth is I’m not sure I can leave the home I have built for five years to return to the royal pack.”

Julian nods, pressing his forehead against mine. “I understand,” he says, his breath fanning my face. “We should get up and clean your house before meeting with our respective packmates,” Julian suggests.

Happy to drop this topic, I pull away from Julian, groaning at how stiff my sore muscles feel. Julian watches me, lust in his eyes as I slip off the bed, heading toward my closet with his heated gaze firmly glued to my ass.

“Stop staring and get dressed,” I state, grabbing a T-shirt and a pair of sweatpants from the drawer in my closet and throwing them at him.

He catches them, confusion etched on his face while I turn back to rummage through my closet for something comfortable to wear.

“Do I want to know why you have male clothes in your closet?” he asks, the sound of my bed shifting reaching my ear.

“I keep them in case Aidan, Mavric, or another wolf needs them when they come to my house in wolf form,” I answer, feeling arms sneaking around my waist and a hard, naked body pressing against my backside.

“So they don’t belong to anyone?” he asks, teeth nipping at my ear.

I shiver, the mate bond throbbing with desire now that Julian is so close. I touch it, sensing that it is slowly being mended back together, and I sigh.

“No, the clothes don’t belong to anyone,” I reply, distracted by the light kisses he places along my neck, specifically at the spot where he told me he plans to place his mark when I finally accept him back as my mate. I moan, leaning against his body as sparks flicker where his hands touch me.

“Good. Now, how about a shower to loosen you up?”

Before I can react, Julian scoops me into his arms, carrying me out of my room and toward the bathroom while I giggle like a child.