Page 8 of The Alpha's Bullied Rejected Mate

And that was how she knew beyond doubt that he was her mate. Tonight, she was going to tell him that and that she loved him.

But that wasn’t the biggest thing she had to tell.

Her right hand rose to her waist to touch her belly. She smiled.

Tonight, she was going to tell him that she was pregnant with his child.

There was a second heartbeat inside her. A new life. A child created from a bond that she had believed in with all her heart. Her fingers curled protectively to rub her belly again.

She hadn’t even told anyone yet. She wanted Marcus to be the first. He deserved to know. She would tell him tonight.

She rounded the corner of the training grounds and finally spotted him.

He was taking off his gear, wiping sweat from his brow. But he wasn’t alone.

Three others were with him, chuckling over some inside joke. Immediately, one of them spotted her and elbowed Marcus.

“Oh, look, it’s the dormant witch.”

“Better slow down,” another one added with a mocking grin. “I heard her powers have surfaced. She might throw a fireball at us.”

Their laughter erupted into the night sky, and Athena froze.

Not because of them, she was used to it.

But it was him. Marcus. He was laughing too, as if their sneers didn’t bother him. As if she didn’t matter.

Maybe something else made him laugh.

“I want to speak with Marcus,” she voiced.

He still didn’t spare her a glance at her mention of his name, but he raised a hand, instructing the others to give him privacy.

They left and snickered past her.

She stepped forward, her heart pounding in her chest.

“You wanted to speak,” he said, his voice cool. Distant.

“Yes, I hadn’t seen you since that night,” she said quietly.

“What night?” His brow furrowed.

Her stomach dropped at the question. “What...?”

What night? What did he mean what night?

Had he forgotten it so fast?

“The night we—”

“Oh,” he responded, cutting her off. His lips curved into a mocking smile, his eyes void of any softness. “That night. The night I fucked you.”

Her breath caught at how he said it so blatantly, devoid of any emotion.

“Yes, I remember,” he continued. “It’s not every day I get to break in a virgin,” he added in a bored tone.

“What?” she choked on her own voice.