Pregnant and Rejected by My Alpha Mate novel Chapter 137

#Chapter 137-Bastien Remembers His Friend 

Flynn, Aiden and Bastien raced through the forest beneath the full moon, playing like pups much younger than they were. They wrestled and joked until they caught the scent of a huge stag, his powerful musk combining with large, deep tracks in the mud. 

The hunt was on in an instant. The wolves fell in line without a single word, giving way to the natural patterns of the chase and fulfilling the roles they’d been developing since childhood. Their instincts were irrepressible, demanding they pursue their target the moment it caught sight of them and took flight. 

Darting through the trees after their prey, they herded it toward the river, circling it on all sides. Together Aiden and Flynn drove the buck towards their future Alpha, who lay in wait just beyond the shoreline. The beast reared up when he saw the massive shifter, grunting and kicking his hooves while his eyes went wild. With the other wolves still at his back, he lowered his antlers and prepared to charge. 

Bastien braced himself for the assault, licking his fangs in anticipation for the kill. However, just as the stag began to move, a small gray wolf leapt in front of Bastine. Hey! What are you guys doing? 

Panic fracturing his bloodlust, Bastien ran forward and snatched Arabella out of the way just in time. His teeth caught the scruff of her neck and he lifted her from the ground, sprinting away from the buck and letting it crash forward into the river. As Bastien dropped the wriggling pup at his feet, the buck fled to freedom, the scent of his fear fading on the wind even as Arabella’s indignant whines rose in Bastien’s ears. Let me go! 

Arabella! Flynn rushed forward, frantically looking over the small female, Are you all right? What were you thinking? What are you doing here? 

You guys left without me. Arabella complained, pouting pitifully. 

Of course we did! Flynn exclaimed. You shouldn’t be out this late at all, let alone out here with us. You could have been killed! 

You never let me have any fun! The little girl groused, it isn’t fair. 

You should be less concerned with what’s fair and more concerned with staying alive. Bastien chimed in, his Alpha instincts demanding he do his part to admonish his surrogate sister. 

I was fine. Arabella insisted stubbornly. 

You jumped in front of a charging stag! Bastien growled, it would have gutted you like a fish. 

Hey! Flynn objected, shooting his oldest friend an exasperated look, dude she’s just a kid. 

She wants to be grown up, she can get spoken to like an adult. Bastien argued. 

*** 

He has a point. Aiden agreed. What you did was very dangerous Arabella. 

Well if you want me to be safe, next time you ought to include me. The girl argued. 

All three young men exchanged the same beleaguered glance, their thoughts one in the same at that moment. Good grief. 

A little while later, once they were safely back in the Pack House and Arabella was sound asleep in bed, Bastien found his friend sitting out on the sprawling rooftop of the modern abode. He climbed out the trap door and strode out onto the flat surface, taking a seat next to his future Beta and patting his shoulder in comfort. 

“I don’t know what I’m going to do with her.” The shifter sighed, sounding much older than his 16 years. “it’s like she gets wilder and wilder with every day that passes.” 

“She’s just a kid.” Bastien reasoned. “It’s normal.” 

Flynn shaked his head. “I don’t know how to do this.” It had been almost two years since their parents had died and Gabriel took them under his wing, but the young Beta knew the true responsibility for raising his sister rested on his shoulders. They were the only family each other had left, no matter how completely Bastien felt like his brother. “I can’t take care of her the way Mom and Dad would have. She’s so out of control, and I don’t have the first clue how to make things right for her.’ 

“You don’t have to do it alone. We’ll do it together.” Bastien vowed, squeezing his friend’s shoulder. He might be a mere teenager, but his Alpha traits were already so strong it was impossible to contain them. “My parents will help, but you and I will make sure she has the affection and guidance she deserves. We’ll give her everything she needs to succeed in life, we’ll keep her safe and teach her everything she needs to know.”