Pregnant and Rejected by My Alpha Mate novel Chapter 24

 Pregnant and Rejected by My Alpha Mate Chapter 24

#Chapter 24 The Funeral

Selene’s POV

“What is this?” I choke, my heart racing as I stare down at the reward flier.

“Nothing.” Bastien reaches for the paper, but I lean back over the armrest until I’m on the verge of falling. I may not be able to extend my arms past his reach, but I trust he’ll choose catching me over reclaiming the page.

Luckily he does exactly that, clamping his hands on my hips to keep me anchored while I twist my body away from him. “It’s clearly something.”

“Selene, stop that.” He admonishes, pulling me back into the chair, “You’re going to hurt yourself.”

With a huff I obey, waving the flier in front of his nose. “How long have you known about this? Where did you find it, how long has this been going on?”

Bastien sighs, “Sweetheart this is why I didn’t tell you. I didn’t want you to worry for nothing. I’m handling it.”

“If it were nothing you wouldn’t need to handle it.” I reason sharply, squirming to escape his lap and failing. “And what exactly does that mean? How in the Goddess’s name are you planning to contain this? It already made it this far, how do you know someone hasn’t already reported me?”

Bastien is wrapped around me like a blanket, using the pressure of his limbs to soothe me despite the fact that I very much do not want to be soothed, “We didn’t find this here. It was in the far East outside of Calypso territory.” He explains, not letting up. “I promise no one has reported you and we’re setting up a shadow system so that we can intercept any reports from this part of the continent.”

“How did you find it if it was so far away?” I question sulkily.

Bastien clears his throat evasively, “We have spies.”

“Spies?” I repeat, “We have spies on the Calypso pack?”

“Yes.” Bastien confesses. “I sent them before we got married.”

My heart feels like it’s imploding. All of a sudden Bastien’s request to postpone the rejection ceremony and Arabella’s distance makes a lot more sense. Moving forward with the ceremony wouldn’t have been appropriate amidst the murder, and I do believe Bastien was too overwhelmed to focus on it, but would we be delaying it indefinitely if it were not for this threat?

No matter what he says, I know Bastien considers this a serious danger – the fact that he hid it speaks volumes and it provides an extremely strong motive to keep me close. Bastien considers everyone in the pack his responsibility, but especially me. Me – the mate the pack failed to protect as a child and ended up permanently disabled as a result.

“How long have you known about this?” I croak.

“A few days.” Bastien confesses grimly.

Gabriel died a few days ago too. Would we have made it to the altar if he hadn’t been murdered? I want to ask him this very question, but I’m too afraid to hear the answer. What difference would it make? None of this changes the fact that he doesn’t want me, that this entire marriage has been a sham.

“What about the others?” I inquire instead, “The other Volanas?”

Bastien frowns, “There are precious few Volanas left.”

“But every one of those precious few are in danger.” I insist. “Blaise only needs one.”

He assents with a single, firm nod. “Perhaps, but you are the one I’m concerned with protecting.”

“So what, if they aren’t your responsibility they don’t matter?” I exclaim, looking up into my husband’s molten eyes. His jaw twitches, a hard edge in his expression I’ve rarely seen directed at me. His cozy embrace feels suddenly cold, and I’m at a loss to understand what’s going on inside his head.

“If that’s the way you want to look at it.” Bastien growls, “Yes.”

#Chapter 24 The Funeral

I lurch out of his lap, and he doesn’t try to stop me. I stalk from the room without retrieving the dinner tray, tossing a curt acknowledgement to the Betas hovering outside the office like mother hens. “He’s fed.”

“Is everything alright?” Aiden calls after me.

I don’t bother answering, I continue up to the apartment awhirl with hurt and confusion. I lock myself in for the rest of the night, hoping Bastien will come to bed but unsurprised when I wake up as I went to sleep – alone.

Bastien’s POV

The morning of my father’s memorial service begins with a storm. Apparently answering my complaints about sunshine, the Goddess sends a gale through Elysium, dropping the temperature by ten degrees and dumping buckets of rain over the city.

Thankfully there is no thunder or lightning to frighten Selene, only fat gray clouds and cascading water. My little wolf stands on my right, beautiful and somber in a simple mourning gown. My mother frames my other side, a dark veil over her face. We all wear the deep bottle green of the Nova pack, the same color donned by nearly every member of the pack.

They are all spread out around us, decked out head to toe in grim formal wear and clutching umbrellas. Tonight we will shed it all and take to the forest, but for the time being we pay our respects with all the pomp and ceremony the Alpha deserves.

Beyond the pack members, visitors from near and far gather. The Eros and Vega Pack leaders, as well as dignitaries and representatives from other shifter communities across the continent.

The funeral pyre is shielded by a vaulted tent which will only be lifted when the fire is lit and the flames strong enough to withstand the rain. My father’s body lays peacefully at its apex, lovingly shrouded in flags bearing the crests of the Nova Pack, Elysium, and the Durand family.

Selene’s tiny hand squeezes mine just as I fear I might begin to cry again, and I pull strength from my sweet wife. We haven’t yet settled our argument about the reward flier, but her support hasn’t waned.

I couldn’t tell Selene the horrible thoughts that ran through my head when she mentioned the possibility of other Volana wolves being turned in to Blaise. They were too horrible.