Pregnant and Rejected by My Alpha Mate

#Chapter 9 Faint

Selene’s POV

The ground trembles beneath my feet. I don’t think I can take another surprise this week. If what Arabella is saying is true, everything I thought I knew about my father-in-law, about this pack, is wrong.

“But,” The protest sounds feeble even to my own ears. “I can’t believe Gabriel would do that.”

“Selene, you’ve known him three years,” Arabella says gently. “I’ve known him since I was a child, please trust me when I say he is not what he seems. I promise you the Gabriel you see and the man he truly is, are two very different people.” She takes a sip of her coffee, clasping the mug with both hands to keep it from shaking. Slightly fortified by the rich drink, she levies me with her undivided attention. “He killed his own brother, do you really think he would bat an eye over killing a lesser pack member?”

“His brother tried to usurp him.” I hedge, recalling the details of the story. “There was an uprising, the entire pack was at risk.”

“So Gabriel says,” Arabella remarks deliberately, and I realize she has a point. I am too young to remember any details of the event, and everything I know about it now has come directly from the Alpha. “How many of us really know what happened that day? The entire city was evacuated into the mountain shelters – no one was allowed out. Only pack leaders and enforcers were actually there to see what went down.”

“What exactly are you saying?” I ask, trying to cut through the complicated histories and vague accusations to reach the crux of her point

“I’m saying that Gabriel wants something from you, badly enough that he would kill to get it.” Arabella reaches out and lays her hand over mine, “Stop and ask yourself, is there anything you can think of that might account for this?”

My stomach lurches. Is it possible I misjudged Gabriel? After all, I’ve learned the hard way never to trust anyone. Was I really so naive and foolish that I bought into more lies the moment I tasted freedom? In those early days I wasn’t exactly thinking clearly

The Alpha and his family were the first people to treat me with kindness in almost a decade – was I so starved for affection that I could repeat my mistake with Garrick?

“There’s something, isn’t there?” Though she still seems very solemn, a faint light appears in her dark irises. “You know why he wanted you as his daughter-in-law.”

I ask, trying to distract her

“We’ve done everything Gabriel wanted, we’ve lost so many years and the last thing either of us want is

furrows, “The rejection ceremony is already being planned, it’s between

dent her lower lip, “And even if he lets it go forward, there are

a hand against me, betraying me as Garrick had. I can’t see it, but then I never saw Garrick coming either. I feel dizzy with the strain of processing this new information. “You

Arabella answers

Days Until the

my bathroom, and now half of Saturday too, I’ve come to the conclusion that the doctor who came up with the term “morning sickness”

water down in three days. At first I tried to replace the nutrients I was losing, but I learned quickly

bathroom every ten minutes I finally gave up, deciding to just

but the pain only lasts a few minutes, this is neve

Admittedly, living in a bathroom does limit one’s social calendar,

and in truth I’m no closer to understanding the truth than! was before. I don’t want to believe Gabriel is capable of the things Arabella suggested, but that’s exactly why I have to take the allegations so seriously. It’s easy to be suspicious and find fault in the people you don’t like. It’s the ones you do like who are the greatest threat, they are the ones you never see

figure to disappoint or betray me. At the same time, he knows the secret of my blood If there was ever a reason to wish me harm it would be

and uncertainty has twisted my stomach into knots even as it churns with queasiness. I try to clear my head, to let the cool tiles beneath my cheek soothe my swirling thoughts The last week has been a particularly twisted roller coaster of emotions, and I’m starting to feel like I have whiplash from bouncing back and

the joy, and I can’t help smiling as I try to picture my baby Who will you be? What will you look like? How

are you lying on

where Bastien stands in the doorway so quickly that I fear I might now have actual whiplash, in addition to the emotional variety. I didn’t even hear him come in, and from

from me when I reach toward it for support. It’s not the only thing moving when it should not. Bastien is swimming in and out of my vision, and ! suddenly can’t be sure if

spinning.” i

feel myself tilting backward just before a pair of massive hands pluck me from the floor. Bastien is looking down at me with a disapproving