Pregnant and Rejected by My Alpha Mate

Chapter 38

Chapter 38 Marriage Proposal

Odette’s POV

“I swear to the Goddess.” Donavon crumples the magazine in his hand, lobbing it at the wall, “Where do they get this shit?”

The shiny pages slacken as it falls, brightly colored tabloid headlines peeking out of the wrinkled ball of paper, “Alpha’s secret love child.”

Unfortunately I have an idea where these rumors are coming from. I’ve seen the way Arabella looks at my son, and I can’t stop hearing Selene’s last words to me: She really hates me. She’s attempted worse. Half an hour later my daughter-in law was dead, then Arabella was miraculously found unharmed a few days later – with an iron-clad alibi for her whereabouts at the time of the

fire

Even so, those are not the kinds of accusations one makes without evidence, and a few words from Selene in the height of a very stressful moment isn’t reliable intelligence. I could have completely misinterpreted her meaning. “Does Bastien know?” i query. gesturing to the tabloid.

“He hasn’t left his rooms since the fire.” Donavon reminds me, shaking his head. And he’s not speaking to anyone.”

I understand better than anyone. The only reason I can get myself out of bed in the morning is because Bastien needs me so badly. I’ve been letting him mourn while I run the pack, not that anyone knows what’s happening behind the scenes. However the situation in Elysium is deteriorating without his leadership, and the rumor mill is out of control.

What’s more, I’m deeply afraid that Bastien cannot go on like this much longer. Young as he is, losing a mate can kill a wolf of any age, and as much as I want to give him time to heal, I can’t risk letting him grieve himself to death.

“That’s not all, ma’am.” Donavon says, pulling my attention from the magazine. “We also received a letter from the Elder Council. They want Bastien to increase the frequency of his security reports.”

“They’ve been weekly since Gabriel’s murder.” I scoff, “What do they want, a daily update?”

The Beta purses his lips and raises his eyebrows, confirming my guess.

“That’s ridiculous.” I snap, “They’ve never had that kind of oversight before.”

to use Selene’s death to bolster their own power.” Donavon complains, “frankly I’d

“he’s got to come back to

grimaces, “be

mother,

your son right now,” Donavon relates gently. “He’s an

notch my chin up. “He’s not the only alpha who’s lost his mate,

a mess my first instinct is to douse the entire space in bleach, starting with my son. The air is perfumed with an unsavory blend of hard liquor, dirty laundry, spoiled food and even from the other side of

my strength not to immediately gather a garbage bag and begin filling it on my way through the space, but I maintain my focus and head straight for

with weeks’ worth of stubble. An empty bottle of whiskey dangles from his limp hand, and the

hand closes around my wrist before I can touch him. His powerful fingers dig into my skin, and my attention leaps to his face. His eyes are wild, staring at me without recognition. “Sweetheart, you’re

him softly.

into his

and only.” I

up and rubs his eyes, “I’m sorry, you

see that.” I remark tartly. “You, my son, need to take

he made when he was little and wanted to escape

I put my foot down.

take up the helm cleaning the apartment, trying not to judge the mess. I know all too well how crushing grief

the space almost looks inhabitable again. He sits down at his

has to.” I murmur, holding out the sponge in his direction. “Of course, it would

replacing my spot over the sink and beginning to scrub dishes while I find a drying cloth. “I know it feels pointless, and silly and tedious, but you just have to force yourself to go through the motions for a little while. Eventually, you’ll be able

mate who adored you for more than 30 years. I lost a mate who I never even got to claim. We never had any happy years, we didn’t get to build a life together.” He drops the spunge and closes his fists around the edge of the counter, “1 failed her, I wasn’t there when she needed me,

Bastien.” I argue

the last thing she did before she died. I accused her of kidnapping, put her under house arrest and forced her to run

and only with much restraint do I stop myself from reaching for him. “Darling,

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