Pregnant And Rejected

Chapter 16 The Wine Is Drugged

Selene’s POV

Woops.

When I asked Drake to keep me company at the party, I planned to flirt and dance, to give Bastien a little taste of his own medicine. Annoyance, that was the plan. An annoyed Bastien is manageable, an enraged Bastien is dangerous.

I stare at my husband with wide eyes. He’s standing in the doorway, on the verge of shifting, fury rolling off him in waves. His metallic gaze is locked on my face, on my tears and Drake’s comforting hands.

Drake doesn’t seem the least bit troubled by the rabid creature looming over us. He slides his fingers from my skin, turning to Bastien with a friendly smile. “Bastien, it’s been a while.”

“Too long.” Bastien agrees, “So long you seem to have forgotten who you’re dealing with.”

Drake rolls his eyes, and I have a sudden and newfound respect for the young Alpha. He may wear the face of a playful rogue, but underneath he is every bit the hard and commanding leader the role demands. “Honestly Bastien, I didn’t think you’d be so ungrateful.” He quips, “In case you haven’t heard, I saved your wife’s life tonight. I wouldn’t have had to if you’d been here.”

Bastien’s claws extend and retract compulsively, betraying the conflict raging within him. Drake’s words were an outright provocation, but there was no denying the truth in them. After a moment Bastien settles into a low simmer, striding past the other man to reach me. He drags me into a tight embrace, cuddling me to his chest. “What happened?”

Feeling suddenly warm and hazy, it takes me a moment to realize he asked a question. Drake – apparently – suffers no such impediment. “You have some vipers in your nest.” He drawls, “It was only a matter of time before one striked.”

I plant my palms against Bastien’s chest, trying to push away from him so I can pin Drake with the full force of my indignant glare. “What happened to ‘heroes don’t tattle?”

Drake’s face scrunches up in a wince, and I belatedly realize my mistake. I look up at my husband, whose handsome features are awash with foreboding. “Am I to take it you intended to keep this information secret?” He asks, his voice dangerously low.

I lower my gaze, careful not to challenge his dominance, “It wasn’t a big deal.” I argue, “It’s not as if she knew I couldn’t swim.”

I see Bastien’s head turn in my periphery, and realize he’s now looking to Drake, “Who?”

His answer is immediate. “Redhead, blue dress, gaggle of minions trailing after her wherever she goes.”

Ten minutes later the door swings open, and Aiden pokes his head in. “Bastien would like to see you in the great hall.”

time to see the rest of the party guests gather within. We move forward, slipping through the crowd

the hall, the redhead from the gardens

away and the she-wolf looks up at Bastien sulkily, as if asking whether she really has to do this. Bastien makes short work of her hesitance, clamping one large hand around the back of her

sharp growl makes her wince. “Mrs. Durand, I’m deeply sorry for the things I said and the way I treated you. I was horribly disrespectful and

woman quickly amends her statement. “I should never have treated you that

never learn to stand on my own two feet if other people are always fixing my problems for me. The rest of me is gushing pure elation. For the first time in my memory, Bastien is putting me ahead of the pack. He’s protecting me, making a public example of my detractors, and staking his claim for

at the she-wolf with growing contempt. She’d been so fierce and fearless when she was bullying me, emboldened by my vulnerability and weakness. Now she looks anything but strong; she looks like a spoiled child who

you never do so again: you won’t like

you.” He announces, “if I hear anyone speaking about my wife in such a way, or anyone lays a hand on her again, I will not be held accountable for

Everything was fine when we sat down to dinner, but by the end of the second course, my husband was back to acting as if I don’t

only had one glass of wine. He’s vacillating back and forth between giddiness, aggression, and detachment. One moment he’s so happy he’s grinning like a fool, the next he’s snarling and growling at anything that moves, and five minutes after that he

through the meal in starts and stops, and Bastien’s odd does not go unnoticed. I see his parents exchange glances

clears our places following dessert and the party begins to shift toward the ballroom, I catch him. “Bastien?” | say firmly, grasping his arm

me in a daze. His pupils are

you alright?” I question pointedly, checking his forehead for a temperature but finding

dance. I recognize her as one of

a word, following her into the ballroom without a backward glance. Unease prickles at the back of my neck, It was extremely odd for a pack member to approach and proposition an Alpha this way – even if he weren’t married. The

know something is wrong. This is not Bastien. His behavior is completely out of character, regardless of how he may feel about me or

my eye. I shift in his direction and our eyes meet. We’re both thinking the same thing. Aiden slips

is all the confirmation I need to go after

complaint; the least I can do is return the favor. Doubt lingers in my mind as I search the crowd. What if he will not come

I have

a moment to find them. They stand at the center of the dancefloor, Bastien swaying drunkenly next to the blonde, who is wrapped around him like cling film. I glide through

away from her without a word, closing the distance between us as if in a trance. I rise up on my tiptoes when

my middle and he pulls me flush to his body, continuing to sway to the music. I drop back down onto my heels as he begins to turn us haphazardly around the dancefloor, his intimate grip and undulating movements arousing my erogenous zones and muddling my own thoughts. I’m caught between my desire to extract us both from my

be out of his right mind, but he is the same dominant Alpha he’s always been, and my body responds thus whether my brain is in agreement or

a turn for the risqué. One moment we’re dancing and the next Bastien has dragged me out a side door and pressed me up against the wall, kissing and nibbling

their trapped position between our bodies and catch his face between them.

if trying to remember something he’s long forgot. Bastien’s confused expression gives way to something feverish and fierce before he takes me