Pregnant And Rejected

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.”

*Clearly they want to use Selene’s death to bolster their own power.” Donavon complains, “frankly I’d like to tell them where they can shove their reports.”

I resolve, “he’s got to come back to work, we

man grimaces, “be

my spine, giving my old friend an imperious glare, “I’m his mother, he can huff and puff all he wants, but he won’t follow

son right now,” Donavon relates gently. “He’s an Alpha who lost his mate. Pushing him is

“He’s not the only alpha who’s lost his mate, Donavon.

an unsavory blend of hard liquor, dirty laundry, spoiled food and even from the other side of the doorway, I can smell the

begin filling it on my way through the space, but I maintain my focus and head straight for the giant unwashed wolf in

and his jaw covered with weeks’ worth of stubble. An empty bottle of whiskey dangles from his limp hand, and the table in front of him is

him. His powerful fingers dig into my skin, and my attention

recognition into his hard features, and

and

up and rubs his eyes, “I’m sorry, you startled

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

when he was little and wanted to escape a bath, I have to bite my

I put my foot

the mess. I know all too well how crushing grief can steal your will to care about

smelling of soap, the space almost looks inhabitable again. He sits down at his kitchen island, watching

in his direction. “Of

and tedious, but you just have to force yourself to go through the motions for a little while. Eventually, you’ll be able to find sense in taking care of yourself again, in

a 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

true, Bastien.” I

of kidnapping, put her under house arrest and forced her to run into a situation

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