Pregnant And Rejected

Chapter 167 – Bastien Dreams

Knocking on the door of the bedroom my father assigned Selene, I hear a dull thump and a sudden scampering sound within. Pushing the door open I scan the space, noticing a photo book splayed haphazardly on the bed as if it had been dropped there in hurry, and a pair of abandoned slippers on the floor by the headboard. However, I don’t see hide nor hair of the woman I came to find.

Stepping inside, I call,”Selene?”

Her sweet scent floats to my nose, muddled with a distinct linge of acrid fear. Despite my sympathy for her plight, my sweet mate unwittingly placed a hunt under my nose, and no wolf worth his sall tan resist such a tempting offer. “Come out, come out wherever you are, little woll.”

I hear a muted whimper in the direction of the bed. Furrowing my brow, I realize it had sounded awfully low to the ground, and after a moment I understand. The poor thing was so frightened she’d actually crawled under the bed to hide from me. Slowly striding forward, I close the distance between us, trying to wipe the smile from my face. The last thing she needs is to know how adorable I find her behavior.

Kneeling down at the foot of the bed, I duck my head low enough to see the cowering she wolf. She’s flat on her belly, her eyes wide as dinner plates as she stares back at me, positively trembling with fear. “You going to make me come all the way down there to get you, baby?”

She doesn’t answer, instead sidling closer to the wall and turning her face away from me. Resolved to retrieve her, I lower myself to the ground, at which point I discover that she’s both out of my reach, and I’m too broad to fit into the narrow space myself. Clever little mate.

I could move the bed, but I decide to try and coax her out instead. Mimicking her position, I settle in for a chat. “Okay sweetheart, let’s just talk.” I begin, grinning wolfishly when she looks at me in surprise. “We need to get to know each other if we’re going to be married after all.”

Selene still doesn’t answer, but the scent of her fear isn’t as strong as it was before, so I continue. “You should know that Garrick is dead.” I share, hoping that this information will help her trust me. “He denied everything, but I saw -” my voice trails off as I remember my visit to their house, to the basement he’d used as her prison cell. It was too horrible to contemplate keeping a child down in such desperate conditions for so long. “I saw where he was keeping you, and I found his Wolfsbane supply.”

destroyed all of it. You don’t ever have to worry about anyone hurting you ever again, Selene. You‘re under my protection now.” Her stomach growls in reply, and the corner of my mouth tilts up. “1 wish you’d come out and talk to me.” I tell her. “If

look too large in her beautiful face, giving the impression of a puppy dog expression when she finally asks, “Will you let me

to stop from letting the same sound escape me. I wish I could kill Garrick all over again, and I know then that as long as she’s out of reach, she’s never going to trust me. “Of course I will.” I promise, fighting to keep my tone gentle, “but you might

sensitize her to them. Luckily for me,

flails against me, trying to escape at the same time as she struggles to wrap her head around how I managed to get to her so quickly. Unfortunately she’s so frail that it takes very

protest as I snuggle her to my chest, settling on the edge of her bed and rocking back and forth. “I promise I won’t hurt you, Selene.” I vow, rubbing a soothing hand up and down her spine the same way I might a skittish horse. “That’s it. “Iencourage when she begins to settle, “Just let me take care

mary pass to escape me, Selene makes one final thrash. A pair of sharp little fangs dig into my arm, and I surprise her with my purr. The innocent she wolf has no idea how badly I want to bite her myselí – or how intimate the gesture is between men

her I can be trusted, and she stills completely, pouting but cuddling closer when I continue purring my approval. “Good girl.” I praise, carefully

softly, I press my lips to the tender spot once, twice, three

small voice. “Dead and burned.” I assure her, “I did

a moment, hoping that it won’t frighten her too much. He wasn’t the first man i’d ever

“Does

for a long moment, before hesitantly shaking her head no. “I’m sorry

to kiss her more than I’ve ever wanted to kiss anyone, but I know she’s not ready for that yet, so I simply lower

with a new scene. I’m waking up alone in my bed a few weeks later, worry lancing through me when I instinctively reach for Selene but find her missing. As tortuous as it is for me to lie beside her every night without touching her the way my wolf aches to, her nightmares are so persistent that she’d never sleep at all without me. Rising from bed, the steady drumbeat of rain fills the air, and I’ve barely made it a step before thunder and lightning crash in near perfect synchrony, the sound shaking