Beaufort Creek Shifters (10 book series)
The Alpha’s Pregnant Bride Chapter 6

Skye

The floorboards creaked as I paced from the front door to the balcony in two seconds. I groaned with the wood, slamming my heels against the worn rugs, folding my arms behind my back, and then shrugging out of the position as I stared at the fields. My job-the place where I was supposed to be right now-was functioning fine without me today, according to Jada. But I couldn't shake the feeling of needing to be over there.

I flinched against the afternoon light. I had classes tonight and a pile of homework to turn in that needed to be read through and corrected. If I didn't do well, then I wouldn't pass, and if I didn't pass, then I wouldn't graduate. And then where would I be? On the field forever without properly being able to handle any of the farm animals?

"Gods, I don't know why I chose to do this," I grumbled as I scratched my scalp. I paced back toward the door. "It's not like I don't know what I'm doing."

After my parents had passed away, I threw myself headlong into taking care of everything around me. Emmett too. He needed tending and I needed tending-so we did that for each other. I had hope that we would always do that for each other, even after I'd moved out and slid my stubborn behind into one of these studio flats Blake had installed in the middle of the neighborhood.

Easier living, he had said. Sharing space wasn't always desired for pack members, so he had a house converted into four independent apartments. Laurencia was across the hallway, which couldn't have been more obvious with the herbal scents floating through the air. Below my feet was the quiet schoolteacher who kept to herself, Francine. She was a bit of a nut for country music, but she rarely spoke a word, and she never complained about my stomping feet.

I had to wonder why. Was she nonconfrontational? Did she see her country music as revenge? Eh, it was hard to say.

None of that was particularly important this afternoon as my brain was swimming with the anatomy of pigs while I thought back to two days ago when Troy had impressed my helicopter older brother. Of course the two of them got along. They were the same age and they both seemed to love picking on me. Men did that with each other. They thought it was cute or something. I noticed it in the older guys at the dive bar who chose to criticize me as a form of flirting.

My thighs twitched when I thought about the stables. Going there wasn't an option either. I hadn't been able to walk in there without my body having an uncontrollable reaction to the lingering scent of tobacco. That was Troy's scent-and that was what had overpowered me when he kissed me. While I wanted more, I knew better than to give in to that sort of thing.

Alphas are supposed to be enticing, I thought. That's how they get a mate. That's how they reproduce. That's how they keep their packs going.

I wasn't stupid. Blake matched me with Troy to make sure the Bravecrests continued to expand. It was probably something they had discussed behind the scenes. Emmett being Emmett, I was sure he'd been part of the picking process too. All that talk about Blake "hearing" a name from someone's heart had to be horse cocky.

Nobody could do magic like that. Not even Laurencia. Although that definitely didn't stop her from trying.

"It's just to progress the packs. That's all," I kept saying. "I'm just a means to an end."

I sighed my way into the kitchen area to prepare tea. Everything felt simple here. That was the nice thing about living in a studio. My rent was my job, the place was kept up pretty well, and I knew both people in the building. The fourth apartment had been empty for the past month. That was fine too.

As soon as I had the kettle on the stove, I wandered back to the balcony window. Light flooded the field and illuminated the tiny figures shifting about. A couple of cranes flew overhead. Tigers darted around the edge of the forest. Wolves ran about in pairs-I had to assume some of them were mates.

Our pack land was great for exploration. We could shift and run about at will. Before Blake was alpha, it was far more restricted-and I guess that was for a good reason with our pack at risk. Now that the Gilberts were dispersed as a threat, we were able to roam more freely. It was nice.

Two knocks at the door doubled my agitation. That was probably Laurencia again. She had been bugging me for the past week about my new mate and various potions that could help us get to mating a lot quicker. And by mating, she meant fucking. Which I didn't need help with. From anyone.

Another couple of knocks inspired me to move. I groaned my way to the front door for the millionth time and swung it open. "What do you need? What?"

Troy's amused expression should have distracted me because it was a handsome smile, but it only made me want to tear his eyes out.

I sighed. "Oh, it's you."

"The exciting saga continues, my dear."

I rolled my eyes to the ceiling as if any of the gods would spare me. "I thought you were busy today."

"What gave you that impression?"

"You haven't texted me."

Forget how annoyed I sounded about it. If anybody was going to call me their mate, then they should at least act like it. Troy had been generous with his affection, that much was true, but he hadn't exactly been acting the part. He kept hesitating. He kept giving me this pondering look that told me he was expecting something else to happen.

It was confusing. It also made me want to kiss him again just to prove a point-that I could easily sway his feelings toward me. I just wasn't doing it because I was acting respectfully. As anybody should have been acting.

Including him.

"Ah, my apologies, dear Skye," he said, bowing his head. "I was preparing the house for you."

I blinked. "What?"

"It's time for you to move in with me."

"This is a joke, right?"

He motioned toward his right-and now I could see why. Elias and Wendell shoveled their way into my studio and started grabbing things to place into cardboard boxes. Wait, where the hell had they gotten those boxes? And why were they touching my things? I chased after Elias. "Don't touch my dolls. Why are you doing this? What are you-?" I flipped around to face Troy. "You don't have the right!"

"Your brother agreed it was best."

"My brother doesn't speak for me, Troy."

His smile turned innocent. Gods, this was far from an innocent situation. "Blake approved the move as well. He said you should be moved in by the time the announcement is made."

"I'm not a toy for you to toss around!"

"I didn't say you were a toy."

Elias and Wendell muscled around the room, collecting things carefully and bubble-wrapping items that could potentially break. They were doing this forcefully, but they were also doing this gently. And I couldn't quite figure out how the hell it was possible to do both at the very same time.

I stammered as I spun about, helplessly watching the whole thing unfold. This couldn't be happening. It had to be a dream-a nightmare induced by those scented candles and incense cones that Laurencia insisted on burning all day, every day.

"No, I can't..." I held my forehead as my vision blurred. "This can't..."

"Breathe, my dear universe. You'll be able."

It took all my strength to shove Troy's hand away. My skin craved his comfort, begged for him to touch my shoulders and hold me. That was nonsense, a mere side effect of having missed out on being touched in too long. If I had just visited that bar, I wouldn't be wanting him as much as I did.

I trotted into the kitchen space where my kettle had started whistling. I poured a cup, dumped a tea bag into it, and held it unsteadily, not even bothering with honey or lemon.

Alright, so I couldn't control this situation. But that didn't mean I had to lose it, right? After all, Emmett had to be kept at bay. That was the whole point of pretending to lean into this stupid arranged mate thing. If Emmett was pleased, then he wouldn't bother me anymore. What was a little change of scenery?

"Where?" I asked, without looking at Troy. "Your land?"

"My land."

I scoffed. "I don't see why I need to move in just because I'm your mate."

"Would you prefer being apart?" He held up his hand, effectively pausing the movement in the room. The silence that followed made me uneasy. "I can speak to your brother and alpha, inform them of your decision."

"No, it's..." What was I supposed to say now? He had barged in here and started taking my things. Could he really mean it? That he would stop? "You can't just do whatever you want without asking first."

He glanced at the others. Their expressions were blank, almost bored. Were they quietly communicating with each other? I'd seen my alpha do the same with his friends. Curious.

I stumbled over my words before finally blurting, "It's fine."

This had better work. I had to manage a field and a whole pile of homework. I had classes later. So long as the boys handled the labor, it would be fine.

You know, other than the fact that my life wasn't my life anymore.

Was giving up my independence worth it to satisfy my brother's wishes? I was starting to think not.

***

Class made everything feel normal. I mean, I knew that normal wasn't something that technically existed, but having a semblance of normality put my mind at ease. My life was getting upended. I had to have something that made me feel okay. And class made me feel okay, generally speaking.

My car sputtered to a halt in the parking space right next to the biology building. Students drifted toward the doors, a mixture of young and old, foreign and local. Since Emmett had loaned me his car, I didn't need to rely on Jada driving me back and forth anymore. It was nice to have transportation.

But I hated the smell of gooseberries in the cab. And I also hated how it felt like I owed my brother.

I raised my eyebrows at my reflection in the rearview mirror. Maybe Troy will get me a car.

That thought had never occurred to me, mostly because I wasn't the type to dig for gold in someone else. But it was a fine point to make about this whole arranged mates thing. I would get plenty of free things out of it, wouldn't I? Maybe I could even step down from being field manager.

Geeze, who else would do it? I couldn't imagine any of the other shifters wanting to take on a load like that. Snow and Violet were also finicky horses. To pass them off to anyone else would cause all kinds of trouble. I had to stay the course. I had to make sure things were handled. Because that was what I did-I handled things.

I scrubbed the back of my neck as I prepared to walk into that classroom. It wasn't like me to get nervous to go anywhere. So, it was weird that it was happening now. Maybe it was the shakiness of being in a cabin on totally different land with a totally different guy. For the first time in my life, I had a roommate. I wasn't thrilled by it. At least he isn't messy, and he likes the same tea that I do.

Lemongrass stained my tongue. Part of me was mad when he hadn't offered to kiss me on my way out. Then again, I had totally stomped my way off the porch and into the miniature lot made of gravel in front of the garage. Wendell had witnessed me bratting my way to the car too. Shoot, they were both probably laughing up a storm about it.

Irritation rapidly boiled itself into a self-conscious soup. Ugh, that wasn't pleasant either. Anger was far more welcome than embarrassment. I closed my eyes, took a few breaths, and forced myself to leave the car. I couldn't sit inside all night and neglect my education. Besides, I had a great attendance streak going. I didn't want to ruin it.

"Skye?" called a voice. "Skye Jervis?" A laugh of disbelief signaled an approaching body. "I can't believe my eyes! It's been forever."

Forgiving gods, no. The way that voice laced into my soul and tugged at memories I had made myself forget was not how I wanted this night to go. There was no way that voice could be near me. He had been left in the past-and that was on purpose. "Skye!"

I turned around, hating how much I ached to feel like I was being recognized as an individual instead of a breeding machine. And while I hated hearing that voice, I also knew that voice would do just that, would recognize me.

Tall, dark, and handsome skipped toward me. With tight, dark brown curls on his head, charcoal skin, and a style that could only be described as bohemian masculine. Cheery tones carried along his voice, reminding me of long nights spent bent over books in bed. "Skye, it's me. It's Oscar."

Great, it wasn't like I had enough problems on my plate already.

Now I had to deal with my ex-boyfriend.