Alpha's Pregnant Mate

13 - Treason

When Lila slowly came to, the first thing she realized was the strong arms holding onto her. She hadn't felt this safe and secure in a long time. It was nice to wake up next to someone who cared about her. Did she meet this person just two days ago? Yes, but who was she to question fate? The thought made her smile, the second thing she hadn't done after waking up in years.

Buck was an okay guy when he wasn't drinking, but he wouldn't win boyfriend of the year any time soon. Sometimes Lila felt more like his maid than his girlfriend. When she told him so, he just brushed it off and said he was working hard to pay the rent and put food on the table. He always asked her what she did all day.

Lila used to work too, but she had to call in sick more times than she was actually there. Not because she wanted to, but because she had bruises to hide. Sometimes she felt like her whole world was falling apart, and it was hard to get out of bed. Looking back, her relationship with Buck had made her depressed. She was probably in the wrong place with the wrong guy.

The third thing Lila noticed after these thoughts leisurely ran through her mind was the strange rumbling in her stomach. It wasn't just pure happiness; she felt sick, not in a good way at all. When she tried to get up, Ethan's hold on her tightened. "Where do you think you're going?" he whispered sleepily. She wished she had the presence of mind to appreciate his morning voice, thick with sleep and sexy as hell, but she needed to get away from him.

"What's wrong?" Ethan asked when he realized something felt off. He sensed that Lila wasn't feeling okay and that she was trying to run away.

"Let go, please!" she begged him, but he was suddenly afraid she'd leave him. He'd never felt that kind of fear before and didn't understand what was happening. "Please, Ethan, I'm going to be sick!"

Now he understood and let go, watching her naked body bolt out of bed to the bathroom. He didn’t hesitate to follow her. The need to make sure she was alright was overwhelming. He needed to comfort her and make sure she was okay.

She threw up violently when he entered the tiny bathroom. “Are you okay?” he crouched down next to her, gently pulling her hair out of the way and rubbing her back until she was done. “Are you okay?” he repeated his questions as she took a deep, exhausted breath.

“No,” she mumbled, “will you give me a minute?” She felt a pinch of embarrassment for being sick in front of him, but Ethan wouldn’t budge. He shook his head and put his hand on her forehead, checking her temperature.

She was coming down with a minor fever. His hand slid from her forehead to her neck to the spot he marked last night. What the hell was he thinking? He didn’t know enough to put her at risk like that. He knew that humans could be marked, but he didn’t know how that would affect the baby.

“I’m sorry,” he leaned in to press his lips against her forehead before he pulled her against his chest.

“Ethan,” she struggled against him. She felt filthy and disgusting. She loved for him to hold her and comfort her, but she needed a minute to freshen up, “please. I want to clean up.”

He sighed heavily, kissed the crown of her head again, but finally let go of her. He wouldn’t leave the bathroom though. He wouldn’t let her out of his sight until he was sure she was fine.

He had always been a problem-solving kind of guy. He remained calm and kept a clear head, but right now, he felt a sense of panic rising. Did he just kill her? Was he so far gone that he couldn’t take a second to think about what could go wrong?

While brushing her teeth, she looked at him standing there still as a statue, his eyes troubled as he looked right through her. Was he worried? Was he having second thoughts?

“You know this is normal, right? I believe it’s called morning sickness. I’m sorry, but I can’t help this,” she explained.

“How... How far along are you?” he asked. He should have asked her before he marked her and sent her body into overdrive. Could it handle the change and a pregnancy?

“I'm actually not entirely sure,” she said hesitantly. “It should be only a few weeks. Six. Maybe five. Are you doing okay?”

“You should... you should rest!”

“I just woke up,” she snickered and took a step closer to him. “Are you having second thoughts?”

“No!” he shook his head and brushed her hair back. “Of course not! But...” He took her hand and led her out of the bathroom back to bed. She giggled softly as he lifted the covers for her to climb back in.

“What now?” she smiled, looking at him expectantly.

“Now...” he leaned in and kissed her forehead again. She was definitely getting warmer by the minute. “You rest, while I take care of you!”

Taking care of her? “Like breakfast in bed?” Her eyes lit up like those of a child on Christmas Eve. Buck never did anything like that for her, not even when they started dating and she thought he was a great catch.

Ethan smiled at her and nodded. Even if it hadn't been his plan, it was now, simply because he loved the way it made her happy. It eased his worry for a little while.

But by the time he had the food ready, she was fast asleep. He took a deep breath trying to calm himself down and figure out a way to make her feel better. He would never forgive himself if his actions hurt her. Never.

“Boss?” Cole's voice interrupted his thoughts. It was a welcome distraction for once. “I know you don’t want to be bothered right now, but we need to talk. I found something!”

“Can you come here? I can’t leave right now!”

“Well...” a hesitant knock sounded at the door. “I kinda already am. We can’t risk anyone overhearing this!”

Ethan usually didn't accept anyone coming to his cabin uninvited. It was his happy place, a time to be alone with himself and his thoughts. But right now, he didn't care. He was glad Cole had thought ahead and dared to knock on his door. With one last glance at Lila, he headed for the door and stepped outside. There were only a few times in his adult life, away from the High Court, that he had seen his beta this serious.

"What is it?" Ethan asked.

"I caught onto something last night as I was patrolling the borders. A scent. I couldn't put my finger on it, but it was definitely one of ours. And whoever it was crossed over into Jake's territory. I think we have a traitor in our midst."

Trust no one, not even your own people. And right now, Ethan was torn between taking care of his pack as their alpha and being here for Lila.

"Stay here!" Ethan ordered. "She's asleep right now. If she wakes up, tell her I'm back as soon as I can!"

"You want me to stay here and babysit your human?" Cole asked in disbelief.

"Exactly!" Ethan growled mid-shift. His wolf standing tall and dangerously over his rather unimpressed beta.

"Like, what am I supposed to do with her when she wakes up?"

"You will do nothing with her! Just make sure she's alive and breathing when I get back. Can you do that for me?"

Cole huffed in annoyance as he turned around and stomped towards the door. Deep down, Ethan knew his beta was more than curious about the woman inside that cabin.

"Be nice!" Ethan added before he spurted off into the woods, sniffing and tracking every single one of his wolves that had been out there. Most of the scents he caught belonged to the wolves that were supposed to be out here, soldiers on patrol.

He noticed wolves from the Southern pack on the other side of the border. They had increased security as well, but as long as he stayed on this side, they wouldn't attack. They wouldn't dare. They knew they were no match for him.

He ran faster, quickly losing his pursuers. But he came to a sudden halt when he caught a new scent, something that definitely shouldn't be here: Rebecca.

She definitely had no business being this far out. He had a thing with her for about a month, maybe less. It meant nothing to him, and he was pretty sure it didn't to her either. What he didn't expect was that she would dare to betray him.

A deep growl rumbled through his chest at the realization of who the traitor in his pack was. It somehow made sense, though. The reason Rebecca had come on to him was that she was a power-hungry b*tch. She knew he needed a mate at some point, and she was hoping to be his chosen mate.

He should have known better. It was his duty as alpha to seek out threats to his pack, to minimize them. Now he had a human mate on his hands, an angry rivaling beta, and a crazy woman trying to ruin everything he had worked so hard for. Rebecca should prepare for his wrath because he wouldn't accept this. He would crush her, choke her with his bare hands, and make her suffer for her treason.

He was just thinking of ways to punish Rebecca and make an example of her when Cole's voice interrupted his thoughts. "Ethan? I think you should get back to the cabin. Something is wrong with your human!"

AN// If you want to meet Ethan and his wolf, you should head over to "A Livre with Lou" (f*acebook Group). He'll pop up there sometime today to say hello.