Pregnant and Rejected by My Alpha Mate

Chapter 16

#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.”

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

from the gardens at his feet. Bastien gestures us forward, still vibrating

asking whether she really has to do this. Bastien makes short work of her hesitance,

the way I treated you. I was horribly disrespectful and I should never have spoken to my Alpha’s wife in such

woman quickly amends her statement. “I should never have treated you that way, no

not sure what I’d expected, but this isn’t it. Part of me is indignant: I’ll 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

down at the she-wolf with growing contempt. She’d been so fierce and fearless when she was bullying me, emboldened by my vulnerability

you never do so again: you

me a small smile, before turning his attention to the gathered audience. “That goes for all of you.” He announces, “if I hear anyone speaking

display fades almost immediately. Everything was fine when we sat down to dinner, but by the end of the second course,

almost as if he’s drunk – but he’s 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 can’t even focus enough

does not go unnoticed. I see his parents exchange glances a few

to shift toward the ballroom, I

daze. His

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

and asks him to dance. I recognize her as one of the women who’d been

backward glance. Unease prickles at the back of my neck, It was extremely odd for a pack member to approach and proposition an

my marriage – but I know something is wrong. This is not Bastien. His behavior is completely out of character, regardless of how he may feel about me or Arabella or

Aiden studying Bastien’s wine glass out of the corner of my eye. I shift in his direction and our eyes meet. We’re both thinking the same thing. Aiden slips the goblet into

is all the confirmation I need to

in my mind as I search

a risk I

the blonde, who is wrapped around

sees me over his partner’s shoulder he steps away from her without a word, closing the distance between us as if in a trance. I rise

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

same dominant Alpha he’s always been, and my body responds thus whether my brain

shifting moods take a turn for the risqué. One moment we’re dancing and the next Bastien has dragged me out a

his attention. “Take me home.” i free my hands from their trapped position between our bodies and catch his face between them. “I need you to

for a long moment, as if trying to remember something he’s long forgot. Bastien’s confused expression gives way to something feverish and fierce before he takes me by the hand and pulls

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