Pregnant and Rejected

NICHOLE

“Hey! Let’s go dance,” Becky says, pulling me out of the kitchen, away from the beer pong and drinking games. I laugh, too drunk to care anymore.

We reach the dance floor and start dancing in wild, sloppy movements.

“We look ridiculous!” I giggle at Becky.

“Naw, I think we look sexy!” she slurs, wiggling her hips.

A guy comes up and starts grinding against my back. I smirk and start grinding against him, not caring who it is. I’ve been uptight for so long, why not just let loose and try to have fun?

He whispers in my ear, his voice husky with alcohol, “My name is Aaron. You wanna go upstairs and get to know each other?”

His words are like a splash of cold water on my face.

No way.

I stop dancing and grab Becky, leaving the dance floor.

We sink onto the couch next to Andrew and Caitlyn, and I try to shake off my discomfort.

“So Nikki, anyone here caught your eye yet?” Andrew asks, wiggling his eyebrows at me. Caitlyn smacks him.

“Hey! What was that for?”

“We all know she is waiting for her mate, unlike someone here,” she says, shooting a glare at him.

I try to laugh off their attention. It’s not like I haven’t had a boyfriend before: a couple years ago I dated a cute chemistry major named Josh, but it ended when his mate appeared on the scene, instantly capturing his heart.

Becky grabs my hand.

“It’s okay to wait for your mate. Heck, I’ve been waiting just as long as you.”

“My mom always said it’s more worthwhile to save your first time for your mate, and I’ve always clung to that,” I reply. “But sometimes I feel so awkward at parties like this where everyone is hooking up.”

“Don’t worry, Nikki.” Becky hugs me. “Your mate will come along and sweep you off your feet before you even know it. Now stop pouting and let’s go get some more alcohol!”

I smile and follow her. She has always been able to cheer me up.

The party’s energy rises to a fever pitch, the room swirling with faces: some familiar, others complete strangers.

A little while later, Becky ditches me to flirt with a hot guy from Caitlyn’s pack, and I start conversing with one of my old friends, Jake, the son of Shadow Creek’s alpha.

“So, Nikki, what have you been up to since high school?” Jake asks me, slurping on a red solo cup.

“I’m almost finished with my medical degree, just sprinting for the finish line!” I chuckle.

“Will you open a practice back here at home when you’re finished?” he asks. “Wolf hunting has skyrocketed in this area. We could use another werewolf doctor around here.”

My stomach drops with dread at this. I haven’t shifted at home recently, but my parents warned me about the strange influx of hunters recently. Terrifying for any werewolf.

“I’m not sure about my plans,” I reply. “How about you? The last thing I remember is you taking a scholarship to play college football over in California?”

“Well, after I graduated, I took a job offer to play with the Miami Dolphins and while down there I met Payton. She was trying out to be one of the cheerleaders and we have been together ever since.”

“Payton, what a nice name! Is she from a pack in California?”

“No…” Jake pauses. “She’s…actually a human.”

My eyes widen.

“But Jake, aren’t you going to be the next alpha of our pack?”

A dopey smile spreads across his face and he shrugs.

“I don’t know what to tell you, Nikki, Payton’s the mate for me.”

I’m happy for him, I guess, but I can’t believe what I’m hearing.

Human and werewolf relationships are possible, but without their own pack, a human mate weakens a werewolf’s all-important web of connections. It’s almost like cutting his potential strength in half.

How could a future alpha put his leadership standing in jeopardy—for a girl?

Wanting to choose my words carefully, I take a slow breath.

And it hits me: a scent like mint, cinnamon, and woods.

Jake starts to speak again, but I can’t hear him.

The smell is good. Really good.

“Sorry, Jake, but I have to go,” I say and walk away.

Following the scent into the kitchen, I find Caitlyn and Andrew conversing with a tall, looming man with broad shoulders and defined musculature.

The scent floods my senses; I can hardly breathe.

“Oh, Nikki, come over here and meet my brother, Hunter,” Caitlyn says, smilingly pulling me over.

Hunter stiffens.

He towers over me, his dark shaggy hair like a curtain that stops mid-forehead, framing the most beautiful blue eyes I have ever seen.

“Mate!” my wolf yells in my head.

My heart thrashes against my chest.

Every fiber of my body gravitates toward this man, and it’s the most terrifying, out-of-control feeling of my life.

“Hunter, I want you to meet my mate’s best friend, Nikki. Nikki, this is my older brother, Hunter,” Caitlyn says, smiling.

Our eyes lock, and my stomach drops through the floor.

“Mate,” Hunter says, just above a whisper, and everyone freezes in shock. “Mine.”