Pregnant And Rejected By My Alpha Mate By Caroline Above Chapter 155


    Chapter 155 Bastien Takes Care of Arabe


    Bastien’s POV


    All I ever seem to do these days is pace.


    Pace, scour the news from Elysium and try to figure out what hell I’m going to do. I cannot stomach the


    idea of standing by and doing nothing, but Arabe gets so frantic every time I mention going back or


    taking action that I’ve learned to cool my temper around her.


    It’s strange, I’ve witnessed a thousand of Be’s tantrums over the years, but she’s never been a


    cowardly wolf. No, her fits have almost always been about not getting her way, this is the first time I’ve


    ever seen her so beside herself out of fear. She must have been terribly traumatized to be this afraid,


    and things must be even worse in Elysium then I realized if she feels she has no allies there. I still find


    it hard to believe my mother, Aiden and Donovan would all be so easily fooled by Selene, but


    everything I read in the papers or see on TV backs up what Arabe says.


    The pack is about ready to throw me out as Alpha, and my so-called mate is nowhere to be found. If


    anything, she stirs up the discontent by making herself a victim at the expense of my absence.


    Unfortunately the cable was outst week during the press conference she gave, but Arabe showed


    me the papers the next day, which detailed how my wife bemoaned my negligence and med me for


    everything going wrong at home.


    I don’t want to upset Arabe, but I cannot allow this to go on, I have to return home and expose my


    cousin and traitorous wife. I’m supposed to be here nning my next move, but every time I think of a


    new idea, Arabe shoots it down. I admit she knows the current situation better than I do, but I think


    I’ve been letting her fear guide us both, and that cannot continue.


    My wolf goes on high alert when I smell Be drawing near the apartment and hear her crying. I’m


    automatically bracing myself for danger when she stumbles into the room, bruised and sobbing. “Be!”


    Rushing to her side, I lock the door behind her and gather her up, trying to get a look at her even as


    she copses into my arms. “What happened?”


    “It was ise.” She wails, sniffling loudly, “He called an audience with me and I thought it was just to


    talk about the state dinner next week, but it wasn’t.”


    Original from N?velDrama.Org.


    “ise did this?!” I demand fiercely, finally pushing her off of me long enough to get a look at the dark


    bruise blooming across her cheek. What kind of a man hits and innocent woman? I think in horror, what


    kind of Alpha treats his subjects that way?


    The same kind that would lock all the poor and diabled people in an underground prison and ban them


    from mixing with their “betters”. Axel supplies with a snarl.


    “Yes!” Arabe cries, “oh Bastien, he was terrifying. He’s been having me followed, he said he knew I’d


    been exploring the city, going to the underground. He said he didn’t give me permission to roam


    Tartarus at will and threatened to kill me if I crossed him again.”


    “What?” Tutter in disbelief, that’s insane.”


    “He’s insane!” Arabe agreed. “it’s only a blessing he didn’t see us together. We can’t risk you leaving


    the house again, or he might kill us both.”


    As guilty as I feel for thinking it, I can’t help but feel Arabe is being hysterical. First because breaking


    aw and going to the underground is a far cry from merely stepping outside one’s own front door


    especially when ise has no idea who I am. Second because regardless of the threat it may pose, I


    have zero intention of lying down and letting a tyrant walk all over me. And third, because none of this


    makes any sense. I mean, I know ise is a ruthless tyrant, but I have to be missing some detail here.


    Why would he care so much about a random she-wolf who doesn’t even belong to his pack defying


    him? Why would it matter if he saw another visitor staying with her.


    She’s not telling us everything. Axel reasons, far more calmly than I would have expected him to feel


    under the circumstances. That’s the only exnation


    “Come here,” I encourage Arabe gently, guiding her to the kitchen, “Let me take a look at your


    cheek.”


    As we move across the room I realize Arabe is limping, so I sweep her up into my arms and set her


    on the counter. “Just breath Be.” I encourage. “Can you do that for me?”


    The sobbing blonde heaves in a few gulps of breath, and when her shaking has lessened, I prompt her


    to start from the beginning.


    “It’s like I told you,” She chokes, “He called me for an audience and attacked me.”


    Though bruised, her cheek looks as if it will heel rtively quickly. Based on my own battle experience,


    I’d say he walloped her pretty hard, but only struck once. At least the bastard is capable of that much


    restraint. “Okay, where else are you hurt?” I ask, looking her over.


    “Just my cheek and my ankle.” She sniffs, her lips trembling dangerously.


    Moving to examine her ankle, I can’t find anything visibly wrong with it, but presume it must be a sprain.


    “Be, why was ise having you followed?” I don’t really know a delicate way of asking this question,


    so I simply blurt out the tactless thought in my mind, “Why does he care about you, or what you’re


    doing in the city?”


    Arabe flushes, looking surprised by my blunt words and unsure how to answer, I can see the gears


    spinning in her head, and I know Axel was right. she is hiding something. It’s also clear she doesn’t


    want to tell me her secret. Her lips are pursed and her brown eyes are darting around as if searching


    for an answer. “What is it, Be?” I encourage, “You can tell me.”


    She peeked up at me from beneath hershes, looking more vulnerable than I can remember seeing


    her in a very long time. “You have to promise you won’t get mad.”


    Just tell me, honey. I promise you’ll feel better with everything out in the open.”


    Staring at herp and nervously twiddling her fingers, she admits, “ise he’s been pursuing me.” Her


    voice is barely louder than a whisper, “He came onto me when I first arrived but I told him I wasn’t that


    kind of girl. I don’t think he knows how to take no for an answer.”


    Damn, I think, ovee with fury and frustration. This exins a lot, including why a strange man’s


    mere presence could cause problems for Arabe. It’s also a very unfortunateplication, for both of


    us. “Well he has a funny way of showing his affection.” I growl, pulling a bag of frozen peas from the


    freezer and tenderly applying it to her cheek. She winces and tries to push me away, but I hush her and


    hold firm, “I know it hurts, darling. Just give it a moment. It will help.”


    *Thank you for taking care of me, Bastien.” She whimpers, “I don’t know what i’d do without you.”


    “You don’t ever have to worry about that again.” I vow. “From here on out, it’s you and me, Be. We’re


    going to get through this together.”


    She blinks up at me tearfully, her hands clutching my shirt in an iron grip. But how?”


    In this moment I can almost see her as a child again, when she inevitably got herself in over her head


    trying to prove herself and Flynn and I would have toe to the rescue. I recognize the hallmarks


    well, and I have a feeling this is more of the same. I don’t doubt she’s hurting, but Arabe has never


    been the type to pull out the puppy dog eyes unless she’s trying to garner sympathy.


    Nothing excuses what ise has done, but I wouldn’t be surprised if she hadn’te here intending to


    charm him and subsequently bit off more than she can chew. Sweet and vulnerable is not her style


    unless she’s trying to get out of trouble, then she’ll pull out all the stops to avoid ountability,


    “We’ve got to get out of this city.” I insist, hoping this incident will finally make her see how dangerous it


    is to stay here. “I need to return to Elysium, and we need to get you away from ise.”


    “No!” Arabe yelps, surprising me, “We can’t leave. This is the only ce we’re safe from Selene.”


    Furrowing my brow in confusion, I study Flynn’s sister closely, thinking perhaps ise hit her harder


    than I realized. “But Be, we aren’t safe here either” I remind her. “ise is never going to be an ally


    to me, and he’s a threat to us both.”


    “Actually, I’ve been thinking.” Arabe says, though it truly seems like she’s making this up as she goes


    along. “Maybe I should just give in to ise.”


    “What are you talking about?” I demand.


    “He might help us if I did.” She shrugs.


    “Be, you’ve spent weeks telling me what a monster he is and that he’d kill me for the Nova Pack and


    the first chance.” I exim.


    “I just, I don’t know what else to do!” She cries, jumping down off the counter. “it’s different for you, you


    can go back and fight Selene and Frederic, but I’m exiled – from our pack and from all of our allies’ too.


    I don’t have a choice but to stay in Tartarus, and this might be the only way I can do so safely.”


    “No,” imand forcefully. “That isn’t happening. When I go home, you’lle with me. I’m going to


    make things right.”


    She shakes her head, tears streaming down her cheeks. “You still don’t get it, do you?” She asks. “The


    moment you go back there, they’ll turn you against me. They’ll convince you i’m evil. They’ve already


    done it once, they can do it again.”


    Understanding finally sinks in, and I realize this is what she’s been afraid of all along. “Then we won’t


    give them a choice.” I decide. “We’ll make it so nothing cane between us.”


    “What do you mean?” Arabe questions, sounding defeated,


    “We’ll get married.”