Her Arranged Alpha Husband by Alicia Banks
Chapter 24
Teri
If Teri thought James was terrifying, Mark was even worse. There was something about how she felt when he just showed up after Ben had left. Teri wanted to tell him that it would be a while until Ben was back, so he could come back then. Mark had other plans and before she could get anything out, he had pushed his way in and was talking to her like they were old friends. They weren’t. He had tried to take advantage of her, and Teri hadn’t forgotten how helpless she had felt when he had turned on the charm. If he was doing that again, it didn’t have any effect on her. Teri liked the thought of that.
Once he pushed his way in, she stood outside the door and asked him what it was that he was doing there. “I told you that Ben isn’t here. I can’t imagine that you and I have much business.” Her voice sounded haughty, but it was just because of what happened the last time they were together. Teri felt like she had a right and a reason to act the way she did.
“I was hoping that we could let bygones be bygones. I don’t want us to start off on the wrong foot. If you are going to stay, then we should get to know each other.”
Teri nodded her head but didn’t think that she was supposed to be friends with Mark. There was a friendship between him and her husband, but that was strained because he had flirted with her in such a fashion. Teri still felt the way he looked at her was wrong and how it had all made her feel. She needed that.
“I would rather we do that when my husband is around, thank you.”
For a moment, Teri thought that he was going to try to push it one way or another, but she was grateful that he instead seemed to take it all in and didn’t push it. Teri was hoping that he would leave, and he did. He turned back to her and asked why she was acting so cold. Teri could have mentioned how he was just as bad as James and all the bad ill she felt there, but she just smiled and said she was just likely tired and needed to go to sleep. “You know, pregnancy and all.”
Mark’s face tightened up and he left moments later. The look, the anger, it was an expression that Teri wasn’t going to be able to forget very easily. There was something more to it than the fact that she had said no to him. It was like he hated her and the children she had mentioned. Teri didn’t like the feeling he gave her at all.
When he was gone, she locked the door, but it didn’t feel like she was any safer. She remembered the talk she had with Ben. He was convinced that everything was going to be okay, but what if it wasn’t? Teri had an urge to run off again. She was feeling like anything could happen and it wasn’t just Ben’s position that they had to worry about. Teri was worried about her kids. She thought about the place they’d gone before, and Teri left in that direction. She left with a note on the bed, telling Ben where she would be. Teri wasn’t running from him, but she was running from his family. Mark was the last straw. Why did they hate her so much?
***
Ben came to the cabin later that evening and he was not happy that she was there. Teri had prepared herself, wore more clothing layers and had gotten there without many problems. Ben held her for at least five minutes when he came in. His body was warm and even though there was a fire going inside, Teri was warmer with him right there. He was so warm, and she felt like it was a hug that could last forever. She certainly wanted it to.
“I was so worried about you. I thought we talked about this, and you promised me that you weren’t going to do that. You can’t just take off.”
Teri apologized, but she didn’t feel like it was needed. If Ben knew how ill she felt around Mark, he would know that there was a reason for it. Teri had always listened to her gut. It was how she got through life so far. Something was going on and it included danger to her and her children. She wanted Ben to stay there with her and hide, but she didn’t voice that. She needed him to complete his destiny and become Alpha. If he did any differently, he would always blame her and always wonder what could have happened. Teri didn’t want that between them.
“Mark was giving me these weird vibes and while I want you to fight back, I don’t want to lose our kids. I said something about the pregnancy, and he looked like he hated me. I don’t know why they hate me, but I can’t ignore it. The feeling was so strong, so when he left, I took off. I thought it was better than anything else. I can’t wait for something bad to happen while you are away. Your father can send you into traps, then send someone to take care of me.”
Ben didn’t know if he believed it was that dangerous, but Teri did. She insisted that it was, and Ben said that it was better to be safe. “I hate to think of you here by yourself.”
“I know. Soon you will be the Alpha, and this will all be behind us. Watch out for them, Ben. There is something bad about them. I know you can feel it too.”
Ben didn’t know what to think. He was disturbed that she had taken off again, but he didn’t get into it too much about how she should have waited for him. Ben was feeling strange about it all and he wanted her to be safe, so he was glad that she had taken off in that circumstance. She had been right before, and Ben was waiting for another attack from the clan that he had upset because he wouldn’t sleep with the leader. Ben was mucking things up and though Teri assured him that it was going to be okay, it was clear he wasn’t sure of that at all.
Teri tried to make him feel better with her words and when that didn’t work, she used her body. It was clear that Ben was beside himself when she started to lay it on thick. Teri knew that they had to have some conversations soon about everything that was going on, but that didn’t mean that she was ready for it. Ben was quick to get with the program, so she was quick to take it to the next level. They had enjoyed themselves in the cabin, so it was easy to see that they could enjoy themselves again.
Afterwards, Teri was shaking from the treatment of her body and Ben asked her if she was okay. “Are you cold?”
She laughed in response because there was no way that she was cold. Teri was sure that she was burning up instead, but that wasn’t because of anything bad. Teri was sure that her love for Ben was always going to be there. Maybe she wished that it wasn’t, but what could she do? He was certainly not an easy person to love. Everyone around him was trying to keep the two of them apart. It made Teri crazy.
Ben had to go back to the village and his people. The ceremony for the Alpha title to be switched wasn’t that far away. Teri worried that things weren’t going to go as he had thought they would. Ben worried that something would happen to her there, and Teri worried about him in the village. She was safe in the cabin; she just knew that, and it meant that she had to stay there.
“I had a dream about a woman that you wronged in some way. She is coming for you in the next couple of days. She is going to attack at night while everyone is sleeping. Have you wronged a woman lately?”
Ben was taken aback, and Teri wished that she hadn’t asked. It was clear that it wasn’t something that she wanted to know the answer to, but she’d said it, the words were out, and now she had to wait for an answer. In her dreams, the woman was mad because Ben wouldn’t be with her. He had left that part out about his day if it was true. She waved him off, instead of hearing him stumble through an answer. “You know what? It doesn’t matter. Just be careful, okay?”
Ben said that he would be, and they held on to each other just a little bit longer before he left. Teri was clinging to him. She wanted him to stay but knew that he had his own destiny to fulfill. Her job was to keep the fire burning while he was away, figuratively and literally.
