Forced Mates

They Know

An hour passes with us resting and talking as we wait out his knot. When it finally releases, we gather our clothes and get dressed. My eyes train on him as we walk to the pack house, hand in hand. He catches me and smiles.
"What?"
"You look handsome in the moonlight," I reply with a shrug and a grin as a blush dusts my cheeks.
Liam squeezes my hand and pulls me to his chest.
He looks down at me with adoration as he continues to smirk. Then, he bends down and presses his lips to mine in a gentle kiss.
"You're beautiful," he whispers against my lips before looking down at me.
I blush and bury my head in his chest.
"You're just saying that."
"No," he starts as his forefinger and thumb grip my chin.
"I mean it. I always thought you were."
We walk side by side under the full orange moon, breaking through the woods until we find the clearing. I can see the pack house looming in the distance.
As we approach the door, it opens and out walk Lydia and Jordan. He must be seeing her off. I just wish he'd done it sooner so I didn't have to stand here awkwardly waiting for the gap to widen enough for me to pass by. Jordan looks at me with his brows knit and tilts his head slightly.
"You smell different, Rose... What happened?"
I look away, not wanting to answer and feel Liam wrap a possessive arm around my waist.
"Mine," he growls with glowing eyes and pulls me into the pack house, past Jordan and Lydia.
"Whoa! What's that smell?" Malia asks and several others sniff the air before narrowing their eyes at me.
"Rose mated," Derek states and I blush before looking at Liam.
"But I thought Jordan was your mate," Malia says in confusion without missing a beat and my gaze drops to my feet.
Liam growls and pulls me closer as he whispers sweet and loving words in my ear, nuzzling my neck.
"If that's true, then that means..." Derek trails off and his eyes widen.
"Please tell me you didn't."