Dominic.
In my mind, I was right behind Jade—had followed her out that door, pulled her into my arms, and apologized but in reality, I'm caught between glares, stares, and tears of joy. I hadn't missed the serious look on Lance's face the moment those words slipped and even without his wolf I can feel the protective wolf male wanting to tear into me. To make it worse, the same radiation of 'not so happy' is rolling off of my beta and reflecting through fierce blue eyes. I have no clue if they're mad at the fact that I got Jade pregnant or if their anger is based on her being upset. Either way, this is something I nor my edgy wolf really don't care to deal with right now. I need to get to my mate and beg her to forgive me.
Although she never went into detail, I saw the need to have our pup remain a secret for a while and instantly understood it. People have been judging my mate and putting so much on her shoulders since all of this started. She's a wolf—much stronger than any human but, the stress of all this can't be good for her or our pup. I want so badly to just lock her in a padded room to keep her safe from angry jealous mates, annoying mothers, and prick Alphas but my stubborn she-wolf would never go for that. Realizing that and remembering that we also have guests in the room I palm my face over the royal fuck up.
"Is she really pregnant?" Kayla's voice, ever-so soft and motivated by tears broke through the tension easily. Not wanting to say any more than I already had, I simply took a step toward her and nodded slowly. I watched as more tears lined her lower lashes then fell down her face, each with the increase of a smile. Just as quickly as it started she raised her hand and swatted each tear blazing a path down her face and chuckled. "Sorry. My wolf is just really happy. Jade gives us hope that life does really go on after losing your mate."
Those words hit me hard and for more than one reason. I can identify with Kayla having lost a mate of my own. I know that pain and the feeling that it will only end when you finally get the nerve to kill yourself. That was my fate, I was sure of it for as long as I sat inside my house mourning my loss and strolled the beach with a bottle in my hand reliving that moment I saw Alice laying in that field. I never saw myself here, in this position with a new mate, and a pup on the way. In my mind that was a pipe dream, something that would never ever happen...but it has. I have so much more than I ever expected I would and I stand to lose that if I let Jade go anywhere near Cameron. I need her to understand that. The death of Alice was hard all on its own and now that I have a second chance, I'm not risking anything! Losing Jade and also my pup in the process will surely be the end for me. I need her to see that.
Pulling myself out of my own thoughts and my past, I pulled Kayla into a tight hug and kissed the top of her head. I wish for her to have everything I have and more. The Goddess permitting, I'll see to it myself. By this point Jade's mother had made her way into the room, looking around confused and wondering what the previous noise was about.
"My daughter is pregnant and two of you decided it was best to keep it from me?" Lance spoke slow and calm but I could tell he was anything but. I don't blame him. If I had a daughter, no matter how old she was I'd probably still want to murder the wolf that even thought about kissing her.
"Jade's pregnant?" Char repeated with wide eyes, walking passed her mate and toward me. I let go of Kayla and faced my future mother-in-law with a straight back and answered with a simple head nod once again. Without hesitation, her arms flew around me and she was up on her toes pressing quick kisses into my cheek.
"Char!"
"What? I'm happy! My baby is having a baby!"
"Exactly, she's still a baby!" Lance was more than pissed now. Again I don't blame him. If he only knew all the things that...maybe I shouldn't be thinking that right now. Biting down on my lower lip I fight back the smile that's trying to reveal itself over that last thought. I'm not surprised at all my mate's pregnant already. I'm actually shocked it didn't happen sooner.
Charlene frowned, turning away from me and placed her balled fists on her hips, "How old were we Lance? And we had twins! Oh my God is it, twins?! Please say yes!"
"Mom!"
"Oh come on Jackie! You're overreacting! Both of you are! We knew they mated so it was just a matter of time. You're looking at it from a father and brother viewpoint and not the big picture. We're getting a new family member and the wolf nation is getting an heir. This is our first bit of good news since our wolves were taken! We should be happy about it!"
Lance and Jaxon looked at each other for a long minute. If I didn't know any better I would have sworn they were having a silent conversation. Char swatted both of them on the arm and shot them with one of those 'don't play with me' look that all mothers seem to have. At that, they returned their gazes to me but it wasn't nearly as intense as before.
I took this as my chance to finally get out of there and go after my girl. The last time things were rocky between us we spent two months barely talking to each other. I'll be damned if I'll let that happen again. As I stepped out the door I took in a huge pull of the night air catching the scent of my mate right away. I followed it to the back of the house and just as I was heading for the treeline I saw her walking out. The wolf within me stirred at the sight of her, an aching in my groin sent waves of need through my entire body. The closer she got to me the deeper my feelings grew. He's overjoyed and proud of our mate and pup, filling my head with more and more need to lock her up and guard the door. I fully intended to close the gap between us and apologize for a kiss but before I could, Jade threw up her hand in a sign that told me not to come any closer.
"I want the truth, Dominic. How do you see me?"
I frowned my confusion, "What do you mean how do I see you, Jade?"
A small frustrated growl rolled from her chest igniting a spark in mine. Again...not the right time.
"Do you think I'm weak?" The words were hard and cold, clearly those of a wolf on edge. Of everything I've witnessed my mate deal with, I've never seen anything to suggest that she's weak. In fact, of all the shit I've seen her put up with, I would even say she's stronger than me. I must not have answered quickly enough because I heard her growl again then mumble, "You do."
"I don't."
"That's why you want me to stay behind. That's why you insist on doing everything yourself. I'm a piece of glass to you...to everyone!"
"Jade—"
"Shift!" She shouted over me and honestly, it made me flinch. Jade is smaller than me in both forms but her wolf—though always calm and laid back—has just as much power as mine, if not more. The urge to do as she said was taunting me but without reason, I'm holding on as best I can to not comply. She began to quickly peel off her clothes with my thick hoodie being the first to go. Right away my eyes settled on her small but round belly and anger started to seep in.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" I couldn't hold in the emotion any longer. She isn't doing what I think she is and if she's in fact thinking she's going to fight me to prove a point she has another thing coming.
"I'm not weak Dominic. I'm going to show you that. Shift now!"
She's my pregnant mate and as I told her before, my alpha, but the dominant wolf in me is not liking her tone nor the fact that this feels like a challenge. It takes all that I have to hold back but again I replied with the same answer, "No!"
Her eyes flashed before me and took on an intimidating glow. I've never seen my cool, calm mate act this way and can only think that this time, her wolf is really pissed. Even still, I'm not giving in to this demand and risk hurting her or my child. She continued taking her clothes off until she was down to her bra and panties. Her stomach is even more clear to me now and looks bigger than I remembered from this morning. The thought of her fighting angers me even more now. What the fuck is she thinking?
She shifted into that huge white wolf, the silver streak stretching from the tip of her nose down to her tail shined underneath the starlit sky. I thought pregnant females couldn't shift? I was too awestruck in the first minutes to realize she was sizing me up and circling me like her prey. I try my best to ignore the urge growing stronger but then she snapped at my leg knowing it would irritate my wolf. She did it a second time and by the third, I couldn't deny the challenge any longer. I pulled off my clothes as quickly as possible and shifted, easily towering over her. Jade wasn't the least bit fazed by the fact and continued to walk around me with threatening eyes.
I followed her lead, pacing just as she was, waiting for her to make a move but prayed she wouldn't. I know for a fact we'd never hurt our mate but right now all we can focus on is the fact that we're being challenged. After the second time we circled each other, Jade snapped at me narrowly missing my snout. She could have gotten me and I know for a fact that if she really wanted, her teeth would have connected with my nose. Out of instinct, I snapped back, in a way to warn her that this needs to stop now. Instead, she lunged at me biting my front leg so hard I let out a loud howl that shook the trees around us.
Anger sets in with a strong desire to make her submit to me. Before I knew it the two of us were fused together in a huge ball of brown and white fur, battling for dominance. Trying my damndest to avoid her stomach that even in this form is looking sort of round I tripped to pin her down but found the thought to be much easier than actually doing so. As I rolled Jade onto her back, my training with Lance kicked in. My mission was to get her in the position where she had no choice but to bare her neck to me and submit but as I went in for the ending shot, she used her small size to wiggle from under me and quickly jumped onto my back. Again, she could have gotten what she wanted, bit down on my neck, and took me out but she didn't. As a reflex, I swing around sending her backward onto her back and instantly regretted it.
'Jade stop this! You could get hurt!'
I growled into her head but she got up and circled me again with the most vicious snarl I've ever heard from her. I can't take this anymore. The worry over the safety of my pup and idea of hurting my own mate is too much to bear but the powerful male inside me won't just give in. One of the first moves Lance taught me was to subdue without injury. Applying those steps to this situation I leaned down preparing to pounce with my head angled to go straight for my mate's throat. The purpose is not to hurt her but to show her that I have the upper hand. The second the opportunity presented itself I rushed forward going for her neck but instead of her being surprised by my sudden movement she whipped her head around and latched onto my neck. Using all her weight she backed me down until I was sitting and never once loosened her grip. Stunned by the fact that she had me and I couldn't move, I rolled toward her and bared my stomach with a defeated whine pushing through my nose.
It dawns on me at this moment that she was toying with me the whole time. She anticipated each of my moves and used her size and speed against me. She had more than one chance to take me out but didn't prove her point. I whined again trying to turn my head towards her. Licking the side of her head caused her to release me and when she did she took a few steps back staring at me hard as if she were waiting for me to attempt to get back up. My wolf recognized her as our mate but throwing this challenge for even her was never an option. She had me and even more now, she's earned my respect. I shifted back so that I was still on my back and propped up on my elbows, our eyes still locked on one another. A few seconds later she too returned to her human form, standing over me. I nodded to her unspoken words and still made no move to get up.
"I don't want to fight you, mate—ever again—but I need you to realize that I'm pregnant, not fragile. My wolf is not always near the surface like yours but she's here and no longer running away from anything."
"I know Jade and I'm sorry. It's just that my fear of losing you blinds me to your strengths. I failed to protect one mate and refuse to fail you."
The darkness in her eyes seemed to fade with that as did the glow she had when she first set eyes on me walking out of the woods. "You could never fail me—" she paused running a frustrated hand through her hair, "What is it about Cameron that does this to us? How is he able to instill doubt in you as a mate and put so much distance between us?! We go from this hand-in-hand couple to trying to take on the world individually! We've seen it for ourselves, Dominic! We do great things when we're together but we keep letting Cameron—" She paused again but this time her eyes widened. When her hand fell down over her stomach I quickly jumped to my feet thinking something was wrong with the pup but instead of seeing pain, a smile stretched across her face.
"It's been here...all along! We were so busy trying to do things on our own that...Dominic, Hemming felt his wolf when he touched my stomach because we created this baby together! Cameron bit me after you did so he has—had a piece of both of us in him. He wasn't strong because of me but because of us! We couldn't stop him because we were trying to do it on our own and not together. That's how we get their wolves back! We have to do it together!"
I shook my head at the revelation. That makes sense but at the same time, it doesn't. "But we touched that man earlier when he begged for forgiveness. Why did he get his wolf back then?"
"We were distracted. The whole time you were focused on Trent's motives and I was trying to keep you calm." Having just learned a lesson about doubting my mate I grabbed our clothes and we dressed as fast as we could. Taking hold of her hand I moved quickly toward the back door the whole time I was looking up at the stars, silently praying the Moon Goddess. The joy in Jade's eyes tells me she's never been so sure and I pray that that joy isn't short-lived.