Banner/Pic by Maya_2011. Read her story!
p.s. if anyone wants to make pictures or covers, I'll post them in the upcoming chapters!
“Ugh.” I groaned and tried to slam the door. I didn’t think he was that fast. He held the door open with little trouble as I used my whole body weight to keep him out. “Go away.”
“I don’t think so.” He eased the door open a little bit more. I readjusted my hold on the counter and the wall. I didn’t want to face him. “You’d better move or you’ll get hurt.”
“Fine.” I huffed. I knew it was useless to fight him in the brute force category. I’d choose to fight him in some other category. It was bound to happen since I was carrying his baby. “Let the door go and I’ll come out.”
“Fine.” He muttered before letting the door go. It slammed shut from the force I was using. I winced. Anyone in the house would hear that. I didn’t want to bring attention towards the fact that Mac was up here with me.
I took a deep breath before opening the door to see Mac. He was sitting on Eddy and Margaret's bed.
"At least knowing what we are makes the werewolf secret easier for you to deal with."
I nodded and leaned on the door frame. "If I knew you were part of Margaret's family I wouldn't have gotten close to you."
He smirked. "She's my little sister."
At least that cleared up one of the many worries I had.
“So…” his eyes dipped to my stomach, “You think you’re having my kid?”
I nodded. “Yep.”
“This isn’t a good thing.” He stated matter-of-factly.
I didn’t want to show him how much that hurt me. I didn’t want my child to grow up thinking he or she was just a mistake in its father’s eyes.
“There’s a reason I’ve stayed child free.” He said like it explained everything.
“Children would get in the way of your bachelor life, wouldn’t they?”
He shook his head. “That’s not why I’ve stayed childless for all these years.”
I felt my blood drain from my face. Had I slept with someone older than my own father?!
His brow creased. “What’s with the look of horror?”
“How old are you?” I studied his face. He did not look old. I’d guess late twenties, early thirties. But unless you got a date of birth from a werewolf you couldn’t be sure just how old they were. They just didn’t age.
He scratched the back of his neck. “I don’t usually disclose that kind of information.”
I started heading towards the door of the room. It was weird being in Eddy and Margaret’s room. Really weird. Eddy had changed rooms since he had shared nights in the other one with me. He couldn’t bring his bride into the same bed that I had shared with him.
“Where are you going?” He asked following behind me.
“To my own age group.” I muttered walking down the stairs. I cringed thinking of the night Mac and I had spent together. “Do you normally prey on young women? You sicko!” I harshly whispered. I knew there had to be someone lurking around. I didn’t want to get caught with this old pervert!
In my haste I jumped down the last few steps and almost fell right onto my face. “Will you stop it?” Mac growled at me when he caught me by my waist. He brought me close to him. I could feel his hands on my belly for a second. “You’re freaking out.” He put me on my feet, but held me by my elbow. “We need to talk.”
I pulled my arm away from him. He didn’t fight me. “I don’t want to talk to you!” I wouldn't have gotten far if he really didn't want me to escape. He was probably trying to keep this as low-key as I wanted to. He probably thought I'd yell if he kept me trapped.
He rolled his eyes and muttered something as I walked away. I made my way outside and sat next to Nikki at a table. She eyed me suspiciously.
“What's up your beautiful bottom?” Jason’s eyes were humorous, but he didn’t know he was playing with fire.
When I didn’t say anything to him and just stared him down, he got the hint. He collected his things and walked away from me. “I’ll just excuse myself.”
“Good boy.” Nikki teased as he walked away. She turned her attention back to me. “Want something to eat? You’re a little grouchy.”
Her gaze flickered behind me. I had a millisecond of panic. Mac had probably followed me out here to cause a spectacle. A plate appeared in front of me having everything I love on it. I looked up expecting to tongue lash someone else. But it was dad. He watched me with a twinkle in his eye, daring me to say something sarcastic to him. This was my dad's way for making it up to me for our little argument. Food solved everything in our family.
I straightened myself in the chair and did my best to smile. “Thanks Dad.”
He nodded and took Jason’s old seat. Everyone left me alone so long as my dad was sitting next to me.
After I was done eating, I sat there with my head on my dad's shoulder as he patted my knee. We weren’t saying anything, just sitting there together. It was nice to just watch the pack converse together during Margaret’s party. It was like nothing at all was wrong. It was just like everything should be.
Nikki came over and held out her hand. “We’re going to play volleyball.”
She knew how much I loved the game while we were growing up. I played it through high school and college in my free time.
I shook my head. “I don’t think so Nikki. I’m not feeling up to it.” Her brows creased and my dad turned to look at me. “What?”
“You can’t bullshit us.” Nikki sat down next to me now. “What’s wrong? You were fine when I got here, was it because of Jason? I’ll hold him down and you can beat him up.” She nudged me with her elbow.
I shook my head. “I’m just a little queasy.”
Nikki rolled her eyes. “I just said you can’t bullshit us.”
I didn’t know what was giving it away. So I just shrugged. “I don’t want to talk about it right now. It’ll just cause a scene and I don’t want that on Margaret’s birthday.”
Nikki eyed me. “Well come play then.”
I sighed and gave in. We all knew that Nikki was going to be pestering me to play until I agreed to it.
When we got to the grassy area, I took a look at the teams.
"Eddy and Jason have to be on the same team." I groaned as we walked up to the groups. "You know they'll get crazy competitive if they're not."
Nikki shook her head. "You boys will be on your best behavior during this game right?" She asked as we were a bit closer now.
They both nodded as Nikki swore them into behaving themselves. Nikki and I joined Jason's team. I was just happy that Mac wasn't taking part in the game.
We all got into position. I would've been setter, but I couldn't jump anymore and playing against werewolves sucked. I knew I had no chance one on one with these people. Jason held his hand out for a "low-five" and I slapped it as hard as I could.
He smirked. "Take it easy." We both knew that I was more likely to hurt myself on his hand before I'd be able to hurt him.
I would've slapped him, but Nikki had the ball.
I scoffed. "You take it easy."
It was enough of a distraction, just to make sure his eyes stayed on mine. She aimed the ball right for the back of his head. It hit and bounced over the net. I couldn't stop laughing at the shock that covered his face. The serve didn't count, but it was funny.
The game was fair and not too competitive for about 10 minutes. Then the two started throwing insults at each other. Most of it was funny. Maybe five minutes of that went by and they stepped up their competitiveness again. I glanced at Nikki and she motioned for me to get off the court.
Of course the guys got too aggressive, so there was a possibility I could get hurt.
Eddy and Jason got into their blindly competitive mood before I could get out of the way. Because I had rotated into the setting position, I was the least able to get out of their little pissing contest. I knew how they were during competitions just like this, so I should have known this was going to happen. It always did.
I didn’t have the werewolf speed, but they did, and they were using it. I was getting out of the way when Jason bumped me. I hadn’t even seen him because I had turned my back to him in my attempt to escape. It wasn’t a big deal. I’d been bumped and jostled before and it never was a cause for concern. But things were different now, I was pregnant.
They had promised to behave themselves and I my gut told me not to believe them. I should have gone with my gut.
I landed on my hands and knees, at least 3 feet onto Eddy’s side of the net. I was fine and I knew I was a little scraped up, but otherwise fine. Jason hadn’t bumped me too hard, though I’d probably have a bruise. Nothing was broken or ruined. My palms and my knees burned a bit from the landing. I was just stunned.
Jason knew about the baby. He had been teasing me about it all day. He had promised he wouldn’t let his competitive edge with Eddy ruin the day for us all. But he did anyway.
Nikki was kneeling by me in a heartbeat. “Are you okay?”
I nodded. “Just a little startled.”
She pulled me up off the ground and out of the way of the guys. They hadn’t even stopped to notice that I had fallen. I shook my head and looked at my hands and knees. The skin on my hands was dimpled, but not broken. My knees were a little skinned, but they weren’t bleeding. Margaret's leggings took most of the damage, which I felt guilty for ruining.
My side ached where Jason had pushed me. When I touched it I hissed. Maybe Jason had fractured a rib or something. I hadn’t been paying attention to any pain on my side until I touched it. I looked over when people started coming over.
Dad looked pissed. He’d seen the whole thing and knowing him, he took a moment to breathe so he wouldn’t tear off Jason’s head.
Albert, the pack doctor, was almost by my side. He probably started coming over when Jason knocked me down.
Margaret was already running over. She was probably as worried as Nikki was.
But I didn’t spot Mac with the few that were headed towards us. Usually werewolves were very protective of their pregnant women…but then again we weren’t a couple or anything. Maybe it was different for werewolves when they’re not in a relationship with the woman they knocked up.
Nikki gasped at me when I kept her hand away from my tender side. “Did he break your rib?”
I hushed her. “Don’t be silly. You would’ve heard it if it snapped.”
Her eyes instantly shot to the guys in question. I saw the determination there. She was going to cause some drama.
I shook my head and grabbed her arm. “It’s okay. I’m okay.”
By now Albert was here and trying to usher me away from everyone. He probably wanted me to go to the infirmary and make sure everything was fine. Everyone made such a big deal over the pregnant woman falling. I didn’t even have a big belly yet!
I tried pulling Nikki with me, but she wouldn’t budge. “Nikki, come with me.”
When a hand touched my side I yelped and tried to move away from it. It stung and I had been caught by surprise. But I was held firmly in place. When I looked back I expected to see Albert, since he was the pack doctor and all. But it wasn’t him. It was Mac and he did not look happy.
I looked back at Nikki, but she was still focused on the guys. They were still completely oblivious to what had happened. Mac grabbed my wrists and brought my palms together to look for any damage. His thumbs went over the base of my hand, wiping away any dirt that might've stuck. It was a surprising gentle touch considering the anger I saw in his eyes.
I was too shocked to do anything besides stand there and let him do what he wanted.
If I knew that this wasn’t typical behavior for a wolf's reaction to a stranger, then everyone else around us knew it too. No one knew that Mac was the father of my child! If anyone was watching him they would know something was up! When I looked around to see just who was looking at us, I was surprised not to see many. How could they not notice Mac standing here?
But then again, I hadn’t known he was here until he touched me. To have that kind of control, even as upset as he was, led me to believe that he was probably older than my father. The wolves I knew didn't have the skill to bottle up all of their influence. He was probably older than the alpha.
“Albert’s going to take you to the infirmary, I’ll meet you there.” His focus switched from me to the boys.
Now I had two people to keep back. I was more worried about Mac than Nikki though. I knew Nikki couldn’t do the damage that she wanted to, but I wasn’t so sure about Mac.
So I let Nikki go and put both of my hands on Mac’s chest. Geez, these muscles, was my first thought. He’s just like I remember.
Then I remembered what I was doing. I shook my head. “Leave them alone.”
Mac’s eyes refocused on me and for the second time that day I could see his wolf peeking out from his eyes. “No.”
The look in his eyes was absolutely terrifying. I knew there was no point in arguing, he wouldn't hear it. It immediately had me wondering what this man's ranking was in this pack.
He gently grabbed my wrists and handed me off to someone. I was still amazed by how his touch was so gentle despite the fury in his eyes. There was no discussion. He was going to do what he wanted to do and there was no way I was going to be able to stop him. I had no negotiating power with him.
When Mac stepped towards the boys I looked at the person holding me now. It was my dad and he looked more confused than I had ever seen. “How do you know Mikko?”
“Mikko?” I asked confused as I looked at the guys again. I didn’t want them to get hurt. I didn’t want this whole thing to go down today.
Dad started tugging me towards the house, Albert helped him herd me.
“Yes. Mikko Madill." He motioned towards Mac. "How do you know him?”
It was my turn to be confused now. “He said his name is Mac.”
Dad instantly growled and yanked me closer to him, stopping our forward progress in its tracks. “Is he the father?”
I instantly flushed. When I looked over dad’s shoulder I could see the commotion going on. Mac had Jason by the throat as Eddy stood there in bewilderment. I could see Nikki shouting at Jason, glad that he was being taken care of.
I couldn’t answer his question with all these people around. I needed to talk with Mac… Mikko… whatever his name was first.
“Let’s go inside.” I offered. I knew his temper was getting worse with the nanosecond. I needed to contain the explosion before it spilled out into the party.
Then the alpha put his hand on my father’s shoulder. “Let Albert get her to the infirmary first, then we’ll talk.” I knew it was an order by the look on my dad's face.
Dad instantly let me go and Albert took over, leading me to the infirmary.
---
Like I said before, I was fine. Except for some bruised ribs, I was in perfect health.
My hands and knees were going to bruise for sure, but at least nothing was broken and the baby was fine…and I owed Margaret a new pair of leggings. Because my dad wasn’t in the room I confirmed that Mac’s the baby’s father. So Albert did an intense ultrasound. He looked at everything and recorded the whole session. He checked the development and he checked the placental attachment. That’s what he was worried about.
But then, he found something we hadn’t seen before in our previous ultrasounds. There was a second baby. I knew what twins looked like on an ultrasound, he didn't even need to tell me. We were both stunned into silence anyway.
Children were hard for werewolves. Twins were extremely rare and hardly ever made it through the second trimester.
“This makes it more complicated Emily.”
I knew twins already came with some complications, so having a werewolf father only made it more complicated.
“They’re not identical?” If they were, then they’d either go full term or both miscarry, together. Or one could miscarry and that process would abort the other baby, who might have survived if it were a single pregnancy.
He shook his head. “They’re not." He showed me two different areas on the ultrasound. "There are two placentas which is common in fraternal twin pregnancies. The growth rate looks equal and they’re both about the same size, so they could both be purely human. We’ll have to do an ultrasound in a couple of weeks and compare the results.” He saved the data on the ultrasound computer.
I brought my hands up to my face and huffed to keep any tears away. There were two of them. Miscarrying one would be hard enough, but two? I couldn’t imagine. I wanted this…these babies.
Albert rubbed my leg. “It's good that they're the same size. It's been my experience that if one were a werewolf, it'd develop a lot quicker than the human twin. You just need to take it easy and stay away from the two boneheads that knocked you down.”
I nodded and just laid there, trying not to get upset and desperately trying not to cry. I heard Albert’s printer going, but I didn’t pay any attention to it. My mind was racing. How was I going to do this? How was Mac going to react when I told him? I was supposed to take it easy, but how would I with everything that I knew was going to have to happen.
Albert helped me sit up. “They’re all waiting for you in the lobby.”
“All who?” I asked cautiously.
“Just go see.” He held out new ultrasound pictures. These ones showed the twins.
Albert led me out of the room and through the infirmary. They didn’t have to use the ultrasound often, so it was its own little self-contained area in the back. If someone mourned the loss of a baby, they could do it there in private because it was soundproof. Which also meant Albert and I were the only two people in the world who now knew that I was having twins.
Double the trouble and twice the worry.
Eddy and Jason were nursing bruises when I walked past one of the rooms.
Albert turned to me. “I’m going to check on those two idiots. You go out to the lobby.”
I nodded and let my eyes linger on Jason for a second. He could have unknowingly endangered my child…children. He looked sorry, but that could’ve just been from the pain his face was enduring right now.
A big part of me was happy that he had gotten punched in the face by Mac. He deserved it and I didn't have that werewolf strength to do any damage.
The upside to having Mikko as the father of my children was he would definitely be willing to defend them.