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“Well, now that you do, you know that you still have a choice, then. What’s important is what feels right for you. Have you decided on what you are going to do?” Alma smiled encouragingly at me as I thought over her words.
It didn’t really take me long to decide. Deep down, I knew I already had made up my mind. The lesson was clear from Nyte and Paige’s story: honesty and trust in a mate are paramount.
I saw what happened when Nyte had kept Paige’s pregnancy a secret from her and his pack. Had he been upfront and truthful from the beginning with everyone, things could have gone a lot more smoothly than it had.
Mates were meant to trust each other, and the moment I accepted Brady as my mate, I entrusted him with my trust. Now, I had to trust him again with this news. I had to trust that he would know what to do and take the news much better than I had initially taken it myself.
“I’m going to tell him,” I finally answered. “He deserves to know, and I already accepted him as my mate. How can I even think to try to keep such big news away from him?”
Alma smiled as she reached over and patted my knee. “Your gran would be so proud of you.”
As we sat there and chatted, the aroma of Brady’s scent gradually filled the air. Although I hadn’t noticed Alma’s scent before, it appeared that the bond had intensified my perception of Brady.
Just as I turned my head towards the door, he walked through with his eyes immediately locking onto mine. It took him a little longer to realize that Alma was also present in the room.
“Alma? What brings you here?” He asked.
“Oh, I was just checking in on my girl. We were having a nice little chat and reminiscing about my dear old friend.” She gave me a wink. “I’ll leave you two be. I can tell there is some mate business to be discussed.”
Brady and I watched Alma leave and as the door closed behind her, he turned to me with a deep frown.
“Is everything all right, Madie? I tried to figure out what I said that upset you, but I can’t figure out where our misunderstanding came from.”
Tears burned in my eyes again as I realized how my outburst had affected him. I couldn’t stop them. Even as I pressed the heels of my palms into my eyes to try to keep them from falling, sobs wracked through my body and before I knew it, Brady’s arms were wrapped around me.
“Shhh, whatever I did, I’m sorry, Tinkerbell. I didn’t mean to upset you. Just talk to me.” He cooed against my temple as he pressed gentle kisses.
“You didn’t do anything wrong,” I sobbed, my voice trembling.
“Then why are you crying? Did someone say something to you?” He asked. His brow furrowed, confusion and concern mingling in his eyes.
I couldn’t be sure who he would mean. The pack had always been welcoming and though I haven’t met many of the witches of his coven, the ones I had come across weren’t exactly unkind to me.
I shook my head. “No, it’s not anything like that.”
“Madie, you have to talk to me. I can’t help you if you don’t tell me what’s wrong.”
I let out a hiccup as I tried to get myself together. I hated crying. I hardly ever cried before, yet now, with this pregnancy, I was suddenly the biggest baby in the world.
Brady reached across from me to the box on the end table and handed the tissue to me with a soft smile. I accepted it and quickly wiped my tears and snot from my face.
“Come on, Tinkerbell, talk to me.”
I choked on a laugh as I looked back at him, his eyes sparkling back at me with so much love and adoration. I hoped that what I was about to tell him would keep that look in his eyes.
“I’m pregnant,” I blurted out.
His face morphed from confusion to disbelief. I held my breath, observing the flicker of his thoughts reflected in his eyes, until a radiant light grew even brighter and a wide grin stretched across his face.
Then it fell, and my heart began to break.
“Why are you crying? Aren’t you happy about it?” he asked, his thumb gently caressing my cheek.
I stared back at him with surprise and quickly nodded. “No, I am happy. I’m just scared. The crones told me that because I don’t have magic, the baby won’t get everything he or she needs from me.”
“What is it that the baby is going to be missing? Did they give you anything to help?”
I nodded and stood up to collect my purse from the bed. Brady followed close behind me and as I produced the bottle, he took it and opened the contents to take a sniff.
