AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Claire.” Jack’s voice hedged somewhere between a plea and a command.
“If I wasn’t enough for you before this baby?” I said, backing out of the bedroom and placing a hand on my belly. His eyes slid down to the motion. Something pained crossed his expression. “Then I’m not enough for you now. Let me go, Jack.”
With that, I turned, running down the stairs and out of Jack Beaumont’s life for good.
* * *
“Where will you go?”Maggie asked as she sat on my bed, watching me pack. Jack had tried to call, tried to come over, tried to talk to me. Maggie had intercepted him every step of the way. In the end, he had given up, and I told myself that was exactly what I wanted.
I could still feel him, though. I was getting better at pushing him away. I knew he wanted this baby. Looking back, I knew I’d felt his desire to protect his family when he’d battled with Sven, even if I didn’t understand it then. I didn’t doubt Jack would want to be there to see me through my pregnancy and to help raise this child.
I was done being a burden. I was no longer his pet project. I’d only wanted to be his mate. He had never accepted me as his mate, even though I knew in my heart he would always be mine, and I could no longer live with it. Jack had told me once that I deserved more. It took knowing that our child was growing inside me to get that fact through my thick skull.
“I have a friend at the Witch Academy in Bishop’s Glen,” I began. “She says there’s an advisor position I could move into as soon as I arrive.”
It seemed like a sign. The former advisor had, after years of searching, finally found her mate. She’d presented for a colleague whom she had worked alongside at the Academy for years. They’d informed the dean that they were taking a year-long sabbatical. If they returned after the year was up, their positions would still be available. They would move me into a new position once my maternity leave was over.
Witch academies were notoriously protective of their pregnant witches and expectant fathers. They would house me on campus for the duration of the pregnancy and throughout the baby’s infancy. If the former advisor reclaimed her position, there was a good possibility that they might even offer me a position as a magical journalism instructor.
Most importantly, the academy was overseas. Jack was notorious for refusing to fly. While I would do my best to keep him up to date on the pregnancy and the child’s formative years, I wouldn’t have to worry about him boarding a plane to find me. He was deathly afraid of the contraptions. It would finally give him the freedom he had so desired.
“I’m going to miss you,” Maggie said. I stopped, looking up at her. She’d seemed to flourish overnight. One day, she’d been my bratty little sister. Now, she had become a young woman. I didn’t want to miss any more of her evolution. But I had to get out of Mystic Springs. Jack had been right about that, too.
Maggie held up her hands. “I won’t do that thing where I pout and beg you to stay,” she said, further proving her growing maturity. “But that doesn’t mean I’m not going to miss you like crazy. So just get ready, because I’m coming on summer break.”
“That sounds like a pretty decent idea,” I said, already envisioning Maggie as a doting aunt. “It would be good for you to get away from—.”
Maggie blew out a breath. “Don’t say it. The thought has already crossed my mind. But that’s not the reason. I just want to be with you. And I’ve already talked to Mom. I’m going to be there when the baby is born.”
I’d been trying to push away any thoughts of the birth until I got settled. It would be difficult without Jack there. It was a little unfair to leave Mystic Springs for some place so far away. I was certain that Jack wouldn’t follow me. Coming to me would require Jack to board a plane, something that both Maggie and I knew Jack would never do.
I was being a coward. I was fine with that. I’d been strong long enough. I needed every ounce of my determination to bring this baby into the world and raise her.
Still, when I closed my eyes and thought about having the baby, I could see Jack there with me. Had I stayed in Mystic Springs, there would have been no way of keeping him from the birthing room. And I didn’t want to look into Jack’s eyes as I gave birth to our baby and know that the only reason he was there was that he felt obligated.
“You won’t be completely alone, right?”
Reaching out, I ruffled her hair, causing her to shriek and pull back. At least there was one thing she still did like she had when she’d been twelve years old.
“I’ll have friends. Old ones and new ones.”
“You’re going to be alright, aren’t you?” Maggie toyed with a scarf on my bed.
Sighing, I looked at her and hoped I sounded more confident than I felt. “We’re going to be fine.”
