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“What are you talking about? I’m fine. A little nauseated and my boobs hurt, but I’m not dying.”
“You will. Do you know how rare it is for a hybrid pregnancy to end happily? The odds aren’t good. One or both of you will die. ”
The news sent chills down my spine. “Well... there’s a chance you aren’t the father. Also, technically Iama hybrid, so that has to count for something. Maybe my mother’s demon blood will keep us both safe. Did you ever stop to think about that before jumping feet first into your panic spiral and leaving me to deal with this on my own?”
“I... bloody hell, Sunday. I don’t know. Even if you survive, there’s a fifty percent chance the baby is a vampire hybrid. The Council will come for you both.”
My stomach churned. “They can try. They’ll fail.”
“I’m sorry my reaction hurt you. All I saw when you said you were pregnant was your inevitable suffering.”
The walls I’d been trying to build between us cracked and fell. “Noah, you knobhead. Why couldn’t you use your words and say that in the first place? Then we could have talked through it and avoided all of this.”
He raked his hand through the thick, dark locks I loved so much. “I don’t know. It all went tits up somewhere along the line. But I want this for us. If there’s a way to keep you safe, I am all in. I want you to be the mother of my child and to get the chance to love you every day.”
I was crying by the time he finished, my heart still tender but whole once more as I ran the rest of the way to him and threw my arms around his neck, breathing in the citrusy scent of him.
Holding me close, he inhaled deeply and murmured my name. “I called my uncle to arrange for him and Briar to take care of you and see you through safely.”
“You did?”
Knowing that he’d made arrangements for me even when we hadn’t been speaking had warmth unfurling in my belly. Even when I hadn’t realized it, he’d been taking care of our baby and me. He never stopped caring.
“It was the first thing I did after you left the clearing.”
I kissed him, telling him with my body what I couldn’t express in my words. He shuddered in my arms, and I knew then he’d been feeling as hollow and broken as I had.
“I’m so sorry, dove. I never meant to hurt you. I just couldn’t stand the idea of losing you.”
I sighed, torn between laughter and more tears. “Next time, say that instead of the other things, okay? It’s a lot easier to deal with your panic when I know the real cause of it.”
He nestled me close, chuckling as his lips brushed my temple. “Done.”
“I knew it. I knew you were a cheating whore.” Noah stiffened as Ophelia’s voice floated on the wind to us.
Turning my head, I saw her standing at the bend of the driveway, posture hostile, eyes hard and promising retribution. “Phe, you don’t understand.”
“Are you serious? I understand you’re a fucking bitch who isstillscrewing my brother over. Is the baby even his?”
I couldn’t quite control the flicker of guilt her question caused, but before I could say anything, she let out a harsh laugh.
“I knew it. I fucking knew it. You let some leech knock you up and decided to fall back on your mate bond to save your ass.” She growled as her eyes flashed amber, and a ripple of her wolf ran across her skin. I could see it. If she shifted, she’d tear us apart.
“Noah, you need to go.”
“I’m not leaving you to deal with this on your own.”
“She won’t hurt me,” I said through a tight throat. I didn’t believe my own words. “I’m her brother’s mate.”
“You’re clearly not his. Not with thisvampire’sscent all over you.”
Headlights came up the road, and the sound of Kingston’s deep growl soon filled the air as he jumped out of the truck and ran toward us. “Phe, you need to back off.”
“What? You’re taking her side when you don’t even know what she’s done?”
“She’s my mate. I will always take her side.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me. I just watched her dry hump a vampire. She’s playing you for a fool, Kingston. She’s playing all of us for fools. How many times are you going to let this half-breed insult our family?”
