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“That’s nice, too.”
Rey muttered into her hair, burying his words in the thick locks that had begun to grow in weirdly straight. Devin sighed, relaxing into his heat as she begged sleep to overtake her so she could avoid this conversation all together.
“How about Sean?”
“I knew someone back home named that.” An asshole of an Alpha, he’d picked on Devin for years until she’d finally had enough. Punching him had felt so good, even if she’d gotten suspended for three days for the fight.
“Speaking of home,” Rey murmured, tightening his embrace as he glossed over the fact she knew another male at all. “Would you like your parents to visit when he’s born?”
“They don’t have to.” Her mother would be over the moon once she found out Devin was not only pregnant but claimed by an Alpha. That was, if she didn’t think Devin was dead in a gutter, anxious as she waited by the phone for a call that would never come. This was the longest she’d ever gone without updating her parents on her whereabouts. “I don’t talk to them much.”
“You don’t get along?”
“They wanted something different for me. It made things… strained.”
Devin snuggled deeper into the blankets, ignoring the way Rey’s breath thrilled down her spine. She wasn’t allowed to feel that anymore. Couldn’t grow excited as his fingers swept over her sore breasts to cup the growing baby. That’s all he wanted from her.
Rey grunted and stroked her belly with long, distracted passes. Calming the fluttering sensation into a quiet hum that didn’t make her queasy.
“Still, it’s their grandson,” Rey said quietly. “Maybe your mother would help… ease the strain.”
“You wouldn’t be able to stand a couple of Betas invading your home.” Devin sighed, wondering why he was pushing the issue.
“I’d try. For you, I’d try a great many things.”
Devin’s brows slammed down, lips twisting as she peeked over her shoulder. Met with his closed eyes and expression almost serene, she didn’t know what to make of the statement. Picking apart the words, she came up with little that was good.
Thoughts swirling into the dark unknown, she would have shrieked her relief when he began to purr and scrub at her scalp. Tugging at her roots just the way she liked as he soothed her into an uneasy slumber.
Chapter Seventeen
“Mom, Dad, this is Daniel Rey,” Devin said quietly, jerking her hand towards the Alpha at her side as they stood outside of the house on the front walk. It still made her agitated being outside, but she stomped down her nerves. Praying Rey would remain calm and not injure anyone as her parents shuffled their feet and looked anywhere but at the imposing Alpha beside their daughter.
“Daniel, this is my mom, Janet, and my dad, Thomas.” Finished with the introductions, she clenched her hands over her belly and kept her gaze locked on the ground beneath her swollen feet.
“Pleasure to meet you, sir,” Thomas said, sticking his hand out before jerking it back once he thought better of it.
Rey, surprisingly diplomatic, reached out his hand for the handshake. He was even careful not to crush her father’s fingers in his as he gave it one firm shake.
“I can’t tell you how wonderful it is to see Devin settled down. And with a baby on the way,” Janet fairly squealed, taking a quick step forward only to retreat just as fast. “Oh, honey, I’m so proud of you.”
“Yeah. Thanks, Mom.” Devin shuffled her feet, studying the worn tops of her shoes.
“How far along are you, sweetie? You look ready to burst! But you were always such a small thing, it’s so hard to say.”
“About six months, Mom.”
“Why don’t we go inside so Devin can get off her feet,” Rey said before Janet could launch into another slew of questions to barrage Devin with. Taking Devin’s arm, he led her inside. Leaving her parents to follow them with little worry about giving the Betas his back.
Taking her to the little sitting room, he helped her to sit, arranging pillows and a blanket over her in an odd display. Alphas didn’t dote on their mates in the presence of others. It was a show of weakness. By the wide-eyed look of her mother and the pursed lips of her father, they were just as surprised.
Janet recovered first, settling into one of the overstuffed chairs opposite the couch. Though she glanced at Devin, she pointed her question at Rey, “Have you chosen a name yet?”
“Not yet.” Rey sat close to Devin, arm slung around her shoulders to pull her in close to his side. Tension vibrated through him, but he kept everything about himself outwardly calm and in control.
“I have some things here, if you’ll allow it,” Janet said, pulling the huge bag up into her lap. The massive purse was a constant with her mother, anything and everything a body would ever need held within its shadowy depths.
“Go ahead.”
