AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She licked her lips, turning to him slightly. “It would help to know what you want to do. I know you said it’s my choice and I appreciate that, I do. But it would make my decision easier if I knew what your choice would be. Ifit was up to you.”
The one thing he couldn’t give. He’d been wracking his brain since Riley told him about the pregnancy, trying to figure out how he felt and what he wanted for the three of them.
The thought of someone else raising his shifter son didn’t sit right. He wouldn’t be able to make sure his first shift went well,or whetherhe was learning everything he needed to about their culture:about what it meant to have the soul of a wolf lurking inside them.
If it was a girl, man, that was almost worse. Could they guarantee she would never end up nineteen and pregnant by a complete loser like himself?
But raising a child, starting a family at his age, parenting with a woman who wasn’t meant to be his? Hewasn’t sure he could do that either.
“Callie, I, uh, I think I need some more time, you know? I promise I’m trying to organize my thoughts, that I’m really thinking about this from all angles. I know I seem like a class clown, but I swear—”
“You aren’t a class clown.” She shrugged her small shoulders. “You’re bright, and you try. The class clownseemslike a part you feel you still need to play.”
He tried, sure. He tried real hard to get into her pants, and look where that had gotten them. Sitting on the floor in his twin’s bathroom, feeding a girl who wasn’t his mate crackers so she wouldn’t puke again.
He didn’t want to tell her his packmates were right.Hewas a class clown and he cared more about a good time than a degree.
Fun had screwed him.
Funbetrayed its master.
Fun could fuck right the hell off.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Jasper
AfterCallahan washed up,Jasper hadled her to the room she’d be staying in while they were crashing with Jace and Axie. It was across the hall and to the right, her door almost lining up between his and Riley’s. He wanted her close, but he didn’t want her to feel like she didn’t haveher own space.Time, space, patience, kindness. Those were all the things Blakehadmentioned. Those were all the things he was striving to provide. Yet, it seemed like what she really needed was his opinion, his decision.
Afterthe rest of the pack left,Jasperwas on the couch with a glass of whiskey in his hand and his feet propped on the coffee table the way Jace hated. His twin pushed his feet to the ground before joining him.Axie comingoverto perch on her mate’s knee. “Have you two talked? Have you decided what to do?”
“No.” Jasper’s head fell back on the cushions. “She asked me what I wanted to do about the baby, aftervomiting up her dinner. I don’t have any answers for her.I wish like hell I did.”
Axie hummed low, her finger tapping against her chin. “We could adopt the baby.Jace and I.” She spoke those words like they weren’t a huge deal, like they didn’t change lives and rock Jasper to his core.
Jace jerked back, like his mate had slapped him across the face. “What?”
“If it’s a boy, he will need a shifter family, right? We’re just as young as they are, but we’re settled. We’re here with the pack and surrounded by kids and family. I want my own biological children one day, sure. But we could do this for her, for us, for that baby.”
That baby?That washisbaby. He rubbed at his chest where an odd ache had started to grow. He could feel his wolf start to come alive, sluggish but there. He hadn’t felt his wolf’s influence much when he was in Greenly, but since the night Callahan confirmed her pregnancy, he’d been making more and more of an effort to be present. He was beginning to push his will against Jasper’s heart, his lungs expanding with the magic inside him.
Jasper watched as Jace’s initial shock softened into something that looked a hell of a lot like acceptance and excitement. “Are you serious? You want to do that?”
“I do, I really do.” Axie smiled, taking her mate’s hand with stars in her dark eyes. “You know, we could even keep Callahan here. Sort of take them both in. If she ends up not comfortable with adoption, then we could let her stay here for a while. She could take online classes next year and—”
“No.” Their attention cut to Jasper, to the sharp words he’d thrown at them,andat the low growlcomingfrom deep in his gut. He’d surprised himself with how strongly he hated the idea of Jace and Axie taking in his kid and its mother. They were his responsibility, his to care for.His.
“What the hell is wrong with you? She’s scared. Shedoesn’t know what to do. Youdon’t seem to have any answers either.” Jace gestured to him with a wave of his hand. “You just said so yourself, seconds ago.”
“I. Said.No.” He was breathless, raging at the notionhis brother and mate would raise his child.In theory, he told Callie he’d help her pick a family if that was what she wanted to do, but now that someone was standing in front of him, wanting to raise his kid and set up its mother? Hell to the actual fucking no. Whether it was his pack or not.
Jace narrowed his eyes on his twin, seeing too much, always seeing more than the rest. “And there is your answer. You ridiculousasshat.” Axie grinned from her seat on his knee, satisfaction swimming in her wicked smile. “All we had to do was give you an out.I knew you would never take it.”
“Are you fucking kidding me right now?” His jaw was sore from how hard he’d clenched it, his hands still fisted at his sides, like he was preparing for a fight.
“Nope.” Axie popped the“P.”“I am notfucking kiddingyou,Jasper.” She leaned forward, putting her hands on his shoulders, ignoring Jace’s protest. “Scared, unsure, nervous, thrown for a damn loop? Of course. But from themomentshe told the entire table she was pregnant and your fingers twitched like you wanted to reach for her, I knew what your choice would be.”
He was pissed at them for tricking him, but he couldn’t deny how good it felt to have that weight lifted from his shoulders. He knew how he felt, and as scary as it was, it was also a huge relief.
