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Everything about her drew him in, made him want her. The baby growing between them only heightened his longing. He felt so powerful, so male. He’d done that, he’d put that baby inside her. Fuck. He wanted to do it again. He would if he could, and it was such a stupid, silly feeling. It was almost embarrassing. When had his brain changed course from utter terror and regret to wanting to knock her up all over again?
“Why does she look like she’s so much younger than the rest of us? We’re all the same age.” Axie tilted her head to the side, watching as Callahan braided her hair over her shoulder. They were all on the back patio, watching Callahan do some stretches outside in the sun.
Blake squinted, like she was looking for an answer to Axie’s question. “She looks innocent. Like she’s never gotten drunk and fallen off a table.”
“Or done lines with strangers in a random bathroom.” Axie wrinkled her nose, like the memory of when she met Riley and Jasper was unpleasant.
Jace sighed from his place by the grill. “Or killed anyone.”
“It’s like you knocked up an underage Sunday school teacher,”Riley added to their little sidebar.
Jasper couldn’t disagree. He’d definitely gotten the most innocent girl he’d ever hooked up with pregnant. He’d been drawn to her, Blake was right. He saw it now,albeitin hindsight. He’d wanted her in a way that wasn’t natural. He didn’t usually go for the sweet and inexperienced. They always ended up being a bit of a headache.
“Speaking of Sunday school, remember when she told us how her father isapastor?” He scrubbed his hands down his face. “Not only was he the reason she wouldn’t consider an abortion, she mentioned them locking her in a basement or sending her away to an aunt’s house until she could give birth.”
“Damn.” Riley wrapped his arms around Blake’s waist, drawing her into him. “They sound intense. When are you going to talk to them?”
“Uh, the twelfth of fucking never?” Jasper watched the mother of his child. “I was hoping we could forget they exist.”
Blake scoffed. “Parents don’t work that way.”
“Mine did.” Axie shrugged off the fact that her dad had essentially disowned her before she mated with Jace and moved into the mountain compound. She started ticking points off. “Pen is estranged from her parents. Corey’s parents never come to Haxton, neither doMaddi’s. And Molly just has her aunt, the retired one who’s traveling the world.”
“Okay, I take that back then,myparents don’t work that way,and it doesn’t sound like Callahan’s are going to either.” Blake rested her head back on Riley’s chest. “If they’re that strict and have that much control over her decisions, then I doubt they’ll let her go without a fight.”
“She’s going to burn in the sun, she’s already turning pink.” Riley pointed outtothe yard. “Us gingers, we gotta stick together.”
Jasper swatted his hand away. “Stop looking at her.” He turned, facing the rest of his family. “All of you stop looking at her.” He shooed them away. Blake and Axie went inside to start making sides, the only food Jace would let them help with.
Today wasCallahan’sday off, and unlike the last two weekends, she hadn’t spent her free time napping. Riley and Maddi assured him it was normal for her to be so tired. Today, though, she was awake and enjoying the backyard. It was warm, without a cloud in the sky.
The pack had decided on abarbeque, and no one made a dry rub quite like his twin. Who knew Jace’s hidden talent would involve neurotically labeled spices and a food processor?
Jasperstill hadn’t told the rest of the pack what his connection to Callahan was. It wasn’t that he was hiding it out of fear; he still wasn’t ready for everyone’s opinions and remarks.
Jasper licked his lips, tearing his eyes away from Callahan where she was lying in the sun. He turned, obstructing Riley’s view of her in her swimsuit. It wasn’t skimpy by any means; he wasn’t sure Callahan even owned a bikini. Didn’t mean he wanted everyone in his damn pack staring at her while she was exposed and unaware.
Riley narrowed his eyes, a smile playing on this mouth. “Are you blocking her from me?”
“She’s not mine.” Jasper was tired of telling them that over and over. “The baby is. It makes me protective.” At least that was what he assumed was happening since blocking her from Riley had been a reflex, something his body and his wolf had wanted to doautomatically.
“Sure, man, whatever.” Riley gestured behind him to the patio where Jace was manning the grill. He said the meat needed to smoke for eight hours, so he’d woken them up at sunrise to help. “You want a beer?” Riley handed him a cold bottle, twisting the top once he took it in his hands. “We thought we’d go on a run after dinner. We haven’t gone out as a full pack in months.”
Jasperneeded a run, that was for fucking sure. His skin felt too tight and his wolf was panting at the idea of busting free. The mountains behind his twin’s compound were a playground to them. The rocky terrain and vast wildlifewerelikebeaconsto his shifter. He glanced over his shoulder, taking one more look at Callie before following Riley back to the grill and his twin.
“You get him to stop eye-fucking his girl? I was about to start taking bets on whether he’d come in his pants or get so frustrated he’d finally make a move.”
Jasper growled at his brother, his jaw clenched so tight it ached up into his ears. “She’snotmy girl.”
“I hate to point out the fucking obvious. But didn’t wejustgo through this? Without the fetus of course.” Riley crossed his arms over his chest. “You have been in Greenly, where we live as more human than shifter. You’re away from the pack, your wolf is repressed, exactly like mine was.”
Jace nodded, adding, “Remember what happened when Riley came home and started to shift and run with the pack? His wolf woke up and realized he’d shared his mate with his best friend and all hell broke loose.”
Riley ticked off points on his fingers. “You banged her, you knocked her up, you brought her home to meet your pack, you’ve decided to live together for the summer, and you want to raise a kid with her.” He snorted, his lips against his beer bottle. “She’s yours, mate or not.”
“My wolf woke up before we left Greenly, thank you very much.” He didn’t add that the fucker promptly went MIA again. “He was a smug bastard about the pregnancy, but that was as far as his intentions went.”
Jace stepped to the edge of the wooden deck, peering across the yard at Callahan. Jasper was trying his best not to rip the eyes from histwin’shead. He’donly prove their point all over again. “You only slept with her that once? And you used protection?”
