The Alpha's Baby (19 page)

"Dad, I don't know." She bit her bottom lip.

"Well, I do," her dad said. "You know that your mom and I had a lot of trouble with our relationship when you were younger. I couldn't say a thing without her chasing me around with a frying pan."

That was something Emmy remembered well. She could also recall her mom throwing plates and her dad howling at her until his voice went hoarse. The two of them had had one fight after another. Hell, she could swear that she'd spent half of her childhood hiding underneath the table, praying that a flying dish wouldn't whack her on the head.

She nodded. "Your fights were awful."

"After the arguments got too bad, we started marriage counseling," her dad said. "I must admit I was skeptical about the whole psychiatry thing at first, but after a couple of session, I could feel our marriage growing stronger. Then one day the doctor said something to me that stuck—communication is key to every good marriage. And the man was right. Your mom and I had stopped talking about what was bothering us and let our emotions build up. Before I knew it, both of us were so full of anger that all we did was fight all day. We still loved each other deep down, but the anger made us forget that."

"What does this have to do with me?" She wasn't throwing plates at Sebastian.

"It sounds like you haven't talked at all with this guy about what's going on." Her dad studied her. "You say you don't know if he's unfit to be a father. Well, I think you need to discuss it with him and give him a chance to be a proper parent. If you don't, it's not just you who'll be missing out. It's the baby as well."

Emmy felt like she'd been hit headlong by a speeding truck. Her heart thundered in her chest, and her eyes widened in shock. On some level, she was terrified of going to Sebastian and looking him in the eye. Every time she gazed into his face, she was certain that she would be reminded of what he was. And yet her dad was right, too—if Sebastian would make a good father, then she'd be taking away something from her baby by not speaking with him. And even though she hadn't been pregnant for long, she already knew that she didn't want to deprive her baby of anything ever. Plus, if the child was a werewolf—a shiver of horror ran down her spine—there were questions that she wouldn't be able to answer. What if the child needed help? What if it always felt out of place because of her lack of explanations? That wasn't fair to the baby either.

Yet she also feared that going to Sebastian would be putting the child in harm's way. Having him rip her and her child to shreds was one of her deepest fears. Yet if he'd wanted to kill her, wouldn't he have done so already? The truth of the matter was, she may have been shocked, confused, betrayed, and angry, but deep down, she was certain that Sebastian wouldn't lay a hand on her. Call it instinct or just plain naive trust, but at that moment, it was what she believed.

"So, what do you think?" Her dad examined her.

The next words were the hardest thing she'd ever had to say in her entire life. "I'll go talk with him."

She gasped as if it had caused her physical pain to say the words.

"Good." For the first time that morning, her dad grinned.

Her mom beamed. "Now, let's all have breakfast. I know that this isn't the best situation, but since it's happening anyway, we should make the most of it."

As the tension dispersed, Emmy realized that everything was going to be okay. Her parents had let things go—and had begun to accept her baby as well.

"So, what are the chances that this kid is a boy?" Her dad was trying to act neutral, but she could see he was hiding a smile.

"I don't know, about fifty-fifty." She grinned.

"Smart aleck." Her dad tousled her hair.

"Your father has always longed to have a little boy," her mom said. "He wants somebody to hassle into joining a football team."

"That's something you'll have to take up with God." Emmy snorted. "I'm afraid I don't have much control over the gender."

Her dad clasped his hands together. "Please God, let it be a boy."

"I'm going to pray it's a girl," her mom whispered in her ear.

"I heard that." Her dad narrowed his eyes. "No counter praying."

"What, are you afraid that God will pick favorites?" Her mom batted her eyes.

"Women." Her dad threw up his hands.

Emmy snorted and headed over to the table.

****

After a massive breakfast of pancakes, eggs, and yes, bacon, Emmy stared at her phone with her eyes narrowed. She knew that she had to call Sebastian. Still she was so terrified that her palms were slick with sweat. And to think, she'd thought that she was scared when she had to tell Sebastian that she was pregnant. This was so much worse. After all, she was facing something that she didn't understand and had yet to come to accept—werewolves. 

Oh, buck up, already,
she told herself as she paced around the bedroom. Groaning, she scrolled through her cell phone's directory and saw Sebastian's name. She squeezed her eyes shut and hit call.

The phone rang. Never before had the sound of a phone been quite so terrifying. As she prayed he wouldn't answer, she sank down onto the bed.

Unfortunately, that was when Sebastian picked up.

"Emmy, thank God," Sebastian said as a way of greeting. "I've been worried sick about you."

"Sebastian." She was surprised by the rush of happiness she felt at the sound of his voice, especially after how nervous she'd been about talking with him.

"I'm so sorry about everything, sweetheart," he said.

Her bottom lip quivered. "Tell me it isn't true. Tell me that you aren't a…a…werewolf."

"You know that I can't do that. I am what I am."  He was sorrowful. "But I promise I won't hurt you. I'm not dangerous."

So it was true. He was a werewolf. Despite the fact she'd known it already, she felt like she'd been shoved off a cliff and was hurtling toward the ground. If she'd been standing up, she would have worried about falling on her face.

"I see." Her chest heaved.

"What convinced you that I'm a werewolf?" he asked.

"I saw Jake." Her heart ached. "He changed into a you-know-what. That was all it took."

The image of werewolf Jake lunging straight at her plagued her mind. She flinched.

"He didn't hurt you, did he?" Sebastian sounded furious. "If he so much as touched you, I'll rip him apart limb from limb."

"He didn't lay a hand on me." She chewed on a nail.

Still that didn't change the fact that Jake's imagine would be burned in her brain for the rest of her life. She'd forever remember his anger, the way he'd turned toward her with fury in his eyes. And then there were his claws and long, sharp teeth. If he sank those fangs into her body, she would be dead almost instantly.

"I'm glad he didn't hurt you," Sebastian said, drawing her from her thoughts.

"Me too." She groaned. "That was the scariest moment of my life."

"I wish I could have been there to protect you," Sebastian said. "And even now, I miss you."

"I know." Though she missed him too, she couldn't bring herself to say it. "But I'm scared, Sebastian. You lied to me. I don't know if I can trust you again."

"I can explain everything." Sebastian's voice dripped with pain. "Please. Give me a chance."

Her dad's words echoed in her ears.
"I think you need to discuss it with him and give him a chance to be a proper parent. If you don't, it's not just you who'll be missing out. It's the baby as well."
A chance. Her whole life, she'd believed that love was an uncontrollable emotion. But this was the first time she realized that love was a choice. She had to choose it, even though it would be much easier to turn her back on him for forever.

And at that moment, she made her choice.

"I'll give you a chance to explain, but you have to answer all of my questions." Emmy's fist clenched at her side.

"Oh, Emmy, thank you." Sebastian groaned in relief.

"Just tell me everything." She wasn't in the mood to be thanked.

Sebastian sighed. "I'll talk. Don't worry."

"Good." Emmy longed to get the answers that he'd kept from her. "Now tell me, were you bitten by a werewolf? Is that why you are the way that you are?"

"This isn't a movie," Sebastian said. "Real werewolves are born, not made. I could bite a human a thousand times, and it wouldn't do anything."

"Except kill them," she muttered.

"Well, yes. And on that note, I've never killed a human," Sebastian said firmly. "I never will either."

"But what about when the full moon comes out?" She could imagine him running amuck, ripping people to shreds. "Don't you lose control?"

"Once again, movie theme." She could picture him rolling his eyes. "I'm always myself, even when I change."

"Then what about Jake?" She'd seen the intense anger in werewolf Jake's eyes. It had been frightening. "When he changed, he was like a wild animal."

"There are bad humans who want to hurt people," Sebastian said. "There are also bad werewolves. The shift doesn't change who we are inside. Jake is always a monster no matter what form he's in."

For a moment Emmy didn't say anything. Instead she tried to digest the fact that she was talking to Sebastian about werewolves. She squeezed her eyes shut and dug her fingers into her jeans. It wouldn't have surprised her if she awoke from sleep and realized this had all been some sort of nightmare.

"Sweetheart?" Sebastian said, pulling her from her thoughts. "Are you there?"

"Yeah, I'm here." She took a deep breath. "Tell me the real reason why Jake is after us."

"I'm sure you know by now that werewolves come in packs—"

"There are a lot of you?" she interrupted. Though she'd known that werewolves came in packs, the thought hadn't entered her mind until that moment. 

"Yes," said Sebastian patiently. "And I'm the pack Alpha."

"Wait, what?" Her heart thudded hard. "You're some sort of…of…leader?"

That meant he was strong. She bit her bottom lip.

"Yes, I am," Sebastian said. "That's why I could never answer your questions whenever you asked what I do. You see, I manage the pack."

"On the day that I came to tell you that I was pregnant, the pack was at your house." Her eyes widened as realization struck. "They were waiting for your instructions."

"Some of my pack was there, yes," Sebastian said. "Those there relayed messages to the others."

"And Jake is after me because you're the Alpha?"

"Well, he feels that I took something from him." Sebastian sounded pained. "I was chosen to be Alpha instead of him. Now he wants to take something away from me—you and my baby."

Her heart was aching. It wouldn't have surprised her if it beat itself right out of her chest.  "There was so much I didn't know."

"I'm sorry."

"Why didn't you tell me?" She shook her head. "I know that you said you were a werewolf, but why didn't you try harder to convince me? You had to know I wouldn't believe you."

"I was scared." His voice sounded soft, softer than she'd ever heard it.

"Of what?" What did a big, bad werewolf have to be frightened of?

"Of losing you, of hurting the baby." Sebastian made a strangled sound. "Look, I know I should have explained everything, but I was afraid that the stress might hurt you. And what if you lost the baby when you found out about me? I thought by keeping it a secret, I was protecting you."

If Sebastian hadn't spoken in such a hurt, desperate tone, she wouldn't have believed him. Yet his voice said more than words ever could. Though she had yet to accept what he was, some of her wounds began to heal. Now she was glad she'd spoken to him after all. Despite the fear, despite everything, it had been worth it.

"Please tell me that you'll forgive me." His voice was soft. "Tell me that I can see you again. I want to be a part of the baby's life…and I want to be a part of yours."

Her teeth clenched as she sucked in air. "I won't be able to accept what you are overnight. I'm still scared of you. The thought of what you are…it makes me hurt."

"I know. But even if it takes you a while to accept it, I know you can handle this," Sebastian said. "We're meant to be, after all."

"What do you mean?" Her eyes widened in surprise.

"You're my mate, sweetheart," he said. "When I met you, I knew that you were meant for me. You're the person that I'm supposed to be with forever, the woman who is destined to have my children and be my partner for life."

"M-mate?" The word sound so primitive.

"Yes. You're my eternal companion, the love of my life," he said.

The words made her stiffen. "Are you serious?"

"Yes," he said.

This whole thing was unbelievable. "I don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything," he said.

And she didn't. Instead she became silent in her confusion. Her, a mate of a werewolf Alpha? It didn't make any sense. After all, she was terrified of werewolves. That didn't exactly make her first pick as a werewolf's mate. She needed time to digest all of this, which meant that she had to change the topic to something else. Now. Good thing that was easy for her to do. 

"Even though I'm supposedly your mate, I don't know the first thing about raising a werewolf child," she said. "I don't think it will be like taking care of your average baby."

"The baby will just need love, same as any other child," he said. "And I have no doubt that you'll be the best mother in the world."

"Oh, Sebastian." She sighed. "Sometimes I wonder what I'd do without you."

And other times she wondered why she wasn't running away, screaming.

"So does that mean you'll take me back?" Sebastian asked.

"I…I…"

She could picture him with the phone pressed against his ear, his jaw rigid as he waited for her response.

"I'll take you back." The words left her mouth in a gasp.

"Thank God." Sebastian sounded as though he was a dying man who'd just been told he was going to live. "I want to protect you. How can I do that when I can't be near you?"

"We'll have to take things slow," she warned him.