Total pages in book: 36
Estimated words: 33919 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 170(@200wpm)___ 136(@250wpm)___ 113(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 33919 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 170(@200wpm)___ 136(@250wpm)___ 113(@300wpm)
“You’re being unreasonable.”
“No, I’m not. You’re carrying my child, the heir to this pack, and I am going to make sure you are well taken care of.” He stepped toward her, then another, until he reached out, gripped the back of her neck, and stared into her eyes. There was so much more he wanted to say to her, but he couldn’t, not today. She’d hear the words but not believe them. He had to wait until the right opportunity, when she was ready.
However, he couldn’t end this without a kiss. Shadow dropped a kiss to her lips, and he heard the soft subtle moan that escaped her mouth, and he swallowed it down.
One day, he was going to make this woman fall in love with him, and he was going to fix what he had messed up.
Chapter Seven
“I am impressed and shocked,” Pam said.
Lisa looked over where her friend stood. “With what?”
“I expected you to have completely trashed his place to make him pay for keeping you here, and instead it looks even more clean,” Pam said, taking a seat at the kitchen counter. “I mean, apart from the mess you’re already making.”
She chuckled. “Trust me, I will clean it up.”
“I don’t think Shadow would mind even if you didn’t clean it up. Those cakes smell really good. What flavors have you made so far?”
“Chocolate, carrot, and vanilla.”
“Three cakes?”
“I … I’m going out of my mind right now.” It had been a week since she had moved in with Shadow. She had her own bedroom. Shadow and the whole pack, along with the help of Adele, joined to help her move from her old place into Shadow’s. Adele had fallen in love with his place, and she marveled at the beauty of it.
For the first time, she was in a place where she had beautiful flowers in the garden, which she loved. She had also avoided going anywhere near the gardens. If any of the flowers began to die after she touched them, she’d freak out. She didn’t want to be a harbinger of death or even feel that way. It would freak her out too much.
“Why?”
“I’m used to working six days a week. I have a set routine, and the coffee shop is always busy.”
“So, you’re baking cakes. Shadow is going to be happy and pissed.” Pam sighed. “Anyway, all this aside—the pregnancy and everything—how are you doing?”
“What do you mean?”
“Shadow is alive, so that can only mean you two are getting along?”
“We’re … trying, I think,” she said. They ate breakfast together, and dinner. Shadow would often stop in at lunchtime and make sure she was eating. She glanced at the time, to see she still had an hour before he would arrive, unannounced. At night, they would watch television, but there was a distance between them. Lisa didn’t want to bridge that gap, at least not yet.
Well, that wasn’t the whole truth. Part of her wanted to bridge that gap, and another part was afraid to. She couldn’t change what he had said, but being close to him this past week, these feelings were not going away.
“Can I ask you a question?” Lisa asked.
“Ask away.”
“Do you know many pregnant women with … wolf babies?”
Pam laughed. “We’ve had our share of pregnancies, Lisa. What do you want to know?”
“Are women, like, different?”
Pam’s brows went up. “I’m going to need a little more information than asking if we’re different.”
She blew out a breath. “You know, their emotions, somewhat charged, or different?”
“There goes that word again.” Pam laughed. “Just say it, trust me, it cannot be bad.”
“Okay, are they like … aroused?” Lisa asked. “Do they seem to want sex more often?”
Her cheeks were going to melt right off her face, she was convinced of it. There was no way this could be any more mortifying than it already was. This was so embarrassing.
“Is Shadow making you horny?” Pam asked.
“This is not funny.”
“It kind of is, because yes, that is what happens,” Pam said. “Only, and this is the pretty big deal part, only mates feel that way.”
“What?”
“You heard me. Only mates feel that closeness, that emotional charge of energy, that compulsion to be with someone else. That is what mates think and feel all the time. When they’re pregnant, it’s like on supercharge and no one can turn it off, even though there are a lot of people who would very much like to see that happen.” Pam shrugged.
“What does this mean?”
Pam smiled and tilted her head to the side. “What do you think it means?”
Lisa opened and closed her mouth, almost afraid to even say what she thought it meant.
“Shadow and I are…” She couldn’t bring herself to say it, in case it filled her with potential hope.
“Mates,” Pam said.
“That’s not possible.”
“Why not? You love him, don’t you? You love him still. Why can’t you guys be mates? It makes total sense, and you’re also pregnant. Your emotions are going to be heightened, and I don’t know if you cottoned onto this, but he is super protective of you. Like supercharged protective. Look what he did to that guy who tried to dance with you the other week. It makes a lot of sense.”