Chapter 13 - Iris

I had only known I was pregnant for two days when the shit hit the fan.

Alek and I were curled up on the couch, watching TV, when I felt his muscles tighten against me. He sat up, nostrils flaring, the same way they had the day I found out he was a shifter. His eyes darkened.

"Iris, go upstairs." Alek's voice was tight, with that firmness that told me he wasn't going to argue. "Stay there."

"Who is it?" I asked.

"I'll tell you later. Just go upstairs."

I wanted to fight him on it, but I could tell by the look on his face and the stern set of his shoulders that now was not the time to say anything. Instead, I just nodded, walking up the stairs and dipping around the corner. But I stayed in the hall rather than going to our room.

It wasn't until I had been out of sight for several seconds that I heard the door open.

"What are you doing here?" Alek asked.

"What? I'm not allowed to come by and say hey?" The voice was familiar, but I couldn't place it, even as it made my skin crawl. Something about it made me want to run into the bedroom and lock the door behind me. But I stayed where I was. I wanted to know more.

"Sure, if that was actually what you were here for," Alek said. "But we both know that's not what it is. I'd suggest you get lost."

I couldn't help it—I peeked around the corner. From this angle, I had a solid view of the entryway below. My stomach clenched when I saw the man who'd been arguing with Alek one of my first days here. Dan.

"Where's your human?" Dan asked, folding his arms.

"None of your business," Alek growled.

Dan scoffed, then sniffed the air. Then his eyes widened, and his head spun toward Alek. His mouth opened in shock, then closed, his jaw tightening as he glared at Alek.

"She's pregnant?" he snarled.

"It's none of your business," Alek repeated, his eyes flicking upward. He saw me but only betrayed the briefest flicker of surprise and frustration.

"You fucked a human, and now she's going to give birth to a half-breed? Do you realize how fucked up that is?"

"And do you realize I don't care what you think?"

"You're okay with letting an abomination like that into the world?"

I flinched at the words. They stung more than I thought they would. Abomination. Was that what other shifters would think of my babies?

"Watch it," Alek growled. "Those are my cubs you're talking about."

He looked back up at where I was crouched, as if trying to reassure me that none of what the other shifter was saying was true. But Dan noticed this time and turned to see where Alek was looking. I didn't duck back in time.

"Eavesdropping, are you?" he snarled, starting to stalk toward the steps, his eyes turning wolfish as he glared up at me. "I'll teach you to leave shifters alone—"

But before he even got a foot on the first step, Alek snarled, yanking him away and slamming him against the wall. He pinned him, his arm pressed against Dan's throat.

"Don't threaten her," he growled. "You get the fuck out of here and never speak to me again. Do you understand?"

"You're betraying your own kind for a human?" Dan snarled. "Why? Because you knocked her up? That's not—"

Alek pressed more of his weight against Dan's throat, causing him to sputter even as he glared.

"If you come near her again, I'll tear out your throat," Alek said.

He grabbed Dan by the back of his neck, dragged him to the door, opened it, and threw Dan out of the house like he was tossing out a sack of garbage. He slammed the door shut again, then turned toward me.

"Are you all right?" he asked, coming up the steps toward me.

"I'm—" I was about to say I was okay. But the second word stuck in my throat as I took in Alek's appearance. His eyes had changed color and gone wolfish, and his teeth had lengthened to fangs. I froze when I saw it.

He must have realized what happened, because he said, "Shit, sorry." A moment later, his face was back to normal, contorted with concern as he cleared the last few steps toward me. "I'm sorry." His hands went to my shoulders. "I didn't want you to have to deal with him. It's why I told you to go upstairs."

That was part of it, but not all of it. I could sense that he'd been worried about Dan, that Dan would take the opportunity to attack me if he got the chance. Which was exactly what had happened. My stomach churned as I thought about how differently that encounter could have gone.

Alek must have been thinking it, too, because he pulled me into a hug and held me there.

"Don't believe anything he said, either." He stroked my hair. "Our kids aren't abominations."

"What about where he said you were betraying your own kind?" I asked. "Is that what most people think?"

"Of course not," he growled. "You think Malcolm would have offered to train you if he thought that?"

I shrugged, and I felt him sigh. "Don't give a fuck what a couple of assholes think," he told me.

It was easy enough for him to say that, but harder for me to execute. All my life, I'd grown up in an environment that didn't accept me. I'd been bullied and ridiculed by my family and treated like a freak by everyone else. Saying "don't let it get to you" wasn't some magical switch that meant you could flick that part of your brain off. I just wanted to be somewhere I felt accepted.

What was more, I didn't want our babies to end up in a community that was going to shun them like I had been. They deserved love and affection like the rest of us. I couldn't let them grow up thinking they were abominations. So, yes, I was going to give a fuck what a couple of assholes think. Because it affected me, and it affected my babies.

"I'm not going to abandon you or our kids. Ever," Alek said. "And I'll do everything in my power to protect them."

"What if I turn out like my parents?" The words were out before I realized what I'd said. But as soon as they were out of my mouth, I realized that had been one of my biggest fears about the whole thing. "What if it turns out I'm just as big a monster as they were?"

He didn't even know everything that had happened with my family. I'd kept some things back, partially because I wanted to forget them and partially because I wasn't sure what he would do if he found out. But they were my family, which meant their genetics ran through me. I might not seem like them now, but what's to say that wouldn't change?

"That's the stupidest thing I think I've ever heard come out of your mouth," he growled. He pulled away from me, crouching and holding my shoulders so I would look him in the eyes. "You are going to be a fantastic mom," he said. "Our babies will be so lucky to have a mom like you in their corner. And they aren't abominations, and you aren't your family. You're kind, intuitive, considerate—everything they aren't. There's no way you'll turn out like them. And I can't wait to raise a family with you."

At some point, I'd started crying. He reached up and wiped one cheek, then the other, his eyes never leaving my face.

"You're incredible, Iris," he said. "And don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

Then, his mouth was on mine, and he was bringing me toward him, pressing my body against his and holding me there as his mouth claimed mine. All the fears that had permeated my brain vanished out the window until I could barely remember why I'd been crying. Those worries would come back, I knew. But for now, all that mattered was him—and the way his cock was already stiffening in his jeans. Just the press of his bulge against me as we kissed was enough to send a frenzy of need running through me. My hand rubbed it, and I smiled as he moaned into my mouth.

Before he could stop me, I fumbled with the buttons of his pants, needing them off. He obliged, and his boxers slipped off along with his jeans. His cock stood fully erect. Without any ceremony, I grabbed his bicep—the firm muscle beneath it sending new cravings rushing through me—and dragged him up to the bedroom.

I pushed him playfully onto the bed, then slowly took my clothes off, making sure he watched every second as I pulled off my shirt, then slowly unclasped my bra, showing my already hard nipples as I dropped it to the floor. I drew out my striptease, savoring the way his cock twitched as he watched and the lust growing more intense in his eyes every moment.

Finally, my underwear fell to my ankles, and the need in Alek's eyes grew to a fever.

"Get over here," he ordered, his voice a low growl.

I clambered on top of him, straddling his legs as I took his cock in my hand, stroking it gently, smirking as he groaned, his eyes full of feral hunger. My tongue ran along the shaft, flicking across the tip and swirling around the head as I drew it out, savoring the groans he made before taking him in my mouth.

My head bobbed up and down in time with my hand. Hearing his reactions was more than enough to stimulate me, my own need and desire swelling. My hand went to my clit as I continued to taste him, moaning against his cock as I played with myself. My hips ground with the sensation.

"Enough," he growled. I stopped, and he grabbed me by the hips, pulling me up just enough for him to impale me on his cock.

I screamed in pleasure, gasping as he clutched my hips, my body bouncing up and down as he held me in place. My breasts bounded in time as he moved like a stallion trying to buck off its rider.

My hands gripped his arms, my fingers digging into his flesh as the need inside me continued to build. The rhythm and ferocity of it made my back arch and my toes curl. I screamed, my legs gripping him tightly as the pressure kept growing and swelling. My breaths grew ragged, my groans higher-pitched as he plunged in and out of me over and over again. I gasped, closing my eyes as I knew I wouldn't be able to hold on much longer. Already, the pleasure and need were growing, reaching a crescendo—

Between one thrust and the next, I broke. I screamed, legs clenching around him as I exploded, moaning and writhing, my hips still moving in time with his as I rode that pleasure. All that mattered was the two of us, the way his cock slammed into me, and the way he filled every inch of me.

Alek kept pumping into me as I screamed his name, making that delectable sensation even more intense as we continued moving in time with each other. And nothing else in the world mattered.