Bonus Scene

Bonus Scene

The moment Ari discovers she's pregnant

Ari

"Holy shit."

Tori's sentiment fully sums up how I'm feeling right now. The two of us are locked in the master bedroom of the huge house we're building on the edge of the Moon River Pack territory.

Clutched in my shaking hand is a pregnancy test.

I've not looked at the result yet, but if I'm being honest with myself, deep down, I already know the answer. Tori watches me with wide eyes, and I step towards her, thrusting the test toward her. "Tori, you do it. I can't look."

Screeching like a banshee, she backs away like the thing could impregnate her just by touching her. "Don't brandish that thing at me! You've peed on it!" Scrunching her nose in disgust, I know she's trying to make me laugh, and usually, this would work, but I'm too nervous. No, nervous doesn't even begin to convey what I'm feeling right now. Terrified, excited, scared, hopeful… The list goes on.

"Tori," I plead, my heart pounding in my chest. Her face softens as she finally realises just how scared I am, seeing the shaking of the dreaded stick in my hand.

"Fine." Blowing out a breath, she steps toward me and reaches out to take the test from me. Pausing right before she takes it, she raises her eyebrow and quirks her lips in a typical Tori smile. "But if I get your pee on me, I don't think we can be friends anymore." I huff out a broken laugh, stepping back as she takes the test from me, suddenly free from the spell that had me frozen in place. I can't look at her as she looks at the little plastic stick that will determine my future, pacing the length of the room.

I hear the intake of her surprised breath, and I know what she's going to say before she even says the words.

"You're pregnant."

I slow and come to a stop in front of the floor to ceiling wall of windows that overlooks the forest, her words ringing in my ears. Pregnant . Instinctively, my hand moves to my stomach. I'd noticed some changes recently, feeling sick in the mornings and feeling tired all the time, and I'm sure my wolf had known long before I'd suspected. A baby. Fear floods my system. I fought my father and my old tormentor to the death, no problem, but a baby? That is a whole other matter. I can barely look after myself, let alone a baby. However, the idea of a tiny Killian, Alex, or Seb running around fills me with a fierce sense of adoration. I know that Garett and I will never be able to have a baby together, and we're still not sure about interbreeding with demons and werewolves, but I assume the baby will be a wolf shifter…

"Ari?" Killian's deep voice calls out from somewhere in the house, followed by hurried footsteps as he makes his way to me. I can feel him tugging at our bond, trying to find out what's caused such a dramatic swing in my emotions. More pounding footsteps fill the house, and I spin to face Tori, my face set in a panicked expression.

"Uh-oh, mates incoming." Tori groans. "Need me to run interference?" Hurrying over to the door, she leans against it, seeing my reaction and knowing I'm not ready to tell the guys yet.

There's a thump as someone bounces off the door, followed by a low growl. "Ari?!" Killian pounds on the door with his fist, and I have to admire Tori's strength as she managed to hold back a fully grown alpha male werewolf trying to get to his mate.

"Killian, we're dealing with girl stuff, piss off for a bit," she grinds out, gritting her teeth as she pushes back against the door, her hooves digging in as she tries to keep him out. With a final push, Killian manages to shove the door far enough to squeeze through, except with a speed I didn't know she possessed, Tori is blocking his way.

Narrowing his eyes, Killian snarls slightly but doesn't touch the demon blocking his path—he learnt the hard way not to mess with Tori. "Something's wrong with Ari, I need to check on her." Stepping to one side, he tries to walk around her, but for every step he takes, she matches it.

"Don't make me smite you, wolf," she taunts, and I have to fight my groan as the two of them face off. The last thing we need is these two to start another feud.

Closing the distance between him and Tori, Killian growls as his alpha power starts to fill the room. "Don't test me, demon ."

Seb, Garett, and Eric choose that moment to join us, the three of them filling the doorway. "What's going on, is Ari okay?" Garett immediately asks, his eyes skimming straight over Tori and Killian and going straight to me.

"Tori, is that a pregnancy test?" Seb asks loudly, spotting the test still clutched in Tori's hand. "Are you pregnant?!"

Everyone's attention turns to Tori. She narrows her eyes on me, and I can tell exactly what she's thinking. Before I can say anything or tell her not to, she sighs and turns back to address the room. "Yes. I'm pregnant."

Killian steps back and stares at her, the room completely silent for a few moments before everyone starts talking at once. Dumbly, I watch as they ask her questions. Who's the father? How far along is she? And I realise that she's fully intending to go along with this until I'm ready to tell them. No, I can't let her do this. I have to tell them .

"No, wait, stop!" I call out, waiting for everyone fall quiet and look at me. Taking a deep breath, I look between the guys, wishing Alex was here too, my other alpha mate on duty with Moon River Pack.

"Tori isn't pregnant." Pausing, I push back at the nausea that's threatening to take over. What if they don't want this? What if they're not happy? My inner thoughts plague me with doubt, but I force them aside. These guys are my mates and have been with me through some really tough times, they will be with me through this too. One by one, I meet each of their gazes, finally coming to land on Killian, who's practically rippling with tension. "I'm the one who's pregnant."

Although I whisper the words, you can see the moment the guys hear them, the effect instantaneous. They rush over to me, and I'm surrounded by their love and warmth, gentle hands reaching out and touching my stomach and arms wrapping around me. My fear evaporates. Sure, I'm still worried about my own inadequacies, but with five mates who will dote on me and the baby, we can't go too far wrong. Everyone is talking at once, in high, excited voices, and I can't help but laugh as I look between them. That's when I realise that Killian isn't here with me. Frowning, I look past the others and see that he's still standing by the door, staring at me in shock.

"You're pregnant." His voice is barely a whisper.

Swallowing the sudden lump in my throat, I nod my head and slowly walk towards him. When I reach him, his eyes drop to my stomach, and his hands reach out, pressing against the slightest curve that's beginning to show. Lifting his head, a beaming smile spreads across his face as he leans in and presses a kiss against my lips. Returning his kiss, I moan into his mouth, but then he's gone. Kneeling on the floor and lifting the hem of my top, he presses his lips against my stomach.

"I will never let anything happen to you," he whispers against my skin. "Either of you." He looks up, meeting my gaze. My eyes fill as I remember how he lost his first mate and how bittersweet this moment must be.

"Um…I'm just going to go now," Tori calls out awkwardly from the back of the room as the rest of the guys surround Killian and I. Smiling, I know as soon as the guys have gone, she'll have thousands of questions for me, but for now, I'm grateful she's giving me time with my mates.

We don't say anything, there will be time for talking and questions later, but for now, the five of us just stand pressed together, enjoying the physical contact and small, excited smiles.

Pounding footsteps breaks our calm, and as I look up, I see Alex jogging up the stairs. Practically falling through the open doorway, he raises an eyebrow as he sees us all cuddled together. "Not that I'm complaining, but Tori said I was needed upstairs immediately." Reaching up, he pushes some of his hair from his face, his expression turning apprehensive as he takes in our shared smiles. "What did I miss?"