Chapter 53

Chapter 53

If she didn’t say something soon, he was going to lose his fucking mind, Kale thought as he stood there watching Ashley sitting on the couch with her arms wrapped around her legs, looking completely fucking lost.

When he saw the blood staining her thighs…

He couldn’t even begin to describe how unbelievably happy he’d been at that moment when he’d realized that she was pregnant. For years, he’d told himself that he didn’t want a family because of all the ways that they could hold him back, but the truth was, he was terrified.

Losing Aine had nearly fucking destroyed him, but the thought of losing Ashley or one of their children…

He would never survive it.

“Thank fucking god,” Kale said when he heard Jacob pull into the driveway.

A few minutes later, Jacob was walking through the front door with Marc thrown over his shoulder. “So, why exactly did you have me kidnap this kid?” he asked, not really looking all that concerned that he’d been asked to grab a thirteen-year-old kid from his house in the middle of the night.

“Because he soothes her!” Kale snapped, grabbing Marc away from Jacob and ignored the kid’s grumbled, “I can walk,” praying that this worked.

Please let this fucking work, Kale thought, not sure what else he was supposed to do to fix this. One minute, Ashley was frowning down at the blood on her thighs as he calmly explained what that meant and the next…

“Here!” Kale said as he tossed Marc on the couch next to Ashley.

“Why is everyone manhandling me?” Marc asked, groaning as he pulled himself up so that he could glare at Kale. “And would it have killed him to let me put some clothes on first?” Marc demanded, shaking his head in disgust as he gestured to the gym shorts that he wore as he added, “Especially when it’s thirty degrees out?”

“No time,” Kale said, shaking his head firmly as he gestured for Marc to get on with it.

Frowning, Marc glanced at Ashley, who was sitting next to him, and…

“I have no idea what you want me to do,” Marc said, shaking his head with a helpless shrug when she just sat there.

“Do something,” Kale bit out, letting his eyes turn silver and his fangs slide down as he released a growl in warning that had the kid rolling his eyes.

“How is that supposed to help?” Marc asked, frowning up at him.

“Do something!” Kale snapped again.

“I would if I knew what was wrong!” Marc snapped back with that same panicked look that Kale had been wearing since this all started.

“She’s pregnant!” Kale snapped, gesturing helplessly to Ashley, who still hadn’t fucking said anything!

“Oh, you dumb bastard,” Jacob said with a long-suffering sigh as he walked over to the couch and dropped down next to Marc, who was now sending him pitying looks.

“Really fucking helpful!” Kale snapped, ramming his fingers through his hair as his gaze shot back to Ashley.

“I hope that’s not how you broke the news to her,” Jacob said, sighing heavily as he rubbed his hands roughly down his face.

“It was,” Ashley mumbled absently, still looking lost in thought while Kale sighed heavily and dropped down in his chair, beyond fucking relieved that she was talking again. That is until her next words nearly fucking destroyed him.

“Do you think the baby will be like me?” Ashley whispered, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth as she glanced up at him.

“The baby’s a Pyte,” Kale told her as he reached over and took her hand in his, giving it a gentle pull that had her climbing off the couch and onto his lap.

As she settled more comfortably on his lap, Kale ran his fingertips over his claiming mark, noting that it had already healed. Humans wouldn’t be able to see it, but every vampire, shifter, and demon that crossed her path would be able to sense it and know that she had a mate willing to tear them apart to keep her safe.

“Will the baby be an Impure?” Ashley asked after a slight hesitation.

“Yes, he will be,” Kale said, unable to help but smile as he leaned in and brushed his lips against hers.

“How do you know it’s a boy?” she asked, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth.

“Because Pytes are born male,” he said, absently caressing his thumb over her mark.

“I wasn’t,” Ashley mumbled absently, looking lost in thought.

“True, but I also couldn’t scent that you were a Pyte until after you started your transition. Your scent was weak. The baby’s isn’t,” Kale said as he placed his hand on her flat belly and couldn’t help but wonder if their son’s shifter side was going to lay dormant like his mother’s. Then again, it didn’t matter to him if his son was a shifter as long as he was healthy. He’d probably be a nervous wreck for the next sixteen years, Kale thought, chuckling as he gently caressed her belly.

“You’re okay with this?” Ashley asked, sending him a questioning look as she placed her hand over his.

“More than okay,” Kale promised her as he wrapped his other arm around her and pulled her closer.

“What if the baby’s like me?” she mumbled sadly as she wrapped her arms around him. “I don’t want that for him.”

“He won’t be,” Kale said as he reluctantly pulled his hand away from her belly so that he could wrap his arm around her as she laid her head against his chest.

“But what if he is?” she mumbled sadly.

“Then we’ll keep him safe,” he said, glancing at Marc and slowly exhaled, telling himself that their son would be fine, more than fine.

“And I get to name him?” Ashley mumbled, sounding really fucking hopeful for a woman who named a bear Cuddles.

“Not a chance in hell,” Kale said, chuckling even as he couldn’t help but wonder how it was possible to love someone as much as he loved her. She was…

Everything to him.

As he kissed the top of her head, he felt a sense of contentment that he hadn’t felt in years. She’d been worth the wait, Kale thought, placing his hand over her belly again, relieved that their son was a Pyte. Once upon a time, that knowledge would have sent him into a rage, but not today, not when it meant that his child was protected. Most shifter pregnancies ended badly, especially in the beginning. It was why most shifters didn’t get excited the first time they saw the blood because they knew how it was going to end, but they would never have to worry about that.

His mate was a Pyte, which meant that her body had already locked down around the baby, doing everything within its power to keep their baby protected. There were only a few things that could terminate her pregnancy now and he would never let any of those things happen. He would do whatever it took to keep his mate and son protected.

Absolutely fucking anything, Kale thought, frowning when the scent of his unborn child became stronger, only to feel his stomach drop when he scented it. Swallowing hard, he met Jacob’s gaze as the other shifter’s eyes turned silver as his daughter’s scent became stronger.