He lowered his gaze. “Yeah.”
“He would have liked being an uncle. I bet he would have spoiled this kid to death with candy and trips to the zoo. Wes really liked the zoo. I know that seems comical in light of what I am now, but he used to say that men were eating up all the land with malls and airports and were driving the animals out. He once said if he was as smart as I was that he would have been an animal conservationist or something. I’m not sure why he thought that way; we both knew I wasn’t a genius.”
“The hell you aren’t.”
I smirked. “You’re starting to sound like him. Wes liked to boost my ego because my father spent so much time deflating it. That’s why I never understood why my brother wanted to follow in his footsteps.”
“Because that’s what boys do. No matter what kind of men our fathers are, we seek their approval. Wes didn’t respect him because of the way he treated you. I sensed it from the moment I stepped into your house as a little kid; that’s the kind of thing a Shifter takes notice of. It wasn’t until I got a little older that it started pissing me off. Wes would tell stories about your father berating you… damn. I would have killed him the night I shifted in your house if that bedroom door had opened.”
I shivered and averted my eyes to the gloomy fog touching the window, so dense that it obscured the trees in the yard. “What did you want to talk to me about?”
“It’s time.”
I didn’t have to play na?ve and ask what he meant. “When?”
“Tonight.”
“Why didn’t you just tell us when so we could have prepared?”
He leaned forward, cupping my hands in his. “Because having a date in your head makes people anxious, and I didn’t want nervous wolves in my pack. They wouldn’t have been as effective guarding the property.”
“But I’m pregnant. Can’t we at least wait until the baby comes?”
He lifted his icy blue eyes. “How are you going to hide with a baby in your arms? If it cries, it’ll attract the rogues, and… no.” Austin wrung his hands. “If we wait any longer, you won’t be able to keep up or climb.”
“I can barely climb down the stairs.”
“Yeah, but you’ll only get bigger.”
“Way to woo a lady,” I said with a smirk.
His smile waned. “Our spies will begin spreading the word to their leaders in one hour. I don’t think they’ll waste time having someone scout the properties to see what’s going on. Wheeler and Reno are driving the cars out to the motel parking lot up the road, but I’m keeping two locked in the garage in case we need them.”
The room became dimmer, and the fog pressed against the window. All I could think about was my mother, my sister, my family. There was no turning back, no running, no waving a white flag and asking for peace, no cavalry to call.
Austin rose and pulled at my hands. “Get up.”
“Easy for you to say.”
He bent down and helped me to my feet. Even after I was steady, he kept his arms around me, his whiskers scratching my jaw, his lips to my ear. “You’re the strongest woman I know, and the pack needs you to be that strong alpha who can lead them. I can’t make promises how this’ll end, but we’ll be together, and I won’t let anything happen to you.”
I wanted him to promise, but that wouldn’t have been fair. I held him in my arms, remembering the young man I fell in love with—the one who always protected me. The one who sang in a sexy voice when we made love, the man who liked to spray me with the hose in the summertime when he was watering my mom’s flowers, the man who looked like the biggest badass in the city when driving his Challenger after a good wax, and the man who made my heart melt whenever he leaned against the wall and winked at me.
The baby kicked, and Austin jerked back, his eyes sparkling.
“The baby’s jealous,” I said, my smile fading.
When my knees buckled, Austin caught me before I fell to the floor.
“Lexi?”
I bit his arm and couldn’t stop as pain skewered me from the side. Oh God, please not now.
“William!” he roared.
The door flung open. “What’s—”
“Call the Relic! Now!”
Chapter 23
Austin paced for so long that he could have worn a path in the wood floor outside the study. While the pack was gearing up in camouflage and weapons, Edward was examining Lexi to uncover the source of her pain. She’d told Austin not to worry, but that was a brave alpha female talking—one who wanted to stand by her mate in a time of war and not appear weak. Austin wasn’t as brave, not when it came to his woman’s health.
Someone came up behind him and clapped a hand on his shoulder. Austin spun around, seized the arm, and held it in a firm lock.
Reno grimaced. “Ease up, brother. Save it for the rogues.”
He let go and leaned against the wall.
“We’re heading out,” Reno said. “No change in plans. I called the betas in all the surrounding packs to make sure we’re on the same page, and they’re locking and loading.”