Pregnant and Rejected

NICHOLE

“Mommy!” Hannah yells, running into the living room.

I let go of the door handle leading down to my clinic and scoop her into my arms, settling her on my hip.

“I’m just about to go to work, sweetie. Where’s Josh? I thought you two were playing on the swing set?”.

“Josh told me to ask you something.”

“Oh, did he now?” I say, looking to the doorway to see him leaning arms-crossed against the doorframe. “He was wondering if we could go see a movie after you’re done with work?”

I look over to a smirking Josh. “Oh, did he now?”

Josh shrugs his shoulders, a hint of amusement playing at the corners of his mouth.

My heart flutters.

He’s been so sweet to look after Hannah these past few weeks as I’ve gotten my practice up and running. I’ve been so busy, seeing patients and getting acquainted with my new clinic’s staff. By the time I climb the steps at the end of the day, I’m out of words and unsure of how to decipher this new dynamic with Josh.

“A movie and dinner couldn’t hurt, right?” he says, his eyes gleaming with something I’m not sure how to interpret.

“Please?” Hannah says, giving me her best puppy dog look.

“Fine, I will be done at 5,” I say. I set my daughter down and plant a kiss on her forehead.

“See you then,” Josh says.

His smile is like a ray of warmth, beaming through my gray confusion.

I blush, shoving my arms into my white lab coat with a hasty “goodbye.” By the time I’m at the bottom of the stairs, my heart is thundering in my ears.

“Hello, Mrs. Sanders. It’s nice to see you again. How have you and the child been?” I say, looking at the board.

The woman beams at me while placing a hand on her ever-growing stomach.

“Why yes, we have been good. Just in for my check-up,” she says.

I share a smile with her and put on my rubber gloves with a snap.

“Let’s get started.”

***

“That. Was. The. Best. Movie. EVER!” Hannah yells as we leave the movie theater.

“Whoa there, kiddo, you better hold on or you will fall,” Josh says, holding on tighter to Hannah, who is on his shoulders.

“Mommy, I’m finally taller than you!” Hannah says, giggling.

“Why, yes you are, sweetie. Now where do you want to eat dinner? Becky and Ben will be back at ten, so it’s just us,” I say, unlocking the car and getting in.

Josh buckles Hannah in and jumps in the passenger seat. “So, Hannah, have you thought of where we should go yet?”.

A smile lights up her face before she blurts out, “Outback!”.

The restaurant is a familiar haunt of my pack’s: werewolves love meat, even at a young age.

At the steakhouse, Josh pulls out a chair for me and I slide into the seat, my cheeks burning.

I try to remind myself that it’s not a date. Josh is just being kind; we’re friends helping each other out.

Yet the sight of him bantering with Hannah, folding the straw wrapper into an accordion and making her squeal with delight, sends a wave of fondness through me.

Josh opens his menu, his soft hazel eyes flashing shyly at me from under his blonde lashes.

My chest squeezes.

As we order, I watch Josh’s mouth move.

He has such a quiet, unassuming way about him. He’s polite to the wait staff and waits patiently for Hannah to point to what she wants on the menu before relaying it to the server.

“I’m buying,” he says when the server leaves our table.

“Aw, Josh, it’s okay. You don’t have to—.”

“No,” he interjects. “I insist.”.

His gentle smile stirs butterflies in my stomach.

He is flirting with me! I knew it!

And why shouldn’t I flirt back?

Why should I hesitate, after so many years of loneliness? There’s a handsome man right here and willing to be a part of my life.

I let a coy smile spread across my lips. I’m about to teasingly ask him if this is a date, when a smell hits me with a flash of powerful emotions.

I’ve smelled this before.

My heart stops.

This is my mate’s scent.

With panic surging through my veins, I glance around the restaurant, looking for him.

Longing bleeds from my chest like an open wound.

God, I’ve missed him! Wait, no! I did not just think that.

Finally, I spot my mate sitting in a corner booth with a beautiful young woman who looks a few years younger than me. Ice-blonde waves spill down her bronzed shoulders; she reaches across the table and takes his hand.

He’s found someone better than me.

Finally, I allow my gaze to rest on him: Hunter, my mate.

His dark hair is shorter, giving him a polished look that makes him seem older and a lot sexier. There’s a dullness to his gaze, but his broad shoulders slant with powerful ease, his body radiating with alpha power.

He lifts his head ever so slightly and sniffs the air.

I quickly duck my head down and start eating the food that arrived while I was watching him. Please don’t see me! Please don’t smell me either.

“Nikki? Are you okay?” Josh says, putting a hand over mine. I focus on his worried face. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“Oh, yeah, I’m fine. Just not feeling so good,” I say, shaking my head and looking around. I catch the eyes of the blonde, but Hunter is nowhere in sight.

“What’s this?” I ask as the server places a takeout box in front of me.

“We are going to get you home. You are acting weird,” Josh says, putting the back of his hand to my forehead.

We quickly pack up our food and exit the place. I go to get in the driver’s seat, but Josh’s strong arms encircle me, placing me into the passenger seat.

“Hey! What’s that for? It’s my car.”

“You are in no condition to be driving, now give me the keys so I can get us home,” Josh says, putting his hand out. I reluctantly set the keys in his palm.

“Momma, are you okay?” Hannah says. I turn around and take my daughter’s outstretched hand.

“Yes, sweetie, I am fine, just a little tired.” I relax back against the seat and the next thing I know we are pulling up to the house.

Putting Hannah to bed is a blur. Josh hands me her little pajamas and sippy cup, and I go through the motions like I’m swimming through soup.

Thankfully, my daughter is half asleep by the time I lay her down.

I tuck a brown curl behind her ear, tracing the ridge of her cheek with my fingertips.

She looks just like her father.

Hands shaking, I slip into my bedroom and shut the door.

I feel completely and utterly numb.

Leaning against the door, I shut my eyes, tears rolling down my cheeks. Before I know it, the silent tears turn into loud, body-racking sobs. I crawl to my bed, allowing grief to unravel me.

Somewhere in the middle of the night I fall asleep on something soft that might even be breathing, but I’m too tired to place it.

I wake up with my head on something hard, yet comfy. I don’t pay attention to it until I feel movement underneath me. Flinging myself off the bed, I cry out.

“Josh! What are you doing in my bed?”

Josh lifts his head off the pillow, rubbing his eyes. He gives me a sympathetic look.

“You saw him last night, didn’t you? That’s why you were acting weird.”

I sigh and go sit down on my bed next to him. I nod, too spent to say more.

“I came in here last night when I couldn’t handle hearing you cry anymore. Hannah came in and told me you were sad.”

I feel like the worst mother. I never wanted Hannah to feel the burden of my feelings.

“I’m sorry,” Josh says. “I know how losing your mate feels.”

He puts an arm around my shoulder, and I lean on him, shutting my eyes.

“He found someone else,” I say.

He shushes me.

“Don’t think about it.”

HUNTER

“Emily, I know I smelled her last night. She was with another man and a child,” I say, letting out a small growl at the thought of her being with another man and having a child with him.

My younger sister shakes her head. She leans over her cutting board, scooping mayo onto bread and neatly arranging roast beef on each slice, clearly stopping herself from sharing her opinion.

“Go ahead and say it,” I snarl. “You think I’m going insane.”

My sister gives me a scolding frown. She’s blonde, with eyes the same blue as mine, but you wouldn’t know we were related unless you were up close.

We were out having dinner last night waiting for my father’s meeting with the alpha of Shadow Creek, the pack joining with ours. I’ll be the combined pack’s leader once I’ve officially secured a mate.

Only my father and Emily know that I’ve already found my mate; I couldn’t tell Caitlyn because she’s with Andrew. My bond with Nikki puts our entire pack leadership succession at risk.

If I can’t make this right, both the Shadow Creek and Midnight Moon werewolves won’t have a leader.

“Are you one hundred percent sure it was her?” Emily asks. “I heard she was practicing medicine in France.”

“She was supposed to come back,” I insist. “Caitlyn said so.”

“But Caitlyn hasn’t said anything about Nikki’s return; hasn’t she been hanging out with Nikki’s best friend Becky, preparing for her wedding? Surely Cait would have mentioned something.”

Emily finishes up the sandwiches and slices them into wedges.

“I’m sure it was her, Em, more sure than anything in my entire life. You know I want her back more than anything. I still can’t believe I was stupid enough to let her go.”

Sadness settles over me again like a lead weight. Whenever I let myself think about my bond with Nikki and how much pain I’ve put her through, it feels like my chest is splitting in half.

Emily hands me half a sandwich.

“Well, when you do see her, be ready to put your pride in the trash because she isn’t going to come running like you want her to,” she says, her brows high on her forehead.

“I know that,” I sigh. The sandwich tastes like sand in my mouth.

“You are going to have to fight,” Emily says. She gives me a pat on the shoulder, wandering out of the kitchen with her sandwiches, leaving me to my thoughts.

I sigh and head up to my father’s office.

“Hey, Hunter!” Amy says, rushing over to me, her clothes barely covering her body.

“What do you want?” I say, not even bothering to stop.

During my player days, I slept with Amy a lot. But now her touch feels empty and hollow; the only person I want and the only one who can satisfy me is my mate.

“Do you want to go to my room and have some fun?” Amy says, running her hand down my chest.

I push her away and continue to my father’s office.

“You’re still hung up on that girl, aren’t you? What is so big about her?! Nikki is nothing but a whore who has a child!” Amy yells after me.

I freeze in my spot and slowly turn around.

“How do you know that?”

A smile creeps onto her makeup-packed face.

“Well, I do get around, you know. I know how to get information when I need it,” she simpers. “I heard Caitlyn talking to Andrew, saying Nikki came home with a child who she claims is her cousin. But who cares? Now, let’s get to my room for my payment.”

A strange feeling comes over me.

“Forget it,” I say, pushing Amy away. “Go back to your mate.”

“Aw,” she purrs. “That’s no fun! Don’t tell me you’re getting all boring and sticking with that old mate nonsense!”

Amy’s selfish desperation for shallow sex fills me with shame. Now I see how Nikki must’ve felt when I left her for exactly that reason. God, I regret that.

I storm past Amy, heading to my father’s office with a cloud of anger around me.

I really hope Nikki forgives me because I promise to not give up until I have her again.

I don’t break my promises.