Seduction (The Journal of the Wolves of Spruce Hollow) (37 page)

Aspen charged back towards me, her eyes blazing with furious anger. “What the hell are you talking about, Roan? I’m not pregnant!”
 

I raised my eyebrow and shot her a defiant look, “You sure about that? Then maybe you should call Dr. McArdle. I’m sure he might have something else to say about that. I’m sure that he’d love to offer you his congratulations though, since he’s delivered every single pack baby in the past forty years. Oh, by the way, he wants you to make an appointment with him in a month’s time. Prenatal care and all.”
 

Aspen’s face was a mixture of confusion and shock. “What? I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.
What are you talking about?
Tell me, Roan! What the hell is going on here?” She looked like she was going to cry. Fuck. Things between us had gone to hell in a hand basket and I had no idea how to dig myself out of the hole that I’d dug. Fucking Caver, that little bastard!

I heard the click of the tranquilizer gun being cocked back and before I could turn around to look, something sharp hit me in the leg. Shocked, I looked down and saw a tranquilizer dart sticking out of my thigh. I whipped my head around and saw Caver aiming for me again.
 

“You little fucker, you shot me!” I roared in outrage.
 

“Yup, good night, big boy” he said as he raised the gun and shot me again in the leg. As I fell to the ground, I heard Aspen scream.
 

And then there was nothing.

Chapter 40

~Aspen~

“Holy fuck, could he
be
any heavier,” Caver complained as he and Steve picked up Roan’s limp body off the ground and drug him through the mud to the back of his truck.
 

“What did you expect, he’s unconscious. He’s going to fucking kill you when he wakes up, you know,” Griff said laughing.
 

“Whatever, he was being a dickhead. Besides, he’ll have to catch me first,” Caver grinned impishly.
 

Sorcha hugged me as we watched them each grab Roan under the arms and pull him up into the open truck bed. I felt stunned and completely shell shocked by everything that had happened in the past ten minutes. Nothing had gone the way I thought that it would. I’d planned on going to the bar, having a good time dancing and hopefully made Roan see that he couldn’t just drop me like a hot potato anytime he felt like it.
 

It wasn’t fair; I was his mate. I deserved better from him than to be tossed aside.
 

“Hey, you girls coming or what?” Caver yelled to us as he hopped up into the truck. I nodded and we walked over to the truck and jumped up into the extended cab. I turned in my seat and looked back at Roan. He was still unconscious in the back and looked terrible with his bloody face and mud covered jeans. I don’t think I had ever seen him so wild looking. The cut under his eye was still bleeding and left a bright red trail flowing down the side of his face. It was so bad that it started to form a wet stain on his black t-shirt.
 

There was no doubt about it, he was going to need stitches to close it up and would probably have a black eye and a monster hangover tomorrow.
What had possessed him to act like this?
In all the years I’d known him, I’d never seen him so unhinged.

When Roan had appeared out of nowhere and approached me on the dance floor, I was relieved that he’d finally seen me and was coming to talk to me.
 

But when he’d cold cocked the guy who’d grabbed me, he looked positively feral with his lip raised in a snarl and his eyes dark and full of fury.
 

I knew male Were’s were strong but I had never seen Roan fight before and I felt conflicted about it. Part of me was horrified at how violent he was and how deftly he took down everyone within arms reach, heavily intoxicated as he was. It made me wonder what he was capable of when he was sober?
 

But then another part of me, the wolf, was heavily turned on. That fine, ferocious beast was
my
mate and he’d taken down the sleazeball who’d put his hands on me like it was nothing at all.
 

The wolf in me had watched him fight with complete fascination and lust. That tall, lean muscled, tattooed, dark haired, blue-eyed beast was
mine
and my wolf couldn’t be happier about it.
 

We pulled into Dr. McArdle’s driveway and Griff got out and knocked on the front door. I had been quiet and deep in thought during the short trip from the bar but Caver had been flirting heavily with Sorcha the entire drive.
 

I would have to make sure to discourage any romantic notions she might have towards him. He might be Roan’s pseudo twin, but they were nothing alike in personality and Sorcha didn’t need to become entangled in that mess.

Besides, there really wasn’t any sense in trying to pursue a Were if you weren’t his predestined mate because the relationship would never go anywhere. There would be no progression beyond the initial attraction and the relationship would only ever be about sex because the Were would be waiting around for his mate to show up.
 

I sighed deeply as I looked out the window and pondered Roan’s last words to me before he’d been rendered unconscious. He’d said that I was pregnant? Was I and if so, how could he possibly know about it and I didn’t? Was it some kind of Were sixth sense that males had about their mates?
 

“Dr McArdle’s coming,” Caver said as he opened the truck door and hopped out. The interior dome lights lit up the entire cab and my reverie was soon broken. I looked out the back passenger window and saw Dr. McArdle coming down the driveway in his housecoat, followed by Griff.
 

Sorcha and I both got out and followed them all to the back of the truck, where Dr. McArdle was shining a flashlight into the back of the truck box.

 
“Now what have we got here? You boys get into a fight tonight?” he asked as he angled the light to highlight Roan’s unconscious face. “Yeah, that needs to be stitched for sure. He must have caught an elbow, did he?” He asked as he looked around at the assembled bodies scattered around the truck bed. Caver nodded his head and Dr McArdle laughed. “Well, bring him in, boys, I’ll be waiting in the living room. I’d stitch him out up here if it was a shallow wound but that cut’s too deep and too close to his eye,” he said as promptly turned on his heel and started walking back towards the house.
 

Anxiously, I watched his retreating back. On one hand, I needed to know if Roan had been telling me the truth. But on the other, I was afraid to hear the answer. It’s not like Roan and I had ever discussed having children. We’d been too busy physically connecting and having lots and lots of unprotected sex.

God, I was so stupid. Roan was probably telling the truth. How could I NOT be pregnant after the number of times we’d slept together?

I sprinted up the driveway after Dr. McArdle’s diminishing form, while Griff and Caver struggled to get Roan out of the back of the truck.
 

“Umm, Dr. McArdle?” I said nervously, my heart pounding in my chest.
 

“Yes,” he said as he turned around, “Oh, hello Aspen, I didn’t see you there in the dark. I suppose congratulations are in order then, my dear? I called Roan with the news first thing this morning but it looks like he did enough celebrating tonight for the both of you,” he chuckled.
 

“Yeah, that’s one way of putting it. So, it’s true then Dr McArdle? I am pregnant.” I said as I looked down at my flat stomach.
 

“Didn’t Roan tell you?” he said as he cocked his head.
 

“No, not really. He must be upset about it because he never told me.” I could feel the tears brimming in the corners of my eyes as Dr. McArdle put his hand on my shoulder.
 

“Ah, I see. That explains a lot then. Yes, my dear, you are pregnant. Roan had me come and take a look at you the night you returned from the training camp. He was quite frantic as your scent had changed and you were sleeping and eating more. I took a blood sample, while you slept and brought it back to the lab to analyze. I called Roan with the results this morning and he did sound a little bit shocked. I suppose tonight’s activities were the result of him trying to work up the courage to tell you about it. It will all work itself out, dear. Don’t fret too much over it, it’s not good for the baby,” he said as he turned to watch Griff and Caver carry Roan into the house, with Sorcha trying to carry one leg. If I wouldn’t have been in such a state of shock, I probably would have found the sight amusing.

“Now, let’s get in there and patch him up before he bleeds all over my Berber carpet,” he said as he winked and followed the four of them into the house.

I was pregnant.

And Roan had known about and didn’t tell me about.
Why?
Was he unhappy about the news? Is that why he left the house and went out and got drunk at the bar?
Because he didn’t want me to be pregnant?
I was his mate. Wasn’t he supposed to be happy about making a baby with me?
 

Omg, this whole thing was so confusing.
 

Never mind how Roan felt about us having a baby, how did I even feel about it? I’d never really given it much thought before now, truthfully, because I’d never had the opportunity to.
 

Everything had happened so fast between Roan and I. The intense need and sexual desire that we shared was like being sucked into a tornado. There hadn’t really been time to think about much of anything other than holding on for dear life.
 

My head whipped up as I heard boots clunking down the steps of Dr. McArdle’s house and turned to see Griff walking down the driveway towards me.
 

“Aren’t you coming in?” he asked.

“I don’t know, I might just stay out here by myself for a bit.” I didn’t say it but I’m sure that my face betrayed my desire to go home and just cry in peace.
 

“C’mon doll, Roan would have a fit if he knew that I left you out here by yourself at night. And you saw him tonight, you don’t want me to be on the receiving end of that, now do you,” he said with a smile in his voice.
 

“Oh, please, you’re Roan’s best friend. He’d never hurt you. You know that.”

“Well be that as it may, he wouldn’t be very happy with me. Come on, let’s go inside before you freeze to death out here,” he said as he reached down and grabbed my hand.
 

“Griff, can I ask you something? Did Roan tell you that I was pregnant? Is that why he was drunk tonight?”
 

Griff just stared at me, his blond hair flopping over his left eye as he cocked his head and regarded me shrewdly. I’d known him almost my entire life and I could tell that he was trying to gauge what the best response would be.
 

But since I couldn’t ask Roan right now, I knew that Griff was the next best thing. If anyone knew the answer, it would be him as Roan trusted and confided in him. The two of them were like brothers.
 

The silence between us was uncomfortable as I waited for him to answer my question. I knew that he worried about saying too much and betraying Roan’s confidence.
 

But finally, Griff sighed heavily and said, “Yeah, he told me. I think he’s been having a pretty hard time with it. His dad died when he was just a kid and with you being pregnant, it’s brought up a lot of issues for him. Personally, I think he’s scared shitless. He’s waited fifteen years for you and that’s virtually unheard for a Were. I think a part of him wanted to have you to himself a little while longer before starting a family.”
 

Relief flooded through me as I took in his words.
Roan was scared. Not unhappy.
Now that was a sentiment that I could understand because I was afraid too. I also understood the feeling of wanting him all to myself. I didn’t want to share him with anyone or anything,
because he was mine
.
 

I nodded at Griff, indicating that I’d understood and hoping that it would urge him to continue. I didn’t often get this uncensored look at Roan’s psyche from his friends and I was anxious to hear more. I wondered if that was one of the perks of being the pack Beta’s mate?
 

Respect.

“I think that Roan’s worried that he won’t be a good enough father because his own dad wasn’t around long enough to pass down his wisdom and show him how. So, yeah, that’s why he was drunk as hell. Then you showed up out of the blue and things went from bad to worse. It wasn’t his fault. You’re his mate and you’re pregnant. There is no combination more dangerous for riling up a male Were’s protective instincts. Seeing that guy grab you just sent him over the deep end. Now please come inside, Roan could wake up at any time. I have no idea how his system will handle the tranquilizer and I’m sure he’ll be looking for you as soon as it wears off.”

Chapter 41

~Aspen~

Roan was laying on the floor in the middle of Dr. McArdle’s sparsely decorated living room. They had some sort of plastic sheet under his upper body and Dr McArdle was busy cleaning the wound under his eye.