The Librarian and the Wolf: (8 page)

Just seeing
her made his wolf pant like he was in heat.  Mal made a few discreet enquiries and found out who she was, and more importantly whether she was single.  She was.  He had it on good authority she hadn’t dated anyone in over two months.

He decided to ask her out.  He would march into the library and ask her. 
Simple as that, although the thought had made him more than a little nervous. 
What if she said no? 
Thankfully fate had intervened and brought Terri to him.

It was only because of Darcy that he was at the Diner.  Darcy had wanted to ‘talk’, which meant she wanted to harangue him into marrying her and leaving his family
. 
She was crazy if she thought either of those things would happen.

Mal was immovable.  Darcy had been irritated and told him how much better Casey was in bed than him,
how she had slept with his friend Jimmy after senior prom, how he had never made her orgasm...
all he could say was that she was one hell of an actress
then
.  He had been angry but had kept himself in check, gleefully knowing it would infuriate her even more.

Darcy had flounced away
crossly, Mal heard a little squeak and had spun round reaching his arms out to catch the very woman who had been stalking his dreams.  She had literally fallen into his arms.

Mal couldn’t have been more content
.  They had talked and he was gratified to find she was as lovely a person as she was sexy.  From then onwards they were together.  Simple as that.  Alright, so he could have treated her a little better, maybe actually taking her out on proper dates... 

They had gone out a couple of times with friends, and he had asked her to come out with his friends numerous times but mostly she said no.  For which he was secretly grateful.  H
is wolf didn’t really like to share.  The nights they spent together in her little cottage were heavenly, he preferred it when it was just the two of them.

He was certain she hadn’
t slept with anyone else since they’d been together either.  For one thing Terri wasn’t that kind of woman, for another he would have been able to scent another male on her.  Not to mention it was such a small town, it was unlikely Terri could do anything without Mrs Martin announcing it to everyone. 
Although she had apparently been on a date last night...

No, the baby was definitely his
.  He was elated at the thought of his mate birthing their pup, but also so scared.  What if he wasn’t a good father?  Was he mature enough to raise a pup?  Was Terri wondering the same things?  Is that why she hadn’t told him yet?

Anger coursed though him. 
Why hadn’t she told him?  He had a right to know damnit!

Did she truly think he wouldn’t want her or the baby?  He wanted to be furious with her, to wake her up and demand answers but his beast snarled at him.
  No, he couldn’t do anything to hurt his mate, he had to be careful.

Mal snorted in amusement. 
For once it was his wolf who was the docile one.

He scooped up the tests and walked back into the bedroom.  Terri seemed to be sleeping peacefully for now.  He bent over
and placed a kiss on her temple. 
The mother of his pup.

As much as he loved Terri he wasn’t about to let her off the hook completely. 
He frowned and silently walked downstairs, he had a few things he needed to do.

Chapter Nine

Terri slowly unfurled her body, stretching out across the bed and yawned.  She looked at the clock, 6pm.  She thought of everything that had happened that day and miserably wished she could just go back to sleep.

Her stomach rumbled furiously at the thought. 
She really needed to eat.
  She was pregnant, she had to take better care of herself and the baby.  The thought of losing this baby too... it was unbearable.

She sniffed, was that beef she smelled?  Where the heck was that coming from?  It was absolutely delicious.
  Maybe Liv had popped by...

She shuffled out of bed and was annoyed to find she had slept in her work clothes, and
they had been digging into her the whole time.  She quickly shimmied out of them and pulled a sleep shirt over her head. 

Padding downstairs the smell was even stronger.  She
licked her lips in anticipation as she entered her tiny kitchen.  Her heart almost stopped when she saw Mal bent over her oven pulling a massive pot out.

She stared at him dumbly. 
What was he doing here?

He set the pot down on the table and looked up giving her a strained smile. 
“Hey baby, you hungry?”

“I didn’t know you cooked.”  She said lamely.

He laughed emptily and a little bitterly.  “Just because I don’t cook doesn’t mean I can’t... there’s a lot of things you don’t really know about me.”  His tone was more hostile than he intended and she flinched.

His wolf whimpered and he softened.  “Come, sit down,
eat.”  He ordered as he ladled a huge amount of beef hot pot onto a plate for her.

Wordlessly she did as bidden
and began eating slowly.  She moaned her appreciation at the delicious meal.  Before she knew it she had eaten the entire plate. 
She must have been really hungry
.

Mal noticed and refilled her plate.  She picked at it.  He coughed a little embarrass
ed.  “It was my mom who actually made this, I was going to cook but she insisted...”

Terri nodded dully.  “Tell her it’s delicious, I’m very grateful.”

He watched her closely.  She was only wearing a t-shirt, which clung to her delectable curves.  Her plump breasts heaved underneath it.  Her hair was tousled; her eyes although a little puffy from crying were sleepy and sexy.  He wanted to leap over there and wrap his arms around her but he was still annoyed. 

He thought the wors
t thing was finding out from Rosalee that Terri wanted to break up with him, but finding out she had been on a date with another man and was hiding a pregnancy from him was horrible. 
He needed answers and he needed them now
.

His wolf was on the prowl, mindful of the man not hurting their mate but also keen for answers, keen for her to acknowledge their bond.

“Is there something you want to tell me baby?”  He asked narrowly.

Her eyes flashed with fear and he felt it gush toward him through the bond.  The feeling was overwhelming and he fidgeted in his seat.  Slowly he reached down to a bag on the floor, he poured the bag over the table and all the pregnancy tests came tumbling out.

She quaked but quickly flashed to anger.  “Have you been pawing through my trash?”  She asked hotly.

He ignored her. 
“Were you going to tell me?”  He demanded.

She flushed and she felt her hackles rise at his tone, “of course, I only found out this morning.  I’m not the one who ran off this morning without a word.
  Maybe if you’d stuck around...”

He looked mournful at her words.  “I didn’t think you’d want to see me after... after what happened the other night.”

She crossed her arms over her chest, pushing her breasts upwards.  His eyes dilated slightly and he felt himself growing hard.  Her breasts were already slightly bigger, swollen from the pregnancy.  Soon her stomach would be rounded with his pup.  The thought made him a little giddy.

He licked his lips. 
“I’m sorry... about what happened last night... I shouldn’t have forced my way in here... I shouldn’t have forced you to... have sex...”  He gulped and blushed.

She dropped her arms a look of horror on her face.
  “You didn’t force me to do anything last night, it was me who screamed at you to fu... to have sex with me.”

He was relieved to hear her say that,
of course she didn’t know about the bond yet...

She bit her lip. 
“How do you feel about... about the baby?  I know it’s out of the blue...”

He gave her a warm smile.  “I’m thrilled, a little scared but really thrilled.”

Thank god.
  “I’m definitely keeping it, and I want you to be involved...”

What?!
  His beast bellowed in his head.

“
But I don’t expect anything from you...”

Wolf whining, he reached across the table and took one of her hands.  “Terri I love you and I want to be with you, I want us to be a family.”

She tried to pull her hand away but he held onto her tightly.  She looked away from him.  “You don’t have to say that just because of the baby...”

“I want to be with you, pup or no pup.”  His voice was firm
and imposing.

Pain and doubt assuaged her.
 
How on earth could she trust him?
Her heart screamed at her that Mal would never hurt her, yet her head told her that all men were the same,
not to be trusted
.  “You’re only saying that because of the baby...”

“Are you kidding me?!”  He yelled at her, her eyes went wide in surprise.  “Terri you’re my mate, we belong together, we’re raising the pup together
damnit!”

She stared at him shocked.
 
Could it be true?  Was she his mate?
  “No I can’t be your mate, you would have said something before now... don’t lie to me.”

His eyes were stormy for a moment but they quickly became sorrowful.  “
I’m not lying, I’ve been trying to tell you for the last three days but I could never find the right time.”

“But... but we’ve known each other for weeks, if I was your mate you would have realised the first time we met like Alec did with
Liv.”  She spluttered.

He bristled at being compared to the Beta.  “It’s not the same for all wolves, I knew you were different the first time I saw you stood outside the library and then when you fell into my arms in the Diner I
realised you were special... I just didn’t make the leap to mate straight away.  I’ve never been in love before, I didn’t know what I was feeling.  But it’s true Terri, you’re my mate.  I love you, you’re the only woman I’ve ever loved and will ever love. 
Please believe me
.  I wouldn’t have bonded with you if you weren’t my mate...” 
Oh fuck
.

“What do you mean?”  She asked quietly.  She knew that bonding was something true mates did with one another, bitin
g and drinking blood to create an emotional link between them.  Being bonded was akin to being married.

He let go of her hand, shame marring his beautiful face.  She felt a wash of shame through her own body and started to fear what it actually meant.

She watched him warily as he stood and came round to kneel beside her.  He placed one hand on her leg and the other on her arm. 
Perhaps he was afraid she might make a run for it.

His eyes looked at her searchingly.  “Last night when we...
ummm...”

“Made love?”  She supplied acidly.

He ignored her tone.  “I was kind of... I was angry, I thought I was losing you and...  and my wolf was riding me to make sure that didn’t happen... so I bit you and bonded you to me...”

He shrunk a little fearing her response.  She stared at him blankly.
  “I’m sorry Terri, I shouldn’t have...”

“
You regret bonding with me?”  She asked in a small voice.

“God no!”
  He squeezed her leg.  “I’m sorry that I didn’t ask you for permission, other wolves would never have bonded without asking first, but I don’t regret doing it.”

She looked away from him.  “What would you have done if I’d said no?”

A fresh surge of his anger and then distress battered through her.  “I’d probably have still done it, that’s one of the reasons I didn’t ask.”  He admitted softly.  “You hate me.  I’ve ruined your chance to be with someone else.  You’re stuck with me.”

She snorted mirthlessly.  “Are you sure it’s not the other way round?  You’re now stuck with a mate almost a decade older than you who’s also pregnant.  You’re only
19, I’ve ruined your life...”  Tears flowed down her cheeks.

He took her face in his hands and kissed her
ardently.  “Meeting you was the best thing that ever happened to me, now with the pup... I couldn’t be happier.  I love you so much.  The only thing that could make things better is if... if I knew you felt the same way... do you?”  He held his breath, in anticipation.

Her heart flipped.  He loved her, she was his mate,
they were having a baby.  She’d bemoaned not having this for the past two years and now in the space of six weeks she had it all.  It was breathtaking.

She nodded
and smiled breaking out into a fresh flood of tears.  He rose sweeping her up until his arms kissing her soundly.  His beast leapt around howling in happiness, prancing around like a damn pony.  She kissed him back fiercely, her passion surprised and delighted him in equal measure.  She wrapped her legs round his waist and held him closely.

Finally coming up for air they rested their cheeks against each others, hers still wet from tears.

He rubbed her back.  “Do you know how far along you are?”  She shook her head.  He chuckled.  “I guess we can throw out whatever birth control you were using, clearly it wasn’t up to the task...”  He puffed out his chest in self-satisfaction.

She stiffened in his arms.  “What’s wrong?”
  He asked.

She wriggled in his arms indicating she wanted to be put
down, reluctantly he obliged sliding her down his body and resting his hands on her shoulders.  She looked worried.  “I umm, wasn’t using any birth control...”

He looked at her puzzled.  “But I thought...”

“I wasn’t trying to get pregnant if that’s what you think!”  She said defensively fidgeting under his touch.  “It’s just that I didn’t think I could have kids, so I never bothered with birth control...”

His fingers tightened, his wolf suddenly stilled.
  She might have gotten pregnant by another man before she met him, thank god she hadn’t. 
Not that he wouldn’t have loved and taken care of both her and another man’s baby
.

“I’m
sorry, I didn’t mean to mislead you. I honestly didn’t think I could get pregnant again... I umm lost a baby in a car accident, and was told I couldn’t conceive again.”  She looked down and was distractedly tracing patters in his shirt with her fingers.  “As it turns out the chances were just really, really low... it’s actually kind of a miracle I got pregnant at all.”  She laughed nervously as sadness flowed through their link to him.

“Baby I’m so sorry, I had no idea.
”  He paused unsure of how to handle things.  He was enraged that his mate carried such pain within her, and wanted desperately to make it all better. But he knew that wasn’t possible, it was a hurt she would carry forever.  He only hoped that if he made her happy the burden would be easier.

He lifted her face by her chin so he could see her.  “It’s clear w
e were meant to be together, our miracle baby just proves that... that and the fact that I’m a super stud!” 

He looked at her smugly and she rolled her eyes.

He stroked her cheek tenderly.  “Seriously baby, I’m sorry about what happened before, I’m sorry about everything that’s happened with us, I’m sorry I haven’t been a better mate, I just hope that we can move on.”

She put her hands on his biceps.  “Yes I’
d like that, but let’s just take things one day at a time, no need to rush right?”

“I
suppose not.”  He said grudgingly.  After all, they were already bonded and having a pup, he guessed he could give her a little breathing room. 
But only a little
.

*

Mal swivelled on the desk chair grinning madly.  Terri rolled her eyes again. 
One day they’re going to stay stuck in the top of her head. 
They were both seated behind the central desk in the library, she was trying to work, he was trying to amuse her. 
It was working, she was having to stifle her giggles
.

They’d decided not to tell anyone about the pregnancy yet.  Or rather Terri had asked Mal not to tell anyone, saying she wasn’t ready for the attention just yet. 
Half-heartedly he agreed.  He had yet to admit to her that he’s already told his mother and his Alpha, and his Beta... and his friend Casey.  In his defence Terri had been asleep for quite a few hours, he needed to pass the time somehow.  His mother had been ecstatic.