Chapter Four
Torren scrambled some eggs in a cast iron skillet, tossing in shredded cheese, while bacon crisped in the oven. His mate was exhausted, and for good reason. He’d kept her tied down for several hours, fucking her like a rutting beast. It was out of character for him to lose control like that, and he hadn’t understood at first. Until her scent had teased him awake this morning.
He smiled as he worked on making her breakfast. She was going to need her strength, and a lot of hardy meals for the next nine months. While Olivia was human and didn’t have a heat cycle like she-wolves, she had definitely been ovulating yesterday and his beast had known. The wolf had taken control, urging Torren to fuck her again and again, filling her with his cum. And if his nose was correct, she was now carrying a pup in her belly.
Torren whistled as he plated their breakfast, his keen hearing picking up Olivia’s footsteps as she came down the hall. He’d just placed everything on the table when she entered the kitchen. There were dark smudges under her eyes from a lack of sleep, and her hair was tousled. She’d put on one of his shirts, and it fell to mid-thigh. Adorable. Fucking adorable.
“Morning,” he said. “Sit down and start eating. I’ll get you some juice.”
“I think I need coffee,” she said, her jaw dropping on a wide yawn. “I’m having trouble waking up today.”
“One cup,” he said.
Olivia narrowed her eyes at him and he could tell she was going to erupt like she had the other day.
“Feel any different?” he asked.
“Should I?”
Torren shrugged, uncertain how to bring up the issue of a baby. He cleared his throat and drummed his fingers on the table.
“So, I got a little carried away yesterday.”
Her eyebrow arched as she bit into a piece of bacon. “I don’t recall complaining. Seriously, that was hot as fuck.”
“I think my beast sensed that you were ovulating, and he went a little crazy.”
She froze, another slice of bacon halfway to her open mouth.
“And your scent is different this morning,” he said, forging onward. “I think you might be pregnant.”
The bacon fell from her hand onto the table and her mouth dropped open more.
“We have plenty of room here for a family,” he said, unable to read her at the moment, and hoping he’d say the right thing. “I know we didn’t discuss kids, but we can have as many as you want.”
Her jaw snapped shut and she stared at him. For so long that he wondered if she was all right.
“You knocked me up?” she asked. “Within a week of knowing me?”
“Well, we are mates.” He scratched his cheek. “It’s the sort of thing that happens when you’re part of a bonded pair. It’s rare for wolves who aren’t fated to be together to have children. It’s happened on occasion, but not often. Some wolves are willing to take the chance on a mate who isn’t destined to be theirs, mostly because they’re lonely. The only mated pairs in this pack are a few older couples, past their childbearing years. Our child would be the first among our pack.”
“Unbelievable,” she muttered, shoving her chair back and stomping out of the room.
Torren stared after her, feeling confused. He went over everything he’d said and done, and couldn’t find fault with any of it. The point of claiming a mate was to procreate. His beast was rather pleased with the fact they were already expecting, but it seemed his mate wasn’t. Maybe he should have talked to her a little more about what to expect from being mated to a wolf. He looked at her still full plate and decided to track her down. Even if she was angry with him, she still needed to eat something.
He heard the shower running and made his way to the bedroom. She’d tossed clothes across the foot of the bed, and the bathroom door stood open. Even in the shower she was muttering to herself, sounding angry. She slammed something down and he peered into the bathroom. If she scrubbed her hair any harder, she’d pull it all out. Torren knew he had to fix whatever was wrong, so he stripped out of his clothes and stepped into the shower. Gently, he gripped her wrists and pulled her hands from her hair, then started massaging her scalp and working the shampoo through her hair.
“You’re going to hurt yourself,” he said.
“How can you be so sweet one minute and a completely clueless jackass the next?” she asked.
“I don’t understand. I don’t know why you’re so angry.”
Olivia sighed and squinted up at him, swiping shampoo suds off her forehead. “Look, I get it. You’re all Alpha male and you’re pleased as hell that you knocked me up. But don’t you think we should have talked about it first? What if I didn’t want a baby right now?”
He went still, and for a moment, doubts crept in. His first mate had only tolerated his touch, hadn’t wanted to be with him. Olivia hadn’t been conscious when he’d bitten her. Was she regretting his choice? Did she want her freedom? The passion between them was off the charts, but maybe it wasn’t enough. What if his mate was angry because she felt a baby tied them together even more than a bite? Had she planned to leave whenever she was able?
Gwen had despised living with him enough to meet someone out in the woods. Someone who had likely killed her. The thought of losing Olivia, of losing their baby… bile rose in his throat. Had he been wrong the past few days and she’d only been giving what she thought he wanted? He’d thought they were good together, were made for one another despite their differences, but now he wasn’t so certain. Maybe he’d misread everything. What did he know of humans? If she didn’t feel the mating pull, then she might not stay. Gwen hadn’t wanted to stay.
