Olivia reached up and placed her hand on his cheek. “Hey, I don’t know where you just went, but come back to me.”
He blinked and cleared the memories of his other mate and looked down at her. “You aren’t happy with me. I won’t keep another female against her wishes.”
“Hold that thought.”
The shampoo suds had started to slide toward her eyes, and Olivia tipped her head back under the water, rinsing out the shampoo. She wiped the water from her face and moved closer to him.
“Now, what do you mean ‘keep another female’?” she asked.
“I was mated until last year. She… died. Our mating was a contractual agreement between packs. Neither of us loved the other, but I’d provided her a home and I was good to her. She didn’t like for me to touch her unless she was in heat.”
“And you’ve decided I’m the same as her?” Olivia asked.
“You’re angry about carrying my child.”
Olivia’s face softened and she wrapped her arms around his waist. “I’m not angry because it’s your baby. I’m angry because you didn’t ask me if I wanted one right now. I’d never even thought about having sex before I woke up mated to you, and you honestly make me lose my mind when you touch me so I never even thought to ask about a condom. Or if condoms even work with shifters. I’m not leaving you, Torren. It just would have been nice to have been included in your decision. By taking that from me, you made me feel more like an incubator for your sperm than a part of this relationship.”
His brow furrowed and his lips turned down at the corners. “But we’re mated. Bonded. It’s a fated mating, which means we’re destined for one another. And no, birth control doesn’t work on us. But we can typically only conceive with our destined mates. Like I said before, there are times a mated pair who hasn’t bonded can have a child, but it’s rare.”
“What does that have to do with me being pregnant?”
“I think this must be a wolf versus human thing,” he said. “A she-wolf would be excited if her fated mate had created a pup inside of her.”
“Pup?” Her eyes went wide, her face paled, and she placed a hand over her belly. “My baby is going to come out as a wolf puppy? With fangs and fur? And a tail?” Her voice squeaked on the last part.
He snorted and tried to hold back his laughter at her appalled expression. “No, it will be born in its human form. And when it gets older, it will shift for the first time.”
“Can we not refer to our child as an it, or a pup?”
“I didn’t realize you were ovulating yesterday,” he said. “My wolf must have picked up the scent, and the beast inside of me was driving my actions. I’m sorry I tied you down and…”
“Fucked me until I ended up pregnant?”
He nodded. “But I’m not sorry we’re having a baby. Do humans not start their families once they find their mates?”
“Um, humans don’t really have mates. It’s more like we pick someone we think we can tolerate for the long run. Sometimes we feel like we’re in love, and other times those partners are chosen for other reasons, like security. But no, not all humans start a family right away after getting married. Some decide to never have children.”
“I guess I should have studied humans more.”
“Torren, I want a family with you. I just didn’t realize it was going to be so soon. I’m horrible at taking care of myself. What if I can’t take care of a kid? I didn’t exactly have a good childhood. Other than what I’ve seen on TV, I have no idea what a family is supposed to be like.”
Torren nuzzled the top of her head. “The great thing about being part of a pack is that you’re never alone. We all help one another. And you happen to have the Alpha as a mate. I will give you anything you want or need, and I will be by your side the entire time.”
“I guess there’s still a lot we need to learn about one another. And you can start by telling me more about your previous mate. I’d thought wolves only had one.”
“We have one fated mate. Gwen was just part of an agreement with another pack, and she’s gone now. She died within four months of our contracted mating. I was thirty and hadn’t found my mate yet, so I assumed I never would. When her father offered me one of his daughters, he was honoring me. It would have been rude to refuse, but I never realized just how much she hated being with me.”
Olivia looked up at him. “I don’t hate being with you. I love having your arms around me, and I didn’t even mind you tying me down. I actually liked it. It’s not just the man that I accept, but I accept the beast inside of you too. The way you lost control and went all Alpha on me? It was sexy.”
Torren knelt at her feet and pressed a kiss to her belly, then rested his cheek there. “I will protect you and our child at all costs, Olivia. I promise to give you both a good life. I’m sorry if this isn’t what you wanted right now, but when I woke this morning and detected a different scent from you, it was the happiest I’ve ever been.”
Olivia ran her fingers through his hair. “I’m sorry if I overreacted. We hadn’t discussed starting a family and you took me by surprise. I should have stayed at the table and talked about it with you, not stormed off.”
Torren stood and gathered her in his arms. “We’re still pretty much strangers, and I’m sure there will be obstacles along the way, more so because of our differences. There will be times I’m more wolf than man, and I won’t apologize for it. It’s just who I am. Now let’s finish getting you cleaned up, and then you need to finish your breakfast.”
“So bossy,” she said, but there was a hint of a smile on her lips.
Torren washed her, and fought his reaction to feeling her curves under his hands. His cock hardened, but after the night they’d had, he knew she had to be sore. Despite the beast inside of him, he didn’t have to give in to those instincts all the time. He’d had every intention of helping her finish her shower, then getting out. Until she wrapped her hand around his shaft.
