“What? Is something wrong?” She looked down at her dress, running her hands over it.
I quickly shook my head. “No, it's nice.” I swallowed, stuffing anything else back. I didn't want to say anything that made her uncomfortable. Ever since we slept together, I have been trying to give her space and not act like a horn dog every time I saw her. But she was drop-dead gorgeous.
I expected her to smile, but she didn't. She bit her cheek, reaching for her coat. “Alright, well, let's go.”
We headed over to the party, which I had asked Kerr to manage and put together as quickly as possible. I had given him a budget and told him to make it appropriate. I wanted Nina to have a celebration about her pregnancy and get to know more of the pack.
The drive was silent as Nina leaned onto the window, staring out of it. I glanced at her, wondering why she hadn't smiled at the compliment I had given her. I expected her to smile and blush like I’d seen her do before.
We pulled up, and Nina's eyes widened as she took in all the parked cars. “Who did you all invite?”
“Our pack and Jays,” I said, glancing at her. “I thought you would want to share with everyone. It would be a good way to meet people and get to know them a little more.” I figured she would have been jumping in her seat at this point. She told me how she was ripped away from her pack, and I thought maybe she would still want to share the news with them.
“Oh…” She frowned but quickly forced a smile. “Of course.” She got out before I could say anything, and I tried to brush it off. Maybe she was just nervous.
We headed inside, where the party was mostly already going on. As we entered, all the guys turned to us. “Congrats.” They said in unison.
Sam and Katie busted past the guys, going straight for Nina. They jumped as they got to her, squealing with joy. “We want to hear everything.” They each hooked one of her arms and pulled her towards the food. The guys walked closer to me. Jay patted me on the shoulder. “See, we knew you had it in you.”
I glared at him. “Had what in me?”
“Fucking your wife,” Henrik said with a proud smile. “We placed money on this.”
I rolled my eyes at their joke. Aaron smiled. “But in all seriousness, we are proud. You're gonna be a dad. How do you feel about that?”
I had a lot of emotions. Shock, confusion, concern, and fear. But they blended together, and I couldn't pick just one. I was afraid of raising a child and not having a secure relationship with Nina, but I also thought it was better. My child wouldn't have to go through what I went through.
“Speaking of how you feel about it, I'm pretty sure your brother's excited.” They pointed around, and I looked past them and towards the decorations. You could tell Kerr went over the top. When I told him the news, he simply nodded and didn't say much, but this spoke volumes. It was clear Kerr was happy about the news.
“Jesus Christ, did he blow the budget?” I took in the streamers and the tables, each with a large centerpiece. There were vases with flowers and a large table with gifts. Kerr had put time and energy into making this happen, and it showed.
“Oh, let him,” Maddox said. “You made him an uncle. I'm sure he's excited. Besides, I think he did it for Nina.”
I looked over towards the girls, and Kerr stood next to them. Nina was smiling as Kerr spoke. For a split second, I could see them being happy together. Kerr was softer than I was, and he would want to make her happy. I knew Kerr wasn't the type to try anything, but I could see the excitement in his face now as he spoke with Nina. A side I hadn't seen.
“I'm sure he wants them to get along, considering she will be in your lives forever now.”
My stomach twisted up at his words. I knew that. I just figured now that we were expecting, we were both free from the pressure. We were in such a gray area with our relationship that I didn’t know what was right. I didn’t know what I wanted, and I sure as hell didn’t know what Nina wanted. Everything was up in the air.
“I think it's nice,” Jones said, and we all looked at him. “What?”
“Do explain.”
Jones shrugged. “Well, Frank, you're not the easiest to read and get along with. Nina's softness to your sharp edges. I'm sure Kerr enjoys having someone whose family he can open up to. You guys have always had an Alpha and Beta relationship above your sibling relationship. They don't.”
“Are you implying my brother doesn't open up to me?”
Maddox raised his eyebrows. “Has he? Because every time I see him with you, he looks either ready to toss his cookies or emotionless.”
I glanced at Kerr. He seemed more relaxed as he spoke, pointing at a few of the decorations to Nina. They looked comfortable with each other, and I wondered when that happened. When did they get to know each other like this?
I sighed. “I need a drink.” I slipped past the guys heading for the bar. I was irritated, and I didn't understand why. Maybe it was because everyone was so calm when we still had a large issue at hand here. The darkness was still out there, and it was going after the Alphas. Nina, being pregnant, was only going to put an even larger target on her back. Maybe that was why I was so unsure.
“You're an idiot,”my wolf growled. “How do you not see it?”
“See what?” I grumbled, looking across the space at Nina. She smiled as she sat down with the girls at a table. She had a softness to her, a happiness that sparkled when she was with them.
“Do you honestly not see it? Are you this dense?”
