Blood Mate, page 2
part #2 of High House Canis Series
“Here goes nothing,” he muttered, striding across the driveway, nearly turned to mud by the constant rain. His clothing was soaked and he was hungry. Not to mention sore in a few places from the fight. Dealing with a problem was not too high up on his list after nearly being caught in a trap.
“What is it?” he asked, pushing open the door, positive Logan would be within earshot. “What’s your problem?”
“My problem?” A short, squat figure turned around, freckles blazing against the ultra-pale skin. “My problem?”
Chief’s jaw dropped. The person speaking didn’t look anything like Logan. Too short. Too lush. Too female. But he’d recognize that shape anywhere, even without the tone and the glare.
“Sydney?” he asked, wondering what the neighbor was doing here. “What are you doing here?”
He’d met Sydney once before, the first full night they’d spent at the farmhouse, where they had celebrated one another and officially welcomed Lucien’s mate Alison into their growing pack. She’d come over to complain about the noise, which apparently had been audible in her farmhouse acres away.
Chief, being the diplomat of the group, had taken her away, plied her with food and a little booze to help her relax, all in the interests of maintaining cordial relations with anyone nearby. They were trying to keep their presence at the farm a secret, after all. Couldn’t have anyone blabbing and complaining about them to others. Word would get around.
He’d taken his relations with her a little farther than expected when they’d ended up back at her house later that night, but she hadn’t minded, as long as he left after. Which he did.
Sydney’s face turned practically purple in response to his question and he felt a major outburst coming. Thankfully, Logan appeared out of the nearby planning room and stepped between them, a concerned look on his face.
Glancing between the two of them, Chief’s concern grew. “What did I do?” he asked, spreading his hands wide in a peace offering. Truthfully he had no idea. He hadn’t seen Sydney since that night. She’d said not to call; he hadn’t. It was as simple as that.
“Don’t act like you don’t know!” Sydney shouted, leaning around Logan’s bulk, her face bright red, lips pulled back in a snarl that would make any wolf shifter proud.
If I wasn’t on the receiving end of it, that is.
“But I don’t know,” he protested, even more confused. “I…”
She shook her head, his answer obviously not going over well. “Is that all you have to say for yourself? Really?”
Logan put up his hands to try and keep both of them calm, but it seemed to just enrage Sydney all the more. She batted his arm aside and moved around him to get closer to Chief.
“It’s all I have to say when I don’t even know what I did,” he growled back, voice deepening as anger took hold. “If you could hold back your attitude for just a second and tell me, then maybe I could approach this in a better manner!”
Logan winced, but stayed quiet.
“Oh,” Sydney laughed. “You didn’t do anything wrong. If anything, you did it right. Too right.”
Chief blinked once. Then again, slowly, turning his head to Logan.
The leader of the rebels shook his head and backed slowly away from the two of them, making his escape.
“Coward,” Chief muttered under his breath, getting nothing more than what sounded an awful lot like a snicker in return. What could be so funny?
With Logan’s withdrawal, they were alone, and by the sounds of it, there was nobody else in the house either. Obviously those who had been left behind knew something was coming, and had decided to vacate the area instead of being skewered by Sydney’s temper. Unfortunately, Chief doubted he’d be doing the same any time soon.
The shock of seeing her was taking some time to fade. Although she’d graced his dreams several times since the party, Chief hadn’t thought of her much. He hadn’t been given any time to get to really know her that night, and though they’d had fun in bed, that was all it was. She wasn’t the first to push him away after, and likely not the last.
Being single into his mid-forties as a shifter wasn’t something Chief had planned out as a child. He’d expected to be mated and have a miniature pack of his own by now, but fate had different plans for him, it seemed. Every woman he’d been with had decided he wasn’t the one. Some had visited his bed—or had him visit theirs—more than once, but that was about it. Why would he have thought Sydney any different?
She couldn’t have been waiting for me to call her all this time…could she? He’d heard about women saying not to call, but secretly expecting and hoping he would, but this was taking it to a new level. He didn’t want any part of that sort of crazy. No sir.
“Are you going to say anything?” she asked after a long staredown between them.
Chief shrugged lazily, pushing her buttons. She wasn’t the only one who could be thoroughly frustrating and confusing. If that’s what she wanted, she was going to get it.
“Nothing?”
He forced a yawn. “The way I figure it, you’re the one with a bee in your bonnet. You should do the talking.”
“Who even says that anymore?” she snapped.
Chief smothered the smile as she reacted just the way he’d planned. “You’re upset. You still have yet to tell me why, and really, I don’t go in for Twenty Questions unless I’m drinking. A lot.”
“Upset? Is that what you think I am?” she asked dangerously, voice low, eyes closing to near slits.
He shrugged at her a second time, drawing the motion out, making him appear as calm and uncaring as possible. “Well, I didn’t want to say that you’re overreacting to the fact I never called, but fine: you’re overreacting to the fact I never called. That I did exactly as you asked.”
Sydney’s mouth dropped open in shock, and an unsettling sensation fluttered through his stomach. This wasn’t the reaction he’d expected. Fury, exasperation, more yelling. Those things he’d expected. But surprise at his choice of words? That didn’t bode well. Chief was on the wrong track.
When she did finally find her voice, it was razor-sharp. “Why you idiotic, lump-headed, brain-dead, overgrown muscular baboon!” she shouted. “I’m not upset you didn’t call!”
Chief licked his lips, thoroughly nervous and unsure of everything at this point. “So why are you upset then?’
Sydney began to shake. The red in her face had worked its way down to her neck as she went apoplectic. “I am not upset!” she hissed, spittle going everywhere. “I am furious! Beyond pissed off.”
“At me?” he asked dumbly.
“No,” she said with painfully false sweetness. “At the choice of wall décor in here. Yes at you!”
Chief nodded. “Right. But why?”
All her emotion exploded at once.
“Because, you miserable excuse for a penis, I’m pregnant!”
3
“What?”
“I’m pregnant, you blue-eyed buffoon.” Sydney crossed her arms and glared up at Lechiffre. It was those eyes that had done her in at the party. The way they’d looked at her, warm and compassionate. Between those, the beer and the food, it hadn’t been long before she’d been in his arms, and he’d been between her legs.
After all, look at him. All muscled, veins practically jumping out from his skin when he flexed. Or when he exerted himself other ways… She flushed, forcing her face into a deeper glower to disguise the reaction she had to thoughts of him and her.
Sydney hadn’t regretted it at the time. He had been very, well, good didn’t begin to describe his efforts in bed. Thorough, perhaps. Unyielding. Exhausting, even. All of those were probably more accurate. But all those memories were now fogged over by the knowledge that, during their coupling, he’d not only lied to her about something important, but he’d managed to plant a baby inside her as well, thanks to said lie.
A very unwanted baby.
When she’d come over to his place, Sydney had repeated to herself over and over again to stay calm. To break the news to him gently before she took his head off for lying to her. That had failed the moment he’d waltzed inside and lazily complained, asking what was wanted of him.
How about a little respect!
“But…” Lechiffre, Chief, whatever, looked thoroughly and properly surprised.
At least he could do that properly.
“You said you were wearing protection,” she snapped, voice cracking like fire as it roared ever higher. “I told you to put it on, dammit. You lied to me.”
Lechiffre stood up immediately, his back ramrod straight. “I did not lie to you,” he growled defensively. “I was wearing a condom. I put it on, and it was still on when I was done. Understood? It was still on.”
Sydney considered his rebuttal. The fierceness of it, the adamant tone of his voice, but most of all she watched his eyes. They never wavered from her, except for once, down to her stomach and then back up. Normally she might be self-conscious when someone stared at her body, well aware she wasn’t a physical specimen, but this time it drew a shiver.
Lechiffre wasn’t staring at her stomach, he was staring past it, at the tiny child growing within her. Their child.
The thought made her nauseous for a moment, but her frustration at the situation spilled over, pushing it to the side as she came back to the moment. Lechiffre was speaking again.
“I would never lie about that,” he said, using a finger to drive his point home.
She rolled her eyes. “Well then your ridiculous load must have leaked out the sides. Maybe you should jerk it more often so you don’t have such a buildup in your pipes,” she spit acidly. “Hopefully you were more polite to the other women you’ve slept with since!”
Sydney wasn’t entirely sure why she’d said that last part. Must be the pregnancy hormones kicking in or something. Maybe that was why she was still tearing his head off, even if he was telling the truth about wearing a condom. Avoiding taking responsibility for her own actions. She was so busy in her own little world she barely heard Lechiffre’s response.
“There hasn’t been anyone since,” he said quietly.
Sydney worked her jaw, not entirely sure what to say next. She was spared having to come up with anything when Lechiffre leaned in closer to her, his eyes narrowing.
“Are you sure it’s mine?” he asked, anger barely held back as he threw her own comment back in her face by suggesting she’d slept with someone else since him.
Putting on a strong, impassive face, Sydney scoffed, waving a hand up and down her body. “Really now. Really? Do you think I’m just reeling guys in left, right and center? Rutting my way through town looking like this? Yes it’s yours, you moron!”
She closed her mouth at the end, trying not to show how the comments affected her. They might be the truth, but she hated him all the more for making her acknowledge it openly. Sydney was no catch, and she knew it. But that wasn’t the point just then. There was no categorical way it could be anyone else’s but his. Period. Or lack of one, as she’d been experiencing.
Lechiffre muttered something that might have been “I think you look amazing”, but the roaring in her ears prevented Sydney from hearing it clear enough to respond.
The fateful words she’d spoken to Lechiffre were rising up in her again.
I’m pregnant.
It was the first time she’d said the words out loud to anyone. Until then, it had all seemed like it could be some sort of bad dream. A nightmare that she would eventually awaken from, perhaps. Anything but reality. Now another person knew her secret, and that made it real. There was no more denying it, as she’d been doing for nearly two weeks since her period failed to arrive.
Now she had to face the consequences of their actions that night. She. Not Lechiffre. He didn’t have to do anything. He had the easy part. Stick his dick in, move it around, and then voila. Deed done. Now she would suffer. Even if it was partly her own fault.
Looking at the big man, she noted the glaze to his eyes. He might be facing her, but his eyes were anywhere but on her. It was a stark contrast to the last time she’d seen him, when his eyes had blazed with a fervent sapphire light as they drank in every inch of her in a way no man had done before.
Even just now, staring at his big, broad shoulders as they strained at the seams of his slate gray t-shirt, or the point of his diamond-shaped face, powerful jaw tight with the news she’d just broken to him, all of that came together to remind her of the way he’d treated her that one night.
It had been more than good. But not enough to warrant what she was now going to go through. No pleasure was worth that. Not to her.
Sensing that Lechiffre was useless, and needing some space, Sydney turned and headed outside, onto the big wraparound porch that the house sported. Almost immediately her skin tightened as the cooler evening air washed over it, and the wet, heavy air dampened her almost imperceptibly.
Rain continued to splatter down, the big drops making a pleasant low rumble on the roof. It was a sound she’d fallen asleep too many times over the past few years since she’d bought the little hobby farm next door. It was peaceful, reminding her of a different time, one of the few pleasant memories of her youth.
Pregnant. With child. Knocked up. A filled womb.
A tremor ran through her body until she gripped the railing tight, clenching her muscles so they stopped. It was a foreign idea to her, one that she’d rarely thought about now that she was into her thirties.
Should have had the damn surgery to prevent this, woman. Now you’re going to pay.
She would pay, yes. But not the child. They would have a better life, one with a mother fit to raise them. Sydney thought about it, but the truth was, she knew she didn’t have the strength within her to see everything through to completion. She was too weak. Too unprepared.
4
Pregnant. Pregnant. Pregnant.
The word bounced around his brain like an echo chamber. Fading, fading, then bouncing back stronger again, on repeat. There was little he could do about it, his brain refused to cooperate. It was still frozen, locked in paralysis after hearing her say the words.
But I was so careful.
Shifter DNA was potent, especially when mixed with a human. Usually if the female was on birth control, there were no issues. Those drugs seemed to work. Not this time. Either that or Sydney wasn’t on any.
The more he thought about it, the more Chief became confident that was the case. Considering the way she’d dismissed his claim about her sleeping with other people, and how adamant she’d been the day they hooked up that he put on a condom, it seemed to indicate she wasn’t using any protection herself, because she didn’t expect to need it.
It was a shame that more men didn’t see her attractiveness for what it was, but now wasn’t the time for Chief to dwell upon that. Despite his efforts, some of his sperm had clearly escaped and impregnated her.
Accidents like this weren’t exactly uncommon among the shifter population, but they weren’t frequent either. Most males did their best to prevent it from happening. They were meant to procreate with their mates. Not the multitude of human women who would gladly throw themselves at shifters simply because of their looks.
That was all well and fun for a younger shifter. One going through puberty or just learning their place in the world. For a seasoned veteran like Chief, who was into his forties now, he rarely took advantage of the blessings of his heritage. To him, sex should have a stronger meaning, a more intimate connection, between the two parties.
He was fairly positive it was the way Sydney had stormed into the middle of their party and told everyone to shut up that had attracted him that night. As the diplomat of the pack, he’d found himself taking her aside to try and calm her down. By the end of the night they’d found comfort in each other’s arms.
She hadn’t wanted him to stay, probably because she was embarrassed at having slept with him so quickly, and Chief had respected her wishes, leaving and not calling. Now he wished he’d thought things through more thoroughly. It was his responsibility to prevent things like this from happening.
I’m going to be a father. Sydney is going to be a mother.
That, more than anything, was likely what was freaking her out. He didn’t blame her for the way she was reacting. Dealing with such unexpected news on her own would have left anyone worked up. Once they had a chance to calm down and talk it over, he was positive she would see all the wonderful things that were to come.
She might not be his mate, but Chief had always wanted to be a father. A father. Even just thinking the word brought a wide, cheek-splitting grin to his face. Something he’d dreamt about since he was young was finally going to bless his life. A child. Would it be a little boy, maybe? Or a little human princess he could spoil?
“Well you’ve certainly got a shit-eating-grin on your face. What’s the occasion?” It was Logan, he was back. The leader of the rebels sauntered back into the room.
“Nothing,” Chief said quickly. Too quickly.
Logan quirked an eyebrow at him. “Really. Does it have anything to do with the human on the porch looking utterly lost and forlorn?”
“Forlorn?” Chief asked, straightening.
“Downright devastated, if you ask me,” Logan told him, without an ounce of sarcasm. “What did you do to her?”
Chief bit his lip, debating for a moment on whether to tell him. “She is with child.”
Logan started to nod, freezing halfway through the motion. “You mean your child, don’t you?”
“Who the hell else do you think I mean?” Chief snapped, running his hands through his hair, the unruly black strands momentarily straightening before resuming their loose, almost wavy curls.
“Why are you in here then?” Logan wanted to know. “Shouldn’t you two be like, celebrating or something?”
Chief headed for the door. “I guess maybe we’re not in a celebrating mood.”
