Alpha's Vow (Shifter Ops 2)

I also see how much we’re in this thing together. He and I, same as it’s always been. “Is a pup really the worst thing to happen to our family?” I ask softly. I haven’t said the word family to him since we lost ours. I’ve never called us that. He and I haven’t been family; we’ve been survivors. Fighters. Super-warriors for our government. We were pack, but not family. But it’s clear he feels as responsible for my pup as I do, because he always carries the weight of responsibility for me.

When Rafe’s gaze swivels to me, I see it holds a world of pain. For a long moment, he doesn’t answer, then he turns away. “No. Maybe not.” His voice sounds a little more gruff than usual.

The image, suddenly, of Rafe as an uncle, not the gruff, hardened alpha he’s become, fills my mind. “Maybe this pup is exactly the thing we’ve been missing,” I suggest.

“I don’t know, Lance.” Rafe sounds exhausted. He walks out of the room, leaving his worry over my unborn child to fester in me.

Charlie

Lance picks me up in a Humvee after work. He wants me to come out to see the pack’s compound and meet them all properly. It feels crazy and too soon, but well, this baby was crazy and too soon, so I guess the timing’s right.

He showed up on my route again today in the usual place, but this time he trotted beside me like a giant guard dog. It took me a few minutes to shake the instinctive fear of such a large and ferocious-looking animal, but I very quickly found his presence to be a huge comfort. It also helped me believe everything I learned last night.

Lance really is a wolf. I’m having a wolf baby.

I should call my parents, but I’m not even remotely ready. It’s way too new and weird. I don’t even know how I feel about Lance. About our situation.

No, that’s not true. I don’t know what I think.

I do know how I feel.

I feel like I’m tumbling down a mountain, limbs flailing, with no plan, no parachute, but I have this guy beside me. This guy whose pirate smile makes me feel warm and gooey inside. This guy who makes me feel like maybe we could wing it, and still be all right. He’s relaxed enough for both of us.

Except then my mind starts tumbling again. Lance may be relaxed, but that doesn’t mean he should be. He’s in an extremely dangerous profession. One that will keep him away from us for weeks at a time. Yes, he’s essentially bullet-proof, but what if he’s captured? Becomes a prisoner of war?

Lance glances over at me. “What’s going on in that beautiful head of yours?”

I shake my head. “Just so much to digest.”

“You looked worried.”

For a player, he’s awfully in tune with me. “Have you had a girlfriend before?” I blurt before I realize I’m not sure I want to hear the answer.

He gives me a sidelong glance, a slight smirk playing around his lips. “Never.”

His answer doesn’t surprise me, but my relief does. “Never ever? You’re just a love ‘em and leave ‘em type?”

“Am I in trouble here?”

He’s so damn sexy when he calls me on every single thing. I shake my head. “No. I was just wondering how you’re so good at reading me.”

The smirk returns. “You’re my mate. It’s my job, angel.” Then his brows go down. “So you are worried.”

I shrug. “I didn’t want to marry into the military.”

Confusion flits over his handsome face. “I’m out, angel.”

“Are you, though? Really? It seems to me like you’re still in the most dangerous aspect of the job.”

“And you don’t have to worry about me,” he says with total confidence.

“What about the long trips?”

Lance’s expression grows solemn. “I will never be away if you need me. I promise you that.”

I chew on the inside of my cheek.

He reaches over and takes my hand. “Hey,” he says softly. “Don’t write me off before we’ve even had a go, okay? Give me a chance to show you I can be what you need me to be.”

“And what is that?”

“That’s what I’m trying to figure out.”

I laugh in spite of myself. It’s really impossible to keep Lance shut out. He’s too persistent. Too perfect.

“Is there anything else I should know?”

Lance is silent a moment too long.

“What is it?” My pulse has already quickened.

Lance rubs the back of his neck. “Ah, yeah. There is something. I didn’t want to freak you out last night.”

“Already freaked,” I say, putting my hands in the air.

He winces. “Okay, here it is. When a wolf mates his female, he marks her. With his teeth.”

“Excuse me?”

Lance trails his index finger on a line from my neck to my shoulder. “Usually here. On a shifter, it’s nothing. It would heal right up. On a human…”