Page 33 of Ruined Wolf

“He’s absolutely fine,” I told her. “Bump to the head, nothing serious. It’s you whom we’ve been worried about.”

“Me?” She glanced around and saw the wires and tubes she was hooked up to. Her eyes widened in panic, and her hand went to her belly. Her mouth fell open as she turned to me, and there was real fear in her eyes. I laid my hand over hers, feeling the rise of her body, and smiled.

“The baby is fine too. The doctor says they’ll keep an eye on both of you, but there is every indication that the baby is completely healthy.”

She closed her eyes, and tears ran down her face. “You know.”

“We know,” I confirmed softly. “The doctor wanted us to know you were both okay.”

She opened her eyes. The fear lessened, but it wasn’t gone, and my heart ached for her.

“It’s not what you think. I’m so sorry, but...”

“It’s not mine or Lucas’s,” I finished for her.

She shook her head.

“Yeah, we already worked that out, sweetness. Your mate’s?”

She nodded.

I took a deep breath. “Well, it’s not quite how I’d hoped, and it’s a damn sight quicker than I’d thought.”

“I’ll pack when they release me, it’s okay,” she murmured. “I’ll get out of your life. You’ll never have to see me again.”

I frowned. “What are you talking about?”

“Leaving Desolation as soon as they release me.” The tears continued to run down her face, and she pushed them away, her hand struggling with the effort. I reached for a tissue from the box on the nightstand and dabbed gently at her face.

“Nova, I was a complete dickhead to you when you first arrived. There were reasons, but they are excuses, and none of them were good enough for the way I treated you. I want to spend my life making it up to you, but if you want to leave, if you really believe I wouldn’t be a good father to your baby, and that I couldn’t keep you both safe and loved, then that’s your choice. I won’t keep you here against your will if you want to leave.”

My heart broke as I said the words, and I firmly believed she would choose to go. I had practically forced her into mating me and Lucas, and almost losing her had shown me how much I loved her. I could no longer force her into being with me. My own mother had chosen to follow my father into death rather than stay with us, and although I had long forgiven her, I wanted Nova to have as much happiness as she could. If that meant choosing life with her child away from us, then so be it.

She stared at me, her golden eyes wide. “I don’t want to leave, Maverick,” she whispered.

My heart jumped. “You don’t?”

“Don’t you want me to go? I lied to you, over and over, I concealed things... Important things...”

I took her hand again, twisting my fingers through hers. “Nova, I had everything planned in my life, and my brother walked out, throwing my plans into chaos. I just resigned myself to being thoroughly miserable for the rest of my life, and had everything neat and tidy again, and then you came into my world and turned everything upside down. I blamed you for everything, even my brother I suppose. I couldn’t take it out on him, so I took it out on you. I can’t blame you for not trusting me with something this important. I can’t blame you for lying at first, and then... I’m thinking the lie got too big?”

She nodded. “I couldn’t tell you. The timing was always wrong, and I was afraid, and then... then we were together and it was just... I didn’t want it to end.” The tears began again, and I realised she’d been holding them back for a very long time.

“Nova, I want you to stay. Did you need me to say it? I love you more than life. I want you to stay, and I want to be a father to your baby, if you think I deserve that honour.”

She cried harder. “Maverick, don’t.”

“Don’t what?” I said, reaching out to stroke her hair.

“Don’t be so sweet, it just makes it harder.”

“I don’t understand, Nova. Isn’t this what you want?”

“More than anything.” She looked up at me, and the pain in her eyes made my heart ache. “But there are more secrets, and you’ll hate me when I’m done telling you, so don’t promise me anything. I can’t bear it.”

“I could never hate you, Nova. I love you. You can tell me anything. And your baby? It’s part of you, and that makes it family to us without you having to tell us anything or do anything.”

She pulled her hand away from me, and it hurt to see her close off like that. It was like shutters came down over her eyes. “Can you get the others? We need to talk, and it needs to be all of you.”