Page 62 of Broken By Her Mate
“Tolliver!” Elena shrieked, making him wince. She clamped a hand over her mouth. “Right, sensitive shifter hearing… sorry.”
“You’re awake,” Laila said, smiling and near tears. She grabbed his hand while Elena rushed over to hug her brother.
Tolliver chuckled. “Looks like I’m going to have to almost die more often to get this much affection from you, brat,” he said. His voice was barely above a whisper, but its teasing note was clear.
“Oh my gosh, Tolliver, don’t even joke about that,” Elena groaned. She straightened and pulled her phone from her scrub pocket. “I’m going to call Ryder and Zach. They’ve been texting every minute, asking for updates.” As she hurried to the door, she glanced back at Tolliver. Relief was stamped on her face.
Laila was left alone with Tolliver, and she stared at him with misty eyes until a tear slipped out. Tolliver lifted a hand to wipe it away from her cheek. “Elena was right. You do look like hell, woman.”
The laugh that escaped her became a sob, and the tears started to flow. “Well, I’m sorry, but looking glamorous under these stressful conditions is hard. You almost died, Tolliver.” She thought finding out he was missing was the worst thing she’d ever experienced but holding him in her arms while he was unconscious and bleeding out was a terror she never wished to feel again. “I’m going to get Dr. Dorset.”
Before she could get up, he caught her wrist. “Not yet. Let me have you to myself a little longer.” His eyes moved over herface with adoration that he didn’t bother to hide, and her heart melted like butter under the sun.
“Jonas is dead,” he said. “You’re free.”
She tilted her head, thinking it odd that was the first thing he wanted to talk about. “We don’t have to—”
“You’re free to go back to your life… without me.”
The fear in his eyes struck a chord in her heart. He had no qualms about fighting to the death while at half-strength, but he was afraid of losing her. “Oh, Tolliver,” she breathed. “You shouldn’t be worried about that now.”
“I can’t help it.”
Settling back down, she took his hand in hers. “Look, I know I was adamant about needing more time and space, but then you went missing, and I almost lost you. Life is too short to continue living in fear. Maybe risking my heart is worth it because being with you these last few weeks has been… good. I realized I still love you, Tolliver. I never stopped.”
His eyes widened.“Thank fuck.”He then struggled to sit up. “You have no idea how happy I am to hear that. We—”
“Tolliver,” she reprimanded. “Stay down. You’re still stitched up like Frankenstein, for goodness’s sake.”
He laughed as he flopped back down. “Fine.” His hand remained on her wrist, and his thumb brushed her skin in soothing circles. “I love you too, Laila. I won’t ever make the mistake of letting you go again.”
She smiled. “Good. I need you to focus on getting better now. We’ll figure out everything else later. I need you to be okay because there’s no way I’m raising a kid alone.”
His eyes snapped in her face. “What?”
Heat filled her cheeks as she cleared her throat lightly. “I’ve been keeping a little secret… Well, it’s going to be a huge one in about seven more months…”
Tolliver blinked, his gaze locking onto hers with a mix of shock and disbelief. For a moment, he was frozen, his lips parting slightly like he was about to speak but couldn’t form the words. Finally, he sputtered, “What… How… When… You’re pregnant?”
She nodded.
He glanced at her midsection with confusion. “Impossible. How did I not sense it?”
She hung her head in shame. “I kept it magically hidden. I’m sorry, Tolliver. I just needed time to process. I mean, we weren’t even together. I wasn’t sure how you’d feel about it, and I didn’t want you to be with me out of a sense of duty.”
He sighed. “I wish you had told me sooner, but I get it.”
Her eyes jumped to his face. He didn’t sound or appear angry at all.
“Now I understand your reluctance to shift even when facing Mercer. I was confused about that.”
Their hands were still connected, and he tightened his fingers around hers. Seeing the fear in her eyes, he reassured her. “I’m happy about this, Laila.”
Her shoulders relaxed with her sigh of relief.
“What about you?” he asked, searching for her face. “Are you happy about it?”
She couldn’t help smiling because she was always so thoughtful, always checking on her. How lucky was she still havehis love? “I was scared at first, but I’m happy. I’ve always wanted a family… with you.”