Page 30 of Bullied Wolf Mate

“You can’t know that. More importantly, you can’t keep me locked up in your house forever,” she argued.

“Watch me,” I snarled.

She rolled her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose. “God, you are so controlling.” She looked up at me again. “I’m notgoing anywhere. Not after this. At least not until we figure out the next steps. And if I’m sticking around, I’m not going to be stuck in your house. I want to get out and explore the town.”

“You’re planning on staying?” I asked cautiously. It was the first time she had ever mentioned even considering it.

She shrugged. “For now? Yes. At least until the baby is born and we know more about what we want. After that, we’ll see.”

I knew what I wanted. I wanted her. That didn’t mean I liked the idea of her wandering around without protection. Still, I thought back to her expression when I’d mentioned home. She didn’t see this place as her home. She saw it as another prison. If I kept locking her in here, that would only enhance the feeling. And if she really wanted to stay for a while, the last thing I wanted was for her to see this place in that light.

I hesitated as all these thoughts rolled around in my mind. When she glanced at me, she rolled her eyes again and folded her arms.

“It’s not like I’ll be waltzing around alone at midnight,” she pointed out. “Even if Inara is coming after me, she isn’t going to scoop me up from the middle of town around a bunch of people.”

“She might,” I countered, even though I knew she had a point.

Her hand reached out, hesitating for a moment before taking mine. “You can’t control me forever,” she said, looking me in the eyes.

I exhaled and closed my eyes. The problem was, I knew that. I had been overprotective and controlling up to this point. If Lorelei was sticking around, if she was having my baby, Icouldn’t keep doing that. But that need to keep her safe was even worse now that a cub had been thrown into the mix. How the hell was I supposed to be less protective when there was a baby on the way? I wanted to guard both of them. Why couldn’t she just see that?

But when I looked at her face, those wide, green eyes staring back at me, a mix of anxiety and stubbornness etched across her features, my stomach lurched. I wanted her safe, but I also knew that if I kept going about it the way I was, I’d drive her away forever. We had just gotten on speaking terms. I couldn’t lose her again.

“Yeah, all right,” I said.

She blinked, arms falling to her side as if she hadn’t really thought I would concede. “Really?” she asked, her voice filled with trepidation as she regarded me wearily.

I nodded. “Really.”

Without warning, she wrapped her arms around me, resting her head on my chest as she hugged me. “Thanks,” she said.

Without thinking, I bent down and kissed her on the forehead. She started, blinking up at me in surprise, but didn’t let go.

“Let’s get you inside,” I said.

Chapter 14 - Lorelei

“And you’re going to need this, and this, and—oh! Can’t forget about these.” Andi placed item after item in my hands, everything from new mom books to baby clothes, as she dragged me deeper into the store. “And if you want to start looking for strollers now, this one right here is a great buy!”

“Cool it, Andi,” Holly said, giggling slightly as she plucked most of the pile out of my hands and placed them into a cart. “Lorelei just found out she was pregnant in the first place. She deserves a bit of time to adjust before she goes shopping.”

Andi gave a disappointedtchsound before sighing. “You’re probably right,” she conceded, glancing at the stroller. “Besides, I think I have a bunch of this stuff at home already. If I don’t, then Jenn or Iris probably has some of them. Assuming you’re okay with hand-me-downs.”

I looked at the price tag on the stroller she had pointed out and grimaced. “Yeah, anything I don’t have to pay full price for, I’m definitely interested in,” I said.

“Great!” Andi exclaimed. “I’ll have Luke bring it by your place soon.”

My place. The idea still felt foreign, almost uncomfortable, like clothes that didn’t fit quite right or shoes that needed breaking in. It wasn’t unpleasant, exactly, but the words still made something stir in me, only I couldn’t tell if it was good or bad. I’d spent my entire life in my cottage, most of it on my own.Thatwas my place. Not Mark’s house. But even as I thought that, some kernel disagreed. It wondered if maybe it was time to change all that, wondered if Brixton would be that terrible.

“Now, if you really want to shop for her right this minute, I can think of far more useful things that she’ll need soon,” Georgia said, dragging me out of my thoughts. “Maternity clothes.”

Andi squealed. Before any of us could say anything else, Andi and Jenn grabbed my arms and pulled me toward the maternity clothes section of the vast store. I wasn’t even showing yet, but the girls were so excited that I couldn’t say no.

After all of ten minutes, Georgia, Andi, and Jenn had all pulled out a mountain of clothes for me to try on, though they all refused to let me help when I offered to carry some of the clothes to the changing room. And so it went over and over again. There seemed to be an endless supply of clothes for me to try, and they kept finding more.

After an hour, at which point I told them I needed a breather, Holly came over to me. “Hanging in there?” she asked. “The girls mean well, but they can definitely be a lot if they ambush you like this.”

“It’s my fault for dropping the ‘p-word,’” I joked. “How did you get involved with this crew, anyway?”

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