Page 32 of The Brooding Alpha's Mate
She put her hand on my forearm and gave it a squeeze. “Come see me tomorrow.”
She grabbed a piece of receipt paper from the cashier and wrote down her address. “Let’s see if we can make a deal. I really want someone who will love this place the way I do. And since you’re growing family, I’m willing to do a private sale to speed things along. I know what it’s like wanting to be settled before your little one arrives.”
Keeping that secret from my mate overnight was one of the most difficult things I’d ever done. I was so excited and wanted to twirl him around and tell him all about it. But his emotions were all over the place, thanks to the hormones. I wasn’t going to take a chance of getting his hopes up for nothing.
The next morning, I told him I had a delivery and went straight to her house. She invited me in for a cup of tea, showed me around, and by the time I left, we had struck a deal.
The sale was going to be quick. I’d managed to put enough away over the years, and she practically gave it to me, telling methat it was more important for this land to be loved than for her to get buried with her money.
It wasn’t until Aziz pulled up the aerial map on my computer, that I saw just how close it was to our house. We were practically neighbors, with only one plot in between. And that plot was currently vacant.
I asked him to help me find who owned it. And we hit the jackpot of all jackpots— it had been abandoned, and I could buy it from the city for the back property taxes.
He helped me make up a certificate and collage to present to my mate. I went home with it, brimming with excitement.
But as I got home, my bear started to panic.
He was on edge to the point of bringing back memories of when he was taken.
I bolted from the car and ran inside the house to find my mate pacing, holding his belly, no longer wearing any pants.
“My bear was freaking out,” I explained, out of breath, heart still pounding in my chest.
“Well, he’s going to freak out for a while longer. These contractions are three minutes apart, and as you can see by my attire, my water already broke.”
“Oh, mate.” I started to hug him, but he froze.
“Wait a second. Another contraction is coming. Then you can hug me.”
“What should I do? Tell me what to do.”
“Just hold my hands, my love. Just hold my hands.”
And I did. I held them as he pushed through. It was a strong contraction. I could see it where his belly wasn’t fully covered. No one told me I would be able to see a contraction, but I did.
He didn’t scream through it the way I would have. He just breathed the way the midwife had taught him. He was so strong.
“Kind of thought you would be back a while ago, or I would’ve called you.”
“Oh—yeah. I was getting a surprise for you. Sorry.”
He smacked my shoulder. “A surprise? Well, go get it, because I need something to distract myself from this.”
I ran out to the car and grabbed it, bringing the package back inside.
“Oh, it’s not just a surprise. It’s a full-on present.” He beamed. “It’s not my birthday.”
“No, it’s not, but it looks like it’s going to be someone else’s.” I put my hand on his belly. “Consider this my mating gift to you. It took a while to find the perfect one.”
He grabbed it from me, brought it over to the counter, and then held up his hand.
“Let me just work through this next contraction, and then I’m—” He got cut off by his own breathing exercises. Another contraction ran through him. This time, he held the counter, bracing himself.
I would’ve done anything to take that pain away from him, but I couldn’t. All I could do was be here for him.
“Okay.” He sucked in a deep breath. “Let’s open this now before it’s too late.”
He flipped open the box and took out the certificate, then the collage, and finally, an aerial shot of the property that would be ours in a few days’ time.
