Page 50 of His Rejected Alpha Mate
Deke helped me get the beds ready, and I felt good about having him share a room with me. Shifters needed close bonds with someone to stay healthy. Wolves in particular needed touch and, with a pregnant mate, Blake wouldn’t want Deke too close to Kade. I could be a pack substitute for Deke and he could protect me for Dakota. It was ridiculous that I still didn’t properly consider myself as pack, still seeing myself as an outsider. Perhaps that would change once I started teaching and had a place in the hierarchy.
As we lay in our beds, my mind wouldn’t settle. My heart was miles away at the compound with my mate and sick child. Dakota was sending regular updates, but it wasn’t the same as being there in person. I wanted to be of use to them, not a burden like I’d often felt in my relationship with Silas. As exhausted as I was, I couldn’t switch off. The day’s events spinning through my mind. The implications were too far-reaching for me to grasp. Shifters could die. Friends. My daughter could and I wasn’t able to be with her. It was cruel, this separation. I wanted this baby so badly, yet there was no way I’d risk his safety.
“Jas, go to sleep.”
“I can’t switch my brain off.”
A hand reached up, and I latched onto it. A life raft in a stormy sea.
“You are growing his cub.” He clutched my hand tightly. Like Dakota, his hands were bigger, rougher than mine. The sensation put me at ease instantly. “Being safe is helping. He couldn’t look after you both properly. Let him look after Angel while we keep you and Kade safe.” His voice broke. “It’s an honor to do this.”
With Deke holding my hand and his reassuring words in my ear, I managed to finally drift off. He didn’t let go of my hand the entire night.
Sounds that a papa should never hear his son making woke us. My son was… vocal in his pleasure.
“Fuck!” Deke exclaimed, sitting up from the trundle bed. “We are seeing Poppy this morning for the wards.”
“Shit, I’m sorry Deke. I took them down so I could hear Angel,” I apologized.
“Nah, it’s fine. I know why they aren’t there and it wasn’t like we had much time to prepare for a stay here.” We shared a commiserating look. “It’s lucky we had this house to come to. We’ll just get wards for both rooms and the bathrooms. I think we will all need a bit of privacy, especially since we don’t know how long we will be here.”
Deke was being far too reasonable for this early in the morning. He had a point, though. Over the last couple of weeks, my sex drive had heightened, and while the fear might dampen that, I wouldn’t be able to go long without having to take things in hand.
Keep it down, won’t you?I wasn’t above using the pack link to embarrass my son. Deke’s deep, throaty chuckle was worth it.
“Oh. My. Goddess! Papa!” Kade’s shriek made my morning.
Deke laughed again as he stretched. “I’m going to wash up and then check what we have in the kitchen. I’m making you breakfast.”
“I’m going to let you.”
He smiled and went to the bathroom next door. Kade emerged from his bedroom looking flustered, five shades of red on his face and neck, and reeking of sex. He stayed in the doorway, looking unsure. This was new territory for us both.
“Morning,” I said cheerfully, pushing past our mutual mortification. “Let’s go see Poppy as soon as possible, please.”
“Sure, Papa. Let’s get breakfast out. I’m pretty sure we have nothing here.”
The kitchen packed us some food before we left. Deke used the pack link to inform us. The walls were far too thin.
“Deke is cooking.”
“Ooh, I’ve never had his cooking before.”
“You’re in for a treat,” Blake informed us as he emerged, fully showered, from the bedroom. His face held traces of a blush, and he couldn’t quite meet my eyes.
“Look, this is uncomfortable for us all. It’s perfectly natural for a mated couple to um… copulate.”
“Sweet mother moon, never use that word again, Papa!”
It was Blake’s turn to snigger. He turned away when Kade glared at him.
“I’m just saying it’s embarrassing to hear it, not that I’m upset that you do that. As your papa, I like to pretend that The Luna placed those babies there herself, not my son-in-law. Privacy is very much a priority right now.”
Understanding dawned on their faces. Blake was the one to change the subject. “So is food. The pack kitchen had made a basket of some things for pancakes. A couple of boxes of the mix and some fruit. Kade will need more than that with the babies. Lots of protein and green veggies.”
Deke rejoined me, freshly showered and in jeans. He was unreserved as he searched through his things for a shirt. I may have felt no sexual attraction to the man, but I could acknowledge that he was mighty fine. Deke wasn’t as tall as Dakota, though they were similarly built. He was muscular with a light covering of dark hair on his chest, with a glorious trail leading under the waistband of his jeans.
Kade caught me looking and gave me a smirk.What?I tried to broadcast to him. Blake caught our looks and rolled his eyes.
