Chapter 14
Sloan paced his home office while Becky showered and dressed for the day.
It had taken everything he fucking possessed to walk out of that bedroom because he knew she had wanted him.
He had seen it in her eyes, felt it in the air between them, and fuck, he had wanted her too.
That wasn’t the problem. Wanting Becky had never been a problem.
Knowing what the hell to do about it right now was the problem because she was pregnant, and he didn’t know the first damn thing about this shit.
Could he hurt the baby if he had sex with her? Could he hurt her?
Those thoughts stopped him dead in his tracks, his eyes narrowing as if the answer was going to magically appear somewhere in his office.
“Shit.” Sloan cursed, then realized he was pacing, which he never did. He started to run his hand through his hair for the hundredth time, but stopped before he went fucking bald.
He had faced rogues, demons, enemies who had wanted him dead, and yet the thought of having sex with his own mate while she carried a child had him acting like some clueless bastard who needed a manual. Jesus, maybe he did need a fucking manual. Was there a manual for this?
He blew out a hard breath and glanced toward the ceiling where Becky was upstairs.
His body didn’t care about questions or what-ifs.
His mate had wanted him, and every instinct he possessed had wanted to go to her, to take that fear out of her eyes and remind her exactly who she belonged to.
But this wasn’t about his instincts. Until he knew what was safe for her, for the child, he wasn’t taking chances with either one of them.
He had called Slade when he came downstairs that morning to tell him about the positive pregnancy test. Becky had also told him about freezing her eggs after having Frankie because of her female issues.
She’d said she had wanted more kids, just no husband.
They had both chuckled at that, and the memory had him smiling despite everything pressing down on him.
He loved her laugh and had missed it. He hadn’t realized just how much until hearing it again damn nearly knocked the breath out of him.
His smile faded when he remembered the silence on the other end of the phone after he told Slade about the frozen eggs. Slade wasn’t a man who went quiet for no reason. When Sloan questioned him, all Slade said was he was going to try to get Becky in with a doctor that afternoon.
That was it. No calm reassurance that Sloan was overthinking things. Just silence, then a plan to get her in with a doctor.
Sloan’s jaw tightened as he looked toward the doorway.
He didn’t want Becky walking into his office and seeing the rage riding him, but he also didn’t want her out of his sight.
Not after last night. Not after finding her on that bathroom floor, broken glass around her, tears on her face, and fear in her eyes.
That memory alone was enough to make his eyes burn black again.
What pissed him off most was that she even had to wonder if wanting him was right.
That thought dug under his skin and stayed there, sharp and ugly.
Becky had been through enough, and now she was questioning her own feelings, her own body, because someone had put this nightmare in front of her and left her to make sense of it.
Sloan didn’t know how something like this affected a woman, his woman, and that tore at him because he wanted answers.
Wanted rules. Wanted something solid he could follow so he didn’t make one wrong move with her.
But there were no rules for this. He knew that, dammit.
There was only Becky, scared and trying to find her footing, and him needing to be careful enough not to push, strong enough not to break, and patient enough to let her feel whatever the hell she needed to feel.
If that meant walking on eggshells, then so be it.
He’d walk on glass for her if that was what it took.
But one thing was for sure. His hunt for the son of a bitch responsible would never end. Whoever had hurt his mate, whoever had twisted her world until she didn’t even know what was safe to feel, had better enjoy breathing while they still could.
Because once Sloan found them, that luxury was over.
The security alert on Sloan’s phone went off, letting him know someone had pulled into the driveway.
Grabbing it off his desk, he looked at the screen to see Duncan coming down the drive on his bike.
Heading toward the front door, Sloan was thankful for the break from his thoughts because they were starting to piss him off.
Opening the door just as Duncan climbed the steps, Sloan stepped back, letting him inside.
“How’s Becky feeling?” Duncan asked, following Sloan into his office.
“Better,” Sloan replied, not giving anything more than that.
He needed to talk to Becky first on how they were going to handle this.
He didn’t like keeping things from his Warriors, not when every decision he made could affect them, but this was different.
This was her choice on what was said and when.
Still, he couldn’t ignore the warning burning in his gut.
His men needed to know enough to protect their own.
If someone was coming for Sloan through Becky in this way, for whatever fucked-up reason, then he had to assume the others could be targets too.
Human mates tied to Warriors who would burn the world down if someone dared touch them was exactly the kind of weakness an enemy would look for.
Sloan’s jaw tightened as he walked behind his desk, but he didn’t sit. Sitting wasn’t going to happen anytime soon, apparently. “Slade’s on his way.”
Duncan’s brows drew together. “Medical?”
“Yeah.” Sloan’s answer was short, clipped, and Duncan’s eyes sharpened at the tone.
“What’s going on?”
Sloan stared at Duncan who he trusted with his life, and hated that he couldn’t give him the full truth yet. Not until Becky was ready. “I can’t give you everything right now.”
Duncan didn’t like that. Sloan could see it in his face. But he also didn’t push, and that was why Duncan was who he was. Loyal to a fault.
“Okay,” Duncan said slowly. “Then give me what you can.”
Sloan’s eyes darkened. “Something was done to Becky.”
The room went still.
Duncan’s entire expression changed, the easy concern gone, replaced by the Warrior who had stood beside Sloan through more blood and hell than most men could survive. “Done how?”
“I don’t know yet.” Sloan said, hating the fact that he didn’t know fucking shit. “But until I do, every human mate needs eyes on them.”
Duncan nodded once, all business now. “I’ll make the calls.”
“Not yet.” Sloan’s voice hardened. “Not until I talk to Becky.”
Duncan studied him for a second, then gave another nod. “Understood.”
Sloan looked toward the ceiling again, toward where his mate was. “Whatever this is, whoever is behind it, they didn’t just make a mistake.”
Duncan waited, silent.
Sloan’s eyes burned black. “They started a war they will lose.” Even though he had no clue who was behind any of this, he was confident in his words.
“The reason I’m here is because Daniel contacted me,” Duncan began, and Sloan became instantly alert. “He said he needs to talk to you and Becky. Don’t ask me about what because he wouldn’t tell me even if I asked.”
“When?” Sloan wanted Daniel here right fucking now.
“He said he had to take care of something, then he would be over.” Duncan glanced at his phone, his expression hardening. “And he wanted me here because it also has something to do with Pam.”
Sloan went still.
“I’m trying to be cool and respect you, but if this has anything to do with Pam, I want to know what the fuck is going on.” Duncan growled, his voice low and deadly.
“Tell him,” Becky’s soft voice came from the doorway, surprising both men.
Fuck. Sloan’s frown deepened. They had been so deep in conversation, so buried in their own thoughts, that neither of them had heard her approach. That alone told him just how far off their game they were, and right now, being off their game could get someone killed.
“How long have you been standing there?” Sloan asked, his eyes moving over her before coming back to her face.
She didn’t look as pale as she had before her shower.
Actually, there was color in her cheeks now, and the dark circles under her eyes didn’t seem as harsh.
She looked better, but the look in her eyes still cut through him.
“Long enough,” Becky admitted. She walked into the office and took a seat in one of the chairs Sloan had placed next to his desk for her to curl up in when he was working.
“If this could affect anyone else, then they all have a right to know. They will think what they think about me, but Duncan...” Her eyes moved to him, then softened.
“Because of Pam, he’ll understand out of all of them. ”
“Becky,” Sloan said, his voice quiet.
She looked at him, and he saw the fear she was trying so damn hard to hide. Saw the strength too. His mate was standing in the middle of hell, still thinking about everyone else.
“I’m okay,” she said, though none of them believed it. “And I’m tired of being scared of what people are going to think. If this can somehow affect any of the mates, then they need to know so they can protect themselves.”
Sloan moved to stand beside her chair, his hand settling on the back of it. Not touching her, but close enough that she knew he was there. Sloan opened his mouth, but no words came out.
Becky glanced up at him, and gave him a sad smile before looking back at Duncan.
“I’m pregnant,” she said, her voice quiet but clear.
Duncan went completely still, the two words Becky just spoke sitting between the three like a lit fuse. Duncan’s eyes shifted from Becky to Sloan, then back to Becky again. Not with judgment. Not with pity. But with a cold, deadly understanding that made the Warrior in him rise to the surface.
“Who?” Duncan asked, his eyes turning black as night.
Becky swallowed hard, but she didn’t look away. “We don’t know.”
“Yet,” Sloan added in a controlled yet dangerous growl.