Chapter 39
Chapter Thirty-nine
Phoenix
Em had been quiet the few days after the scan and didn’t seem to want anything except cuddling and reassurance, so that was what I gave him, and to be honest, I enjoyed it as much as he seemed to.
Bayer seemed settled, and while he gave us our space, Em always insisted he join us for supper.
I enjoyed our quiet mornings, and I’d made sure he had time to get himself together while I busied myself making breakfast.
“You know how to spoil me,” he murmured, smelling fresh from his shower and wrapping his arms around me.
I turned and hugged him close. We seemed to be going from one emergency to the other, but his friends had a baby shower planned for later today, and I knew there were a lot of she-wolves looking forward to it.
To be honest, I doubted if the whole pack wasn’t excited.
“I’m not really hungry,” Em murmured, glancing at the bacon and scrambled egg. I dropped a kiss on his forehead. I knew he was struggling, and even though the doctor had warned us, I was getting a little concerned he wasn’t eating enough.
“I think you need to start drinking those smoothies we were recommended.”
Em pouted so prettily I groaned and had to kiss those adorable lips. “I’m so fucking lucky,” I murmured when I stopped to let him take a breath.
He chuckled. “I’m going to remind you of that tonight when I’m so restless, I wake you up a million times again.”
“Bring it on,” I said softly, then turned quickly as the bacon was burning. We hadn’t had that much time to ourselves between reeling from what seemed like one disaster after another, and I decided to make one giant plate of food and pull my gorgeous mate onto my lap, and proceeded to feed us both.
“What did you always want growing up?” Em asked me after a few small mouthfuls. I paused. I knew what he meant.
“For the pack to be safe. To be as good an alpha as my dad.”
“Tell me about your mom,” Em prompted.
I hesitated. It had been painful as a kid.
Hell, if I was honest, it still was. “They weren’t a blood match.
My father married the daughter of Gavrel Azreal because he needed a male heir.
He was the alpha of all Oregon, Idaho, and Montana.
If I’m honest, I think my mother hated being a shifter with all its rules and secrets, and being the daughter of the alpha with certain expectations made it worse.
” I fed him some more eggs. “I haven’t seen her in nearly three years, and she never so much as picks up the phone, but then I don’t either.
” We both chewed for a moment and swallowed.
I scooped up some more eggs, but Em shook his head.
Yep, he was definitely starting on the smoothies.
I rested my hand gently on his large belly and, to my delight, felt an immediate kick.
“She knows it’s you,” he whispered. “She’s saying hello.”
“I can’t wait to meet her properly,” I said
“We need to think about names.”
The realization surprised me, but then we’d reeled from one shock to another recently. It was nice just to have some time to breathe. “Do you have any favorites? If she’s going to be an alpha, she’ll need a strong one.”
“An alpha?” Em said hesitantly.
“We would know pretty soon.” I smirked, then stood, abandoning my food and circling my arms around Em. “And make no mistake, if she is, I will fight until my dying breath for her to lead the pack.”
Em leaned back against me. “You really mean that, don’t you?”
“Yes,” I said confidently. “I know fighting for our existence makes much pale into insignificance, but at the end of the day, I want to be a good dad. I want her to become what she wants.”
Em stilled for a long moment. “And what if she hates being a shifter? What if she wants to leave like your mom?”
I had to think about that, because that was a stretch even for me, but then I smiled. “The very worst thing for our family and the pack would be forcing someone into the role of alpha that didn’t want it.”
Em arched an eyebrow. “I’m going to remind you of that.”
“So, names?”
Emery shrugged. “Do you have any family names you want?”
I chuckled. “Well, I’m sure as hell not naming her after my mom.”
Emery laughed. “Me neither. Let’s think about it this week, huh?”
I grinned, then huffed as my phone rang.
“Alpha?” It was Simeon. “I just got called to the gate. There’re two sheriff cars here, and they have Emery’s dad with them. He’s saying you’ve kidnapped him, and he’s demanding to see him.”
I glanced at Emery, knowing he’d heard every word. “We can’t,” I mouthed.
Emery’s disbelieving laugh was all the agreement I needed. “What the hell does he think he’s doing?”
“He’s not a cop. He can’t force himself in here,” I said. Then I lifted the phone. “Simeon, do we know any of the cops?”
“Yes. Sergeant McAllister is here.”
Emery’s face brightened, and he wiggled his fingers, asking for the phone. “Hi, Simeon,” Em said brightly when I passed it over. “Can you put Sarge M on, please?”
Sarge M?
“Mr. Valentine?” a gruff voice asked.
Emery chuckled. “You’ve been calling me Emery since you rescued Daisy.”
And all my anxiety tricked away. I sat down, ready to watch a master at work, and heard the gruff voice soften. “I’ve been called out plenty for cats being stuck up trees, but that guinea pig was a first for me.”
And I resolved right there and then that nothing I ever heard about my adorable mate would ever surprise me.
Emery grinned. “I’m sorry you’ve been dragged out.”
I heard the sigh. “Trouble is, I wouldn’t be doing my job—”
“Absolutely,” Emery chimed in. “You’re most welcome, and I have that raspberry tea you like.
Unfortunately, I can’t say the same about my dad.
He recently even tried to extort money from a vulnerable relative of ours, and I’m afraid I’m done with him.
He certainly isn’t welcome in our home.” I could hear the idiot loudly protesting and using words like cult and drugs.
Emery hung up, then speared me with his gaze. “I need bandages. Help me into the armchair and grab the throw and the pillows.”
I didn’t even question him, and apart from a text to my dad warning the pack we had visitors, in less than five minutes, Emery was ensconced in the big chair with pillows and a throw with one leg resting prominently on an ottoman, complete with a bandaged ankle.
Simeon escorted the sergeant and two of his colleagues in three minutes later. He shook my hand as I met him at the door, then I showed him through to the sitting area off the kitchen.
Em was beaming. “Sorry I can’t get up.” He gestured to his ankle. “I’m such a klutz.”
Sergeant McAllister frowned. He clearly didn’t like to see Emery supposedly hurt. “What happened?”
“Oh, it was a hundred percent Danny’s fault,” Emery lied. “You know he can’t handle more than two vodka limes. Why he had to involve me instead of the bear he was ogling is anyone’s guess.”
How I kept my face straight, I would never know.
“Tea?” Emery said brightly, and Sergeant McAllister chuckled.
“No, thanks, Emery. I can’t stay.”
“How’s Sadie?” Emery asked.
The man brightened. “Good. Had a nasty cold last week, but it didn’t go to her chest.”
“Has she been taking her vitamins?”
“Absolutely.”
Emery nodded in approval. Then he seemed to realize I was just standing there.
“I’m so sorry. Do you know Phoenix?”
The sergeant glanced at me and extended his hand, and we shook. He eyed me. “You fixed the chapel roof.”
“Yes, sir,” I confirmed. “Not giving anyone problems with the last storms, I hope?”
The sarge shook his head. “No, and we got the grant you recommended, which took care of a good two-thirds of the cost.”
I smiled. The grant was actually us donating free labor, but they didn’t know that. We always did that for community projects.
“Well,” the sergeant said. “I’m sorry to have disturbed you.”
“And I’m sorry you were dragged into this,” Emery said, genuinely. “We’re not close, but I can’t condone what he tried with my friend. I’m afraid he isn’t welcome in our home.”
The cops left, but something told me we hadn’t seen the last of his dad, and as I watched Em’s worried gaze, I knew he felt the same.
I left Em with a book and walked over to Esther’s. We hadn’t had any chance to talk about Ben or Micah and what to do with either of them, so I invited Isla and my dad to meet us and left Simeon doing the perimeter checks. I wanted to make sure Emery’s dad had really gone.
Esther was expecting us and had the coffee made. Isla was already there and said Ben was with Matthew and was developing a strong case of hero worship, and I grinned at a sleeping Callie tucked up in a stroller in the corner.
And fuck, that was another thing. We hadn’t bought anything. A crib, a stroller. Crap, I needed to get my head on straight.
“Alpha?” my dad said, looking concerned, and I chuckled.
“I was just realizing we don’t even have a crib.”
Isla huffed. “You’d be surprised what the pack has.
You put a text out, and you’ll have a dozen cribs delivered in an hour.
” I met my dad’s gaze and knew he shared the simultaneous thought that while it was heartwarming that the pack was coming together like a family, it was sad there were so many empty cribs.
“We need to talk about a few things, mainly Micah, but I wanted to let you know Emery’s dad is still a problem.” I filled them in on what had happened that morning.
“I’m sorry Emery’s having to go through this,” my dad said.
“They’re not close. Emery doesn’t forgive him for the blackmail and what happened with Nicholas. I think he’d be happy if he never saw him again.”
“Which might change when your daughter’s born,” Esther warned.