Chapter 15
Becky sat in the kitchen staring at the pot of chili Sloan had made. Tapping her finger against her phone, she sighed. She had tried to call Katrina, but got no answer. She figured very soon word would spread about her pregnancy, and she really wanted to be the one who told her.
Picking up her phone from the counter, she stared at it. She was struggling with whether to call Frankie. It was a battle she kept fighting against. Should she tell him? What would she even say? Should she wait until she knew more?
Tossing her phone back on the counter with a curse, she stood and walked over to the stove, picking up the spoon.
Thankfully, the smell wasn’t making her nauseous.
Actually, her stomach was grumbling with hunger.
When she had been pregnant with Frankie, she had craved spicy food, and apparently, that hadn’t changed.
Becky started stirring the chili as she heard the low mumble of Sloan and Duncan’s voices from the other room. She couldn’t make out what they were saying, but she had already heard enough. After dropping the bomb about being pregnant on Duncan, she had left them so they could talk more freely.
She also needed a minute. Saying the words out loud to someone other than Sloan had made it more real, and damn if she knew how to feel about that.
What she really wanted to do was go upstairs, crawl into bed, and pull the covers over her head, but she refused to do that.
Others probably would expect her to fall apart, and in a way, she had done that already.
But now she needed to stand strong. If not for herself, for Sloan, Frankie and the baby she carried.
She had already raised an amazing boy who had turned into an even more amazing man.
She would do the same with this baby, no matter how he or she came to be.
That didn’t mean she wasn’t scared. It didn’t mean she wasn’t angry, confused, or sick to her stomach over what may have been done to her.
But this wasn’t only about her now. There was an innocent life involved, and Becky would deal with whatever came her way because that was what mothers did.
She knew what was giving her more confidence was that Sloan was standing strong with her.
She had never had that before, and it felt damn good.
Hearing footsteps behind her, she knew Sloan was approaching, but she kept stirring. A second later, he came up behind her and pulled her back against him.
“You okay?” he asked, leaning down to kiss her cheek.
She tilted her head to the side, knowing he would kiss her neck next.
She loved when he did that. So many times when she was cooking, he would come up behind her just like this, wrapping himself around her like he couldn’t stand being too far away.
She cherished those moments more than he probably realized. Especially now.
“Surprisingly, I’m good for the moment,” she said, and it wasn’t a total lie.
She was feeling okay. Her nausea had eased tremendously, which made her wonder if stress had only heightened it.
Now that Sloan knew, she felt somewhat better.
Other than not knowing what had happened to her, she almost felt normal.
Almost.
“I guess you heard Daniel wants to talk to us,” Sloan said after straightening, though he didn’t let her go.
“I did.” Becky nodded, still leaning into him. “What do you think it’s about?”
“With Daniel, I have no idea.” Sloan reached around her, took the spoon from her hand, and set it aside before turning her to face him. “But whatever it is, we’ll deal with it. Understood?”
Becky nodded, then laid her head against him. For a few seconds, she let herself have that. His arms. His strength. The steady beat of him against her cheek. Then she leaned back and looked up at him. “You need to tell the other Warriors, Sloan.”
His eyes sharpened, but he didn’t say anything.
“Until we know for sure what happened and why, none of the human mates are safe.” Her voice shook a little, but she forced the words out anyway because they needed to be said.
“If someone did this to get to you, or to test something, or whatever sick reason they had, then we have to assume they could try it again.”
“I’ll handle it,” Sloan assured her.
Becky shook her head. “I want to be there.”
“Becky—”
“No.” She frowned because she already knew what he was going to say before he said it. “I want to be there. I want to see their faces when they hear it.”
Sloan stared at her, his expression hard to read.
“If I’m not there, then it feels like I’m hiding,” she continued, her voice softening. “And I’m tired of feeling like I have something to hide from. I did nothing wrong.”
His jaw tightened, but not in anger. She could see the battle in him, the need to protect her from anything that might hurt, even if the hurt came from people they trusted.
“I don’t want them looking at you instead of me,” Becky said. “I don’t want you carrying the weight of telling them alone. This happened to me, Sloan. Whatever it is, whatever we find out, I need to stand there with you.”
For a long moment, he said nothing. Then his hand slid to the side of her neck, his thumb brushing once against her skin. “You know they would never think less of you.”
“I know,” she whispered, but did she know that for certain? No, she didn’t.
“And you know every one of them would stand between you and hell itself if I asked.” Sloan continued, his eyes searching hers.
She only nodded, this time not saying anything.
“Then understand something else.” Sloan’s voice lowered, his eyes holding hers. “I’m not trying to keep you from them. I’m trying to keep one more thing from hurting you before we know what the hell we’re dealing with.”
Her throat tightened because she could see he was trying not to control her or shut her out. He was trying to protect her and that meant so much to her, but there were some things he couldn’t protect her from, and the situation they found themselves in was proof of that.
“I know,” she said again. “But I still need to be there, Sloan. Please understand that.”
Sloan studied her, then gave a single nod. “Then you’ll be there.”
Relief moved through her so fast she almost swayed.
“But if it gets to be too much, you tell me.” His thumb moved lightly along her jaw. “I mean it, Becky. No pride and no pretending.”
“Okay.”
His eyes narrowed at her one-word answer.
She leaned into him, just a little. “I will. I promise.” She reassured him.
Sloan bent his head, kissing her softly. “Good. Because I need you strong, not stubborn.” He cocked his eyebrow at her in mock warning.
Her brows rose. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me,” he said in that Sloan voice he used with the Warriors.
“I’m sorry, have we met?” Becky pulled back enough to look up at him. “I’m always stubborn.”
For the first time that morning, a real smile touched Sloan’s mouth. “Yeah, I know.”
She pinched him on the stomach with a fake frown. “You didn’t have to agree with me.”
“I wouldn’t have you any other way.” He pulled her to him and kissed her.
The kiss deepened, and Becky felt her hormones heating up until someone cleared their throat loudly. Sloan broke the kiss with a growl.
“Sorry,” Duncan said, though he didn’t sound sorry and he didn’t leave. “We need to get to the compound.”
Sloan turned from husband to Warrior in an instant. “Why?”
“Daniel wants all the Warriors there.” Duncan held up his hand. “Don’t ask, because whatever you’re getting ready to ask, I don’t know.”
“Shit,” Sloan hissed, then looked down at Becky.
“Might as well get it over with,” Becky said, trying to give him a reassuring smile. But behind that smile, she was petrified.
And just that fast her appetite diminished as her nausea returned.