Chapter 22 - Sam #2
“Whatever is going on between Rachel and me isn’t just on paper,” I finally managed to say.
“It started out that way. But then things sort of changed. Then things happened and…” I trailed off for a long moment, glancing over at Rachel, who was waiting, watching.
As if she could read my mind, I saw her suck in a deep, nervous breath before nodding, telling me to go ahead.
“Rachel’s pregnant,” I told Elias.
Elias stared for a long moment, as if he was trying to convince himself that he had heard me correctly. I saw his entire body grow tight, could sense the anger wafting off him.
“What did you say?” he growled.
“You heard me,” I said. “The mating bond is real. Rachel’s pregnant, and it’s mine.”
He stayed silent, his face unreadable, even if everything else about him screamed of barely contained fury. He turned to look at Rachel, who stood off to the side, biting her thumbnail. She caught Elias’s gaze and stiffened. He beckoned to her, and she shuffled over, her eyes locked on the ground.
“Is it true?” he asked, with no preamble or explanation. He didn’t need one. Her hands ran along her belly as she met his gaze.
“It’s true,” she admitted.
Elias took a half-step back, the only sign of his shock as he stared between the two of us. Then his eyes narrowed.
“Why the hell would you keep something like that from me?” Elias demanded. “You don’t think it’s important that I know if my beta and my kid sister are about to have a cub?”
“It just sort of happened,” I said. “Neither of us planned on it.”
“I don’t care if it ‘just sort of happened,’” he growled, marching until he stood inches in front of me. “I’m the pack alpha. I need to know what’s going on. You should have told me the second you found out.”
“What are you angrier about? The fact that I’m pregnant, or the fact that it’s Sam’s?” Rachel asked.
“He’s my best friend.” He jabbed his thumb at me.
“You’re my little sister. You lied and said the mating bond was only to appease the Oracle and her sight.
You don’t think I would have liked to know when that changed?
I have thoughts about the two of you together, but that doesn’t matter.
You two are adults; you can sleep with whoever you want, whether I like it or not.
But keeping the fact that you’re pregnant from me is an entirely different story. ”
“We were going to tell you,” Rachel said. “But we wanted to wait until the stuff with the wraith going after Emma was taken care of. You had more than enough on your plate.”
“Yeah, well, so much for that,” he grumbled, but I could hear some of the anger ebbing. He shook his head. “We’ll talk about this later. All of it. For now, I’ve got to rescue Emma.”
“And I can help,” Rachel said. “I literally turned the wraith’s hand to glass.”
Elias blinked as something seemed to click internally. He glanced at me with one eyebrow raised.
“That was her? The day the wraith tried to take Emma?” he asked.
“I’m right here,” Rachel growled. “And yes.”
Elias went quiet for a long moment as he looked at his sister, something akin to pride spreading across his face.
“Impressive,” he admitted with a smirk.
The compliment seemed to surprise Rachel, and she took a small step back. “Thanks,” she murmured.
Elias thought for another long moment, assessing the pros and cons of letting Rachel come along. I prayed that Elias would see reason and tell Rachel to go home, but I could already see in his eyes that it wasn’t going to happen.
“All right,” Elias said. “You’ll have some guys with you. Hopefully, we can get in and out without the wraith knowing we’re there, but if anything happens, you’ll have to keep the wraith preoccupied. But be careful, okay?”
“I think I can do that,” Rachel said with a smirk.
“No,” I said.
Elias glanced at me with narrowed eyes and ushered me to the side once more. “I’ve made my decision, so you’re going to have to accept it. She can help, and she could be the difference between us getting Emma out alive and all of us dying.”
“She’s pregnant,” I said desperately.
“She can still help,” he countered. “And her being pregnant doesn’t make her an invalid or a swooning damsel.”
“What happens if she crumbles under the pressure?” I asked. “Or gets herself into trouble, and then we’re having to rescue both of them.”
“She was the one who stopped the wraith from going after you and Emma the first time.” Elias folded his arms as he regarded me.
“It doesn’t sound like she crumbled under pressure there.
” He gave me an exasperated look. “Come on, Sam. You know she’s strong and that she can hold her own.
You can’t use that as an excuse because you’re worried about her. ”
I let out a low growl but didn’t respond, because I knew he was right, even if I hated it.
“You can’t hold her back for your own selfish reasons forever,” Elias said. “Or you’re going to push her away for good.” His lip tilted upward, some of his humor bobbing briefly to the surface. “Besides, she’s a Thorn. If she wants to help, there’s nothing you can do to stop her.”
My jaw tightened as my wolf thrashed in irritation. He hated this more than I did. But I knew that Elias wasn’t going to back down, not about this. Which meant the only way to protect Rachel was to stay by her side.
“I’m going to keep her safe,” I said.
“‘Safe’ doesn’t mean ‘stuck at home,’” Elias said. “You and Amelia have trained her for this.”
“I know,” I admitted. “I just don’t want her hurt.”
“I know you don’t,” Elias said. “But you can’t keep her locked in the house, either.”
I sighed, running my fingers through my hair as I glanced over at her. Elias was right. I couldn’t keep her cooped up just for my own safety. It wasn’t fair to her. But it went against every fiber of my being. After a deep breath, I nodded.
“I’ll make sure she doesn’t get hurt,” I promised.
“Good.” Elias nodded. “Because that’s what mates do. I wouldn’t expect anything less.”
The way he said it took me by surprise. Not the words themselves, but the implication behind them. He was telling me that he was all right with Rachel and me, that he was going to accept it as long as that was what we both wanted, regardless of his own feelings about it.
“Thanks,” I said.
Elias gave a short, curt nod as he glanced to one side. “Go talk to her.”
I nodded, extracting myself from the conversation and moving to where Rachel stood off to one side, waiting. She eyed me cautiously, her shoulders rigid as she waited for me to speak.
“I’m sorry, Rachel,” I said. “I shouldn’t have locked you in the house. I should have tried to talk to you more about it.”
She blinked, her shoulders relaxing as she gave me another speculative look. Her features softened.
“Thanks,” she said, still guarded, but less so.
I reached out and took Rachel’s arm. She looked up at me, her face a mask as she waited to see what I would say, how I would react.
“Be careful,” I muttered, giving her arm a gentle squeeze. “I’m going to be with you the entire time. I won’t let the wraith hurt you.”
She stared up at me, her eyes wide and filled with a mix of emotion that seemed impossible to fully parse.
“I know,” she said, and gave a small smile.