Whispered Confessions
Jayce
Icarry her through the pack grounds, and when she realises we’re close to home, she lifts her head.
Her hands instantly go to my shoulders. “Jayce, I can walk,” she whispers, glancing at those passing by, but everyone simply lowers their heads and keeps moving, some hiding a smile, others pretending they don’t see.
“I know.”
“Then why are you carrying me?”
“Because I want to,” I reply, cocking a brow. “Besides, I’m carrying my Luna; does it matter who looks?”
Her lips part as if she’s about to argue, but she doesn’t.
Instead, she smiles softly and rests her head in the crook of my neck again.
I head to the packhouse, to one of the VIP guest rooms on the top floor, right down the hall from Dad’s office.
No one will be here tonight, nor will they be on this floor.
I carry her through the packhouse, ignoring the way a few heads turn the moment we step inside. My arms tighten around her as I take the steps two at a time; her warm breath brushes over my skin in a way that sends a shiver down my spine. I can sense her emotions through the bond.
Love, curiosity and desire – because with Sienna, it’s always there, simmering beneath everything else.
When we reach the top floor, I head straight to the bedroom I had taken the key for earlier and, unlocking it, step inside. It’s a nice room that overlooks the pack grounds below. The room is decorated in dark wood, with a solid wooden bed, and a beige rug covers most of the floor.
I kick the door shut behind me and turn, locking it from the inside before I look into Sienna’s eyes, finally giving her my full attention.
Her fingers brush against my jaw. “Jayce?”
I look into her eyes, struggling with my self-control. How can I when she’s looking at me like that, her glamour gone? Her gaze dips to my lips, and I press my thumb against her own.
“First, I need you to listen,” I say quietly.
Her expression changes instantly, teasing fading before it can form. “Ok.”
“No interrupting.”
She cocks a brow. “Oh? That sounds difficult.”
A faint smirk touches my lips. “Try,” I say arrogantly.
She rolls her eyes but nods as I carry her over to the bed, but there’s a smile on her lips and a hint of curiosity in her eyes.
I sit down, still holding her in my lap, taking one of her hands and placing it against my chest. Her fingers curl instinctively into my shirt, and I cover her hand with my own, holding it there.
“When I found out you were pregnant, I panicked,” I begin.
Her lips part, but she stops herself, remembering what I said.
Good girl.
Fuck, don’t think that right now.
I focus on what I want to say.
“I didn’t panic because I didn’t want it. It wasn’t that. Not even for a second,” I continue.
Her eyes soften, and somehow that makes this harder.
“I panicked because the world is a fucking mess. Because you’re young. Because you’ve already had so much to deal with, and because I didn’t know if this was something you would want right now.” My jaw tightens as I look down at our joined hands. “And because for one second, I thought of Mom.”
The ache hits the moment I say it.
Even now.
Even after months have gone by, it still fucking hurts.
I feel Sienna’s emotions shift, her fingers tightening against my chest, the comfort seeping through the bond.
“She would have loved having you here,” I say quietly.
“Not because you’re my mate, not because you’re going to be Luna, but because you’re you.
She was so fucking happy when she knew we were mates.
She would have fussed over you, fed you food she didn’t cook until you wouldn’t have been able to move, and would have whipped me into line without hesitation if I upset you. ”
A weak laugh escapes Sienna; soft, sad, warm… And it almost breaks the composure I’m trying to keep.
“She would have been there,” I murmur, my throat tightening. “For you. For me. For our pup. And when I realised she wouldn’t be, I didn’t know how to fucking breathe for a minute.”
I slowly look into her red eyes that now glisten with unshed tears, but she still doesn’t speak, as if she knows I won’t be able to continue if she does.
I lift my hand to her face, brushing my thumb across her cheek.
“I was scared,” I admit. “I’m still scared.
Not of being a father, not of claiming this future with you.
I’m scared because I know what it feels like to fail you.
I know what it feels like to watch you get hurt and know I wasn’t fast enough.
I know what it feels like to think I might lose you and have no fucking idea how to stop it. ”
My voice drops lower, my voice hoarse.
“And now it isn’t just you.”
Her breath catches.
I move my hand from her face to her stomach, my palm settling there with a gentleness that feels almost unnatural compared to the violence these hands have known.
“It’s this little one, too.”
Her hand covers mine instantly, and for a second, neither of us moves. Even the room feels too small for everything tearing through me.
“I don’t know how to be perfect,” I say quietly, staring at where our hands rest over her stomach.
“I don’t know how to be the kind of man who always says the right thing.
I don’t know how to stop every threat coming for us, and I don’t know how to promise you that this world will be safe by the time our pup is born. ”
I look back up at her.
“But I can promise you this,” I continue.
Her eyes lock with mine, and fuck, she is so beautiful it hurts.
“I will be there. For every second of it. Every fear, every change, every pain, every craving at any crazy hour, every fight, every stupid argument we have because you’re stubborn and I’m worse.
I’ll be there when you need to scream, when you need to cry, when you need space, when you need me close, when you don’t know what the fuck you need, but you need someone to stand there, anyway. ”
A tear slips down her cheek, and I gently catch it before it falls.
“I’ll be there when our child takes its first breath. I’ll be there when they cry, when they’re ill, when they can’t sleep, when they shift for the first time or set something on fire because with our blood running through their veins, Goddess knows what the fuck they’ll be able to do.”
A broken laugh leaves her, and my chest tightens.
“I’ll be there when you’re tired, when you’re scared, when you think you have to carry everything alone because that’s what you do.” I lean closer, my forehead brushing hers. “But from here on out, we do everything together.”
Her fingers twist tighter in my shirt, her heart pounding.
“I’ve spent too long trying to protect myself from losing you,” I whisper. “Too long thinking distance would make it hurt less if something happened. But it doesn’t. It just made me a fucking coward in the eyes of the one person I never wanted to be one in front of.”
“Jayce…”
My hand tightens gently over hers. “Let me finish.”
She swallows, nodding once.
“I choose you, Sienna. Not because of the mate bond. Not because you’re carrying my child.
Not because you’re my Luna or because fate tied us together.
I choose you because even when I tried not to, even when I was angry, even when I was hurt, even when I told myself I didn’t want you anywhere near me, every part of me still belonged to you. ”
Her lips tremble.
“And our child…” My voice breaks slightly, and I hate it, but I don’t stop.
“Our child will never look at me and see hesitation. I don’t care what war is waiting, what god comes knocking, what monster crawls out of whatever fucking realm next.
This child is mine. You are mine. And I will stand between the two of you and the entire world if I have to. ”
The bond between us feels intense, our emotions slamming together like two tides, and I let my walls down, allowing her full access, and I feel all of hers. So intense, so strong that I almost lose my breath.
Love, relief, happiness, fear and hope.
Sienna lifts her hand to my face, her fingers trembling as they brush over my jaw.
“You’re not a coward,” she whispers, clearly stuck on that one sentence.
A rough, humourless laugh leaves me, but it fades when she shifts closer, pressing her forehead against mine.
“You never failed me,” she says, her voice shaking now. “You hear me? You never failed me. Not once. You loved me even when it hurt. You protected me even when you were angry. You came back to me even after I broke your trust. That is not cowardice; that is strength beyond measure.”
Our eyes meet, and I reach into my pocket, taking out a small box.
Instantly, her heart begins thundering as I turn the box in my hand.
“I should have planned something for the Rossi Princess, but with the crazy, unexpected life we have, I didn’t want to delay…
” I flip open the box and look at the red jewelled ring that sits on the velvet cushion.
“No, this is perfect,” Sienna whispers. My gaze flicks back up to hers.
I’ll take her somewhere tomorrow, but tonight is ours.
“Will you marry me, Sienna? Will you be mine?”
She smiles softly, her eyes holding my gaze. “I was yours long before I even knew it. Yes, yes, I will.”
I take the ring out of the box and slip it onto her finger, the diamond glittering in the dim lighting.
“It’s beautiful,” she whispers, and before I can even reply, she locks her arms around my neck.
I pull her closer just as her lips collide with mine. Her fingers slide into my hair as she holds me firmly in place, needing me just as much as I need her.
The bond between us is strong. I can sense my wolf and hers, no barrier, no walls, just the two of us drowning in emotions and feelings. I can no longer tell where mine end and hers begin.
“I need you, Jayce. Give me everything,” she murmurs against my lips before claiming them once again.