26. Gabriella #3
“You mean conceive as in a baby?”
His thumb strokes my cheek.
“Yeah.”
“I’d get pregnant by you.”
Something fierce flashes through his eyes.
“By me. Only me.”
The words hang between us.
A child.
Rowan’s child.
My hand drifts down to my stomach.
I picture Matteo.
Then, without permission, my mind gives me something else.
A baby with golden eyes.
Maybe blond hair.
A tiny little thing wrapped in Rowan’s enormous arms.
My chest aches. But fear follows right behind it. Because this is insane.
We barely know each other. Except that doesn't feel true anymore. The matebond hums between us.
I know the darkness inside him. He knows mine. Even if he doesn’t know everything. He knows enough. What Ethan did. Why I ran.
And when I told him the ugliest pieces of my past, Rowan didn't recoil. He held me tighter. My gaze searches his.
“Do you want that?”
His brow furrows.
“What?”
“A child.”
He goes absolutely still.
“With me,” I add, because apparently I’m determined to rip my own heart out tonight. “Do you want a child with me, Rowan?”
Monster growls. Not angry. The sound is so deep and aching that goosebumps rise over my skin.
Rowan's forehead drops against mine.
“More than I ever knew I could ever want one. And that’s because of you. I only want you.”
My breath catches. Then he pulls back enough to look directly into my eyes.
“But listen to me, Gabby. You already made me a father with Matteo.”
Oh. My lips part.
“What?”
“Monster’s already claimed him.”
My eyes immediately burn.
“Rowan—”
“I mean it.”
His voice turns rough.
“That boy matters to me. Not because he's yours.
Well, yeah, partly because he's yours. But Matteo's...” He blows out a breath, looking almost irritated that words aren't cooperating.
“He's Matteo. He's funny as hell. Smart. Brave. He steals my food and calls out every fucking swear word—he’s my pup. I’d do anything for him already. And for his mother.”
A watery laugh burst from me.
“That swear jar is costing you a fortune.”
“Kid's running a racket.”
I laugh again. Rowan smiles for half a second. Then he's serious.
“He's your son. But if you let me, I'll be whatever he needs me to be.”
My tears spill. Rowan catches one with his thumb.
“You two are already a package deal in my head, Honey Girl. Have been for a while.”
“You really want him?”
His expression turns almost offended.
“Want him?”
His hand slides around the back of my neck.
“Gabby, that's my pup. If you'll let me, I’ll be a good father to him and to any other children we have. But you say when, Honey Girl. You set the pace. You make the rules. I. Am. Yours.”
My heart breaks.
Not painfully.
It cracks open so wide that everything I’ve spent years protecting suddenly has room for him.
Rowan.
This impossible, feral, foulmouthed Wolf. He looks at my son and sees his own. And suddenly the question I've been terrified to ask doesn't frighten me anymore.
“What if I don't want to get pregnant tonight?”
His answer is immediate.
“Then you won't.”
“But I'm in heat.”
“I'll help you through it.”
“Without knotting me?”
His jaw tightens.
“Yes.”
The word sounds painful. I study him.
“Won't that hurt you?”
He doesn't answer right away, but I can feel it through the matebond.
“Rowan.”
“Yes.”
My heart squeezes.
“Then—”
“But for you, it's nothing.”
I stare at him. His gaze never leaves mine.
“I would do anything for you.”
No hesitation.
No bargaining.
No expectation that because the Fates brought us together, I owe him something.
And I know he wants me. Desperately. His body is practically vibrating with the need to claim me.
His Wolf is growling for his Omega. And still Rowan is here telling me he'll endure pain before he'll take away my choice.
That's when I know.
Not the Fates.
Not mating fever.
Not the heat burning through my body.
Me.
Gabriella Santos.
I know I want this man.
Tomorrow. Next month. Next year. Forever.
I want him arguing with Matteo over Alpha tax. I want his boots beside mine at the door. I want to steal his flannels.
I want him bitching about my car. I want kissing eyes across the dinner table. I want to fall asleep with his growl vibrating beneath my cheek.
I want my son to know what it feels like to have a father who chooses him.
And maybe someday—maybe sooner than I ever imagined—I want another baby.
His baby.
My hands slide up his chest.
“Rowan.”
His gaze sharpens.
“What?”
I rise onto my toes.
“Knot me.”
Every muscle in his body locks.
“Honey Girl.”
“I know what I'm asking.”
His eyes search mine.
“Say it because you want it. Not because your heat wants it.”
I smile through my tears.
There he is.
My Alpha.
My choice.
“I want it.”
His breathing roughens.
“I want you. I want the matebond. I want whatever comes next.”
My palm settles over his heart.
“And if what comes next is our baby?”
I swallow past the emotion filling my throat.
“Then I want that too.”
Gold consumes his eyes.
“Gabriella.”
I cup his face.
“I choose you, Rowan.”
Monster's growl rolls through the room. But I keep my eyes on the man.
“And I want you to knot me. Right now, please, my Alpha.”