Mated To The Wrong Alpha
Chapter 30

He hesitated, but then seemed to gather his nerve. “Do you think…? I mean… Would you be willing…?” Stopping again, he rolled away from her and stared up at the night sky. He took a deep breath and proceeded in a detached voice. “With your cycle so near, I was wondering if you’re opposed to having a pup. I know we’ve only been mated a few weeks, so you might not be ready…” He let his voice trail off and looked at her out of the corner of his eye.

She knew her face was probably expressionless at that point, giving him no indication of how she was reacting to his message, but she was completely thrown off balance by his question.

When she said nothing, he continued in a rush. “It might not even happen, though, even if you let the cycle follow its natural course, but I think we should talk about it. I… I hope you’d consider it, having my pups someday, that is.”

She detected something different in his voice. Hope? Wistfulness? She rolled to her side and propped herself up with her elbow, staring down at him. At first his question had shocked her; they’d only been together a short while and she was only now starting to feel more comfortable about their relationship. The idea of pups hadn’t even entered her mind. She gave herself a mental kick. Lycan biology wasn’t a mystery to her, and she should have realized there was a chance she could become pregnant the following week. Truth be told though, it had slipped her mind.

Up to now, she’d taken drugs to curb her previous heats, though she didn’t react well to them. The side effects were unpleasant and almost flu-like—headaches, nausea, a slight fever, and general irritability—but that was preferable to having all the unattached males following her around. Now she had a choice, but what to do? They’d barely been mated two weeks and didn’t even have a b***d-bond yet, though she knew it wasn’t a requirement for procreation.

On the other hand, Arthur was her mate and their lives were now inextricably entwined. Did it matter if they started a family sooner, rather than later?

She suddenly noticed that Arthur was looking expectantly at her and she decided to speak plainly. “Arthur, I have to admit that I hadn’t even considered this. I don’t like taking the medication—I usually react badly to it—and I’m not opposed to the idea of a family, but we’ve only been together a short time. I… I don’t know if I’m ready to be a mother yet. I would like to have a family someday but…” She shrugged and smiled at him shyly. “I’m waffling here, aren’t I?”

“Yes, but it’s understandable.” He reached up and cupped her cheek, his thumb stroking gently over her skin. “It means a lot to me, to hear that you do want a family eventually.”

“And if it does happen—if I end up pregnant this time—I’d be okay with it. A miniature Arthur wouldn’t be all bad. His father’s sort of growing on me.” She brushed his hair from his forehead.

Arthur grinned up at her, his eyes shining with delight and she couldn’t help but grin back. They were having a real conversation about something important, and she’d learned something meaningful about him. He wanted a family. It wasn’t earth shattering news—most wolves did— but it gave her a sliver of information that she didn’t have before.

Leaning over him, she placed a lingering k**s on his lips. “Maybe we should start practising for next week.”

“I like how you think.” He stood, pulling her to her feet and hugged her close.

Back at the Alpha house, Arthur and Ava headed upstairs, their arms wrapped around each other’s waists. The house was quiet and dark, only the lamp in the entryway left on. As they reached the upper landing, Marla’s bedroom door popped open, spilling a wedge of light across the darkness. She peered out at them and smiled. “Looks like you two had a good time.”

“It’s about to get even better.” Arthur nuzzled Ava’s neck, not even looking in Marla’s direction.

Marla giggled as Ava playfully smacked Arthur’s arm while giving him a dirty look. “Ava, I promise I won’t keep you away from your mate for long, but can I see you for a minute?”

Ava looked at Arthur. He shrugged and then nodded. “Make sure it’s only a minute.”

“I promise. I just have a phone message that I said I’d deliver personally.” Marla explained.

Arthur gave Ava a quick peck on the cheek and went down the hall to the bedroom. Once the door was shut, Marla turned to Ava, speaking in hushed tones. “Someone named Seth kept calling for you tonight. At first, I let the answering machine pick it up, but after the third time I thought I’d better see what he wanted since he sounded so anxious in his messages. Apparently, you’re supposed to meet him outside the Grey Goose tomorrow at one o’clock.”

“Really? Wonderful! He’s an old friend from back home. I heard he was going to be in town and was hoping we could get together for a while.” A bubble of excitement rose up inside her.

“He sounded pretty pleased about the prospect, too.” Marla winked at her. “Well, that’s all I wanted to tell you. You better get going before Arthur comes looking for you. I think he has some very definite plans for the rest of your evening.” Giving her another friendly smile, Marla turned and went back into her bedroom, closing the door softly behind her.

As Ava walked down the darkened hall, she wondered what it would be like to see Seth again. They’d had such good times together while they were growing up; he’d been her best friend for years. Pausing outside her bedroom door, a nasty revelation hit her. What kind of a person was she? She’d just been excitedly contemplating a meeting with Seth tomorrow afternoon, and now she was going to bed with Arthur! There was something wrong with this picture, wasn’t there?

She knew she loved Seth. They’d been together for years but… There was something about Arthur that made her feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Seth’s tentative k****s never made her feel the way Arthur’s did. She’d never ached for Seth’s touch like she did for Arthur’s. The love she had for Seth seemed totally different than the love she had for—

She stopped mid-thought. Had she just been thinking that she loved Arthur? No! It wasn’t possible… Was it? Arthur was kind and considerate, loyal to his pack, intelligent and sensitive, though she suspected he’d deny that last point if asked. Yes, he had lots of great qualities, but did she really love him?

The bedroom door swung open and the object of her thoughts stood before her, clad in pyjama pants that hung low on his lean h**s. Her gaze traced the six-pack of muscles that comprised his abdomen and the long, faintly pink scar that ran up his side. Moving higher still, she noted his strong arms and broad chest, the firm set of his jaw and the dark shaggy hair that fell across his forehead. His amber eyes seemed to be glowing as he looked upon her. A crooked smile adorned his face.

“There you are! I was going to come looking for you. What did Marla want?”

“Oh, she had a phone message for me from a friend back home who’s going to be in town tomorrow. We’re meeting at the tea house after work.”

“Mmm, that’ll be nice for you.” Arthur answered distractedly as he swept her up into his arms. As the door shut behind them, she felt the waves of desire building again. She didn’t know if she loved Arthur or not, but at the moment the need growing within her blocked out all other logical thought.