I was going to throttle my brother and his gossipy mouth. Though, honestly, I was surprised it had taken this long for him to let it slip.
“Kendrick!” Bal’s tone was sharp, and he grabbed my arm and spun me to face him.
“What?” I nearly shouted, before taking a breath to calm myself. Getting upset was bad for the baby. Pulling away from him, breaking his hold on me, I glared at him defiantly.
“Kendrick, do we need to call the sheriff?” Quinn’s voice, calm and steady, called from behind Bal. When I peered around Bal, the tall, thin omega, Josh behind him, as well as what looked like everyone who had been in the bakery, looked ready to throw down.
“I’m not going to hurt him!” Bal sounded offended by the notion.
“Wasn’t talking to you,” Quinn informed him sharply, his phone in his hand, fingers ready to dial.
“It’s okay, Quinn,” I held up a hand in an ‘everything’s fine’ motion. “I know him.”
Quinn grunted in response, still looking like he had 9-1-1 on speed dial. Considering his family was close friends with the sheriff, he likely had a direct line.
Bal, ignoring the commotion behind us like it wasn’t happening at all, stared down at me.
“Were you going to tell me?” His voice was quiet. Was that…hurt I saw reflected in his eyes? Surely not.
“Tell you what?” I asked nonchalantly, taking a sip of my tea. Maybe the brew would calm my nerves.
“You know what! Don’t play games with me, Kendrick,” Bal shook his head, “not about this.”
“Why would I tell you?” Thankfully, the crowd was dispersing, but I could see Josh and Quinn standing just inside the doorway, eyes glued to the two of us. I had no doubt if Bal made one wrong move toward me, the sheriff would roll up shortly after.
Bal blinked at my question and took a step back. “I thought…never mind.”
“What did Keegan tell you?” I demanded, my stomach growling loudly. Reaching into the bag, I retrieved my muffin, taking a big bite. “Is that why you’re here?”
“Keegan didn’t tell me anything,” Bal ran his hands through his hair, tugging the locks. “Nik did. He…thought I should know. In case…” His voice trailed off, leaving the unspoken words hanging in the air.
“In case of what?” I swallowed and immediately took another bite. Because I was hungry and because the act of chewing was keeping my mouth quiet. And it allowed me a chance to really look at Bal.
He looked…horrible. His pale skin was nearly translucent. Dark circles looked like they had permanently moved in under his eyes. Like he hadn’t slept well in weeks. Kinda how I was looking, but I had the added joy of dealing with morning sickness on top of it.
“Is the baby mine?” His voice cracked on the last word, like boldly asking had been hard for him.
I chewed my muffin, like I had all the time in the world to answer his question. Like him showing up here, out of the blue, out of his comfort zone, hadn’t rocked my entire world.
“I told my family it wasn’t,” I said, not answering his question. Not really.
He took a breath in through his nose, his nostrils flaring with the movement. “You do realize that they don’t believe you, right?”
My mouth hung open for a few seconds at his question, before I snapped it closed. “They don’t? Why not?”
Bal rolled his eyes at me. “Probably because they can do basic math, would be my guess, and they have doubts. I don’t know, I didn’t ask. Keegan told Nik you were pregnant, and that he didn’t believe the story you had concocted about the baby’s alpha father,” He gave me a long look, his eyes traveling down my body. “Nik told me you were pregnant, because even though you were saying it wasn’t mine, he thought I should know. Incase.” He finished with a sigh, and another tug of his hair. “So, I’m going to ask you again. Is the baby mine?”
“No,” I turned on my heel and started down the sidewalk. Away from him. Towards home. Or anywhere that was away from him. I just needed…away from him. “It’s mine.”
I heard his footsteps behind me, moving fast, but I didn’t stop until he was in front of me, blocking my path.
“Stop!” He held up his hands to stop me but didn’t touch me. When I went to move around him, he pleaded, “Kendrick, please, stop and talk to me.”
“Why should I?” I shouted, dumping my empty bag in a nearby trash can. “You haven’t talked to me in months! But now, because you think you somehow might have some claim on my baby, I’m supposed to just what? Talk to you? Act like nothing happened between us? Act like I don’t–” I caught the word before it could leave my mouth, my voice breaking. Hot tears pricked the backs of my eyes, and I shook my head. “I can’t do this, Bal. I don’t want to do this. Just go back to the village. Forget Nik told you anything. I’ll…stay away. Or at least I’ll stay away from you when we visit. I don’t want, or need, anything from you. I know you don’t want me,” my hand moved instinctively to my belly, resting there. Shielding the small life growing in the only way I could. “You’ve made that clear. The baby isn’t yours. They are mine. There was someone else,” I repeated the lie I had told. “An alpha, when I got home. Sadie and I went out for new year’s and I was stupid. You’re off the hook.”
Bal stared at me, his face a blank mask. “You’re lying. I know you’re lying. Don’t lie to me. Not about this.”
“Why do you care?” Exhaustion swept over me, of my mind and body. From the stress of the past months, from seeing him now, from all the lies I had told. “You don’t care about me. Ithought we were friends, at least, but it’s obvious you didn’t feel the same. So why do you even care?”
