Trent growled softly but let Daniel go up the stairs without another word.
He knocked on the door, surprised when she called for him to come in.
Inside, he found her sitting back on the bed, a damp rag on her forehead.
“Hey, sweet. Not feeling good?” All those things he’d been thinking slipped away, replaced with a sudden worry and need to fix the problem.
She looked at him, and it was then he noted the dark circles beneath her eyes. Why hadn’t he noticed them before? Perhaps the sun from the day had brought them out more. “I’m just not feeling great.”
Her words were soft, and it didn’t take a genius to hear the lie.
Or at least the omission.
Daniel sat on the edge of the bed before he dragged his fingers across her cheek. “What’s wrong? And don’t tell me nothing.”
“Why not? If I’m not feeling good you won’t punish me.”
“I won’t right now, but I have a long memory.”
She stared him down for a moment before letting out a long breath, slow and heavy. “My heat was five weeks ago.”
The first thought that popped into his head pleased him far more than it should have. He thought about the infant at the party earlier, thought about how Alison would look, a baby cradled in her arms. She’d be the fiercest mother he’d ever seen.
Before all the thoughts could go through him, before he could ask, she kept talking. “I started bleeding.”
All those pictures crashed down around him. He fought not to look disappointed. His life wasn’t set up for a kid.Theyweren’t prepared for a kid. It was for the best, and the last thing she needed was for him to make it any harder or make her feel guilty.
He slid over beside her, then placed an arm down so her head was on it before he pulled her against his side. “I’m sorry you’re not feeling well. Do you have what you need here? If not—”
“I do. Everything was already under the sink.” She said the words quickly, as though she needed to get the conversation over as fast as possible. Then again, females could be strange about such subjects. Beta males tended to be as well, to be fair. Alphas? He supposed it was due to that primal part of them. Bloodwas a part of life and periods were only the logical conclusion to a heat when the omega didn’t conceive. He didn’t find much to be squeamish about.
However, she hadn’t grown up around very caring people, always used to dealing with shit on her own, so he gave her some privacy. She already didn’t feel good—there was no reason to torture the poor girl.
“I guess that explains why you didn’t look like you felt so good today.”
She nodded, melting against his side in a way that made him tighten his grip more. He didn’t care for her being sick, but he loved those times when her defenses came down, when she stopped keeping him at a distance. Often it happened slowly, as if she lost the strength to fight him anymore, until the real woman beneath all those coping mechanisms came out.
Wetness dribbled down her forehead from the rag, soaking into his sleeve, but he didn’t care.
“Are you disappointed?”
She tensed, her eyes closing again. Eventually, she answered. “No. I would make a horrible mother.”
“I don’t know about that.”
She snorted. “I don’t have a maternal bone in my body. I won’t even hold Claire’s daughter. I have no idea what a good mother even looks like.”
He danced his fingers along her arm as he answered. “You’re tough, and you’re protective. I think you’d make a great mom, someday, when you’re ready.”
She sighed, then whispered a question. “Are you disappointed?”
He considered lying to her. He wanted to tell her no because that was what she wanted to hear.
He didn’t lie, though, and especially not toher. The trust that needed to exist between thetwo of them wastoo important to risk breaking over anything, least of all this.
“A little. I hadn’t even thought about it, to be honest. I’m not looking to have kids any time soon, but when I walked in, when you said it was five weeks ago, I had a moment of picturing it. If we’re putting it all out there, I’m not sure I’d make a good dad, either. Kyle and I havemoved around so much. What kind of life would that be?” He shook his head. “No, this is the best outcome.”
She made a sound in the back of her throat, something that seemed to indicate she’d heard him, but didn’t give him any idea what she thought about it.
