“But I shouldn’t be forgetting. I’m supposed to be getting ready to be a parent! I can’t go around making dumb mistakes like that.” He pushed the drink away like it was contagious somehow.
“Sky,” I said firmly. “You only just had sex to get pregnant the other night. Right?”
“Yeah.”
“Exactly. Hell, you don’t even know if youarepregnant, do you?”
He bit his lip. “No,” he admitted, grimacing. “But I have to be. We had unprotected sex.”
“That doesn’t guarantee anything,” I said gently.
Skylar whipped towards me, his face twisted in annoyance. “What’s your point? Are you trying to make me feel bad? I told you Iwantedto get pregnant, didn’t I?”
The hurt was written all over his features. He was in pain. I just wished I knew how to take it away.
“I’m pregnant with Axel’s baby,” Skylar stated matter-of-factly. “Okay?”
I knew he didn’t fully believe it. Doubt and fear mingled in his broken voice. I reached out, stroking his arm to try and calm him down.
“You want this baby, don’t you?” I asked.
“Yes,” he replied, nodding firmly. He sounded choked, on the verge of tears.
“Does it bother you that you had sex with Axel?” I asked. “That the baby is his?”
He hesitated this time, and my heart broke. The last pieces of the puzzle were finally starting to fit together, and I was beginning to see the whole picture.
And I understood now why Skylar seemed so hurt and broken.
“You couldn’t find a suitable alpha, but you desperately wanted a baby, more than anything,” I began, watching Skylar’s eyes widen with fear. “So you slept with someone--anyone you could find. That’s how you got together with Axel. Is that it?”
“Shut up!” Skylar snapped.
“That’s what happened, isn’t it?” I pressed.
“Get out!” Angry tears fell from his eyes as Skylar stood sharply. “Go away!”
I blinked rapidly in confusion. “Sky, hold on, let’s just--”
“No!” he cried. “I don’t want to talk anymore. Just leave!”
His raised voice frightened the cats, and they both scattered, their tails puffing up. I’d never seen Skylar this upset. As much as I didn't want to leave on bad terms, I knew he needed space, and me hanging around wasn’t going to help him calm down. I sighed and got up for the door.
It opened before I could touch the handle.
“Hey, Sky, I got you that bag of chips you--”
Kaden stopped, staring at me. He surveyed the scene in front of him--me, an alpha he didn’t know, heading for the door, and Skylar, shaking and in furious tears behind me. Kaden instantly drew the wrong conclusion. He tossed the bag to the ground and snarled at me, “Who are you? What are you doing here?”
I put my hands up as a white-flag gesture. “Sorry. I was just leaving.”
“Sky, who is this guy?” Kaden demanded, eyeing me like I could pull a stunt at any moment. “Should I call the cops?”
Oh, god. Skylar’s not so upset that he’s gonna say yes, is he?
To my relief, Skylar let out a frustrated sigh. “No. I know him.”
Kaden didn’t seem satisfied with that explanation, but didn’t threaten me anymore as I backed up out of the door.
