“Why?” I asked, feeling defiant.
Kaden blinked. “Because… you’re Skylar. You’re always trying to protect and defend omegas. You always make sure the alphas your friends are dating are good people.”
“So that means I can’t hook-up with strangers?”
Kaden stared at me, his gaze unwavering. “Did you?”
“What if I did?”
“Then you hooked up with a stranger,” he repeated cautiously. “But hooking up doesn’t mean you’ll get pregnant if you’re safe.”
I felt my hackles rise, and I looked off to the side. “Sometimes people do things that aren’tsafe.”
Kaden’s eyes went wide. “Skylar, can you just be honest with me for one second? Is that what you did?” Before I could snap a reply, he put his hand on top of mine. “I’m not mad, or disappointed or anything, I just want to know.”
“Youaredisappointed,” I argued. “So, yeah, I guess I’ll tell you. I did have sex with a stranger, and yes, it was so I’d get pregnant. Okay?”
The words seemed to echo in the empty café. Kaden’s face was unreadable, but bordering on sympathy. He didn’t let me pull my hand out of his grip.
“Okay,” Kaden finally said with a sigh. “Well, I didn’t expect that. Why, Skylar?”
I wanted to bark that it was none of his business, but my nerve turned to mush. This was my friend. It was normal for him to be worried about me, especially since he’d been walking on eggshells for a while trying to avoid me and my mysterious anger towards him.
But I still felt defensive, trying to make excuses for the mistake I made.
I exhaled, hoping some of the stress would leave my body. “I was jealous of everyone getting mates and babies. I wanted my own family, even if there was no alpha in the picture. I met a guy at a bar, told him what I wanted and promised him he didn’t have to be involved. That’s it.”
Kaden’s eyes frantically searched mine. “So youarepregnant, and it’s not Rafael’s.”
“No,” I said. “I’m not pregnant.”
He sat back in his seat with a groan. “Okay, now I’m even more confused.”
I explained to Kaden what happened--how I thought I might have been pregnant with Axel, and how Rafael rescued me and wormed his way into my heart like a heat-seeking missile. How Rafael promised to take care of my baby, no matter who it belonged to. How our relationship began to bud. How the baby I thought I carried didn’t exist. And finally--
Kaden choked. “Isthatwhy you’re never home anymore? Because Rafael’s knocking you up for real this time?”
I had a small laughing fit at Kaden’s expense. “Yeah. That’s exactly it.”
“Oh my god. You’re serious.” The confusion on his face melted into awe, and his expression softened. “Oh, Sky. You really like this guy, don’t you?”
“He’s so sweet, Kaden. And he’s funny, and kind. And…” I let out a dreamy sigh like in the movies, but it was totally genuine. “He really wants to have a baby as much as I do.”
Kaden smiled gently. “And that’s what you wanted, right?”
I nodded. “That’s what Ireallywanted.”
Before Rafael, I thought I’d be content with just a baby, with no connection to the alpha who fathered him. But I recognized now that, perhaps selfishly, I wanted the whole package deal--an alphaanda baby. There was no doubt in my mind I would have loved any baby, no matter where it came from, but what I had with Rafael…
I knew it was something special.
Just thinking about him made my chest flutter and grow warm. When we were apart, like now, I felt myself longing for him. Maybe if I admitted all this to Kaden he might think it was sappy or cheesy, but I didn’t care. For the first time in a long time, I felt safe, protected and cared for. Loved.
“So, what now?” Kaden asked.
“Hm?”
“If you guys are trying for a baby, what’s gonna happen after the baby’s born? I mean, it’s gonna change your whole life. Are you moving in together?”
