The Alpha’s Curvy Cinderella - Chapter 105: Chapter 105

Alpha Grant POV
It was nightfall. I paced back and forth, ending the call, Juliet watching me in concern, her eyes blinking, shining brightly with what I suspected was tears threatening to fall. I turned to face her, a relieved smile on my face. I let out an exhale, not realizing I’d been holding my breath. Everything was going to be fine. Juliet was going to be safe now. Never again would she have to worry about that bastard.
“That was Alpha Jaxon,” I said quietly, sitting on the bed and grabbing her hand “Jordan’s okay. They found her safe and sound. The baby is fine too. They just got back to her pack.” I could breathe easier now. As could she.
Tears trailed down her cheeks as she hitched in a breath. “Thank god,” she said thickly “I feel so guilty that I couldn’t have helped more. I honestly didn’t know where he would have gone” she sobbed. “Honestly, otherwise I would have said something.”
“Hey, hey,” I said concerned, rubbing circles on the top of her hand as she blinked at me “You did what you could and if you hadn’t told us about Jordan we would never have known. You’re the reason she’s alive today. Don’t sell yourself short.” She took a deep breath, and I could tell she was steeling herself to ask something else. I instinctively knew what it was going to be. I interrupted before she could ask, knowing she needed to hear this. Thank god Blaze had taken care of the bastard. For once, I was feeling magnanimous towards my cousin rather than hostile. I owed him one, for this. A favor I would be more than happy for my cousin to demand of me.
“Alpha Romero is dead,” I told her firmly, looking deep into her eyes so she could see my sincerity “he will never touch you or harm you ever again.”
She would never have to look over her shoulder, wondering if he was going to be after her. He was gone. From all accounts, his death had been painful. Good. The bastard had deserved that and far more.
Relief flashed in her eyes. Her body trembled. She ran a shaking hand through her long brown hair.
“You have no idea how relieved I am to hear that. Even if it makes me sound like a horrible person” she whispered, looking slightly ashamed of herself.
“I don’t think it makes you horrible at all,” I told her shocked “If anything it makes you human. I wanted the bastard dead” I growled “and I’m’ not sorry that he is. If anything, I just wish I could have been the one to kill him.”
He would have suffered far more at my hands and I would have taken immense pleasure in doing it.
She looked at me in wonder. “You would have done that for me?” she stammered, blushing.
I lightly trailed a finger down her cheek, feeling tingles run down my body. “I would have killed him for what he did to you, yes, but it wouldn’t have been a merciful death. I would have tortured him first and then killed him as painfully as possible” I told her honestly as her eyes widened. “Hades would have wanted his fair share of participating as well.”
“I’ve never had anyone want to defend me like that,” she said in a shaking voice “Not even my own parents cared about me like you seem to. Why do you care so much?”
I chose my words carefully. She was still skittish around me, but she was growing used to my presence and I didn’t want to scare her off. “You are my mate and I adore you. The more time I spend with you, the more I’m in awe at how brave and courageous you are. You have been through more than most could ever imagine, yet you still have a beautiful smile and still laugh. You still have kindness and compassion in you, and they are both very admirable traits to have.”
She was like a beacon of light and I didn’t want to see that light go out, ever.
In other words, you haven’t given up, despite what life has thrown at you, I thought to myself silently. She reminded me in some ways of Jordan but in other ways, she clearly wasn’t. She was unique and rare and I felt attached to her in a different way than I had with Jordan. The mate bond was stronger, and I felt like I would die if she tried to reject me. I wanted her, with a fierceness that belied all sense and logic. Hades was attached to her, wanting to know where she was at all times. It had taken everything in me, to prevent him from marking her, something that would have been unforgivable, given her fragility at the moment.
But there was something she needed to know. I took a deep breath, wondering how she was going to take it. “I’m expecting a child” I blurted out, like a complete moron and she stared at me blankly. Way to go Grant. Now she thinks you’re a lunatic.
“What,” she said wrinkling her eyebrows and looking bewildered.
I could have face-palmed myself. Smooth, real smooth Grant. Of course, she was confused. I had told her there was no one else, no girlfriend, no chosen mate. So, what I had just said made no sense at all to her. God, I was a moron. I sighed. Hades just chuckled.
Dude, you suck at this. Mess this up and I swear I won’t speak to you for a whole month. I mean it this time too. I’m still mad at you about the whole Jordan thing. You’re lucky we found this second chance mate and that I’m infatuated with her.
I’m trying not to! Any words of wisdom Hades? I really really love this girl. She’s just, I don’t know how to describe it… Yeah. My words of wisdom are, do not f*****g screw this up. Or else.
Great, thanks a lot for that. That was so damn helpful I told him sarcastically.
He just grinned and kept listening as I fought to get the right words out.
“Do you remember me telling you about my chosen mate before and how she drugged me to make me think I was choosing her of my own free will?” I said gravely.
She nodded. “Yes, how horrible for someone to do that to you. It must have been a particularly potent drug considering you are an Alpha as well. You must have felt so violated” she said sadly, stroking her long brown hair and giving me a sympathetic look.
“Well, the thing is…” I paused. How did I do this? What if this was what broke her? What if it was the straw that broke the camel’s back so to speak? The last straw that made her reevaluate everything and caused her to walk away? I mean, it was a hell of a lot of responsibility for anyone, and it could mean that she might not get as much attention devoted to her as I dealt with the baby on top of everything else.
You can’t build a relationship on a bridge of lies, Grant. She’s going to find out sooner or later. It would be better if it was sooner. What if she finds out from someone else? Then she’s going to think you lied to her or deliberately kept it from her.
I know but I’m afraid of losing her. I mean, how many girls would be thrilled to find out their mates got someone else pregnant? What if she has no intentions of ever wanting children? She could be disgusted with me or just plain furious. What if she doesn’t want the responsibility? She’s only young, just like I am.
You won’t know until you tell her. You can’t just assume what reaction she’ll have. It’s not like this is a rare occurrence. Okay, maybe generally the roles are reversed but so what? I think you’re underestimating your mate and not being fair to her. Give her a chance. Stop thinking she’s going to up and leave.
I don’t know if I can stomach losing a second chance mate. It hurt so bad losing Jordan but this, this would be so much worse.
Look on the positive side. If the worst happens, we’ll have to deal with it. But she might just surprise you if you tell her everything. Stop holding back out of fear. You need to move on from Jordan and this is a chance to do exactly that. Juliet is gorgeous, kind, and loving. She deserves to be given respect and trust from her mate. Tell her what she should already know and let her surprise you with her reaction. I’m willing to bet it’s not going to be as bad as you are thinking.
Juliet eyed me carefully “The thing is…” she repeated carefully when I didn’t continue.
“Oh right,” I said dumbly, snapping back to attention. “The thing is,” I said nervously.
For god’s sake Grant, spit it out already! “Sarah is pregnant with our baby” I finished, bowing my head and looking directly at the floor, unable to bring myself to look into her eyes and see the grief I was sure would be there, or the anger.
I had even insisted on a paternity test while the child was in the womb. There was no doubt it was mine.
Silence. I swallowed hard. This was it. I’d really done it now. Anything I might have had with Juliet was now officially ruined. My chest tightened. The tension in the air grew thick. I tightened my fingers, clenching them around the bedcovers. Any minute now, she was going to tell me to go to hell or something and storm off. I could feel it.
Say something, I thought desperately. This was such a bad sign. My shoulders began to slump. Hades began to feel panicked, making me even more anxious. Juliet cleared her throat.
“Grant,” she said quietly, as my head moved slowly upwards and my eyes met hers, “I’m afraid that I don’t quite understand,” she said looking slightly puzzled “Are you saying that you have a baby on the way?”
“Yes,” I said miserably “a baby girl.”
A daughter to be precise and I couldn’t bring myself to adopt her out. Not now I knew for certain she was mine. I couldn’t do it.
She nodded, wringing her hands together, and biting her lip. “Okay,” she said slowly, and then glanced around the room” The thing is,” she said lowly, looking at me worriedly “I don’t really know anything about babies” she admitted.
My mouth dropped open. You could have heard a coin drop, it was so quiet in the room. I blinked. Had I just heard her correctly?
“You mean you’re not angry with me?” I asked incredulously.
Now she looked astonished. “Why would I be angry with you? You told me what happened, it’s hardly your fault” she said with a shrug, looking far too relaxed for my liking “I just, don’t quite know how to raise a baby. I wasn’t quite expecting to um, to be honest” she said ducking her head, her cheeks flushed.
“I’m not expecting you to raise her. I just want you to understand my situation” I told her hastily.
“But if we’re going to be together, then won’t I be helping to raise her?” asked Juliet bluntly.
“Well yeah, if you want to” I stammered.
She was literally knocking me for six right now.
“I love babies,” she said serenely “I never understood why I didn’t get pregnant though” she added sadly. “Mind you, perhaps that was a blessing” she added darkly.
“So how far along is Sarah?” asked Juliet interestedly.
I had to think about it. God, I was terrible but to be fair I’d been distracted a lot lately. I couldn’t even remember how long it had been since I’d been down in the dungeon to see her. “A couple of months,” I said frowning.
“Well, then she doesn’t have much longer to go” Juliet admonished “Have you got a nursery? Diapers? Clothes? Bottles? Essentials?”
My head was spinning. I hadn’t considered any of that. I guess I had thought my mother would take care of it, I thought guiltily. “No,” I said guiltily.
She gasped in outrage “Grant you have to be prepared for your daughter. Have you thought of a name?” she demanded, hands on hips.
I had to smile at her bossiness. It was adorable.
“No,” I said with a sigh.
She shook her head. She seemed determined now. “We’re going to write down everything you need so that we can start on the nursery, which needs to be next to this room with an adjoining door” she announced.
I heard a laugh from the doorway and looked up to see my mother standing there, her eyes twinkling “Juliet, thank god. I was going to have this discussion with Grant but you’ve beaten me to it” she laughed “as it is we’re about to go down and give Sarah an ultrasound again. Grant, you might be needed again. Juliet, you are welcome to come if you like but I warn you, it’s not particularly pleasant down in the dungeon, nor is it pretty.”
Juliet looked at me. “I want to come. I want to see Sarah for myself.”
I instinctively knew that this was not going to go well, but I was in no position to refuse her.