Chapter 114


    The drive back to my family’snds is quiet.


    Aaron sits beside me, but he doesn’t make conversation. He


    doesn’t hold my hand or do much of anything, really!


    If I didn’t know better, I’d think he was brooding.


    But that’s not his style.


    He’s too vtile a wolf for that. I’m more the one to sulk and


    think. Aaron is a man of action.


    When I hit the second gate I get out of the car.


    “I’ll drive you up,” Aaron insists.


    “No.”


    He curses. Then he reaches into his suit pocket. “Here.”


    He hands me a small velvet bag. “What’s this?”


    “Open it.”


    I undo the tie string and pull out a simple gold chain. It


    has a moonstone pendant on it. Hecatolite isn’t especially expensive, but it has a really pretty


    opalescent glow. The chain and design look old.


    “I get that you won’t wear my ring or much else that I sent


    over, but that was my mom’s.”


    “Oh.” I rub my thumb over the cool gem.


    This gift has meaning.


    1 pull it over my head.


    “Can you keep it on?” he asks softly. “For me.”


    This man has never been sentimental before. Not about


    anything.


    “Uh, okay.”


    He smiles and looks almost boyish, it’s so genuine.


    I shake my head and get out of the vehicle.


    “Keep your phone on you,” he tells me.


    I n on that anyway.


    “I’m going to have a few guards positioned here,” Aaron says.


    “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”


    “It’s them or me.”


    “Okay,” I say abruptly.


    He shakes his head. His smile is wry this time.


    I did agree to someone-anyone other than him-rather quickly.


    “Stay out of trouble, princess.”


    I step back as he drives off.


    I want to stay out of trouble. The problem is, trouble seems to


    find me…


    The long walk to the main packhouse gives me time to think and clear my head. Instead of going into


    my father’s house, I go first to the infirmary.


    Adam pokes his head out of theb as I enter the building.


    “Leah! I’m d you’re back.”


    “I’m assuming you know why I’m here.”


    “I can venture a few guesses,” he says.


    “Adam, I need you to swear to me that any information


    between us stays between us. No one else. Is that


    understood?”


    He shoves his hands into the pockets of his wh iteb coat.


    “I am your Alpha. If you value this pack or my father’s. decision, I need to know that I can trust you.”


    “Of course, Leah.”


    He guides me back into hisb, then uses theputer system there to lockdown the facility.


    “Are theseputers connected to a cloud server?” I ask him.


    He nods.


    “Disable it. Anything connected to the web can be hacked.”


    “I’ll make the changes to our security system and backups.”


    “And you’ll share all of those ess codes with me. Today.”


    He je rks back like I’ve pped him.


    “Leah, this is years of my research. Archives of our entire


    pack’s medical history…”


    “Precisely. And as the Alpha, it is my highest priority to better protect that information.”


    He sputters and I watch his eyes re.


    Interesting…


    Adam has a temper. He hides it well.


    “I know you’ve served this pack tirelessly, my friend. We should just take additional steps given the


    nature of my position and those who might use me to ess Pack Roberts.”


    My ‘friend’ment and exnation seem to appease him.


    “You’re right,” he says. “I’ll initiate new protocols immediately.”


    “After my ultrasound,” I say.


    His mo uth drops open with an audible pop.


    “Why do you look surprised? You’re the one who told me I was pregnant. I need to know how far along


    I am. I need to take vitamins. I’m assuming we’ll need to monitor the progression of my ca ncer along


    with the pregnancy. I want to have a full


    Neonatal Intensive Care Unit established here by the end of


    the week.”


    “Leah, that kind of machinery-”


    I arch a brow.


    “Yes, Alpha,” Adam corrects himself. “I’ll see to it.”


    “Thank you.” I smile brightly and it puts him at ease.


    I was too harsh with him at the party, I realize. He has a great deal of ego and wants to feel included. I


    can do that.


    I can-and will-y these games.


    Adam wheels over a portable ultrasound machine and hooks up the various wires and monitors. “Pull


    up your shirt,” he says. “And unzip your pants.”


    He opens my jeans and tugs them down a few inches, tucking either side onto my hips. My panties are


    lowered, but kept on. It’s just my lower abdomen that’s revealed.


    “This is going to feel cold,” he says before squirting some type


    of gel onto my skin.


    “You’re not kidding!”


    He smiles.


    I’ll y nice. I’ll do anything to achieve my goals. And I


    understand what those are now: 1) Set up Pack Roberts to


    seed.


    2) Stay alive long enough to hold my baby.


    Adam turns on the machine. He presses the probe against my skin and moves it around. Almost


    instantly I hear the whoosh, whoosh, whoosh of a very rapid heartbeat.


    “It’s so fast!”


    “That’s perfectly normal,” he says. He punches a few buttons.


    Belongs to (N)?vel/Drama.Org.


    “About 165 BPM.”


    “Beats per minute?”


    “That’s right.”


    “I get that we need to run more tests. And I can go back to the oncology department, but I need to


    know… How far along am I? Can I make it, Adam? Can I save my baby?”