The Other Part of Me
Chapter 24

Braden

Cassie had given him her truth and he stayed silent. He wished now he would have said something encouraging but he couldn't bring himself to say the words. He would support her decision even though he knew already when she didn't. She was pregnant.

He didn't need her to have a test confirm it. Andrei had mentioned to him that Evangeline had taken to sleeping more and seeing the way Cassie ate everything put in front of her at dinner only confirmed this.

He had noticed the slight variation in her scent and her taste when they had been together earlier, but the passion in his veins didn't allow him to think beyond the moment they were sharing, in retrospect now it made sense with her hormones increasing.

A pup rested in her womb and she didn't want it; a pup whose conception she had tried very hard to prevent. Hell, she would have known how to prevent it had she been fully immersed in the wolf lifestyle as was her right. But she wasn't. She relied heavily on guidance from a mate she didn't ask for, and not just any mate, but the pack's Alpha.

He always did pride himself in being fair, so why would he make an exception for her? She didn't have the full scope when she agreed to leave her life to be with him. She could have rejected him if she had uttered the words, but he didn't bother telling her this.

Hell, he couldn't even tell her the truth about their fathers or the hand his father had in the death of hers.

She was open and honest, and he had been a pathetic coward.

As he followed her scent up the stairs and into their quarters, he decided he would support her decision to terminate this pregnancy. It broke his heart, but according to the Spearhead Pack oracle, she would be doing it anyway, the least he could do was be there for her. Maybe then, they would talk about future pups as they should have done to begin with.

He entered the en suite determined to be the Alpha he should have been from the start, but paused when he saw her standing in front of the sink in a tank top that was already receding a little bit due to the very slight swell of her middle. His resolve melted away.

Their kind had a shorter gestation cycle than those of humans, which is what he attributed the small roundness in her belly to. A little seedling now that would have been ready to join the living in less than six months.

He chose to remain quiet-- at least for tonight so that his pup had one more night of peace before plans to end its existence began.

He turned to his own room and got ready for bed. He stripped, only putting on a pair of red-plaid pajama bottoms. He stared at his bed, realizing he had no interest in being in it anymore without her.

So, he paced in his room as an alternative. He paced, and he thought; he thought about his mate, about his pup, and all the bad decisions he had made since he had met her.

Hours had passed since Cassie went to lie in her bed alone and all he could do was continue to pace his bedroom feeling riddled with guilt over everything he had concealed.

When he heard movement in her bedroom, he decided to cross the en suite in hopes she would allow him to hold her tonight, while his pup still existed. However, when he entered her chamber, it was devoid of her presence.

He reasoned she may have gone downstairs for milk, as her body would likely be craving it, even if she didn't know it.

He sat on the edge of her bed and decided to wait for her.

Minutes into the wait, he stood up quickly as he recognized his mate's distinctive howl coming from outside of the mansion. He rushed to the window and found Evangeline running in the garden, however, he grew panicked when he saw her jump over the gate at full speed.

She was leaving him.

No! Not like this! He growled. The sound of tearing cloth boomed loudly in the room, followed by the crashing sounds of breaking glass as Andrei jumped out of the second-story window, furiously after his mate.

He landed on his feet and took off running with fervor in the direction his mate had taken. He struggled to make it over the tall gate from the same area she had jumped; he wasn't as nimble as she was. No, he was more muscular and it cost him agility, but he persevered on the fifth try.

His delay allowed her to increase the distance between them but he was quicker and not easily discouraged. He sped through the forest, following her scent. Damn it all to hell, she would not leave him like that.

As her scent came in stronger, Andrei knew his mate was near. He stopped when he realized Lake Reva was nearby and slowly, he began to discern the offensive stench of rogues.

Andrei growled loudly and ran as fast as he could with a steadfast determination. Rogues would not take more from him than they already had.

In the distance, he saw Cassie standing naked, surrounded by wolves. A few of them had turned into their human form. He sped with all his might. They would not take her from him.

In a flurry, he rushed to her side and struck a menacing pose, he was aware of where each worthless rogue stood. They would not win this time. He was seething with the anger of one-hundred Bloodstones. Andrei bared his teeth and growled. He focused on the head rogue, Caspian Maximus. He would bite his head clean off if he dared touch a hair on Cassie.

"You and your treacherous bloodlines are not welcome here, son of Aeric!" Caspian said through a growl before setting his wolf free.

Andrei was determined to protect his mate and his pup, no matter the consequences.

Both large wolves charged towards each other.