Blindsided: Book 2 of the Bound Trilogy

~Jack’ POV~

That was one of the most traumatizing experiences of my life.

Emily, Luna Stacy, and I have just come back from the doctor’s office. When I first asked Emily if I could come with them, I was excited. I would be with my mate, and maybe get to know her a little better.

When she said I had to ask her mom, I became a little apprehensive.

Turns out I had nothing to worry about though, as her mother squealed ‘Yes!’ and gave me a bone-crushing hug. She was strong for such a little thing.

The drive to the clinic had been silent, as Emily ignored all my attempts to start a conversation. Her mother kept throwing pitying looks over her shoulder, letting me know it’s not just me she does this to.

I was nervous at the clinic with all the pregnant women around. Don’t get me wrong, pregnant women are beautiful and I want to watch my mate grow round with child, but some were so big they looked ready to pop.

One woman’s water broke in the waiting room. No one seemed concerned, though the woman was grimacing from the contractions every few minutes, all the nurses did was clean up the mess, and calmly walk her into one of the rooms in back.

Everyone else sat around as if nothing happened, reading magazines, watching a small T.V. set to a game show channel, or reading a book. No one reacted when screams started to float out to us from where they took the woman in labor. They sat placidly, while I cringed every time I heard her screams.

I shifted in my seat. If I’m reacting this way when it’s someone else having a baby, how will I react when it comes time for Emily to give birth? It didn’t bear thinking about.

Finally, the screams had stopped, a chime played, and all the women went ‘ahhh.’ I guess that meant the baby was born.

Eventually, they called Emily into the back and had her lay down on a table. There was a computer monitor with scary looking wires coming out of it. Across from the table was a flat screen T.V. so you can see what the technician is looking at on their monitor.

I wanted to hold Emily’s hand, but she pulled out an iPod. The voice control was made active, as she said, “Play Hunter by Dido.” I heard the music start through the headphones she had on.

Emily lay there the whole time listening to music and ignoring what was going on around her. She didn’t seem to care that the technician was printing out pictures of the baby, saying it was healthy and developing normally. When she asked if we wanted to know the sex of the baby, Emily didn’t respond. Her mother, however, did. She wanted to know so they could get started on decorating the nursery.

The wand on Emily’s belly was moved a few more times, there were some clicks from the computer and the tech announced she was having a baby girl.

My heart melted, imagining a smaller version of Emily running around. I fell in love with that little girl right then. I vowed to protect her and take care of her, it didn’t matter that she was not mine by blood. She was Emily’s and that was all that mattered.

Now, walking into the house, Emily made a beeline for the stairs. I sighed knowing she was going to hide in her room again. I wish she would give me a chance. Steeling my resolve, I vowed to win her over if it’s the last thing I do.

Emily’s mom was heading for the kitchen and I followed. Maybe she can answer some of my questions about Emily’s behavior at the doctor’s office.

“Do you need any help?” I asked as she started pulling ingredients out for dinner tonight.

She looked at me over her shoulder with a smile as she pulled some things from the refrigerator. “Do you know how to cook?” she asked.

Nodding, I said, “Yes, ma’am. My mother and grandmother taught me before they passed. I would help the previous Luna of our pack cook whenever I had the time off of work.”

She looked thoughtful for a moment. “Well, then come and give me a hand. It’s crazy trying to cook for the whole pack by myself so it’s nice to have some help.”

Washing my hands at the sink I asked, “What would you like me to do first?”

“Hmm…Can you take the big pot out of the pantry and take it out on the back porch, there is a low propane burner you can put it on. If you get that started, I’ll work on cutting the meat and vegetables that will go into it.”

I found the pot she was looking for, it was huge! I bet a man could fit and sit comfortably in the bottom of it. Lugging it outside, I found the propane burner and started the fire under the pot.

Back inside, I helped Stacy with the chopping. Wanting to know more about Emily’s attitude, I struck up a conversation. “So you do all the cooking by yourself?” I asked, deciding to start out with general conversation before getting to the nitty-gritty.

“Yes. Well, Emily used to help before, well…before,” the sounds of her knife hitting the cutting board stopped as she remembered what happened to her daughter.

“It’s okay, Alpha Matt told me what happened to her,” she just nodded and continued chopping vegetables.

The silence stretched between us and I was going to go crazy if I didn’t find out why Emily acted the way she did at the clinic.

Clearing my throat, I asked, “So is Emily always like that during checkups, or was it because I was there?” I waited with bated breath for her answer.

I was unsure as to which one would be worse. That she didn’t care about the child growing inside of her, or she was only acting this way because of me. Either one did not bear thinking about.

Stacy placed the items we chopped into a big bowl and motioned for me to follow her outside. I opened the back door for her as we headed out onto the deck. She dumped everything into the pot and went back inside, coming out a few minutes later with two giant pitchers of water and beef broth.

Only after they were poured in and she stirred the contents did she speak, “Jack, I wish I could tell you why my daughter is acting the way she is, but I can’t.” She sighed, rubbing her hands on the apron she wore to protect her clothes from splatter and spills. “Ever since she found out she was pregnant, she’s been a shell of her former self. She refuses to acknowledge the child growing inside her. She hates that we are making her go through with the pregnancy, but it’s not the child’s fault how it was conceived.” She looked down at her hands, “I will tell you, that she does not plan on keeping the baby once it is born. She wants to have Matt and I raise the child while she moves out. She does not want anything to do with this baby.” She finally looked at me.

I was dumbfounded. She was going to be a mother, yet she didn’t want anything to do with her child. I did not know whether to be furious or sad with her decision.

Going to the clinic with her today, I fell in love with the life inside of her. The thought of giving her up was tearing my heart out.

Stacy must have seen the sadness in my eyes, as she placed a small hand on my shoulder in comfort. “Come inside and help me make some bread for the stew tonight.”

My grandmother always told me a good way to relieve unwanted emotions was to pound them out in dough, so I followed her inside.

We finished making dinner and sent a tray up to Emily’s room, as she still had not come down. Everything was delicious. Stacy and I had made beef stew, mashed potatoes, three different kinds of salads, and homemade French bread.

I helped clean up and decided it was time to try to call Devin to see if they made it home okay.

I noticed Emily’s tray was back in the hall and empty. A small smile formed on my lips. At least she likes my cooking, I thought.

I pulled out my cell while walking into my room, leaving the door open. After the fifth ring, Devin’s dad picked up.

“Alpha’s residence, this is Kent speaking,” his warm voice answered.

“Hey Mr. Moon, I see you made it back home okay. Is Devin there? I need to talk to him about something.” I loved Devin’s dad. He may have been my Alpha at one point, but he always treated me like a son. I was always welcome in their home, and he was always there when I needed advice about anything.

“Jack my boy, it’s great to hear from you. I’ve got you on speakerphone. Clayton’s in here if you want to say hey,” he boomed over the line.

“Hey Clayton. How are my two favorite girls doing?” I teased him.

There was a small growl before, “Jack, you know I don’t like you joking about that. They are fine. Right now they are in the kitchen with Leah and Mom, badgering them with questions and babying Devin.”

“Babying Devin?”

Kent came back on the line, “Well, we ran into a Hunter’s trap on our way to rescue Leah, and Devin was injected with a combination of silver, wolfs bane, and arsenic. He is having some trouble moving around at the moment, but he’ll be good as new before you know it.”

I blew out a sigh of relief. At least he was going to be okay, and our Luna was back home. I don’t think Devin would survive if he had not gotten her back.

“Well, at least he’s doing well,” I said. “Listen, Kent, I need you to talk to Devin for me.”

“Sure, kid, what do you need?”

“Well, I found my mate…”

Congratulations flooded through the phone before I could continue. Laughing, I tried to get them to stop talking long enough to get to the point.

“Guys, listen!” I yelled. Silence greeted me, “It’s not as great as you think. I have to work some things out with her before we head home.” I blew out a breath, “What I need you guys to do is see if Devin and Leah can come out to Colorado. I know Leah is a white wolf and according to the Alpha here so is my mate.”

Kent and Clayton started asking questions at the same time. “Guys!” I yelled again, “Just try to get him out here. We need to be sure our suspicions are correct. But I will warn you that my mate is not going to take this news lightly, so be warned.”

“Of course, kid, I’ll let Devin know when we get off the phone. I hope everything works out between you and your mate.”

“Me too,” Clayton chimed in.

“Thanks guys. I’ll talk to you all later. Let me know what Devin decides.”

“Will do. Bye.”

Hanging up the phone, I looked towards my mate’s door. I just hope she doesn’t hate me for what I’m about to do.

~Unknown POV~

Still fuming over those stupid dogs escaping my trap in Canada, I settled into my new home for the next little while.

The run down motel on the outskirts of Greeley, Colorado was nothing to look at. The room consisted of two twin beds, one nightstand, some hooks on the wall to use as hangers, and a bathroom that had seen better days.

I didn’t mind, I had been in worse.

Throwing my duffle onto one of the beds, I checked the papers in my hands. I had arrived today and the information I need for this job was already in the P.O. Box set up under a fake name.

Flipping through the papers, I came across a photo. It was of a dark haired beauty wearing thick sunglasses.

According to the file, she was the Alpha’s adopted daughter.

She was recently blinded--explains the glasses--and is currently pregnant with a wolf cub. Since she was human, I wanted to gag. It was bad enough, these creatures breed at all, but to impregnate human women was sick beyond belief.

Setting the file aside, I rifled through my bag pulling out surveillance equipment.

Tomorrow, I’ll have to find out more about this Emily Wolf.

~Emily’s POV~

I was having a girl.

I was sitting on my balcony, soaking up the last rays of the sun.

I had not wanted to find out what this thing was going to be, but my mother asked anyway. Now I know and can’t help but think of names for her.

Before everything that had happened, I used to daydream that my mate and I would have a house full of kids. We would have three boys and only one girl. She would be the baby of the bunch and fiercely protected by her older brothers.

That is just one more dream that is shattered. I’m not having my mate’s baby. I’m having some sick bastard’s child. The little girl I always envisioned looking like a miniature version of me may turn out to look like her unknown father.

I don’t know how Jack is taking all of this, as I kept my headphones in and my iPod on during the trip home.

Would he be happy with a little girl? Would he treat her the same way Matt treated me growing up?

Wait, what am I thinking? I’m not keeping this baby. Once she is born, she will go with my parents and far away from me. Still, I couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to be having Jack’s baby instead of that bastard’s.

A kick brought me back to reality. I rubbed my hand absently on my stomach and thought of my mate.

I sighed, maybe I should give him a chance. He was trying to be there for me after all. He did go to the appointment with me, and tried to talk to me on the drive there.

Letting out a groan, I leaned further back in to my lounge chair. What am I going to do about him? Should I give him a chance? Will things turn out all right? Or will they go to Hell in a hand basket?

I just don’t know anymore.