by Emma Knox
“I can’t accept a story that doesn’t ring true. You are before me…pregnant. And that didn’t just happen out of the blue.”
“No.” I needed food.
“And I need you to be a man and tell me what happened.”
I found that my hunger was a snapping turtle and snappily asked, “Would you excuse me?” I wanted to go to the chiller and defrost some meat.
“Arden…” My father opened the fridge; took out a leg of lamb and chucked it onto the table. “If you’re going to be eating like you’re feeding a thousand people we’re going to have to stock up on more food supplies.”
With my mouth full, I only spit out food to my father’s disgust.
“I need you to tell me about him, Arden. I will not let this lie.”
I chewed so loudly that my father’s irritancy rose.
“It won’t do, you ignoring me, son. I want to see you happy. Mated to a good Alpha that will keep you safe and free from harm. That little one will be looking for that security.”
I swallowed hard. Not in that way. I was still stuffing my face and shredding that meat.
“Do you hear me, son?”
“Yerf!” He wanted me to answer. So, he’d have to be content with food nearly being sprayed across the kitchen floor. I put down the leg and immediately said, “You’re without a mate, Father. And you do ok.”
“But this is not about me, son. You have an opportunity. You can find yourself a good Alpha.”
“There is none.”
“Nonsense.”
“Then point him to me, Flynn.”
“Arden! You’ll address me as your father. He stood firm. “Whatever caused that being of life to grow in your body has to be addressed. I want to know—”
Fiona came skipping into the kitchen in a flowery dress and a bolt headband with her long hair flowing back behind it. It had many sunflowers upon it, and it was a joke to see her in such a sunny get-up. Fiona was a cactus: prickly and out to sting when you least expected it. It never stopped me from loving her though.
She skipped all the way to my father who bent down to kiss her on the forehead. Then she came to the counter in the middle and ripped off some meat to chew. A little piece — before giving me that smile that said, I’ll tell Dad the story for you.
I frown, giving her the kind of ‘no’ nod that could cut a throat, and slap my palm against my brow when she does the opposite of keeping her mouth shut!
“He was so handsome.” She played with the strip of meat. “Wasn’t he, Arden?”
I could kill her. I could take her by the back of her dress and hang her outside with the wet clothes to dry.
“Father, him and Arden looked so good together.”
“You shouldn’t have even been there, Fiona.” I gave this as a reminder to my dad who wanted to hear more from her. He needed to remember that she shouldn’t have been at the grown up parties at her age. She was meant to be grounded.
“Well. If I hadn’t come, who would’ve helped you pull?”
“You had no hand in it.”
“I encouraged you. You can be so shy sometimes.”
I could tell that my father agreed with this as he gave me that look.
“Tell me more, daughter.”
“Well. He’s definitely Arden’s type.” Fiona came to take a seat near me. “Bigger than the smaller Alpha’s out there.”
“Shouldn’t you be in your room?” I gave her a brotherly sulk and she stuck out her tongue for reminding Dad about that.
“That’s where she’s going to head after she’s done having her lunch.”
“But Dad—”
“No buts. I want to meet this man. It sounds like your sister is already fond of him.”
She pulled off a portion of the lamb. “I do. He gave Arden the time of day.” She pinched me.
“Hey!” I pinched her back via her shoulder.
“Enough, you two.” My dad uses his authoritative tone. “I want to meet him.”
“Father,” I blurt out the quickest thing that comes to mind, “he doesn’t want an Omega.”
Both Fiona and Flynn stared at me confused. My father spoke, “Why ever not? You’re wonderful, Arden.”
The ringing of the doorbell alerted all three of us into a dumfounded state.
“Are you two expecting anybody?”
We both said, “No.”
“I’ll get it.”
Fiona mockingly said, whilst Dad was gone, “You two were getting it on.”
“You don’t even know what that means.”
“I do.”
“You don’t.”
“I do.”
“You don’t.”
Father called out, “Arden, there is a visitor at the door for you.”
I got up from the stool.
“I do!” Fiona shoved me to get out of the kitchen quicker.
I wanted to retaliate, but the smell of the woods flushed me into a shade of purple and red, and I quickly managed to handle its potency by leaning against the open-planned kitchen door… to find my dad holding the front door open — and the visitor peering in from the outside.
He opened it a little more…“Your Alpha is here.” My father made it sound like a 16+ prom date had come to collect me in a limo. And his reddened face at the sight of the visitor’s bulk underneath that suit was even more embarrassing.
I wanted to tell my father to behave, and what man had him turning into a tomato. I hadn’t seen his face yet.
Then the door fully opened, and my father said it again, “Your Alpha is here.”
I took notice of his words now. “I don’t have one—”
Samson waddled in, and gave me a fright. I should have placed the woodsy smell as him. He cupped my cheeks and I went brighter than the sunrise; retracting from him and wishing my father hadn’t answered the door.
“What a good catch.” My father approvingly gave Samson the parental look over. “A handsome young Alpha indeed.”
Samson stood proud after hearing my father’s words.
I found myself introverted at how powerful my attraction for him felt.
Chapter 6
Samson
The Wine family were more than hospitable to me. They treated me friendlier than Arden did. It took him longer than normal to invite me out of the foyer and into their garden. Their home was gloriously spacious. It had bright light and windows bringing in the natural rays. It felt lightweight when I stepped through their living room, which had plenty of memorabilia of the Wine’s association with hard-work and tending to the upkeep of their lands.
They often kept their acreage nutritious and profitable for crop growth and cultivating their vineyards and various berries. They had been doing this for years, I heard. The history of the Wine family was full of prosperity. Arden was blessed into a good family.
We started in the foyer first. “Why did you leave me like that?”
Before he could answer, his little sister popped up from the side of him. “Yes, Arden. Why did you leave him like that?”
Arden flushed a pinkish red and his father chuckled at Fiona’s directness.
“You should have said goodbye.”
“She’s right.” Flynn chuckled.
The pair finally gave Arden the chance to answer, but he pulled my sleeve and hurriedly barked, “Come outside, so we can get away from my family and their nosiness.”
We moved out into the garden: me burning with questions and Arden finding it hard to keep eye contact with me. Finding that he could be quite shy was endearing for me as we stood near a couple of his father’s apple trees. I started the conversation, finding him to be too tongue-tied. “Surprised to see me?”
“Very.” His voice quiet.
“I needed to find you.”
“And Steven must’ve been the one to give you my address.”
“Under the condition that I came to talk to you.”
“And what did you have in mind to talk about?”
“
Why a great night ended up as a terrible morning?”
Arden could see that there was no lying in what I said. It was magnificent. A bonding that shouldn’t be broken. And all this was conveyed through a sexual encounter of both our minds and bodies. I wanted him to be honest with me.
“Tell me the truth. I can handle it.”
“The truth is, I needed a baby, Samson. And in order to do that, I needed to find a mate to keep both the manor and town under the Wine name. You see this big house, it’s up to me to secure it with the birth of this one.” Arden rubbed his stomach and I couldn’t help but stare at what we had created. “It’s part of the inheritance clause.” His hand sluggishly dropped. “So, that’s the truth of it.”
“You’re pregnant?”
“Yes.”
“And what makes you think I don’t want anything to do with that kid?”
“I never assumed…”
“Well ask me…ask me what part I want to play.”
“You want to be involved?”
I held out my palm to him in a gesture. “If it would be alright with you?”
“Of course…”
–his father interrupted a binding contract between me and Arden. I was about to seal that part of the deal.
“I hope I’m not interrupting your little talk?”
Neither of us could tell him yes. He offered me a glass of water which I drank and then handed back to him.
“Thank you.”
“My son should be hospitable,” he apologized on behalf of a diffident Arden. “I had a thought, and I’m sure Arden would agree, that you should stay for a few weeks.”
“I…uh…” I turned to Arden, who looked like an exploding huff-a-potamus.
He was complacent and unable to show me that he didn’t want me here. I brushed it off as a problem that I needed to be patient with, but his aroma was pleasing me again. I loved my cookies and he was the sweetest flavour.
But soon enough he ran back inside with an indifferent air about him. And me and Flynn stood with no explanation for that. I suppose that gave me a chance to measure his father who was a man with broad shoulders and a strong chin. He had features of a wealthy legality, but had the trendiness of a younger man with his large hands who worked fields and attended to picking. I found him to be much harder on the eyes than Arden, but the pair were related no doubt.
“I can never understand that boy.”
“Has he always been…flighty?”
“I would put it down to shyness. Arden seems to keep everything to himself until he finds the courage to speak up. He never got that from me. I have no qualms with finding the right words.” He gave me a resolute grin. “You seem pretty sturdy yourself.”
“I would like to think that. I try to say-it-as-it-is. And it works for me.”
“I like you already.” A nod that sealed the deal of Arden’s father’s acceptance. “Right. Well, I should show you to your room.”
We went back inside. Flynn offered me meat. I wasn’t hungry at the moment, so I refused. Then we headed to their grand stairway with the tiny pattering of feet that rushed down, and soon after, a small pair of arms flung themselves upon me and I had to support her from falling.
“Fiona, leave the man alone.”
I laughed at how strong she was. It was impressive at her age: the grip she had. She let go and started to bounce up and down on the stair before me. “Well, aren’t you adorable?” She truly was.
Fiona smiled brightly and caused me to do the same. “I think you’re perfect for Arden. So, I want to help you out.”
“That would be awesome.” Family could sometimes be a wonderful thing.
“I think the way to his heart is with gifts.”
“Fiona—”
Flynn sounded uncomfortable with Fiona saying that, but I chortled. She was a right bundle of cheekiness. “She has a good point.”
“See, Father?”
Flynn simple sighed-a-sigh that sang a very notable tune for Fiona. She was a handful for him to deal with.
“What does he like?”
“He has a thing for smelling good. So…I would put soaps on your list.”
I said, “Soap, check. Anything else that can help me out?”
“He also likes bodies of water.” She started to bounce down the stairs and I moved for her to jump onto the lower carpet. “Hope that helps.”
“I’m sure it will.” Flynna started up the stairs and I followed after him until we reached the spare room that was right next to Arden’s. It was a nice room with natural light piercing through the cracks. A nice double bed, side drawers with lamps upon them in the shape of Siberian tigers holding the lightbulb in their middle.
The décor they had was orange and a dull white for the wallpaper, and a black carpet that made me think of space and the white glitter that seemed like a childish addition. Maybe Fiona had a part to play there? It was too nice to only be a spare room. And I would be more than happy to stay.
Flynn could tell. “I can see you like the room.”
“It’s real nice. I have to thank you, Mr. Wine.” I held out my hand to give him a mutual handshake on his kindness.
He shook my hand, and it was the attachment of two powerful hands shaking. When he let go, we both snorted and let the blood rush back. He left me to familiarize myself with the bedroom. I did for a bit as I touched the Siberian tigers, rested upon the bed, peered out the window, and then found myself distracted by the soundlessness of next door.
Arden was in there. I could smell him. I wanted him. Desired to be close to his body. And him with child only enhanced his tang-a-lang more. I pumped myself up into knocking on that room door as I found myself knocking and waiting for him to answer.
It took only the one time. I went for the second, but Arden opened it up and moved out the way for me to enter. I walked into a room full of love for great aromas from a defuser that was shooting out sweat glands of scents from lavender, to rosewood, to lemon and ginger, and it confused my nose.
There was a piano against his wall; stacks of boxes which had jigsaw puzzles and a game of checkers. A tv and stand, and a box with a whole load of cd’s. He sat upon his bed trying to crumble up pieces of paper and chucked them into the small bin across from him. I took one into my grasp and took the shot. I missed. He wasn’t impressed, so I tried another…and miss again. It was no use. He took a shot: aimed, and scored.
“I need to work on that.”
“You’ll have plenty of time when you leave.”
“That won’t be for the next few weeks, though.”
He chucked a paper-ball up and down like a yoyo. “It won’t change anything.”
“You want to bet?”
“Samson, you won’t be my mate.”
“Oh?” I caught the paper-ball that he kept chucking into the air and aimed for the bin: I scored. “You’ll see.”
Chapter 7
Arden
The days flew by so quickly, and the life that I carried inside of me was becoming more and more poignant each day that left. It would be that closer to getting bigger. And I was truly in love with how beautifully enhanced my senses had become because of this baby.
My bump showed, and I felt at ease with it. I didn’t feel overweight, although, my eating habits forced my father into having to rethink the idea of dinner time. I was having my father running all over the place: demanding food…more food. “And if you have the time, Dad, bring me some water.”
He never complained. Not even once. He was so insistent on me resting. And he would come up with a tray of cooked meat and vegetables telling me that I had to eat healthy. I devoured it all, and he would be back with another a couple of hours later.
I saw Samson around the house. But I was more confined to my room and kept the stress levels down for the little kid. Fiona was even on her best behaviour. No acting up. No giving me a hard time. Just simply wanting to know if the baby would be prettier than me. Yeah, I thought it was too good to be true. S
he hoped it wouldn’t turn out ugly.
I decided to chill in the living room and have my feet up on the squared poufs. I stretched my legs onto two of them: leaned back onto the sofa and listened to the relaxation soundtrack that would only last for so long when my father came into the ruin the peace.
“You relaxed over there, son?”
“I sure am, Father.” I closed my eyes.
“And how’s my grandson?”
“You don’t know what the gender will be yet.” I still kept my eyes closed, but I was drifting to sleep.
“That’s true. Girl or boy?”
“Huh?”
“What do you want the baby to be, a girl or boy?”
“I haven’t thought about it, Dad.”
“I remembered wanting a boy.”
“And you had one.”
“I did.” He got up from sitting next to me. “Ah, morning, Samson.”
My eyes shot open.
“Morning, Mr. Wine.”
My dad left, and Samson took a seat next to me: drawn between the baby bump and the sight of me with my cheeks rounder and thighs a little denser. I was more flesh and less bone now. But he seemed to like the looks of that.
“How are you feeling?”
“Pregnant.”
Samson smiled. “I wanted to let you know that I’ve booked a doctor’s appointment for you.”
“For when?” Samson was assertive much.
“Today. Don’t worry, it’s covered by me, so you won’t have to fork out any money.”
“That wouldn’t have been a problem. We have money in the Wine family.”
“I know. I just wanted to do something for you and the kid.”
“I don’t want to go.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, I think we should just leave that appointment.”
“Don’t make me do it.”
“Do what, Samson?”
“Carry you to that car.”
“You wouldn’t?”
He did. He scooped me up as like we were newlyweds and waddled out the door, kicking it open and taking me to his tomato red truck. He placed me in there as gently as possible and then went to his side of the truck to start it.