Page 83 of Forced Knocked-Up Mate

“Yeah,” I chuckle. “But I thought I’d do the thing, all the same. Make it even more official—have the big party, ceremony, anything you want.”

“Sounds wonderful,” she answers, beaming up at me.

I bend down to kiss her, and as our lips touch, I know I have truly found my home.

In her arms, and in her heart.

Chapter 27 - Lucy

I’m drifting on soft, warm waves of contentment when I hear the tiny cry. I groan a little as I pull myself up, throwing off the covers and reaching for my robe.

“Don’t get up,” Peter says, sitting down next to me. “I’ve got her.”

I lean back against my stack of pillows, holding out my arms. “You might be the best husband in the whole world.”

“Yeah,” he says, grinning. “There’s not a lot of room for improvement.”

I chuckle as he puts little Isla in my arms, resting her face against my breast. Her tiny hands knead at me as I open my nightgown and let her find my nipple. While I lean back and relax to let her feed, Peter puts a pillow under my feet and wraps me in a few extra blankets.

“Are you alright there?” I ask teasingly.

He raises an eyebrow. “Are you protesting my treatment of you?”

“Of course I am—it’s fucking brutal. How is a woman expected to survive?”

“You’re right,” he says, looking me over. “I should get some more pillows.”

“You’re a negligent, boorish oaf,” I giggle. “I’m talking about the lack of sustenance. You trap me in this extremely comfortable, warm bed and then starve me. It’s inhumane.”

“Dry bread and water it is,” he says with a salute and a wink.

I look down at my daughter’s face, feeling my heart swelling with love. At three months old, she still seems too tiny, and so very fragile.

She smiles as she snuggles against me, one of those mysterious, spontaneous baby smiles. It enchants me completely. I stroke her head gently, running my fingers through her silky strands of bright red hair.

We don’t know yet if she’s a witch, a wolf, or both. Her birth has excited all three packs because in ancient traditions, our lines were used to strengthen each other. The idea that witches could return as mates to the wolves has all the elders practically delirious with excitement, especially Jen.

No one knows why the witches left. Amanda never told me why she moved the main coven further north—and we were so young then. I couldn’t go because I loved the town too much, but a lot of the witches left with her.

Peter returns with a mug of milky hot chocolate and a bowl of yogurt with berries. As soon as Isla finishes her breakfast, he picks her up and rocks her so I can eat.

“Hmm,” I say. “I’ve got words to have with you about this hot chocolate.”

“Oh?”

“It’s too good. One won’t be enough.”

He laughs. “No problem. Once I rock this little sweetheart back to sleep, I’ll bathe you in cocoa.”

“You don’t have to go that far.”

“Why not?” he asks, blinking innocently. “Sounds like a great idea to me.”

I finish my breakfast while I watch Peter play with our daughter. If I thought he was a changed man before, I saw a whole new person emerge the first moment he held her in his arms.

I lay back on my pillows, stretching out in the warm, soft sheets as Peter carefully settles Isla back in her crib.

“Are you going to the bakery today?” I ask.

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