Page 37 of Branches of the Willow

Asriel finally caught on and glanced over at me. “Congratulations, Jess. Mikael.” He nodded to my mate, who was still tangled up with my best friend. “Ashely, come on, let’s leave them be now.”

It took a few more minutes to get Ashley to take the hint, but when I nodded off on her that finally seemed to do the trick. The room grew quiet for a few minutes before I felt the other side of the bed dip down under Mikael’s weight. Then a hand was rubbing tiny, soft circles on my belly. I couldn’t help the smile. Worse, was the hope that crept in behind it.

“Do you remember when you were mad at me because another person knew before you did?” My whispered voice was swallowed up into the darkness of the room.

“Yeah, listen, I’m sorry about that.” His hand stilled on my belly, waiting for me to forgive him.

“You just told my best friend, her mate, and a room full of guards downstairs before you gave me a chance to tell my mom and dad. I’m going to let you deal with the fallout from that one.” I turned on my side then, as I heard Mikael curse to himself.

“I’m in trouble, huh?”

“M-hmm.” I giggled sleepily. “Good luck with that one,” I whispered before drifting off once more.

14

A Thorn

Iwokeuptomy cell phone ringing, and Mikael wasn’t in bed with me any longer. “Hello?” I managed to eke out groggily.

“Jessica St. Marks!” My mom shouted into the phone. “Is it true?”

“Mom, I was sleeping! Is what true?”

“Word spread like wildfire all through the pack this morning that you’re pregnant, and here I am, your mother, and the last to know!”

“Oh GAWD!” I growled out. “Mom, I’m sorry. I told Mikael last night, and he was so excited he just started telling everyone in the house. I was so tired…”

“Oh my God! It is true! Jessica… I can’t believe you’re going to be a mom already!” My mom was suddenly sniffling and crying into the phone.

“Mom, please, calm down. I’ll be over later.”

“No, you won’t.” Mikael chimed in as he carried a tray of food over to me on the bed. Then he took the phone from me. “Eat!” He commanded, then he changed his tone to speak to my mother. “Eileen, I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking last night. I should have known the guards would go back cackling like hens with gossip. Please, come by to see Jess! I’ve put her on bed rest for the day! She nearly passed out yesterday from exhaustion. If she can’t do it from bed, it’s going to wait, at least until she can catch her breath.” I heard my mother babbling on and on to him for a minute, and then Mikael cut her off. “Hang on, my phone is ringing.” Mikael looked down at it, “It’s Jameson.”

“Hello, Jameson.” Mikael looked serious then. “You should send Eileen out here to make sure Jess has company and is resting! As soon as she’s here, I’ll be on my way.” Mikael stopped talking and just listened for a minute, a huge smile spreading across his face. “Yes sir! I will. They are my world!”

He hung up and came to sit with me, “What was that about?”

“Your dad just held me accountable for making sure you, and his grandchild, stay safe.” He smiled down at me again and then leaned in for a kiss.

“Why do you have to go?”

He looked like he was debating on whether to tell me or not. “They found Annabelle. She’s being brought in for questioning. “I want in on it. I need to know where my brother is, Jess, before he does anything else to harm our family.”

“What about Leanna?”

“She wasn’t with Annabelle.”

“Damn it. It’s harder to find them when they split up. I should go in too.” I tossed the covers back and tried to get up only to have Mikael’s strong arms wrap around me, and lay me back down, beside him.

“No, you need to rest some, Jess. We can wait on that. Your mom will be here soon. Ash and Asi are sticking close by you today, too. Please, I need to know you’re taken care of so that I can go do my job. Let us take care of this while you get rest.”

“Fine, but call me and let me know you’re okay, or I will just lie here and worry instead of resting anyway.” I realized my hands were shaking as I placed them against his chest. “What if they’re trying to get to you now, since they can’t touch me? Malachi mentioned having a plan ‘B’ in motion before.”

“I promise to be careful, and call. Plus, I will come back as soon as possible, love.”

I devoured the food Mikael brought me while waiting for my mom to show up. It didn’t take her long, which meant my mom had driven here like a bat out of hell. I heard her voice downstairs, just moments before I saw her. “Where’s my baby?”

Then, she was there, walking into my bedroom, and beaming with pride. “Hey, Mom.”

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