Page 64 of Rejected and Pregnant by the Lycan King

I nodded and held out my arms to take him. The nurse smiled at us but seemed to glare at Maximus. For once, it made me smile to see someone dislike him. I wasn’t even sure what had transpired for the nurse not to like Maximus, but it brought me far too much delight to see that not every woman fell into the trap of being enamored with him.

When the nurse left, I positioned myself to feed him and stared at this child’s perfect face. It killed me to see how much my child looked like Maximus. No matter where I went, someone would recognize him because of it.

“Have you named him yet?” Maximus asked.

I looked up to see him leaning against the wall across from my bed. He was keeping his distance but chose the closest spot in the room to me. His blue eyes were glued to where his son lay on me, and I could see in his expression how badly he wanted to hold him. Males of our kind loved babies. It was rare to find one who didn’t love them or want to hold them, even if they weren’t theirs. Pups were cherished as much as females, and it seemed Maximus was no different.

This was going to be hard if I tried to push Maximus away while he looked at us like that. The yearning I felt was reflected in his eyes. I didn’t want to care how he felt right now. I didn’t want to be someone who easily forgave my heart for getting broken, but that face… how could I walk away from that face?

“No, I haven’t named him yet.”

He nodded and crossed his arms over his chest. Maximus didn’t make a move to come closer but continued to watch as his son nursed. Names hadn’t been on my mind at all since his birth. I just wanted to survive long enough to be part of his life. Without much thought, I realized there weren’t any names I wanted for my son. It’s not like I would choose to name him after my father. No, that man could rot in hell and didn’t deserve to have a child named after him. Part of me wondered if he hated me because I wasn’t a boy, though. Alexander seemed to be someone who always wanted a son and resented that my mother never gave him one.

“I don’t know many male names that I would want to pass down from my family. I’ve only known my father, but I would rather die than name a child after him.”

Maximus nodded. “Fair enough.”

It shocked me that he didn’t throw out names once I said that. Maximus seemed like the type who would want a junior, and I fully expected him to say he would like to name the baby after himself. But no. He didn’t make a move to say anything. He just continued to watch me.

I guess I had to ask if he had any names in mind.

“Is there a name you would like to use?”

A part of me wanted to suggest Nathaniel’s name, but I could tell Maximus was still on edge. It only took me a moment to sense the tension radiating off him—his muscles were tight. And his jaw was clenched. Maybe he had walked off some of his anger, but it hadn’t completely left his system. He was trying like hell to keep it contained. Suggesting we name his son after a male he had never met—the same I had been living with since I ran away—wouldn’t help. It might be the one thing that pushed him over the edge.

He shook his head. “The only name I wouldn’t mind is my father’s. He was a good man and king. Not a bad one to go with, if you ask me.”

I remembered hearing about the previous king growing up. I never got the chance to meet him. He usually sent Maximus to handle matters on his behalf, which was why Amara and I had only ever seen Maximus and Eli.

But Maximus was right. King Titan was a good man and king. We could name the baby after him.

“Sounds like one to consider.”

Why was it so difficult for us to even talk right now? I told him to come back when he wanted to talk like adults, but now everything felt strained. My lycan paced inside me, urging me to complete the bond with my mate so everything would go back to the way it was. I didn’t agree with that, and it was harder to lock her in a cage or push her down now that she was roaming completely free. Establishing the connection between us had made things better, but also harder.

Especially with Maximus in the room.

The cloud of his minty scent made me want to crawl out of this bed and into his arms. The way it settled my nerves and made everything feel like it could fall into place made my head spin.

No. I need to fight this. Forgiving him this easily would show him he could treat me like shit and get away with it. I’m tired of people treating me like I can be tossed aside and just saying sorry will make it all better!

“Kylie, I know you may not want to talk about this, but I need to know something.”

I looked at him with my eyebrow cocked. The desperation in his voice made my heart race. The way his eyes softened when he looked at me made my breath come in ragged gasps.

“What?” My voice shook as I spoke.

His pupils dilated upon hearing my voice like that, and I knew his alpha need to protect those who seemed scared was kickingin. If I didn’t want this conversation to go poorly, I needed to rein this in now.

“Even if you don’t want to work on things between us, I want to be part of his life. You may hate me right now, but he was created out of our love when we were together. He deserves to know where he comes from, and I am as much a part of him as you are.”

Did he think I would keep his pup from him? Granted, that crossed my mind, but now that Maximus knew about his existence, I realized there wasn’t anywhere on this planet I could run without him finding me. I carried his future in my arms, and I needed to accept that Maximus would have to be part of my son’s life.

But I couldn’t let him walk in here and demand to be part of his life. I needed to start standing up for myself, and it began here. No more allowing someone to dictate how my life would be. I needed to take charge and show my son what it looked like to have a good man in his life. If Maximus wanted to be part of his life, then he needed to make up for what he had done.

“You need to show me that you understand how a good mate should be. You now have a son. If you want him to grow up and recognize who the Moon Goddess chose for him to be his mate, and that he was raised right, then you need to fix everything you have broken first. Starting with me.”

The swelling of his power increased, and Maximus’s eyes flickered with the glow of his lycan. I swallowed hard as I waited for his response. The feeling that this conversation was going south had my heart racing again, and a layer of sweat broke out across my skin. Waiting for him to tell me how he felt aboutmy demand was going to send the nurse in here from my blood pressure rising.

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