Page 29 of Bony Bony
“How’sCassandra?”Iasked.
“She’sgreat,” he replied with a proud grin, but then it faltered. “Well, she’s exhausted by the pregnancy, butIguess that’s common.”
“Andhow are you doing?”Iasked.
Valengrunted.Atfirst,Ithought he wasn’t going to answer.Thenhe said, “Excited.Nervous.Scared.”
Inodded. “That’sto be expected,Iguess.”
“Atmy age,Inever thoughtI’dfind my mate, let alone have a child with one.I’mas happy as can be yet?—”
Whenhe didn’t finish,Iprodded, “Yetwhat?”
Heran a hand through his hair. “Idon’t have a clue about how to be a dad.”Hechuckled.
“You’llfigure it out,”Iassured him, not thatIhad any idea myself.
Ipictured what it might be like to be a father, and it hit me with a pang.Wouldthat ever be somethingI’dexperience?
WhenIreturned home, it was in the early hours of the morning.Ientered the townhouse and inhaled the comforting scent of my mate.
Shewas back in our bed.Iexhaled with relief and undressed.Icrawled in under the covers beside her and spooned her from behind, drinking in the reassurance of her fragrance.Everythingwas going to be okay.
ButwhenIwoke late that morning, the bed was cold.Giannawas gone.
Iput on a pair of loose sweats and headed downstairs, finding her curled up on the blue velvet sofa under a blanket while scrolling on her phone.Herhair was piled into a messy bun on the top of her head.
“Goodmorning, beautiful,”Igreeted her.
Shegrunted. “Hi.”
Shedidn’t even raise her gaze to look at me.
Thatdismissal stung.Thiswas going on far enough.Icouldn’t tiptoe around my mate any longer.Iapproached her. “What’sgoing on,Gianna?”
“Nothing,” she said in a curt tone that belied her reply.
“Don’tbrush me off.You’vebeen acting strange lately.Tellme what’s bothering you.”
Shesighed and tossed off the blanket. “Itold you already.Ineed space.”Shewas already dressed in jeans and a black band shirt with the purple necklace draped over it.
“O-kay,”Ireplied slowly asIformulated my next question.
“I’mgoing to meet up withNova,” she told me as she headed to the front door.
“Whereare you two going?”Iasked.
Sheexhaled from her nostrils as she slipped on her shoes. “Doesit matter?”
Whatthe hell?Myannoyance shot up.Itook a deep breath to try to stay calm. “Thatwasn’t an unreasonable question.”
“We’regoing to walk around, go shopping or whatnot.”Shegestured in front of me in an abstract circle. “DoIneed to give you every detail?” she snapped.
Irecoiled.Whotugged on her tail?Icounted to five, biting back a retort that would lead to an epic fight—over what?FuckifIknew. “Ifyou’re mad at me, at least tell me why, but there’s no need to bark at me.”
Sheclucked her tongue and took a heaving breath as if about to unleash her wrath, but in an abrupt change, she grabbed her purse and a short back jacket. “Ineed to go.”
Shewalked out the door and closed it with force.Istared at it, utterly baffled while frustration simmered.Myheart pounded as her words echoed in my head, thenIclosed my hands into fists.Confusionbattered with rising anger.Thiswasn’t likeGianna.Whatwas going on?
