Page 201 of Jagged Souls
My heart twists all the way up my fucking throat. I want to raise them with her. Be there for her. Fall asleep to her every night and wake up a few hours later to soothe our babies so she can sleep. But I can’t.
“A war is no place to raise a family,” I try.
“So stop it!” She says it like it’s so fucking obvious, and for a moment, I just stare at her in disbelief.
Then I shake my head. “I can’t just stop a two-thousand year war!”
“Why not?”
“Well, for one, I’m not even alpha!”
“So become it. Oscar is too conservative. He doesn’t look to the future.”
“Siome –”
“You talk about burning the world down if it fails me,” she cuts in, her red eyes blazing. “But what good is all that talk when you can’t even figure out how to change one smallcornerof it to protect me?” She grabs my hand and places it on her stomach. “To protectus?”
I huff out a breath.
But her eyes soften. She knows she’s got me.
When I promised her the world, I fucking meant it.
“Okay,” I say, and her grin breaks out completely. “But you’re helping me figure out a way to stop this war. That’s going to be a lot of sleepless nights.”
She shrugs a shoulder. “I’m about to be a mom. I’ll be up anyway.”
Gods, I love this woman and her optimism. Gathering her in my arms, I show her just how much.
It’s crazy to think that in one month we’ve come this far. I took the position of alpha and convinced all my capos to agree to peace talks. We’re all so tired of this damn war. We all have kids we wish to raise in peace. Who we wish to see grow up.
My fingers dance across Siome’s stomach once more as I stare at the lighting sky. In another few months, by the time our pups are born, who knows what the world will be like?
“Hmm?” she says, prodding me in the side and turning her face up to mine.
Remembering her question:Do you think we’ll recognize each other in the after life, I say, “We won’t have to. I forbid you from dying.”
She laughs, but I’m fucking serious. I won’t survive it if she dies.
Snuggling up tighter against me, she lifts my arm from her belly and kisses it. Then she beams up at me, her red eyes burning with so much mischief. “I’d recognize your grumpy ass anywhere, anytime.”
“No, you wouldn’t. The gods don’t let us come back with our memories.”
“I know. But I’d just have to look for the guy who gets jealous of alligators.”
My eyes narrow. “It was a croc.” And it was way too close to her face. She kissed it.
“See?” She pokes my frown. “Instant ID for Mr. Grumpy.”
I fight the smile for a second before giving in. Squeezing her tight, I kiss the top of her head. “And I’ll just have to look for the lady who infuriates me the most.”
“Hey!”
She turns to face me, and I pull her all the way onto my lap with a cheeky smile. She’s so predictable. She straddles me. I kiss her. We strip.
But then she stops me.
Pulls back. “You know, a good girl like me shouldn’t be having sex out of wedlock,” she says, fighting back a grin.
