Page 19 of Shelter (The Wanderers 4)

CHAPTER7

“Out.” Braylon’s voice was firm and loud. He barely recognized himself today.

His mother looked at him with wide eyes, her jaw hanging open. “Do not talk to me like that, Braylon. I’m staying, and that’s final.”

He knew he was shocking her, and he didn’t give a single fuck. It was time he grew a spine, starting now. He stood to his full height of six feet and pointed toward the door. “The only thing final here is you leaving. I’m not kidding, mother. Haley is my wife, not your plaything. I’m the one who stood at the altar and vowed to protect her. Your interference in my marriage is going way too far today. You may have the power to insist on this violation, but you’re not staying in the room.”

He crowded her toward the door, well aware that Dr. Brownville hadn’t moved a muscle since this altercation began. Nor had Haley. She was perched in the window seat, curled into a ball, her knees drawn to her chest. Who could blame her?

Lorena set her hands on her hips and tipped her head back in a final show of defiance. “It’s my job to make sure my orders are completed. I need to report to your father. He expects me to guarantee I witnessed the insemination.”

Braylon knew his father had given no such orders. The man was only marginally present in their private lives. If Braylon didn’t work with his father running the water purification plant, there was a good chance he wouldn’t see him more than the dinner table.

Braylon jerked his attention toward the doctor he’d known most of his life. Dr. Brownville had been their family physician for two decades. The man came to the house for nearly every visit, including this one. As far as Braylon knew, he was a loyal member of The Republic.

Nodding toward the doctor, Braylon spoke again. “You saying you don’t trust Dr. Brownville to carry out your orders?” he challenged.

Lorena gasped, her cheeks turning slightly pink. Uncharacteristic. “Of course I do.”

Braylon took another step forward, backing her closer to the door. “Then get out.”

“It’s you who shouldn’t be here, son. It’s inappropriate.”

“Inappropriate?” Braylon’s voice rose again. He was struggling to contain his temper. “I’m the only one in this room who should ever see my wife naked. Certainly not you.”

She narrowed her gaze. Several seconds ticked by. Finally, she shifted her attention to the doctor. “Please meet me in the library when you’re finished here.” She spoke with authority as if she hadn’t just been put in her place by her own son.

Braylon wanted to fist pump from the small victory. He wasn’t going to win this battle entirely, but he would eventually win the war. At least Haley didn’t have to endure his fucking mother watching her spread her legs.

Dr. Brownville nodded. “Of course.”

Braylon followed his mother to the door, shut it as soon as she was out, and locked it. When he turned around, he went straight to Haley, who was trembling violently in the window seat.

Ignoring the doctor, he bent down to cup her face and meet her gaze, stroking her cheek with his thumb.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

“Are you okay with me staying?” he asked as softly as possible.

Her eyes went wide. “Of course. I mean, please. Don’t leave me.”

“Never.” He held her gaze for a long time. “Never,” he repeated, hoping she understood the depth of his meaning. He would never leave her. Not even if she ended up pregnant with another man’s child. That child never needed to know Braylon wasn’t the father.

“You ready?” the doctor said in a kind voice.

Braylon scooped his wife off the window seat and carried her to her bed, placing her on her back sideways. When he started to rise off of her, she held on to his neck, gripping as tightly as she could, her eyes wide with fear and uncertainty.

Her chest was rising and falling. There were so many unspoken questions on her face.

Braylon stared at her, vowing to make things right with her. He needed to pick up the pace and figure out how to get his family out of this godforsaken hell and fast. Family: Haley, Riggs, and Storm. None of them blood relatives. All of them more family to him than his own mother and father.

He vowed this would be the last time Haley looked at him like this, scared out of her mind and pleading silently for him to stop the madness. He couldn’t do anything about what was about to happen today, but he could fix the future. Somehow.

All he could do right now was pray the stranger’s sperm didn’t manage to latch on to his wife’s egg and embed itself in her womb. That would be too much to bear.

“Son.” The doctor’s hand landed on his shoulder. “Why don’t you sit behind your wife? Hold her hands.” His voice was kinder than ever.

Braylon reluctantly stood and glanced at the doctor, finding the older man’s eyes furrowed in concern and filled with compassion.

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