Page 29 of Forbidden Pregnant Mate

“I’m not going,” Klyte said. “I’m not leaving Jenn alone while there’s a psychopath after her.”

“Malcolm gave her enough training to handle herself,” Jameson said. “And if Freya is doing as well as you say she is, then there’s no need for her to be guarded.”

“I’m not leaving them alone,” Klyte growled.

“Do I sound like I’m giving you an option?” Jameson’s voice turned into a snarl. “Give me one good reason why you can’t come right now.”

My breath caught in my throat, and my fists gripped the railing. I waited for Klyte to tell him, and then it would be all over.

“I shouldn’t have to justify myself to you,” Klyte said. “Can’t you just trust me?”

My mouth dropped open. Klyte was keeping the pregnancy a secret from Jameson? I had expected him to come clean, even if we had agreed to keep it quiet for as long as possible. The fact that Klyte respected my wishes enough to keep our news from Jameson…it wasn’t what I’d thought he would do.

“I trust you nine times out of ten, Klyte. But that doesn’t mean I have to listen to you every time. I’m ordering you as your alpha to come with us.”

“And I’m politely telling you to fuck off.” Klyte snapped. “And if you have an issue with that, I’ll fight you.”

“Klyte, think about what you’re saying,” Jameson said, his voice low.

“I am. I’m staying here. And if you have a problem with that, then you’ll need to beat the crap out of me.”

“All right, then. I’ll call your bluff.”

Jameson’s declaration broke my paralysis, and I ran down the steps. “Don’t,” I said.

The two shifters’ heads turned toward me. Klyte’s hands were curled into fists, his eyes almost all wolf. The harshness in his face softened as he saw me, even as he gave a small jolt of panic at my arrival. I knew why. There was no way Jameson wouldn’t know now.

Jameson’s nostrils flared, and his eyes flew open. The anger on his face vanished, replaced with pure shock. His mouth dropped open as he stared at me.

“Oh,” he said. “That…suddenly makes sense.”

“Yeah,” I said.

“And you realize you’re a fucking idiot, right?” Jameson asked, folding his arms as he looked at Klyte. “Malcolm is going to murder you. You know that, right?”

“It’s not exactly like we planned this,” Klyte said.

“You can’t tell him, Jameson,” I said. “Not yet. Please.”

“He’s going to know as soon as he smells you,” Jameson said.

“I know,” I said. “Look, we’re going to tell him. But just…I want to do it on my own time. And there’s enough going on right now. He doesn’t need to know about this. Not yet.”

“Let me stay here a bit longer,” Klyte said to Jameson, stepping toward me. His arm wrapped around my shoulders and pulled me protectively toward him. It was the type of gesture that said he was staying here no matter what Jameson ordered. I leaned against him, inhaling deeply and letting his scent wash over me.

“Make up some excuse,” Klyte continued. “Malcolm should hear it from us instead of you, anyway.”

Jameson groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“If it helps, you can tell him I punched you a few times and then threatened to beat you into a pulp in front of Georgia unless you kept quiet,” Klyte said. “I can even punch you a couple of times now to make it more believable.”

“I’d prefer Malcolm not to have an excuse to direct any of his anger toward me,” Jameson said. He rubbed the back of his neck, looking back and forth between the two of us. “You really couldn’t have waited until after all of this had blown over?”

“I’ve never been great with timing,” Klyte said dryly.

“You don’t say,” Jameson said, every word dripping with sarcasm.

“Jameson, I don’t ask you for much,” Klyte said. “Just keep this from Malcolm until Isaac’s been taken care of. And tell everyone else that Freya is still too injured and weak, and I need to stay here a few more days.”

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