She groaned and rested her head on his bicep. "I told you it wasn't going to leave again. You don't have to say you love me to keep me."

"I like you here."

"You like me for sex."

"True, but I want to figure out how to do this, okay? I don't know what I'm doing or what we're doing. But I don't want to be that person anymore that sits around and mopes and has children flee from them. I want to move on, Bay. Please."

He hadn't realized that had been the reason. But it was true. He needed to move on and grow up. Two decades of mourning might not be enough, but that had to be. He had a woman he was mated to and he needed to show her that he was worth it. He might not love her yet, but he didn't want her to hate him.

His wolf rumbled its content. A first in too many years.

She blinked up at him, and he kissed her nose. "Please," he repeated.

"I don't want you to go." Her voice broke at the end, and she blinked away her tears.

That had been the most emotion she'd ever put into anything he'd heard from her. He couldn't hurt her, couldn't.

"I won't go, Bay. I'll stay."

"But you don't love me."

"I can't, Bay. I can't. I want to, Bay. I do. But I can't love you. I don't have it in me."

"I don't love you either," she said quickly, and he wasn't sure if he believed her. But it wouldn't be fair to push her for the truth.

"Okay. But we can like each other."

"That will have to do."

He leaned down and kissed her, sealing their agreement. She moaned, and he licked the seam of her lips, asking for an invitation. She opened them, and his tongue delved in, tangling with hers, the sweet berry taste dancing on his taste buds. He groaned when she arched against him, awkwardly with the swell of her stomach. But he didn't care and ran his hands up and down her back, cupping her ass, thrusting his erection between her thighs. They couldn't get closer in this position so he turned her so she faced away from him.

He played with her nipples, and she moaned. He grinned and lifted her legs, and he slid right inside her. They both let out a whimper as her hot core encased his cock. He thrust slowly and rhythmically while playing with her nipples with one hand and rubbing small circles over her clit with the other. He licked and kissed her neck, slowly filling her over and over again until he felt her tense and shatter in his arms, her pussy clenching around his cock. His fangs lengthened, and he bit into her neck, marking her again, as his seed spilled within her.

They both lay silently, their chests heaving with the exertion.

"You marked me again."

"It seemed like a good idea at the time." In all honesty, he hadn't meant to do that. But he had promised her he wouldn't go, and that had been the best way to seal it.

A bump pressed against his palm, and he tensed. Without thinking, he had rested his hand on her stomach, and the baby had kicked. It was this first time he'd let himself do that. The first time feeling her, their child.

Bay froze, and he felt the kick again. He turned her so she was on her back, and he looked down into her eyes.

"We'll find a way to make this work." It might have been an empty promise, but at that moment, he wanted nothing better than to stay in bed with her and never get out.

They kissed a few more times and took a shower together. He washed her, paying extra special attention to the parts of her he liked best.

They had just sat down to eat breakfast when his phone rang. He walked toward it and he heard a scream from the outside. He went on alert and answered the phone quickly.

"We're under attack. The Centrals have broken our wards, Adam," Kade yelled through the phone. "Get Bay safe and come here. We need you." With that, his Heir and brother hung up, and Adam shook.

"I heard. What you do you want me to do?" Bay stood straight, fear in her eyes, but not her stance.

"The wards are gone like you heard." She was a wolf so he knew she could have heard all of Kade's side of the conversation. "I need you to stay here and use the gun I showed you how to use. It's in the closet. There's nowhere else for you to go."

She nodded, a look of determination brightening her eyes. Unable to help himself, despite the turmoil outside, he leaned down and took her lips, hard. She kissed back, pulling at his hair.

He bit her bottom lip, marking her. "Stay here and be safe." He tried not to think of how he had also said that to Anna all those years ago. This time it was different; it had to be.

Adam left the house, prepared to fight for his life to protect his Pack and Bay. Jasper came up to his side and nodded.

"Is Bay safe?"

"For now. Willow and Brie?"

"Yes, at the house. Let's get these bastards off our land." His brother's eyes glowed gold, and Adam growled in agreement.

Thankfully, they'd attacked on the south said, away from most of the house. This was happening too often. He needed a way to strengthen their wards and find out how to kill the demon. Maybe Bay could help with that. After all, the demon's blood ran through her veins. But that was something to think on later, after he killed the bastards who'd dared to encroach on their territory.

As soon as they crossed one of the streets on their southern end of the den, the putrid smell of their enemy invaded his nose, and he grunted. These bastards would die. A wolf came out of the brush and pounced on Adam. He let one arm shift to a claw, and he gripped the wolf around the neck. He squeezed, and the wolf squirmed. Adam growled and twisted his wrist so he broke its neck in one movement. He threw the wolf against the ground and prepared to take on the other two wolves that were coming at him. Jasper stood by his side and guarded his flank as he took care of the wolves that came at him. Though the Centrals could do more now that they had black magic, they were still not as strong physically as the Redwoods.

He killed the other two swiftly then ran toward the large group of wolves attacking his enforcers. They worked as a group, killing them all. The metallic smell of blood lay heavily in the air, but none of his men was down. The largest enemy wolf grinned at Adam before darting off into the woods toward Adam's house. Adam howled and followed the bastard, determined not to let him get far. He jumped over a fallen log and tacked the gray wolf. He gripped the enemy around the neck and let his claws pierce its flesh.

"Shift," he growled, his voice hoarse from holding back the change.

The other wolf shifted to human, revealing a bulky man with dark eyes and nothing in his soul.

"Why are you here?" Adam asked. "You know you can't win without your demon. What is your purpose?"

"I'm here for the master's daughter. Our pride."

Rage poured through him, and he slid his other claw into the other wolf's side, cutting him deep. The bastard screamed in agony, but Adam didn't move.

"What is your name?"

"Samuel."

"How could you find where she was?"

"Caym gave me his blood so I could sense her."

"Did he do that to anyone else?"

"No, I'm the master's favorite. Please don't kill me. I'll go away; I swear."

Adam lifted a lip to show his fangs. "You shouldn't have come to my home and attacked my people and endangered my mate."

"But-"

Adam broke Samuel's neck and lifted off the dead wolf. His body shook as he thought of her alone with a demon after her. He would do all in his power to protect her and his Pack. She was the reason he could move forward. She couldn't die.

Bay gripped the gun in her hand and listened to the sounds of fighting wolves fade. With each growl and howl, she'd tense and pray that Adam would be okay. She knew he was a strong wolf, if not one of the strongest ever, but that still didn't alleviate her fears.

Plus he wanted her. She shouldn't feel so giddy about that, considering what was going on at that very moment, but she couldn't help it. He wanted her. He said he didn't love her, couldn't love her. But she could live with that. She could live with the fact that he wanted her and wanted to be her mate. She didn't know what had changed, but she'd take it. She felt a little twinge of loss at the thought that she might love him and he would never love her, but she would get over that. She had to.

She heard footsteps on the porch then relaxed as the scent of pine invaded her nose.

Adam.

Thank God.

She unloaded the gun and put it back in the closet then waddled out to him. He was in the kitchen, washing off his hands, the scent of blood rising in the air.

"Are you hurt?"

He didn't turn to her but shook his head.

"Adam?" she asked when he wouldn't say anything.

"We took care of the last wolf; you're safe." He turned off the water, wiped his hands on a dishtowel, and turned to her.

His eyes were still wolf, and she shivered at the rage she saw in them.

"Is everyone okay?"

"Yes, none of our own were hurt, and we got the wards back up. They don't do us any good from Caym and those with his blood, but they help against others at least."

"Maybe I could help."

Adam nodded and stood in front of her, his presence so large she just wanted to crawl into him and make sure everything was okay.

"I think there's something in your blood that we can use. I'm not sure, but I know the elders are looking into it. But I don't want to do anything until the baby is born, okay?"

She nodded, a sense of peace washing over her at the thought of being part of something bigger than herself. Not to mention the fact that he'd thought about or mentioned the baby twice in one day. They were progressing faster and better than she had ever hoped.

He brushed his thumb along her cheekbone, and she closed her eyes, leaning into his touch.

"There was a wolf after you."

She tensed, opening her eyes, searching for what he had meant.

"His name was Samuel. He said your father wanted you, and he had given Samuel his blood so he could go through the wards and find you. That's how I know your blood will help us. But don't worry; I'll protect you. I killed the wolf. He won't be a problem."

She exhaled, finding a strange sense of peace at his brutality. The wolf in her was thrilled by the fact that her mate could be strong and ruthless when he needed to be. Something a human would never understand.

"Good."

His eyes widened as though he were surprised she agreed with him. They had a lot to learn about her. She wasn't just some fluff who would stand aside. But she had this baby. She would stand by his side and help him be the Enforcer. That was her job as his mate. And she would do it. No matter what.

She tugged on his hand and led him to the bedroom. She stroked him and stripped herself. The both got into the bed, and she turned so she snuggled his front to her back. They spooned, quiet, content.

This could be it. They could finally be moving on. She smiled and closed her eyes, pressing her hand on top of his, which lay on her stomach.

His breath evened out, and she knew he was falling asleep.

"Anna."

Just one whispered word and everything crashed. She knew he didn't mean it. She couldn't replace the woman he'd lost. But that didn't mean it didn't hurt. She wanted to cry, but she didn't. She had to be stronger than that.

Dammit, she needed to stop acting like she was the center of his universe. If she didn't, she might just lose herself. How could she be a mom when she couldn't even take care of herself?

Chapter 16.

Adam took a sip of his coffee and winced as it burned his tongue. He blew on it and took another sip, closing his eyes at the sweet taste. Bay was standing at the stove, cooking bacon because she had a craving. He'd offered to help her, but she had just given him a sad look and shook her head.

Adam held back in a sigh because he knew what had upset her. He'd whispered Anna when he had been falling asleep. His fallen mate had come to him in the dream and faded away, and he had merely been saying goodbye. Something he hadn't ever said to her. Yet to Bay, it had looked like the worst. He didn't know how to say he was sorry for something that would, or had, broken her heart. He should tell her what Anna had said and that it was a goodbye, but he didn't know if Bay would believe him.

So instead of speaking, he stood by her, showing her that he wouldn't leave. Though he didn't love her, couldn't love her, he'd made the decision to stay by her side. He'd been the one to bite her first. She deserved more than what he could give her, but he was selfish enough to not her to go. And that made him one sick bastard.

Just as Bay turned to put more bacon on the plate, she grabbed her stomach and shouted.

He quickly put his coffee cup down along her side. "What's wrong? Is it the baby?" Fear crawled up his spine, even though he had no idea what to do.

She closed her eyes and scrunched her face in pain. "I don't know; it just hurts."

"Are you having contractions?"

She narrowed her gaze at him and grunted. "How would I know? I've never had a baby before."

"Okay, let's get you to Hannah and North. They'll be able to help."

She nodded, panic rising in her face, and he did his best to remain calm. If he freaked out, so would she. Well, more than she already was.

He gripped her elbow and had started to walk her toward the door when she froze. A puddle appeared at their feet, and she groaned in pain.

"I think my water broke."

Adam gulped and looked down at the puddle of fluid on the floor and tried not to pass out. He could do this. He was the Enforcer. A little bodily fluid wouldn't hurt him. He hoped.

"Okay, you're definitely in labor. Let's get you to Hannah."