“Are you sure you’re okay? Why are you crying?”
“Just overly emotional,” I shrugged, taking a deep breath to calm myself.
He frowned and a wrinkle marred his forehead. Finally, he said, “If it’s about the stroller, we don’t have to get this one. You can pick the one you want.”
“This one is perfect,” I told him.
He grinned and pulled the large box off the shelf. It dropped into the cart with a bang.
“Caeden!” I scolded.
He chuckled. “Sorry.”
Since my thirty minutes were almost up I scanned all the aisles. I picked up a set of assorted onesies that would work for a boy or girl, a pale green blanket, and a pack of little socks. I knew it wasn’t much, but it felt good to buy stuff for the baby. I couldn’t wait to find out the gender so I could buy more clothes and decorate the nursery. I admired the couples who could wait to find out the gender. I had to know. It was killing me to wait and we still had a good month to go.
Which reminded me…
“What are we doing for Thanksgiving?” I questioned Caeden as we headed for a checkout line. Unfortunately everyone seemed to be checking out at the same time. This was going to take forever. “Are we going to your mom’s?”
He shrugged and scratched his stubbled chin. “I haven’t thought about it. I assume we’re going to my mom’s but…oh, crap.”
“What?”
“It’s pack tradition to gather at the Alpha’s house for Thanksgiving,” he swallowed thickly.
This was definitely crap-worthy news.
“Caeden, I can’t stand and cook all day.”
“I know that,” he sighed. “I’m sure mom won’t mind cooking it, but it’ll look bad if we don’t have it at our house.”
“Great,” I rolled my eyes. This was exactly what I didn’t need. Having the whole pack over would mean a full house and me having to act like everything was fine. Caeden didn’t want anyone knowing about how difficult my pregnancy was. Only Gram, Nolan, Caeden’s mom, and Chris knew about it…and even Chris hadn’t been told the whole truth. I hated keeping things from my friends and family. It didn’t make me feel good.
“It’ll be okay,” Caeden cupped my cheek.
“That’s easy for you to say,” I countered. “You don’t have anything to hide.” I frowned, looking around so I didn’t have to meet his gaze.
“I have everything to hide,” he growled quietly. “I have to go on and act like I have everything under control—like I don’t believe there’s a target on my back,” his voice was fierce.
I took a deep breath and pushed my hair out of my eyes. “You’re right. We’re both stuck in this predicament together. I hate this.”
“I know you do, and I don’t like it either. But for now, I don’t have proof that the elders want me dead and I don’t know what Travis is up to. But I still have to act level-headed and not like I’m afraid of my own shadow,” he hissed through gritted teeth.
“Are you?”
“Am I what?” His brows furrowed together.
“Afraid of your own shadow?”
“Right now, I am,” he answered honestly. “I don’t know who trust.”
And that right there was what everything boiled down to. Anyone could be an enemy, and that was a really scary thought.
Ten.
Sophie
I stared out the bedroom window. Crinkly brown leaves blew in the wind, swirling around before settling until another breeze came along. I wished I could blow away and pretend this whole nightmare was over.
Pack members were arriving for Thanksgiving dinner and I wanted nothing more to hide here for the rest of the evening. Normally, I couldn’t wait to leave this bedroom. It had become my prison. But right now, I’d gladly be trapped here then have to smile and act like everything was okay when it definitely wasn’t. I was no actress and I wasn’t sure I could do it. I’d helped Amy cook several of the dishes but I excused myself over an hour ago with the excuse that I’d needed to get ready. Had I done that? No. Instead I’d laid down, paced the room, and stared out the window for the last sixty minutes. I was a productive person like that…not. I was surprised Caeden hadn’t come up here and hunted me down yet. I guess he was too busy greeting everyone. I knew the responsible thing to do was be by his side, but I just couldn’t do it. I wasn’t cut out for this life. I didn’t grow up knowing I was a shifter and I hadn’t been prepared to lead a pack. Caeden had grown up fully aware of his responsibilities and even he had trouble accepting it. But he was better at this than I was. If I was down there right now I’d just be standing beside him uncomfortably, most likely not saying a word. I didn’t really know our pack that well. I was only close with our generation pack. I’d been introduced to our friends parents, and met them a few times, but I still didn’t feel comfortable around them…especially since it felt like one of them should be Alpha not Caeden and I. I had accepted our responsibility and I was an Alpha. Power ran through my veins and it wasn’t a position I could just give up. But sometimes it felt like we weren’t ready for this. We’d already made so many mistakes and lives had been lost because of it.