Fierce (Devils Point Wolves Book 5)(6)
She swallowed hard. “That’s a pretty big assumption on your part, wouldn’t you say? No one ever said this is your baby.” She knew her insult wouldn’t fly, but she underestimated his reaction.
Creed jumped from the chair and leaned over her bed, bringing his face within an inch of hers. “You can insult me all day long if that’s what you want. I’ll deal. But don’t you dare try to lie to me. I can smell that shit and I won’t put up with it.”
Dani felt the blood drain from her face. She’d never seen Creed look so—so hurt? Sure he was angry and that she could deal with, but there was so much more emotion in his eyes it was hard to name it all.
Still.
Not one to capitulate simply because it was easy, she wasn’t about to let him run all over her. Shapeshifter or not.
In fact, this was one of the reasons he didn’t yet know she carried their child. Because she was afraid of this very reaction. He knew how to take bossy to a whole new level and she didn’t like anyone telling her what to do—ever.
“Don’t threaten me,” she whispered, trying to keep her tone even. “I might be lying in a bed with you towering over me, but that doesn’t mean you have the right to run roughshod over me. The last time I checked this is my body and I have the right to do whatever I want with it.”
After a few silent seconds he backed off, lifting from the bed. “I wasn’t threatening you. But as long as you’re carrying my child, I am going to make damn sure you are taking care of her. That includes eating and resting. Got it?”
“Our child,” she hissed. “My body. Our child.”
He smiled, pushing away from the bed and sinking back into the chair. “Glad to see you admit it. Makes things easier. Now let’s discuss what happens next. The doctor has agreed to release you tomorrow morning as long as you and the baby don’t develop any new problems overnight. Of course, you have to take it easy for the next several days. I’ll be going home shortly to enlist someone from the pack with this kind of experience to help me prepare my house for your arrival. I’ll probably get some groceries delivered and prepared as well, so if there is anything you would like in particular let me know.”
He continued to talk about everything he was going to do while Dani’s head began to explode. Not only was he going to tell her what to do, but apparently he expected to have say so in every aspect of her life.”
“Whoa. Enough! Stop talking.”
Creed paused, looking annoyed that she interrupted. Not that she cared at the moment.
“What are you doing? I have my own home to return to and I’ll be perfectly fine there.”
He narrowed his eyes at her again. “A shitty apartment on the wrong side of town is hardly a home. My place is much larger and will accommodate us all better. Not to mention I have security where you have none.”
“Security?” she choked. “What the hell, Creed? This is not world war three we’re talking about. It’s a baby. I need some peace and quiet for a few days and then I’ll be back on my feet no problem. What I DO NOT need is a twenty four seven babysitter. No. I’m going home to my place and you’re going home to Devils Point. We can talk about the baby later when we’ve both had more time to adjust and cool off.”
She glared at him, trying to ignore the pending cloud of doom that seemed to hover across his face. Maybe it was her imagination but she didn’t think so. The man hated to be contradicted and liked his ideas being ignored even less. When she refused to discuss the possibility of their mating for the good of the pack, he’d shut down completely. It had been the last time they’d spoken before now.
In that respect Creed Donovan was a man’s man. He expected her to agree or go along with whatever he said. And if he hadn’t learned by now she didn’t just ‘go along’, then he would never learn.
“There are safety issues to be concerned about. The explosion that caused the Diablo to burn down was no freak accident. The pack is on lock down and we’re both getting recalled.”
Her mind reeled with his implications. The idea that someone blew up a building while full of people on purpose didn’t compute. “Why?”
“Why what?”
She closed her eyes and counted to five. “Why would someone do that?”
His frown told her she wasn’t going to like his answer.
“As you well know, more and more humans have discovered shapeshifters. And this scares people. Some of them bad enough to take action. One group in particular has been trying to eradicate us for decades. We call them hunters. The fact two of them have been recently mated into our pack has caused a little discord.”