The Alpha's Baby(63)
Sebastian nodded. "Yeah."
"Or a nuclear holocaust," Emmy continued.
Sebastian stared at her.
"She would even survive a flesh-eating virus," she said.
"What are you doing?"
"Making a list." She shrugged awkwardly. "It makes me feel better."
"Oh." Sebastian paused, then joined in. "Well…she'd survive an atomic bomb."
"Or even the end of the world." Emmy forced herself to grin, even though her heart ached.
A small smile crossed Sebastian's face too, though his eyes were dark. "Indeed. She would just float around in space. The woman is so tough that she wouldn't even need a suit."
"Who cares about subzero temperatures and no gravity when you're Mary Lou?" Emmy shook her head, remembering all of the times the woman had surprised her.
"Indeed." Sebastian paused. "But now I'm out of things Mary Lou could survive."
"That's okay," Emmy said. "I'm not sure what's worse than the end of the world anyway."
Both of them were silent for a moment.
"You know, I can't believe she protected me like that." Emmy never thought that anybody would care about her that much.
"She must really love you." The man nuzzled her hair.
"And she probably felt guilty about leading Jake to me." Despite the fact Mary Lou had helped Jake, she knew that her friend was a selfless person.
"That, too." He squeezed her hand.
She stared off into space, picturing the moment when Mary Lou had protected her from an angry werewolf. The thought made her heart ache.
"Do you know who else loves you?" Sebastian asked.
Her eyes widened. "Who?"
"Me." Sebastian pressed his forehead against hers. "Will you ever forgive me for not being honest with you? I promise that there will be no more secrets between us."
Her breath caught. Despite some of the lingering pain she felt due to his secrecy, she knew that she loved him. On top of that, he'd earned her trust. After all, if Sebastian couldn't be trusted, then he wouldn't have come save her. Tonight she may have experienced something horrible, but the events had shown her one thing—Sebastian was willing to put her life before his own. He'd kneeled before the enemy, just to ensure her safety. And while she knew the image of Sebastian as a werewolf would haunt her for a long time, the way she felt about him was undeniable.
She wrapped her arms around his neck. "I love you, too. And I've already forgiven you for not telling me. Will you forgive me for running away? I know that it was the wrong thing to do."
"There is nothing for me to forgive. I understood why you ran." He sighed as she melted against him. "You didn't know werewolves existed. Of course you'd be terrified."
As she searched his face, relief whisked away some of her terror. "Thank you."
"Mmm-hmm." He traced her bottom lip with his finger. "Do you really love me?"
"Yes," she said without hesitation.
Sebastian let out a sigh of relief as if the weight of the world had been lifted off his shoulders. The man captured her lips. Instead of the fierce kisses he usually gave, this kiss was warm and sweet like melting chocolate on her tongue. His embrace was intended to protect, love, and comfort, and during that moment, it did just that. While his tongue tenderly swept the inside of her dark cave, his fingers roved everywhere—over her back, her hips, and her sides. By the time he pulled away a moment later, she discovered that some of the tension had drained out of her. It was as if Sebastian's kissed had healed her wounds.
The man smiled and then placed his head against her stomach. "I love you too, you know. I'm sorry that you had to go through all of this, but I promise that Daddy is going to protect you from now on."
His sweetness drove a sigh from her lips. "You're going to be an excellent father."
"God, I hope so," he said. "It's the most important thing to me, even more important than being the Alpha."
"I think you're going to do just fine." Emmy wrapped her arms around him.
****
Jake raced after Emmy, howling her name. She screamed as she tore through the woods. If she didn't flee, then her baby would die. No matter what, she couldn't let that happen. She had to escape, had to save her child.
"I'm going to kill you," Jake said, his voice echoing in her head.
She leaped over a log, but Jake was right behind her. He snapped at her leg. Yelping, she toppled to the ground. Jake hovered above her, his white teeth glistening from the blood of an unknown victim. His sinister snarl looked almost like a horrible smirk. She put her hand in front of her stomach, trying to protect the child.