Jaded Hearts
Chapter 97

Taylor

I woke up confused and disoriented. I went to sleep in the bed I shared with Tyson but woke up in the one I share with Matt. I rolled over, and a strong hunger pang hit me. What time was it?

Checking my phone, I was shocked. It was 4:00 p.m. I’d slept all day and missed both breakfast and lunch.

“Why would they let me sleep so long?” I mumbled as I pushed myself out of bed and made my way downstairs.

My body felt tired and heavy. I was starving, slightly dizzy, and a little nauseous. I had no idea what was happening, but I knew I could rectify it in the kitchen.

“Hey, babe. You look like s**t,” Alaia said when she saw me.

“I love you too. Where is everyone?” I asked, rubbing my eyes.

“The guys and Aires are in the office plotting and planning, my kids are at my old pack with my and Alexi’s parents, and I think Morgan is off with Mrs. Dyson swapping cookie recipes.”

I sat down and took a deep breath. This must be what jet lag felt like.

“Are you alright, honey? Did you need anything?”

“Just food, and I think more sleep. Do we have any orange juice?”

As soon as I asked the question, Alaia’s eyes bulged, and my heart skipped a beat. “Oh, s**t,” she whispered, then smiled.

“No. Don’t do that. It’s too soon, so I’m probably just out of whack from all the traveling. We’ve been careful. We have!”

“Were you careful in Italy? There was a lot of activity going on when we were there.”

“No, but that was just two weeks ago. How could I feel it already?”

“I felt both my pregnancies within a week, sweetie. You’re a werewolf, so everything is expedited when it comes to having a baby.”

“s**t!”

“Don’t panic, okay? Let’s go to the clinic and grab a test.”

“I don’t know who the father is, Alaia. If I am pregnant again, I don’t know. What do I do?!”

“Girl, chill out. That’s what you’re worried about? That doesn’t matter—both those men adore you, and they’ll love that baby. Now let’s go.”

She took my hand and led me through the house and over to the pack hospital.

“I don’t want anyone to know,” I whispered as we walked through the hall.

“No one here would say anything anyway, but we’re just getting a test. No one has to know what we’re doing.”

Alaia went into a supply closet and came back a few seconds later with the box tucked under her shirt.

“Where do you want to do this?”

“Here. That way, I can get rid of the evidence if it’s negative.”

She handed me the test, and I found the closest restroom and rushed inside. I couldn’t believe this was happening right now. There was too much going on to have another baby; it was too dangerous.

We were getting ready to fight an entire coven of vampires. This was not good timing. I peed on the stick, then chewed my l*p while I waited for the results. When three minutes were up, I held my breath and looked at the stick.

“Well, what does it say? I’m on pins and needles out here!” Alaia yelled through the door.

“Ugh!!”

* * *

Tyson

“You almost scratched my god damned eye out, Air, so don’t pout now that I put you on your a*s.”

“f**k you, oso. I was distracted! Just wait until I’ve fully recovered. You won’t get me down so easy.”

“Would you two chill? We don’t have time for this s**t right now,” Xander cut in.

Aires had held on to her anger all through training and into the afternoon. She really needed b***d and sleep, but there was too much to do, so I was taking the brunt of her frustrations.

“Alpha, I apologize. I’m still drained from my travels. I’ll try to focus,” Aires replied.

“Take a break. There’s a room on the second floor set up for you to use. And if you need to go feed, do that. I need you at one hundred percent, and this isn’t helping anyone.”

Aires stood up, sighed, and rubbed her sore a*s. “Thank you. I’ll be back to normal tomorrow, I promise,” she said.

She walked out, and I rolled my neck and shoulders.

“She’s intense,” Alexi said.

“Imagine how much more intense she is when she thinks she’s in a relationship with you, and you suddenly end things. She almost ripped my f*****g d**k off,” I replied.

“Let’s all take a break. I don’t want anyone getting burned out so early on. We’ll pick this up tomorrow after training,” Xander told us.

“That works for me. I’m starving,” Matt said as he stood to his feet.

We all got up, and as I was walking out, I got a text message from Taylor asking me to meet her at the house.

“You got that too?” Matt asked.

“Yeah, I wonder what’s up?” I answered.

We walked over together to replace Taylor sitting in the kitchen, munching on some fruit.

“Are you okay, sunshine? You don’t look so good.”

Matt walked over and took her face in his hands.

“What is it, baby? What’s wrong?”

“Would you two sit down for a minute? Please?”

We nervously took our seats, and she stood and began pacing.

“Please, angel, just tell us what’s wrong. You’re killing me here,” I told her.

She reached in her back pocket and pulled out a rolled-up paper towel. She was chewing her l*p so bad I was afraid she’d bite it off, so I unrolled the paper towel and looked down.

“A pregnancy test.”

“What did it say, tesoro?”

She began to pull her l*p and shake her head. It was clear she wasn’t going to tell us, so I flipped it over and looked for myself.

Pregnant.

I quickly looked back at her. “You’re pregnant?”

When the tears started to fall, I got nervous and rushed to her side.

“Don’t cry, baby. Please don’t cry.”

“What are we going to do? Drew is a f*****g vampire now; he’s never going to let us live in peace. And now I have another child I have to try and protect. What if he hurts them? What if he takes my children to f**k with me? I couldn’t handle that,” she cried.

Matt came up to her other side and took her hand.

“Do you really think we’d let that happen? He will never touch our children. No one will. Tyson and I will protect them with our lives.”

“I don’t want that either! I need both of you. I can’t raise these kids alone.”

“You won’t be alone. We’d never leave you alone, sunshine.”

She took some calming breaths, then took a long drink of water. “I don’t know whose baby it is, so you’re both going to have to deal with my mood swings.”

Matt and I looked at each other, then back at her. “I’m sure we can manage.”

I wrapped my arms around her in a tight hug, careful not to squeeze her stomach too much.

I hoped and prayed that this baby was mine. At that moment, I wanted nothing more than to have my child growing inside her. When I put her down, Matt pulled her into a hug of his own.

“It was the Colosseum. That’s our little gladiator in there, I can feel it,” he said.

“All I feel is nauseous. And hungry.”

“What do you want to eat, angel? I’ll make you anything you want,” I told her.

“I’d love some of that spinach dip you made before. It was so good.”

“Why don’t you go lay down in the living room? I’ll start on your dip and dinner now.”

She nodded and smiled up at me. She was the sweetest thing in the world.

When she left, Matt rolled up his sleeves and looked around.

“Alright, man, I’m gonna need you to teach me how to do this. All I can make are sandwiches. PB&J is my specialty.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “You’ve survived off of sandwiches for twenty-four years?”

“A good PB&J will save your life, so don’t knock it until you try it,” he replied, feigning offense.

We went to work, laughing and cooking for our girl while she rested on the couch. In my mind, I knew that I would do anything I could to make sure she could continue to have moments like this. She’s had enough stress and pain. It was time for her to enjoy her life.

* * *

Taylor

“Oh, you b***h!”

“Ugh! Why are you yelling? And what are you doing here?” I asked.

“What am I doing here? Really? Let me ask a question, why am I always the last person to know when you’re knocked up?”

“Morgan, please. You’re not the last person to know. At least, I don’t think you are.”

I sat up on the couch and looked around. I heard Matt and Tyson in the kitchen cooking, so I figured I couldn’t have been asleep for too long.

“Everyone knows, Tay! Matt told Kade and Xander, Alaia told Alexi, and Tyson told Aires. I walked into the kitchen to hear all the speculation about a little bear/wolf hybrid baby and think ‘I’m not pregnant, what are they talking about?’ Then it hits me: I’m not the only person here who can make one!”

I took her hand and pulled her down to the couch beside me.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know news would spread so fast, but I’m not surprised in this house. I just told the guys maybe an hour ago. Alaia only knew because she was there when I realized it was a possibility, and she got the test for me. I didn’t mean to cut you out; you know I didn’t.”

“Next time you get pregnant, I want to be the first one to know. Even before you tell your s*x gods. Got it?”

“Yes, sweetie, I’ve got it.”

Morgan then squealed and hugged me as tight as she could. “So, is it Tyson’s or Matt’s? I would love it to be Tyson’s. I want to see what a hybrid pregnancy is like before I take that leap.”

“I won’t always be here to be your guinea pig, but I don’t know. Both of them were insatiable when we were in Italy, so it could be either.”

“Whose do you want it to be?”

I rubbed my stomach and cringed. I couldn’t believe I was saying this, but it was the absolute truth. I’d probably regret it later.

“Both. One for each of them. Matt is adorable as a father, and he really wants a son. And I know Tyson will be just as loving and caring, so I want him to experience fatherhood too.”

“I’m so excited for you, Tay, for all three of you. This baby is going to be gorgeous and spoiled rotten.”

Tyson walked into the living room, and when he saw his cousin, he frowned. “What are you doing here, Mo?”

“Why do you guys keep asking me that? Am I not allowed to come over to visit?”

“Of course you are. I just didn’t expect you. You staying for dinner?”

“No, you three need to have a quiet meal together. I’m sure there’s plenty to discuss.”

She stood up and gave him a big hug. “Congratulations on the wolfie-bear cub. That kid is going to be a total badass.”

“Thanks, but we don’t know that it’s a wolfie-bear cub. It could just be a wolf pup.”

“Either way … badass. I’ll see you guys later.”

She walked through the kitchen and gave Matt a high-five before disappearing out the back door.

“What did she want?” Tyson asked.

That’s when I remembered the fact that they’d told everybody about this baby while I was asleep.

“What is with you two? I was out for an hour, and everyone knows about the baby already? Did you take out an ad in the paper or something?”

“First of all, no one reads newspapers anymore, princess. And second, we were excited, so we just told the family.”

“The family … MATT!”

He rushed into the living room, ready to attack whoever and whatever. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

“Who have you told about the baby?”

“Uhh, everyone?”

I just sighed. “Is that why I have four missed calls from your parents?”

“More than likely. Are you hungry, baby? I cooked.” He looked so proud of himself, any and all frustration I had melted away.

“I am. What are we having?”

I stood up and followed them to the dining room, where my spinach dip was sitting in the middle of the table along with chicken, roasted potatoes, and what looked like every vegetable in the house.

They were already starting to stuff me with veggies, less than two hours in. This pregnancy was going to suck.

“You two can’t expect me to eat all of those,” I said, pointing to the bowls.

“It’s good for you and the little one. If the baby’s mine, you’re going to need to take it easy and make sure your vitamin levels are where they always need to be. Making a hybrid will be a little more demanding on you than a pure wolf.”

I wanted to complain, but the food smelled amazing, and I was willing to do anything for this baby already. I nodded and took my seat.

“We have an appointment tomorrow, tesoro. We want to make sure everything’s okay, especially since none of us have any experience with bear/wolf pregnancies.”

“I’ll agree to anything as long as it ends with some of that food in my stomach. Please!”

Matt fixed my plate, and I pounced as soon as it was in front of me. He and Tyson kept talking about the baby, but I barely heard any of it. All I knew was that these two were going to drive me insane. That, I was certain of.