“That seems to be all she needs since she can also eat food,” Jacob added with a satisfied sigh when he found the bag of Hershey’s Kisses that Kale had forgotten about.
“That would explain a few things about her blood,” Noah said, sighing heavily as he glanced at Kale.
“Explains what?” Kale asked, still glaring down at his mate as he watched her curl more tightly into a ball. He didn’t need to move the pillow out of the way to know that she was wincing.
“Her blood is strong, amazingly so, but I’ve noticed some differences in her levels every time you brought samples. I wasn’t sure why the numbers were off, but I’m guessing that it had something to do with her not eating enough,” Noah explained, slowly exhaling. “She needs to eat more, especially if she’s pregnant.”
“How often does she go into bloodlust?” Ephraim asked, looking thoughtful as they all stood there, looking down at the small woman who had a lot of explaining to do.
“She doesn’t,” Jacob said around a mouthful of chocolate.
“Never?” Ephraim asked, looking stunned.
“Not once,” Kale murmured, still glaring down at his mate. “Why aren’t you drinking more blood, mo ghrá?”
“Because I didn’t want to bother you?” came the mumbled response while Kale watched as she tried to discreetly shift away from him only to grumble when she bumped into Jacob.
“And that’s why you decided to pretend that you weren’t having problems?” Kale asked as his eyes shifted back to silver.
“It seemed like the right thing to do at the time,” Ashley mumbled into her pillow as she reached back and tried to shove Jacob off the bed so that she could continue making her escape.
“And now?” Kale asked, deciding that he’d heard enough for now and gestured for everyone to leave so that he could have a word with his mate.
“I’d very much like to hide under the bed,” Ashley said, sounding really fucking relieved when Jacob climbed off the bed.
“She should be fine once she starts drinking more blood,” Noah assured him as he headed for the door with Ephraim right behind him.
For a moment, Christofer stood there, watching him with a look that told him that this was far from over before he reluctantly headed for the door, leaving Kale alone with his mate so that they could discuss a few things.
Chapter 58
“Please don’t do that again,” Ashley managed to grumble, only to follow that up with a groan when she was forced to grab hold of his shirt as he finished settling her on his lap.
“I’m sorry, mo ghrá,” Kale murmured, making it better with a kiss against the top of her head while she sat slumped there, waiting for the world to stop spinning.
“You lied to me,” she grumbled against his chest as her hands tightened around his shirt and…she decided that it was time to lie down again.
“Oh, no, you don’t. We need to talk,” Kale said, stopping her from returning to the fetal position.
“We can talk from the comfort of the floor,” Ashley said, trying to slump back over only to groan when he stopped her again.
“We can talk here,” Kale murmured as he wrapped his arms around her.
“I did mention that I was going to be sick, right?” she mumbled against his shoulder.
“You did, which is why we’re going to take care of that first,” Kale said as she once again found herself being shifted in his arms.
“Take care of what first?” Ashley mumbled, trying to remember if she’d ever felt this sick before. She’d been fine earlier, but then she’d stepped into this house and everything went to hell.
“You need blood,” Kale said, making her bite back a wince.
“I would rather return to the safety of the floor,” she mumbled with a nod, only to stop doing that when the move brought her headache back up to migraine level.
“And I would rather you tell me why you didn’t tell me that you weren’t getting enough blood,” Kale said, gently pushing her hair back out of her face.
“I was getting enough blood,” she pointed out.
“Just enough to function,” Kale said, making her sigh.
“That’s all I needed to do,” Ashley told him, really hoping that he would drop this.
“Why is that exactly?” Kale asked as he reached up and gently ran his fingertips along her jaw.
“You never answered about my brother,” she mumbled, snuggling closer to him.
There was a heavy sigh, and then, Kale kissed her forehead as he said, “It’s complicated.”
“Was he here this whole time?” Ashley asked, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth as she found herself wondering about him. She wondered how old he was, where he’d been this whole time, if he knew where their father was, and she wondered if he was anything like her.
“Yes,” Kale said as he absently ran his fingertips along her jaw.
“Why didn’t you tell me about him?”
“Because I’m an asshole,” Kale said, sighing heavily as he kissed her forehead.
Nodding, she mumbled, “That’s what I’ve heard.”
Chuckling, Kale said, “I needed to keep you safe.”
“And you don’t think that my brother can do that?” Ashley asked only to decide that they’d talked enough when her stomach turned again. “You know what? I think I’m just gonna go ahead and lie down now.”
“That’s my job,” Kale said, turning his head and brushed his lips against hers.
“Are you going to let me lie down now?” she asked, really hoping that he let her lie down since her head wouldn’t stop spinning.
“You need blood, mo ghrá,” Kale said, sighing heavily as he allowed his fangs to drop as he brought his wrist up to his mouth and-
“I prefer a cup,” Ashley said before he had a chance to bite into his wrist, only to bite back a wince when his eyes narrowed on her.
“And I would prefer that you weren’t a pain in the ass,” Kale said, sighing heavily as he kissed her forehead while she told herself that she should just bite him and get it over with. She still needed to mark him, not only for his protection but because she loved him. She just…
She didn’t like reminding him what she was.
“You love me,” Ashley reminded him as she climbed off his lap and immediately settled back into the fetal position, where she was determined to stay until everything stopped spinning.
“Yes, I do,” Kale said as he leaned down and kissed her cheek. “I’ll be right back. Don’t leave this room.”
“I don’t think that’s going to be a problem,” Ashley mumbled into the comforter as she squeezed her eyes shut, grabbed a pillow and pulled it over her head with a groan, wondering if this is what she had to look forward to for the next nine months.
She’d always wanted a family of her own but knew that it would never be something that she could have. She never wanted a child to go through what she went through, but something changed over the last few months and she knew that it had everything to do with the man most likely glaring at her. Kale made her believe that she could really have all of those things that she’d always wanted, a home, a family of her own, someone to love, and a future that she never thought was possible and now that it was finally happening, she was terrified.
So many things could go wrong and…
She wanted this baby.
There was a slight pause before she felt the bed shift, seconds before she heard Kale leaving the room and once he was gone, Ashley started thinking about everything that happened since this morning, from her pregnancy to her newfound brother and wondered what else was going to happen when she heard it.
Swallowing hard, she tightened her hold around the pillow and-
“I’m sorry,” came the harshly whispered words that had Ashley frowning as she pushed the pillow out of the way and found herself looking up at a large man reaching for her and-
“I’m sorry.”
“What are you doing?” Ashley asked, trying to remember how to
breathe as she took in the pained expression on his handsome face, the tribal tattoo that teased his jawline and ran down the side of his neck only to disappear beneath his shirt and-
“I’m sorry,” he said again as Ashley found herself watching dark gray eyes turn red as he tightened his hold around her wrist only to relax it when she gasped in pain.
Ashley opened her mouth to ask him what he was doing again only to end up grabbing onto his arm when he pulled her to her feet, the move causing her head to spin faster and her stomach to turn as black spots danced along her vision. When her legs threatened to give out, he was pulling her closer with another mumbled, “I’m sorry,” only to go still when a loud growl suddenly tore through the room. She watched him frown in confusion as he looked over his shoulder and-
“Oh, shit,” he said as Ashley suddenly found herself pushed back as Kale, who’d looked angrier than she’d ever seen him before, grabbed hold of the large man and sent him flying. When he slammed into the wall, Ashley climbed onto the bed and quickly moved back until her back touched the wall only to end up covering her ears when Kale released a roar that sent more pain tearing through her head.
“I need her!” the other man said on a pained groan as he struggled to get back up as Ashley watched fangs suddenly slide down in his mouth, his red eyes became brighter, and she realized that she was looking at another Pyte.
“You’re not fucking touching her,” Kale bit out.
“Yes, I am,” the Pyte said, moving to push past Kale when he suddenly stopped, a look of confusion taking over his features only to turn into disbelief as he mumbled, “Oh, fuck…”
“Kale?” Ashley said when a low menacing growl spread throughout the room as his back arched, his body trembled violently, dropping him to the floor and out of sight as a pain-filled roar tore through the room, making her stomach drop as fear trickled down her spine.
Terrified that he was hurt, Ashley quickly moved to the edge of the bed only to find herself being grabbed by Jacob as she watched in disbelief as Kale began shifting. His body became larger, his bones snapped in and out of place with audible snaps, his face became larger as his mouth extended, long fangs quickly filled his mouth as black hair began covering his body as it grew, causing his clothes to tear apart until finally, she found herself looking at the largest werewolf that she’d ever seen in her life.
“Holy shit,” Jacob said hollowly as Kale released a growl that had the hair on the back of her neck standing up.
“Oh, shit…” the Pyte said, moving to step away from Kale, but it was too late.
Kale backhanded the large Pyte, sending him flying across the room and before he finished slamming into the wall, Kale was there, sinking his teeth into the Pyte’s thigh and tearing a startled scream as he tried to shove Kale’s large head away, but Kale refused to let go.
“Get her out of here!” Jacob shouted, moving to stop Kale when Christofer rushed into the room and grabbed her only to end up shoving her back when Kale sent the Pyte flying across the room again.
“Learn to fucking run, Caine!” Jacob yelled, shaking his head in disgust as Ashley stood there, struggling to remember how to breathe as she watched Kale stalk the other man.
“She’s going to die!” Caine shouted as he struggled to move back before Kale could grab him again. “I can’t lose my mate and child!”
“Get her out of here!” Jacob snapped, moving to stop Kale.
“She’s dying. They’re both dying and I can’t stop it!” Caine said, looking terrified as his red eyes locked with hers and she knew that he wasn’t afraid for himself. “Please, I can’t lose them. You have to help them,” he begged as Ashley found herself dragged towards the bedroom door.
“What are you talking about?” Ashley asked as she tried to make sense out of what Caine was saying.
“Your blood can save them,” Caine said only to grunt in pain when Kale sank his teeth back into his leg and-
“I’ll help.”
Chapter 59
“You’re not doing this,” Kale managed to get out on a pained groan before the last bone had a chance to snap back in place as his legs gave out, dropping him to the floor on his hands and knees.
Gasping for air, Kale shook his head only to bite back a groan of pleasure as power tore through his body. God, he’d missed this, Kale thought, dropping his head forward as pleasure continued to make its way through his body, from his fingertips all the way down to his toes.
It felt so fucking good.
God, the fucking pleasure was-
“You are the best brother ever,” the little traitor said on a wistful sigh, drawing Kale’s attention to find Ashley perched on the edge of his bureau with a large coffee cup in her hands, sipping the Pyte’s blood through a fucking pink straw.
“Feel better?” Christofer asked, smiling down approvingly at the little brat that was driving Kale out of his fucking mind.
“Much better, thank you,” Ashley murmured as she happily continued sipping the cup of blood like it was the most delicious fucking thing on earth while Kale knelt there, glaring at the little brat. He’d just shifted for the first time in centuries to protect her and this was his thanks? He should definitely spank her ass, Kale thought, only to decide that she definitely needed her ass spanked for that comment she made about him being adorable as a werewolf.
Never taking his glare off his mate, Kale reached over, grabbed hold of the comforter on his bed and-
“So, what’s new?” Jacob asked conversationally with a satisfied sigh as he threw himself across the bed.
Narrowing his eyes, Kale bit out, “Tell me that you really didn’t pretend to throw a fucking stick and tell me to go get it,” making the large shifter’s lips twitch.
“Got you to let go of Caine’s leg, though, didn’t it?” Jacob said, chuckling as Kale tightened his hold on the comforter and yanked it free from under the large bastard so that he could wrap it around his waist.
“No, Jessica running into the room demanding to pet the ‘doggy’ did that,” Kale said evenly as he stood up, keeping the comforter tightly secured around his waist just in case the little girl managed to break out of the nursery again.
“I can see how that could be a problem,” Jacob murmured as Kale shifted his attention back to find Ashley happily sipping her cup of blood, completely oblivious to just how close he was to spanking her beautiful ass.
“She’s too nice,” Jacob pointed out as though Kale wasn’t already painfully aware of that fact.
“We need to get her out of here,” Kale said as his attention shifted to the Pyte that had taken him by surprise to find Caine sitting on the floor, his head dropped in his trembling hands, his broken leg completely forgotten as he mumbled, “Please, God, let this work.”
“She’s safe here.”
No, she wasn’t, Kale thought, swallowing hard as he was forced to look away. While Kale had been struggling to get his body back under control, Caine had been explaining to Ashley about how her blood helped Izzy, about Danni’s cancer, the baby, and how much he loved his mate while Jacob and Christofer struggled to get his bleeding under control to stop him from going into bloodlust. Then, the Pyte had taken him by surprise and did the one thing that Kale never expected.
He’d begged.
Caine had barely managed to get the first “please” out when Ashley cut him off, telling him that she would do it. Kale didn’t want her to do this, especially when they didn’t know how the cancer would affect her. He couldn’t imagine going through what Caine was going through, forced to watch his mate and child die over and over again, and-
God, he hoped this worked.
“It’s going to be fine,” Ashley said, forcing a hopeful smile even as she couldn’t help but wonder when Kale was going to say something.
She’d expected an argument, threats of locking her up in the basement, promises of spanking her ass, but so far, he hadn’t said a word to her. He-
“Oh, god…” Ashley mumbled we
akly when she felt the gurney that had been pushed up against the one that she was currently lying on shake slightly as an incredibly sweet smell that she was really hoping wasn’t what she thought it was, reached her. “Please tell me that’s not a Sentinel,” she whispered hollowly as she slowly, ever so slowly, looked over her shoulder and-
“You’re adorable,” the large man covered with large scars and tattoos said with a teasing smile as he reached over and left her struggling to remember how to breathe when he patted her on the head. Whimpering, she turned her head to find a small woman, who was definitely a Sentinel, glaring up at Kale.
“We,” the woman began as she gestured between herself and Kale, “are no longer speaking.”
“And yet, you won’t leave me alone,” Kale drawled, his glare never leaving Ashley as he spoke to the small woman who really wasn’t what Ashley expected a female Sentinel to look like. She was short, curvy, and adorable, and the man next to her…
Definitely wasn’t, Ashley thought as her attention shifted back to the large Sentinel, taking in the unholy glimmer of amusement in his eyes, the large pink scars on his neck, the muscles bulging as he crossed his arms over his chest, and decided that she really didn’t want to find herself alone in a dark alley with him one day and realized that this was Marc’s brother, Chris, which meant...
“That’s because I’m here to support my new best friend,” the woman that Ashley was guessing was Izzy, said with a pointed look at Ashley, making her frown in confusion.
“Sorry, Munchkin, but she’s my new best friend,” Chris said while Ashley lay there, really wishing that Sentinels weren’t fighting over her.
Deciding that her attention was needed elsewhere, Ashley shifted her focus from the Sentinel couple now glaring at each other and felt her heart break as she watched Caine carry his mate into the room. She looked so sick, Ashley thought, swallowing hard as she watched Caine carefully lay Danni down on the other gurney as though she was the most precious thing in the world to him and-
Unstoppable Page 34
