Confirmation

CHAPTER 36- Confirmation
HUNTER’S P. O. V.
I go through the day in a daze. I know that Jasmine is hiding something from me. I have no clue what it is. I just really hope it isn’t that she has accepted the proposal from that ass. She did have his son sleep next to her all night. Why is she showing so much affection for the boy? Is she trying to make sure that he thinks of her as a mother? Does she want to be his new mother? Too many damn questions.
When we reach fifth period I am buzzing. She is in this class and it is just her and me. No one to stop me from talking to her. She will lack bodyguards. I get to class early so I can watch where she sits. Not that she will be sitting there long. She comes in about five minutes after me. I watch as she spots where I am sitting, which is our usual spot in the back of the room. Jasmine stops and looks like she is deep in thought. Then she comes and takes the seat next to me. Ok, I did not expect her to do that.
She glares at me. “I just figured that you would make me sit here anyway, I might as well spare my arm. Don’t think that this means I am actually going to talk to you.” I reach out and glide my fingers along her arm. It is the first contact I have had with her since she went on that date. She lets me for a minute and then pulls her arm away. “I don’t want you to touch me either.”
“Baby, you have to know that I only want you. I want us together more than anything. If I really wanted Allison, don’t you think I would have followed her this morning?”
She scoffs at me. “And be packless. Not you.”
“Can we at least talk? I will keep my hands to myself.”
She shakes her head. “Nope, you aren’t going to say anything that I already don’t know. I love you Hunter, but you have hurt me one too many times.” She turns away from me.
I put my hand on her leg. “You love me?”
She looks at me like I am stupid. “You know this. Don’t act ignorant. You are my mate. Why wouldn’t I love you? But like I said I am done being hurt.”
“I will never hurt you again.” I stand my ground.
“Too late.” She growls at me. “Besides, I have a lot on my plate right now and I need time to think about all my options.”
“Are you talking about that Alpha?” I growl out. Seeing them together sends my anger flaring.
“No, he screwed up too. He took your side last night. He tried to cover for you. Block me from seeing what you were doing.” She seems angry at the idea. I can’t really blame her, to her it looked like I was sneaking off with Allison in the bushes. The only one I would want to do that with is the girl next to me.
“Jasmine, you are killing me here. I really just need you to talk to me.”
She looks at me with a straight face, there is no way to tell what she is thinking. “I don’t have the time. I have an appointment after school and I am watching Eli tonight. Since I missed morning training I need to work out this afternoon. See full schedule.”
“I will train with you.”
“No, Jay is going to train with me.” Still nothing there. Does she not feel the pain? Does she really not want me around? She is my life and she seems to not care at all. “Plus I have some things to talk over with my dad as well. You know a new Beta.”
“Jasmine, you can’t do this.” I grab her hand. There are tears welling up in my eyes.
“I don’t see how we can work together like this. It is something that has to be decided sooner or later.” It is like she has closed off her emotions. She built a wall and she is not going to let me in anytime soon.
“I don’t care about being a Beta, I care about being in your life. You can’t push me out. I need you. You need me too, even if you don’t see it now. You will in the future. The more you are away from me the more you will feel it. Baby, you are my world and I need you to live.”
“You should have thought of that last night.” Still nothing. She isn’t pushing away my hands so at least there is that. Maybe tonight when she is with the boy she will be more inclined to listen to me. I have to try.
I don’t let go of her hand at all during the class. I keep rubbing circles on the back of her hand. I am not sure if she likes it, or if she is just tolerating it. I don’t care, it is an in. Ridiculous that I am reduced to holding her hand and rubbing circles, thanks to Allison I can’t have my own mate.
Yeah, I keep blaming her, but the truth is I should have just thrown her off when she tackled me. I don’t know why I didn’t. I know I was trying not to hurt her, but I have no idea why I cared. She keeps making my life a living hell and I still feel bad. I think that somewhere inside her she thought we were mates. I feel bad that she felt that strongly about it. I should have been more concerned with my mate’s feelings instead of hers. I see that now.
When the bell rang I kept her hand in mine. I don’t want to let go. It is a trivial thing but right now it is all I have. She looks down at my hand. “The bell rang.”
“I know.” I whisper. I am hoping that I look as sad as I feel. I want her to feel something for me.
“Then let go of my hand.” She stands her ground. I don’t want to push her. At least she didn’t just yank it away like I know she is fully capable of doing. I let her hand go with the most exaggerated sigh I can muster.
“I really want to talk to you. When you have a chance.” I add that last part so that she doesn’t feel pressured.
“I will think about it. As for today, I am afraid I am all full up.” Her voice betrays nothing.
She stands and walks out of the room. I watch as my world crushes to the ground when she doesn’t even look back.
JASMINE’S P. O. V.
I am riding home now. All I keep thinking about is the way he was holding my hand. How fucking stupid am I? After everything, a simple holding of my hand makes me sappy. Maybe it’s the baby, maybe it wants its dad around. That just brings me back to the whole reason that I have to deal with everything soon. I have to make a choice. I just really don’t know what it will be at this point.
My serious consideration is just to stay single. I have an heir to take over the pack, that is all that I really needed a mate for. Sure there is companionship, but I really don’t think I need this kind of companionship. I don’t need someone who corners me for kisses. Or someone that is being kissed by someone else all the time.
Jay links me. “You are ready to go to the doctor right? You are not bailing on this.”
“I am ready. As ready as I ever will be.”
He squeezes my shoulder from behind. “I am here for you. It will be alright. No matter what you decide.”
“At this point I don’t think I can tolerate either of them.” I know I sound whiny. I really don’t care at this point. I can be an Alpha later. Right now I am a woman pregnant with a baby whose daddy is less than reliable. That in and of itself is stressful. Not to mention I still love the idiot.
“Then you still have me.” I am so grateful to have him as a friend.
“Did I mention you are the best friend in the world?” I lean back and look at him in the rearview mirror.
“Not in the last five minutes, I think I was forgetting.”
I let out a loud laugh. Hunter looks at me quizzically. Obviously he wants to know what is so funny. Carlos just smirks, not that he knows what is so funny, I think he just likes to see me happy. Jay joins in on the laughter. We are kind of having a fit, not that it was that funny, but I just needed a release.
Hunter knows that we wouldn’t answer him if he asked, so he just sits there with his jaw clenched. Finally he links over to me. “Baby, I wish I could make you laugh like that.”
“You have. Truth is, you could if you cared enough.” The last part sounded cold, but that is how I felt towards him at the moment. The look on his face makes it clear that he is hurt. I want to not care, I really do, but I do care.
“Baby, remember what I said about talking.” He sounds pleading. I really want him. I want him more than anything. Damn mate bond.
“I told you when I have time. Full schedule today.”
We remain quiet the rest of the way home. Once there Jay takes me straight to the pack doctor, he is not giving me a chance to back out. He knows I would too. It is better than facing reality at this point.
Jay is not going to let that happen. I was punched in the gut yesterday. We sign in at the counter. Not that there is really a long line, but policy. The nurse takes a look at my name and noticeably blanches. “Jasmine, please come on back.” She rushes to the door to take me to a room. “Let’s take your weight. Are you having a major problem today?”
I shrug a little. “Not really a major problem. I just have to have something checked out.” I am not ready to tell the whole building what is going on with me. I am sure there are listening ears, the Alpha’s daughter is in the clinic.
She takes my weight, not much of a difference. Then points to a room on the left. I go in and sit on the bench. After she closes the door. “Alright, Jasmine, what can we do for you today?”
I take a deep breath. This is hard to get through. “I think I might be pregnant and yesterday I was sparring and got hit pretty hard.”
I see the eyes on the nurse grow about five sizes. “Oh, um, ok. I will get the doctor in here.”
She scuttles out of the room. I see Jay smirking to the side. “I think she had a heart attack right there.” He chuckles.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if the whole office knows in five minutes.” I sigh and look to the roof. “As long as Hunter doesn’t find out, I think we will be good.”
“When are you going to tell him? I am pissed at him too, but this is something that the guy should know.”
“Not yet. I am not sure when, but it will have to be in the next month or else he will know anyway.”
“That is so weird that you guys can smell that. I don’t smell any difference in you.”
“I think you knew when you took my blood. You were over excited about it. I think it was the pregnancy hormones.”
He gets a thoughtful look. “That is a valid point. However, I think it was more likely because it was fresh blood. I have been eating out of bags.” He smirks again.
We hear a knock on the door and the doctor comes in. She is a great lady. She has never given me a hard time about any of the check ups that my dad made me get. “Good afternoon, Dr. Williams.”
She gets a big smile, “So, a baby. Let’s get you all checked out.” She has me lean back so she can feel around my abdomen. It is a little tender, but nothing major. She still doesn’t look satisfied. “I am going to bring a machine in here and see if we can see the baby. I want to make sure that we have a heartbeat at this point. Plus, bonus: you get to see the baby. Do you want your friend to stay?”
“Yeah, I think he needs to.” I say.
Jay laughs. “If I leave she is going to run for the hills. I am the only thing keeping her in this room.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “Shush.”
Dr. Williams chuckles. “I am going to get that machine and I will be right back.” I already feel like this is taking too long. I do want to just leave.
She comes back into the room a few minutes later with a computer on wheels. At least that is mostly what it looks like. There are some wands attached to it. She smiles as she pushes next to the bench I am sitting on. “You are going to lean back and lift your shirt. I will need to lower your pants a little too.” I lay back and lift my shirt. She takes a white cloth out of a drawer and drapes it over my waist. She then pulls my pants exceptionally low. Almost too low for Jay to still be in here. I am tense. This is for real.
“Now, we don’t use this very often so I don’t have it warmed up. It is going to be a little cold.” She is showing me a bottle that says gel on it. I just nod to her. She opens it and applies some to my belly. I flinch at the cold substance hitting my skin. Dr. Williams takes a wand from the computer and starts to apply it to my belly.
Then the door bursts open. There standing in the doorway, panting is my dad. I could die right now. Someone told him I was here. “Are you alright?”
I roll my eyes. “I am fine, dad.”
“Then why are you here?” He takes a moment to look around the room. He sees Jay off in the corner. He sees the doctor about to examine my belly.
“I am just having something looked at. Nothing is wrong with me.” I point out.
Dr. Williams looks back and forth between the two of us. “Um, do you want him to stay?” The question is barely out of her mouth when my dad growls at her. “Ok, sorry. Alpha trumps patient in this case.” She turns to me with the wand. “You want me to continue?”
“Yes, I was going to tell him after this anyway.” I lean back and try to ignore the fact that my dad is staring at me and the doctor.
Dr. Williams applies a little pressure on my belly. It takes a few minutes to find it, but she does. She gives me a smile. “It’s time to hear it. Are you ready?” I nod. She flips something on the screen and there is this whirring and bumping sound coming through. I don’t know why but it brings a smile to my face. It is fast, I didn’t realize it would be that fast.
I look over at my dad and he has a look of recognition on his face. “You are pregnant.” It isn’t a question, a statement, but one that he is having a hard time grasping.
I can’t tell if he is happy or not, all I am getting from him right now is shock. “Say something else dad. I am a little freaked out right now.”
He takes a big sigh. “First off I am going to kill Hunter. Then I am going to be a grandpa at forty. That seems a little young right?” A smile spreads on his face. “But I couldn’t be happier to have another you running around.”
Dr. Williams pushes the screen around so that we can all see it. “It isn’t much right now, it looks like a little dot, but see right here.” She is pointing to the screen. “That is the baby.” I am smiling, I can’t help it. I am still freaked out, but I am excited too. It is weird. I really have no idea what I am feeling completely.
Dr. Williams starts to pack it all up. “Alright, so no training obviously. We don’t want another hit like yesterday. I can see it is still a little tender. Are there any other questions?”
“Can I still shift?”
“For about another month and then I would say to stop. You don’t want to put too much strain on the baby at that point. For now keep exercise to a minimum. You are really fit so it shouldn’t be too difficult. Nothing to do with the abdominals. In about a month you will want to cut the running back to walking as well. You will probably start having morning sickness in about a week. It is really early, I am surprised you knew.”
Smiling. “Actually, I was babysitting a little boy last night and his nanny came to get him this morning and asked me when I was due. She said she used to be a midwife and could smell it already. She said most others won’t for a little while longer.”
“She is right. Well, congratulations.”
I put my hand on her arm. “Can you keep this between us for now? I don’t want everyone to know yet.”
She pats my leg. “My lips are sealed. I want to see you back here next month or if something happens. Got it?”
I give her a smile. “Yep.”
Jay steps in. “I will make sure she is here.” I chuckle at that. My protector.
That was the most awkward thing to have my dad witness. Once we are in the room alone together I want to scream at how weird this is. My dad is staring off into space. “Dad, are you alright? Do I need to bring the doctor back?”
He shakes his head and looks at me. “I am just still in a little bit of shock. It is Hunter’s baby right?”
“Yes, I have only been with my mate. He doesn’t know though and after last night I don’t want him to know.”
My dad rushes me, pulling me into a hug. “I am so sorry pumpkin. He is being stupid. You should have him here by your side.” He almost sounds like he is crying.
“I got this dad. With you two by my side, I don’t need anyone else.” I hugged him back.
“Let’s get you back to the house. We can watch a movie or whatever silly thing you want to do.” He pulls back and smiles at me.
“Actually dad. I wanted to go on a run, you know shift. I want to do it while I can.” I am a little embarrassed to be talking about this with my dad.
“Alright, I should probably do damage control as well, most of the pack just saw me shoot across the lands like my ass was on fire. I am sure there are questions.” He kisses me on the forehead. “I love you pumpkin. I will see you after a little while.”
“See ya dad.” I smile at him.
I take Jay to the field by the backwoods. “Are you going to run with me?”
“Na, I’ll wait for you out here. I don’t like traipsing through the woods if I can help it.” Jay smiles at me. “Link me if there are any problems.”
“See you in a bit.” I go behind the tree line and make sure no one can see me as I strip and shift. Knowing that I only have a limited amount of time to be in this form makes me want to use it as much as possible. I ran with no specific destination in mind, so when I came to the creek that I saw Hunter the first time we ran together, I was a little shocked. I guess my subconscious is still looking for Hunter.
This thought makes me sad. I have to do this on my own. I can not rely on Hunter. As much as I would rather have him by my side, that is not an option. He is not reliable. I have to keep that in mind. I guess I can just picture him with Allison and it will all be squashed.
I turn away from the spot and keep running. It feels so freeing to be in my fur, no people to rush up on me and ask a bunch of questions. No one pressures me into marriage. Just me and the woods. I am so grateful for this time. I will do my best to hang on to this freedom for as long as I can. I come back to the clearing and see Jay waiting for me.
He smiles and runs up to me. “Hey, I had an idea. I throw this stick as far as I can and you run and see if you can catch it before it hits the ground.” He seems so excited.
I sit. “I am not playing fetch with you.” I linked back.
“Come on, it’s not really fetch, it is a one time catch. A test if you will. I was going to see if Hunter would do it but he ran after you into the woods.”
I look around in the tree line and sure enough there is Hunter trying to crouch behind bushes. I can see his tail. He is terrible at this. I can’t believe I missed him that whole time. I must have been so absorbed in the freedom of it that I didn’t notice him. I growl, and walk over to him.
I link him once I am standing behind him. “Really this is the best you could do?” I sit and watch him spin on the spot.
“You saw me?”
“Clearly.” I huff. “Why are you following me?”
He sits as well so he is facing me. “I was worried about you. I saw your dad running to the clinic, I could only assume it was for you. I don’t know what happened, I just wanted to check on you.”
“I am fine. You can go away now.” I turn and head to the tree with my clothes. I take my clothes in my mouth, because I am obviously not shifting back with him looking at me. I walk back out to the clearing and link Jay. “I need you to open the doors. I am not going to be naked in front of him again.” Jay just nods and is at my side.
UNKNOWN P. O. V.
I have never seen my spy so on edge. “Well, spit it out.” I growl. She is sitting there fidgeting, and it is making me on edge.
“I don’t know how to tell you this without you getting angry.” She takes a big sigh. “I will start with last night. She caught the Beta with that she-wolf again. After she returned from her date with the other Alpha. She yelled at both of them, telling both that she didn’t want either.”
“Well at least that is good news.” Not that I am pleased she was on a date with this Alpha.
“I am not done. After she returned from school today she visited the clinic.”
I am panicking now. “What is wrong with her?”
She shakes her head. “Nothing.”
I don’t give her time to speak. “Then why is she going to the clinic?”
She bites her bottom lip. “She is pregnant.”
This time I threw my desk. That son of a no good bitch. I know it is the Beta, she hasn’t been with the Alpha. My spy jumps up and stands against the wall. Not that I blame her, if I was in her shoes I would be worried about my safety too. “Keep me informed. Leave now.” My demand doesn’t fall on deaf ears, she runs. By the time I am done there is nothing usable in my office. It will all have to be redone.
I rest my head against the wall, “Pregnant. Really, goddess. You want to put me through as much shit as possible don’t you.” This news doesn’t change how I feel about her. I know she is going to need me even more now. I just have to come to terms with this baby business. It will be my baby. I don’t care what happens, she and that baby will be mine.