“But you… you don’t like that you weren’t there. And if this baby… goes away, then we can make one together.”
I was trying, I was really trying to see the silver lining of this day.
They shared a look, and horror struck my heart.
“Unless… if you’re only keeping me because I was pregnant, does that mean you’ll send me away now?”
My arms dropped away from Sam’s neck and I began to fall. Fall into the abyss that swirled around me.
I didn’t know how I was going to pull myself out of this one.
Where would I even go if these men rejected me?
Sam grabbed for my shoulders and held me to him while Dane slid closer and cupped my face.
“Celeste, stop and look at us, okay? We know you’ve been hurt and betrayed, and been unloved for too long. But that will never happen again.”
I didn’t believe them, but I nodded anyway.
“Okay.”
“Listen, and listen closely. We love you… do you understand that? We love you. We don’t want you to ever leave us. And whether we have one baby, or fifteen, we will love them all.”
A sob built in my throat and escaped this time.
“But how…”
“It’s the Fated Mate bond. You are our heaven, our perfection, we will love you with every breath, every minute of every day.”
I looked from to Dane to Sam and saw the same stoic strength. The same heart that beat in them both.
“But… you left me this morning, I felt it. You didn’t want to stay, and I know this baby is unwanted.”
Sam growled a little, his chest vibrating with his breath. “Your baby is not unwanted. He or she brought you to us. Without the pregnancy, we may never have found you.”
That was probably true, but I still didn’t quite believe them.
They were just trying to make me feel better, which said a lot about the strength of their characters and the beauty of their hearts.
“Thank you for saying that.”
Sam growled again.
“We aren’t just saying it—”
Dane burst in with, “We felt rejected, like third wheels. Unwanted add-ons to your relationship with Tayte.”
Silence descended as their words sunk in.
Then I began to laugh.
I sounded hysterical, and I probably was.
“Um… you felt… you guys….” I couldn’t stop laughing.
I had to get up.
I staggered to my feet, then fell into the chair Claire had put by the bed.