The Other Part of Me

Braden

The day before had been such a clusterfuck of variety and it hadn't helped that he was sleep-deprived from the day before that. He went to his bedroom to smooth the waters with his mate before turning in early, but when he walked in, she wasn't there.

He found her in her bedroom, lying on the bed. "Cassie?" He'd called out softly. He walked towards her. The closer he got to her, the louder her rhythmic breathing became, the pattern he'd come to be familiar with signified she was in a deep sleep.

When he reached the bed, he hovered over her, staring at her face. Despite the day she'd had herself, she looked very angelic. His eyes moved down to her chest where he saw the book that had helped him clear his conscience. A curse and a blessing in one hardback book of pages bound with glue and one hard truth.

He picked up the book, looking inside the cover.

"Beta: Aeric Hunter".

He stared at his father's name.

Before Cassie, he hadn't thought much of the man that betrayed his Alpha in such a cowardly way, but now as he saw the name under his victim's name, Braden felt a knot form in his throat. It was full of contempt and sadness with a twist of shame.

He put the book on the nightstand and sat in the open space on the bed next to Cassie, gently covering the small swell of her belly with his hand. The roundness didn't quite fill his palm yet. He wished he could make a vow never to leave a legacy of shame to that little pup, but it wasn't up to him. Cassie held all the cards with that little life.

Braden curled himself on the bed next to her body, resting his head on her belly. She stirred, but remained asleep. He fell asleep almost immediately.

He awoke late morning the following day. He was in her bed, and she was already gone. He stood and looked out the window to the parking area- her Jeep was gone as well. Looking around the room, her things were still there which gave him some peace of mind.

He readied himself for the day, without bothering with breakfast, he walked out of the mansion, straight to the Bridgette's pharmacy. He saw her leaning against the counter, flipping through a magazine. "Hi," he greeted. "How are you?"

Bridgette smiled widely, closing the magazine and standing up straight. "Hey, Alpha. Late start?"

Braden nodded. He hadn't been up that late since he was a young wolf, going through the metaphysical awakening of his wolf-being. "It seems I missed Cassie. Do you have any idea where she went?" She shook her head, but kept grinning.

"By any chance, did she talk to you about..." He let the sentence linger.

"About?" She prompted with an echo.

Braden put his hands in his black track-pants pockets and stared down. "About what you and I talked about yesterday."

"The abortion pill?" She asked.

He nodded.

Bridgette walked around the counter, walking towards Braden. She grabbed a hand and pulled him towards the chairs. "Let's sit for a moment."

He hated where this was going already. He shook his head. He didn't want to make himself comfortable if he was only going to end up storming out of there to beat something hard during training. "I'd rather stand." Bridgette remained next to him. "I told her what you told me about giving it to her if she wanted it." She paused, placing her hand in his muscular arm. "Once she heard this, she asked me for a package." His heart broke. He was about to turn and walk out.

"A package of prenatal pills!" She practically screamed.

Braden flinched, turning back towards her. "What?" It took him

moment to realize what she was saying.

"Prenatal pills!" Bridgette repeatedly herself excitedly. She threw herself in his arms. "Congrats, daddy!"

He stumbled backwards against the counter when she threw her weight on him. He regretted not sitting now as he felt dizzy with relief. The breath he had been holding was finally released. He finally felt free. When Bridgette released him, he sat down, she took the seat next to him.

"A pup." He said to himself. "Finally." He looked at Bridgette. "I didn't think this was in my destiny a month ago and now, I have everything."

Bridgette tapped his leg with her palm. "You deserve it, Braden," she crossed her arms over her lap. "You know all of us here love you, right? You've been such a fair Alpha to the pack, a different type of Alpha. We've all been asking Moon Goddess to light this path for your life."

He looked at her. "After so many of the original members refused to come back because of me, I thought my father's sins were my cross to bear."

She took his hand. "Aww, Braden, no. You are not like your father just because you are his son. Moon Goddess knows this. The old members that don't see that have missed out on a wonderful leader. It's their loss."

His eyes moved from their hands to her face and smiled. "Thank you."

The tender moment was short lived. A warrior wolf ran into the pharmacy. "Braden! We just heard Cassie's wolf was seen running east of the village with at least eight rogues chasing after her!"

Andrei tore through right away, leading the way with all the warrior wolves behind him.

He ran knowing both his mate's and his pup's lives were in imminent danger.