My wolf cowered inside of me, hurt crashing in on all sides. Rejection. It seeped into every pore and every bone.
I knew I shouldn’t feel that way. Nicholas was pragmatic and cautious. He wouldn’t want to have a baby out of wedlock with anyone, even me.
But my wolf’s reaction is visceral, as if I had been directly rejected by my mate.
It took every sliver of willpower I had to keep from whimpering and pulling myself into the fetal position. I bury it all down deep, right there alongside any dream I secretly held of making a family with Nicholas.
When he glanced at me again, he found me just as closed off as he was.
Slowly, I began to slink out of bed.
“Piper? Where are you going?” He sat up in the bed, watching me as I gathered my clothing off the ground and shimmied back into them.
