No longer laughing

I shot upright on the bed as if I'd been stung.

Of all the crap Hunter could have pulled, making baby jokes was the most surprising. The massive set up with him pretending to be nervous and pacing back and forth. The fake seriousness and tension in the room as he tricked me into thinking we were breaking up. It was such a stupid joke that even I wouldn't have pulled it on someone.

He had me wrapped up close in his big stupid arms as if he was planning on keeping me forever, and he was staring at me with such wide serious eyes that I had to stifle the heat rising in my lower body.

"Hunter..." I leaned in close so that my lips brushed against the side of his neck and made a low threatening growl. His grip on my body instantly loosened and he shifted a bit nervously.

"I mean what I said, Jake. I am not going anywhere," he said. His hands moved to run down the length of my arm. His hands travelled slowly so that I could feel every bit of contact carefully. I became aware of the warmth flowing from his palms and rising from his chest. The light blue shirt he had put on was old and worn with patches that looked close to tearing apart. It did nothing to disguise the strong body underneath, but I didn't expect him to dress wisely every day.

His breathing was slowed and heavy while his normally bright green eyes were dark and narrowed in a predatory way. It was that look he gave me when he was considering taking things a step further. Thinking clearly was never easy when he looked at me that way and he knew it. "No, slow down Wolfe," I warned.

A smile revealed itself on his lips, but his eyes stayed sharp. He leaned forward and started nibbling on my ear. It should have been obvious that he was trying to distract me, but I was having trouble thinking straight as the heat continued to work its way up into my head. By the time he pushed my back down onto the bed, I didn't even remember what we were talking about.

He stared climbed on top of me and pulled off his shirt, clearing away any doubt about his intentions. I was on board with the recent change in topics up until he spoke again.

"We might as well have as much fun as we can before the baby comes."

My irritation immediately surpassed my arousal. I grabbed onto his right arm raised my knee in between us for leverage. Then I pushed off as hard as I could to throw him off my bed. He flew off much farther than I expected, but it was satisfying to see him crash onto the floor. "Listen carefully," I said moving to sit on the side of the bed facing him. "I am not pregnant. I am a man. Do I really need to prove that to you again, Hunter?"

He sat upright and looked at me with big lost puppy eyes for a moment. "I know what you are, Jake, but...it's not that simple anymore. I thought you noticed that too. The way you've been changing, and it's the only thing that makes sense.

"I mean, you growl at me when you get angry. Your strength keeps growing and I've seen how protective you have become. Then there is the way that your eyes flare green when you get excited. Those are signs of a pregnant werewolf."

I had thought he was just playing around and using a stupid joke to do it, but Hunter wouldn't take a joke this seriously. That didn't make me feel any better about what he was saying. "That doesn't matter. The human body does not work that way. I literally cannot have a baby. I don't understand how you are even considering this."

His head dipped toward the floor and a sigh passed through his lips. "It's not impossible. It has never happened before, but it is not impossible. I spoke to my father about it, but he didn't seem to have a response. I know that there are even basic shapeshifters that have no problem shifting into the opposite sex. Even though no one would try mentioning it, a male werewolf technically shouldn't have any problems with growing a few new organs to carry a baby."

Cold, frozen dread sunk into the pit of my stomach when I realized what he meant. If I was changing into a werewolf, it would be possible for me to become pregnant. It wasn't just a joke anymore, now it was serious factor.

"Calm down. I will be here no matter what happens. You know that right?" he tried moving closer to me, but I couldn't take it.

I jumped to my feet and moved away from him. "It doesn't matter if you will 'be here', Hunter. I can't have kids like that. That isn't the way it's supposed to work." There was such a terrible tension knotting up my stomach. I heard Hunter stand and felt him get closer to me, but I didn't want him to touch me. I couldn't say exactly why, but I didn't want any contact.

He stopped in place a few feet away from me and backed up to give me room. When he spoke again, his voice tore at my heart like a jagged knife. "I hear you. I do. But please understand that I never...I never wanted to throw something like this at you. I just want us to get through whatever is going on together. That is all," he said.

I didn't know what to say to him, I didn't have any thoughts to share with him. I was literally staring at the dirty clothes strewn across my messy bedroom floor and wondering how long they had been there. I hardly ever cleaned my room during the summer because I spent so much time with Hunter. So much time messing around and being happy. I couldn't even tap into those memories for comfort now with the dread and tension working its way through my gut.

"Jake? Please just turn around and look at me. Let's just talk, please," he pleaded.

I just wanted him to leave, so that I could stare at my disorganized floor and wallow in silence.

Hunter's voice was rough and grave when he said, "Alright, I get it." Then the window opened, and a warm afternoon breeze hit my back.

No relationship is without obstacles, but is this the one that breaks the Alpha's bond?