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Toggling her gaze from Valentina to the shepherd, Lexi nodded her head. She didn’t appreciate the disgusted tone to her voice, it reminded her too much of her alter’s.

“He did,” she replied.

Shrugging her shoulders, the tall blonde walked over to the entryway table and dropped a large gift basket upon its lacquered top. Maddox told her that Kade ordered that he leave the dog in her care, but she didn’t believe him. It added a small kink to Bloodbayne’s plan, but not one so big that it couldn’t be smoothed over.

“I suppose that was smart,” she said.

Smoothing her hands over the white tee covering her belly, Lexi lifted her shoulders into a small shrug. Valentina carried an air of authority that made her skin crawl. She didn’t quite understand why Kade trusted her so completely.

“He’s a good dog,” she said, leaning down to scruff the fur behind his ears.

“Uh huh,” Valentina replied, placing her hand on her hip.

Growing more uncomfortable by the second, she motioned to the cellophane wrapped basket taking up most of the entryway table. “Oh wow, is that for me?” she asked, trying to look surprised.

Giving a curt nod, the blonde eyed the pregnant woman from head to toe. She was taken aback by how disheveled she appeared. Had she not bathed this entire time? She almost felt repulsed by her, until she realized that it wasn’tdirtsmeared across her neck.

“Bloodbayne wanted to make sure that our little prince had some goodies,” she said nonchalantly, stepping into Lexi’s personal space for a closer inspection.

“Well, that’s very generous of him,” she replied.

Keeping her blue eyes locked on her bruised throat, Valentina hummed low. It only took her a second to recognize the handprint pressed into her skin.That son-of-a-bitch.She knew Kade couldn’t keep him locked in his cage for long.

“I see you’ve met Demetri.” she said.

Stammering for a moment, Lexi gave her an odd look. She wasn’t quite sure how to answer her. “You...you know about Demetri?” she asked, her voice lifting high.

Tilting her head, she couldn’t stop herself from laughing. She knewallKade’s dark secrets. “Of course, who do you think helped Kade clean up all of Demetri’s little...messes? But hey, you managed to survive! You’re the first one that’s ever come out alive!Good for you!”she praised, her eyes dropping to her rounded belly. “I trust there was no harm done to our little one?”

Shaking her head, Lexi wrapped her arms protectively around her stomach. “No...sh...he, uh...heis doing just fine! Couldn’t be healthier!” she replied, kicking herself for almost letting the sex of her child slip.

Reaching down to her stomach, Valentina placed her cold hand against her bump. “That’s fantastic news. We wouldn’t want anything to happen tohim,now, would we?” she said with a smirk.

Swallowing a scream, she nodded in agreement. The woman was acting like a cat with a mouse, and she didn’t appreciate it one bit. She knew.She absolutely knew.

Sensing a change in his human’s mood, Cupcake pulled back his lips and let out a low growl. It didn’t matter that he recognized the big woman. Orders were orders.

Narrowing her eyes, Valentina turned her attention towards the German Shepherd. Dropping her hand from Lexi’s belly, she fought the urge to kick the dog. Its loyalty no longer seemed to side with her, it was yet another small snafu.

“Control your dog,” she said sternly.

Dropping her lips into a frown, Lexi glanced back and forth between the blonde and her dog. For a moment, she wondered if she should let Cupcake go in for the kill. Ultimately decidingagainst it, she reluctantly followed the woman’s words, she ordered him to heel. “Cupcake,sitz,”she said.

Keeping his brown eyes centered on the tall woman, the shepherd obliged his human. Sitting on his hind legs, he patiently waited for further instructions.

“Sorry about that,” Lexi muttered.

“Don’t be. I suppose it’s understandable why he’s so protective of you. You are his Alpha’s pregnantbitch, after all,” Valentina replied, a hint of jealousy in her voice.

Dropping her mouth open in shock, Lexi pushed out an unbelieving laugh “I beg your pardon?”

Unbothered by her taking offense, the blonde shrugged her left shoulder. “Did I stutter?” she asked.

Widening her green eyes, she bristled inside. She wanted to reach up and slap the shit out of the Amazonian.How dare she?“I would choose my words more carefully if I were you,” she replied, her voice shaking ever so slightly.

Shifting her weight from one foot to the other, Valentina smirked at the pregnant hellcat. She was happy to finally see a bit of the fire Kade had so reverently spoken about. It was good to know that she wasn’t a total doormat. Not that it would make a lick of difference.

“Careful, Alexandria. We don’t want to stress out the baby now, do we?” she asked.