Page 8 of The Baby Contract

That evening I slept in what my wolf had declared, was his new favorite place, the rose garden.

Even when Boris had stormed off, leaving us bruised and bloody, my wolf refused to leave. He wanted to wallow in the pain, not escape it. For him, it was like feeling the pain we caused Millie and taking it away from her.

The one thing my wolf did not agree with, though, was Boris' news. Boris taking care of Millie lit a spark inside of him, making a million scenarios run through his head, each that disgusted and displeased him more and more as time went on.

I lay on the bed of roses he had made, the thorns poking into my skin. I ran my hands over my face, and through my hair, looking up at the night moon. I wondered what Ember would think of me if she saw me right now, lying in this bed of roses?

My wolf shook his head at this thought, nudging me.

He seemed to want to smell another rose, so I picked up a white one, twirling it between my fingers.

How would Ember view my actions with Millie?

Would she be jealous of my infidelity? Or would she understand that it was only what I had to do to become a father?

My wolf nipped at me, whining at these thoughts. I rolled over again, the movement causing the smell to pass through my nose again, calming me. My wolf was in love with Ember, he lived, breathed, and loved her scent, her laugh, her everything.

He loved her so much that, when she passed away, he left me alone, for these five years. Just resting inside of me, not wanting to shift or do anything as he grieved.

My wolf clawed inside of me as if reminding me that he was there. "Yeah, yeah-" I sighed. "I know you're there, you stupid wolf. Finally, back at the worst time." I rolled my eyes.

Time passed until morning, and as the sun rose, I was finally able to convince him to head back to the pack house to get some work done before having to go back and see Millie today, and that was if, Boris would let us.

My wolf let out an ear-shattering growl at the thought as we walked, which made me shake my head. He was much more unruly than I remember him being when we were mated to Ember, but, he was unmated now.

I grabbed my armor out of my office, and quickly put that on, running down to the training grounds to train some of the younger warriors.

As I arrived at the training grounds, I noticed Aspen with the usual crowd of her girlfriends, all of them giggling as they helped each other sharpen their swords.

As the crowd of young wolves scented me, they looked up, their conversations going quiet. They all bowed, showing me respect as they formed a path for me to get through.

"Warriors-" I boomed, grabbing my sword from the post and sharpening it. "You will be training in partners today. You will get with someone of the same rank. If you don't know who to partner with, I will pair you."

After my announcement, the hundreds of young wolves chatted as they grabbed their swords, deciding who they wanted to train with. "Alpha Stormblade!" A young man raised his hand in the crowd, no older than seventeen. "I don't have a partner!"

I looked around in the crowd. "You'll be with Axel," I announced, pairing him with another young man his size and strength. They looked at each other across the field, nodding, before going to stand next to each other.

"Alright-"I stabbed my sword into the ground. "Today we will be doing weaponry training. You will practice in partners." I announced. "The only rule is you will not hurt your pack member in any way, if you hit their armor, then you win."

Some of the boys grumbled at the lack of being able to do damage, which made the girls roll their eyes and giggle. "I will be around to check your form and help you with your sword. Go!"

I walked around, helping the pairs as they practiced, the wolves getting to work. "Good, just hold the sword down here, and keep your feet like that-"I said, to a young girl, who seemed to be struggling. "Now, try."

She swung again, this time her weapon much more in control, her smile brightening. "Good. Now, keep practicing like that."

She bowed in thanks, as she tried it with her partner. I kept walking around, doing the same thing, as I saw them needing adjustments.

The loud sound of a sword hitting someone's armor grabbed my attention. I swung my head around to see Aspen, fighting another young she-wolf. "Oh, Aspen! I'm so sorry- "she rushed, putting her sword down to her side. "I didn't mean to hit you. I thought you would block it."

I stood and watched, helping a boy with his stance as I did so. "It's fine." Aspen breathed, shaking it off. "Let's go again."

"Just keep your stance wide and then-"I turned my attention back to the boy, helping him. Until another sound of metal caught my attention. "I'll come back and check on your stance. Keep practicing for now."

I turned around, to see the young she-wolf Aspen was fighting with now looking up at me with her sword down, her eyes wide with fear. "Alpha, I-"

I put my hand up, stopping her. "Go join these girls- "I pointed with my sword to another pair. Looking at the she-wolf and them, I knew they would be a much better match for her than Aspen, but I didn't want to say that out loud.

"Yes, Alpha." She bowed, quickly running off to join them, leaving Aspen with me.

Aspen sighed, tapping her leg anxiously as she watched her friend run off. "Why did you have to embarrass me like that?" She scolded me, crossing her arms. "It's bad enough that the Alpha is my brother. And, now, I'm standing here alone with you. Everyone is looking at me."

I rolled my eyes, looking back out over the field. "No one is looking at you, Aspen. They are busy training, not worried about you." I sighed.

"Why did you have to send Serenity away?" She huffed, tapping her foot. "Now I don't have a partner."

"I'm your partner," I stated, taking her hand with the sword in it. "Now, first, let me help you hold your sword properly."

"Ugh-"Aspen tugged her hand away. "Just stop. You're drawing attention to me." Her face getting red.

I was about to rebuttal but decided to follow Aspen's gaze over to a group of boys, whose attention fell on us, their voices low as they chuckled amongst themselves. I flashed my canines at them, giving them a warning, and they obeyed right away, not daring to cross their Alpha.

"See!" Aspen hushed, her face getting hot. "This is why you should have just left me alone."

"I thought you didn't want attention-"I said. "So, I gave them a warning to stop looking at you. Now, stop worrying about other people and focus on your training." I reached out for Aspen's hand again, but she pulled it away angrily.

"Come on, Aspen," I whispered. "Don't you want to learn how to fight? Let me teach you."

Aspen shook her head, throwing down her sword. "You just embarrassed me in front of all my friends, Theo. I know I'm a bad fighter, but you don't have to come over here and embarrass me by giving me special treatment." Her eyes went red with tears as went to take her armor off.

I sighed, stopping her. "Okay, right-"I bit my lip, thinking of what to say. "Didn't you want to spend time with me just a few days ago? So, I'm here. Let's train together."

Aspen scoffed, throwing off her armor. "You don't care about spending time with me. You just don't want me to be weak because I'm your sister." She cried, stomping off back to the pack house.

I sighed, watching her run back in tears as I held her sword in my hand, and looked at her armor lying in the grass. I turned around, the warriors now slowing down to watch the scene that just unfolded in front of them.

"You're all dismissed for today," I announced, hanging Aspen's gear back up on the rack.

Later that evening, I never saw Aspen again. Not that, that wasn't usual. But, I never saw Boris, Ingrid, Dad, or Mom either. It was completely quiet.

I mean, I guess Ingrid wasn't my maid anymore, she was Millie's. And, Boris, well, he was my Beta, it never failed that he at least had one thing to report to me. But, not today, which was odd, to say the least.

I'm guessing he was still upset about yesterday, and purposefully stayed away from me today to prove a point. As much as I complained that I hated having Boris around, I missed having him around.

"Not a problem, warrior- "Boris sounded outside my office, walking by. "You can take the day off tomorrow."

I stood out of my chair at the sound of his voice, opening the door to see him going up the stairs, on the phone. "You're welcome, bye." He said, hanging up the phone.

"Hey, Boris!" I said, following him up the stairs. "Where have you been all day?"

Boris continued on his way, not bothering to look at me. "Do you need something, Alpha?"

I gulped, surprised by Boris' cold reaction. "I haven't seen you. I thought you would be by today. You usually are to give me updates on pack matters."

"Nothing to report," Boris said coldly, running up the stairs. "Is that all?"

I cleared my throat, following him. "Okay. Well, where are you going?"

"Must you know?" Boris stopped abruptly, looking me dead in the eye. "Trust me, nowhere you want to be and no one you want to see, Alpha." He threw his hands up, rolling his eyes, before spinning on his heels and continuing on his way. "Look at me, poetry."

We turned onto the floor of the clinic, the nurses bowing to us as we arrived. "I didn't know you were seeing her today- "I followed him down the long hall. "You didn't tell me."

"I'm in charge of Millie's care now, in case you forgot, Alpha." He snarled. "I don't need to tell you when I'm going to see her. I'm just visiting. I thought she could use some company-"he looked at his watch. "And, I have time right now before my next meeting."

Boris sighed, looking straight ahead. "Nothing in your contract says I can't visit or talk to her. Now-"he stopped as we approached Millie's door, Ingrid's cart outside of it. "Anything else?"

I stood stunned at Boris' stern attitude, he was always light-hearted and fun, even after Ember died. And right now, he was cold and ruthless. It was unlike him.

He took the keys out of his pocket, raising his eyebrows at me as he waited for my answer. My wolf nudged me, urging me to speak. "I'd like to see Millie too." I blurted out, sticking my hands in my pockets.

Boris closed his eyes in annoyance, running his hand down his face. "Look- "he said, taking a deep breath. "You hurt Millie, Alpha. Get that through your thick head. That night, we saw what you did to her. And, Millie, well- "he sighed. "She hides a lot of her emotions."

My wolf whined, crying at the reminders. He pushed to know more, wanting to know more about that night, how Millie was, how she acted, what she said.

"I have to see her-" not even knowing what I was begging for until it came to me. "To conceive a baby, remember? Please."

Boris rolled his eyes, popping the key into the door to unlock it. "Just stay here. I'll ask Millie if she would be willing to do that tonight. If she doesn't feel comfortable, then you will take no for an answer."

As soon as the door opened, Boris slid into the room, slamming it shut in my face as soon as he entered, cutting off the sweet scent of roses that wafted out. I sighed, sitting in a chair, staring across the hallway at the door, focusing on the muffled sounds of Ingrid and Boris' voices.

Time passed like molasses as I stared at the artwork in the hallway of the clinic, studying its every detail. My wolf was tired of waiting, imagining himself with the huge bouquet of roses in his mouth, spinning around with his tail wagging happily in my mind.

The sound of the door creaking caused me to rush to my feet as Boris and Ingrid came out, Ingrid bowing to me slightly, a displeased look on her face.

Boris sighed, patting Ingrid on the shoulders comfortingly. "Millie was journaling in her bed when I came in," he explained. "I asked her if she would be okay seeing you tonight, and- "he shook his head, pinching his nose and he looked up at the ceiling.

"She said that was fine." He looked pained. "I don't think she felt comfortable to tell you or me no."

My wolf pranced, happy that Millie said yes. "Great. You can both be dismissed then."

Boris chuckled, shaking his head as he exchanged looks with Ingrid. "Oh no-"he said. "We will be right here." He pointed to the chairs. "Waiting for you."

"You don't need to do that, Boris," I growled angrily. "I can handle this just fine."

Boris and Ingrid sat down on the chairs. "Not last time. And, we are not taking that risk again." He leaned back, getting comfortable. "If we even hear a peep out of Millie, I'm coming in and kicking your ass."

My chest rumbled as I grabbed the doorknob, taking a deep breath, before entering Millie's room, taking in the sweet rose scent that made my wolf jump.

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