He drops a hand on my shoulder and looks into my eyes. He’s about to open his mouth when I speak first.
“If you’re about to tell me it’ll all be solved by taking what’s rightfully mine, save it. I can’t handle this the way you did.”
“I wasn’t going to tell you that, Jase. I have regrets about some of my actions with my Ivy. I was going to tell you you’re doing the right thing. You know what you need to do. Just like Grey knew, like Mason knew. Riley was a different story. I’m here if you want to talk. I’m also here if you wanna spar. I like to spar.”
“Thanks, bro. Linc’s been helpin’ with that.”
“Why does he get all the fun?” Tyson quips.
I laugh. “Can you get your mother here so we can get this over with?”
“Absolutely.” He pulls his phone out.
I open the door to the clinic, to my parents sitting with Sherry in the waiting room.
Mom jumps to her feet.
I hug her. “Sorry I haven’t called.”
“You’ll make it up to us,” she says, patting my cheek affectionately.
Pops slaps my back. “You doin’ all right?”
“Hangin’ in there,” I tell him.
“Sherry,” I greet.
She’s sitting here, make-up free, wearing a tracksuit. Sherry never leaves the house unless she’s all dolled up.
“What’s goin’ on?” she asks, eyes panning the room.
I sit beside her and take hold of her hand. She yanks it back.
“You know since we believe so strongly in everything happening for a reason, the pack doesn’t typically do abortions when the father is alpha unless there’s a medical reason.”
Her expression hardens.
I continue. “And we checked with the coven who looked into it and this baby you’re carrying needs to be born.”
Her face hardens. “I’m not doing this.”
“You need–”
“I won’t do this!” she shouts.
“It’s fate, Sherry,” my mother says.
“You already knew?” Sher accuses. “The coven has only been coming around since Riley mated. What if this was six months ago?”
“We’d have asked the SCC and they’d have looked into it the way the coven did,” Cat enters the fray. “This has always been my policy as well as that of my predecessor. We have to be very cautious about these things. The coven says you’re carrying an alpha. Alphas don’t get terminated. It’s against our laws.”
“I’m sorry, Sher,” I say. “We’ll figure it out together.”
“This is humiliating enough as it is, Jase. Do all these alphas really need to be here?” she shouts.
“You’re part of the pack. We’re here to support you,” Joel tells her.
She scoffs. “Bullshit. You guys are muscle in case I try to take off and go to a mainstream clinic. Fuck you all if you think you’re going to make me give birth to his kid!”