Shifter’s Baby (Alpha Fantasy Paranormal Billionaire Shifter BBW Romance) (114 page)

CHAPTER FIVE

The
room felt hot and muggy as I sat on his bed working up the nerve to tell him. Jackson laid down next to me eyes trained on his TV. I picked at my fingernails nervously. "Jackson..." He hummed at me not looking away from the TV. "I need to talk to you."

"Listen, I don't want to be mean but you must know I don't want a commitment, Leila." He signed still watching the television.

"It's not about that." I sighed standing up between him and the screen. His eyes flicked up to mine and rolled them in annoyance. I steadied myself as I prepared to say the words I practiced for a week. They never sounded real each time I said them to myself in the mirror. "I'm pregnant." He raised an eyebrow and shrugged.

"Well, I have to go." He sat up. "I have a club lacrosse game in an hour." He got up and stared at me expectantly.

"Jackson I just told you that I am having your child and all you care about is lacrosse?" I felt my voice rise. He rolled his eyes and opened his door.

"We'll can talk about this later, just do what you want to do, alright?"

The walk back to the sorority house felt like it took hours, but I didn't know what I expected. Jackson would have never jumped for joy or cried but wasn't that what we should have been doing. Babies were supposed to be a blessing; this didn't feel like a blessing. That just wasn't him. I kicked myself for allowing my heart to fall for him. He would never change, never commit, at least not to me. He hated lacrosse. It was the sport that his father picked for him in middle school and he resented everything that his father touched.

Pregnant sisters weren't discussed in the house although I knew I wouldn't have been the first, but I was sure that I couldn't keep living in the house after the next semester. Would I even be able to keep going to school? Or what would I tell my parents? All the questions buzzed through my head rapid fire before I could ever finish wondering the words of the one before it. I hadn't slept since the day I found out. That had been at least a week ago. How could I ever take care of a child? I climbed the stairs leading up to my room when the entire world spun on its axis, black fog clouded my eyes.

The room filled with beeps. My eyes felt heavy, I couldn't quite get them open but voices filled the silence between the beeps. "And the baby?" A male voice asked.

"Fine. They said she was lucky that she landed backwards or she would have lost it." A female voice responded. "Did you know?"

"She just told me." Jackson sighed. "I told her to do whatever she wanted."

"You're a real fucking prick." Said the voice I now recognized as Caitlyn's. "You treat her like shit and then you knock her up and show up here with a black eye and a chipped tooth as if they were badges of valor from an alleged fight you had with a brother for her honor."

"I did." He scowled. "He was calling her a slut and that's not how this happened."

"It doesn't make for the fact that you did this." She snapped. "She was so scared of you running away from her again that she ran herself ragged until she passed out on some damn stairs!" I wanted to open my eyes and tell them to stop but my lids would even flutter. My body felt as if a bus, probably from hitting the stairs on my back, had hit me.

"I know..." His voice was hallow. I willed some part of my body to work. I felt my fingers twitch realizing one of them was holding my hand. "Leila?" Jackson stood up excitedly.

"S-st-stop." I stuttered.

"See she doesn't want you here." Caitlyn hissed.

"Stop fighting." I tried to say again, my eyes cracked up. I could see them both staring at each other, he sat back down next to my bed and she crossed her arms. It was as much of a concession as she was ever going to give. "What happened?"

"You fell down the stairs when you blacked out." Caitlyn explained. "You've been in a medically induced coma for the last three days." I groaned at her words. "They said that you'll be fine but wanted to be proactive against any brain swelling. The baby wasn't hurt in the fall."

"Thank you." I said to her. "Can you leave me and Jackson for a moment?" She nodded and said she would be just outside. "Why are you here?" I asked him turning my face towards his.

"I felt bad about what I said to you and how I behaved." He sighed. "It wasn't okay and I should have seen that you weren't resting. I should have walked you back home. I shouldn't have reacted that way to began with." He squeezed my hand.

"You look like shit. Probably worse than I do." At my words he chuckled. "Did you win?"

"It was a draw. We were pulled off of each other. He has different injures than I do so we can't compare who got it worse." Jackson explained. "Your friend was right, you know." He frowned. "You deserve better than me." I found myself nodding at his words.

"I really do. You know that you've treated me like your father treats your mother." I narrowed my eyes at him. "It's not okay." He looked down at my hand silently. "How could you do that to me when you hate him so much?" His frowned deepened.

"I don't know." He said after a few moments of silence that was only broken by the beeping of my machines. "I knew what I was doing, I can't lie to you about that but I couldn't stop. I know that deep down I loved you. I still do." I cocked an eyebrow at him.

"No you don't." My words sounded cruel dripping from my lips.

"Fair enough." He took in a deep breath. "I can try to do better though. I'll start with this." He gently found my stomach. "If you want to keep it."

"I am keeping it but I don't know if I want you in its life." He nodded to my words. "But I'm willing to give you a chance, you won't get second chances." Jackson looked up at me now and nodded again.

"Thank you." He raised my IV'd hand to his lips.

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The Highlander’s Baby

Western Romance

Lisa Cartwright


Copyright 2016 by Lisa Cartwright - All rights reserved.

In no way is it legal to reproduce, duplicate, or transmit any part of this document in either electronic means or in printed format. Recording of this publication is strictly prohibited and any storage of this document is not allowed unless with written permission from the publisher. All rights reserved.

Respective authors own all copyrights not held by the publisher.

Chapter One

Lauren couldn’t help but to sigh a little as she shook her head, looking out of the carriage window. The rolling countryside made her smile as she shook her head, and it was one of the few things to make her smile in a long, long while. She thought that the new estate would help her to clear her head. Things had been so hectic lately, and she couldn’t help but to feel cooped up, as well.
Maybe this is exactly what I need.
She thought.

No one rode with her, but she knew that there would be many servants to attend her needs later. It was just her in the quiet ride, and she smiled as she looked out the window again. Serenity wasn’t something that she got to experience too often. She thought about asking how much longer, but she knew that just stopping her driver wasn’t going to get here there all that soon. She’d soon need to stretch her legs though, as they were cramping from the long ride. She put her head out the window just barely as she called out to the driver.

“When can we stop? I’m starting to cramp.” She asked, and the driver told her that it’d be only a few minutes more before they pulled off the path. She smiled as the carriage started to roll to a stop. She could hear the horses, as they seemed to be happy as well. Soon enough the carriage seemed to come to a full stop, and her door was opening.

“You needed to stretch Ms. Lauren?” The driver said, offering her his hand so that she could get down.

They day looked bright, and there was warmth radiating all around. Lauren smiled as she looked at the horse which was being led to a distant stream to get some water after the driver told her that he’d be back. She felt bad for just a moment thinking that she couldn’t remember his name.
Rufus Allens
. She thought to herself, smiling brightly as she remembered. It made her feel a little better.

She went back to stand by the carriage for a moment, knowing that they’d be going soon. She sighed a little, but that’s when she thought she heard men coming up the path. She was sure that she heard the pounding of hooves. Lauren shook her head as she looked from right to left.
No one is coming.
She thought, but there was no doubt that she heard it, and that’s when she realized that it was coming from across the beaten path. There were four horsemen, riding right towards them.

Her driver was shouting at her as he tried to bring the horse back quickly. She looked at him confused, but there was panic written all over his face. She shook her head, but that’s when it donned on her. She knew that she should be afraid just by the look on Rufus’ face. She went to get back in her carriage, but the pounding of hooves got much stronger. By the time she turned around they were already there.

“Sack the carriage.” Was the only thing she could understand of the long thing that was said. She just shook her head. Lauren couldn’t wrap her mind around what was happening. A knife was at her driver’s throat, and she was standing there. Someone grabbed her wrist, but it was all happening too fast. All of her things came out, one after the other, and she looked at the man that was sitting on the horse beside her, but he wasn’t there. He was now the one holding her wrist. His eyes met hers, and she couldn’t help but to gasp.

“Can’t leave a pretty lady like you abandoned.” He said with a grin, and with that he picked her up, pulling her onto the horse with him as he tipped his hat in a mocking manner to her driver. The man’s knife went far too close to his throat, pressing into it. She was riding off with them before she knew it. Looking back, the carriage was getting smaller and smaller.

“I demand you let me go!” Lauren shouted after things had quieted down. When she seemed to snap out of it and reality came back in sharp clarity. It was not just the pounding of hooves, but also the pounding of her heart.

“I don’t think you have too much room for demanding.” The man said with a small smirk, and the horse picked up its pace. She couldn’t help but to yelp as she was nearly tossed off it wasn’t for his firm hand holding her to him. He leaned in closer to her, making her shudder at the contact as she bit her bottom lip.

“So just be good and stay quiet for now. This is going to be a long ride for you if you aren’t used to horseback, Miss.” He said, and there seemed to be amusement in his voice.

She didn’t realize how right he was. She soon become sore, and it was only the pounding of her heart and the pounding of hooves that seemed to keep her awake. She sat there in shock until the horse came to a stop, as she tried to process how her life was changing. Lauren couldn’t seem to process it. She could only keep moving as he helped her down from the horse.

Chapter Two

The next morning was something from her nightmares. She woke up to a place she couldn’t quite remember how she got there until it call came flooding back, and when she did, she realized that everything was spinning. Trying to get ahold of herself, she dressed and started to mount her horse. She ignored the looks around her, and she tried to think, but thought wasn’t coming easily. There was beauty all around her, but she couldn’t appreciate it. Her body ached, and the sun that was just starting to rise seemed to make her squint her eyes and shake her head.

Lauren knew that she just needed to wait. She needed to try to rationalize.
They don’t want me hurt. That’s something, but what’s going to happen to me?
She thought, and worry continued to settle into her chest. She felt as if it was almost hard to breathe, but with a few deep breathes, she centered herself like every English woman should.

She had no idea how much time had passed before someone came in. she thought for a moment that it was a woman to bring more water, but when no one moved further than inside the door she looked that way to see polished leather shoes with perfect laces, as if they didn’t have a spec of dirt on them. Lauren looked up with her heart hammering all over again, and everything she had did to calm herself just flew out the window.

“I see that you’re finally looking up. I was starting to wonder that you were suffering from shock.” Came a thick Scottish accent. Her eyes widened as she shook her head.

“You’re probably wondering why my men brought you here…” He said, taking a few steps closer, and she was caught in those dark, deep eyes. It seemed as if their depth didn’t end. Lauren looked at his handsome face, with a chiseled jawline and curly hair that went past his ears. Something no Englishmen would have. It seemed as if her voice was lost to her.

“Yes.” She finally said, when it was clear that he wasn’t going to go on if she didn’t say anything at all.

“Well. I don’t think you’d be a happy lady if I told you it was a mistake, so I’m not going to say that. They quite did it on purpose, but that’s because we/re tired of the English going through our country.” He said.

“My name is Dugal Ansley.” He said, and she nodded.

“Lauren Abel.” She said, and he chuckled.

“I already knew that, but thank you. I’ll return you in a few weeks, so please, Miss Abel. Try to make yourself comfortable, and refusing our food certainly isn’t going to do it. An Englishwoman or not, you’re going to eat what’s put in front of you. We have a long ride ahead of us.” Dugal said, and she just nodded again.

“That is not a meal fitting of an English lady.” She huffed as she started to come out of shock. All of her etiquette training seemed to have completely lost her.

“I don’t think that you can truly pick and choose. Eat it or don’t, Miss Abel, but you’ll get hungry enough to eat it eventually.” He said dismissively, which only seemed to get under her skin more. She was once again caught staring at his chiseled chin, trying to bite down a blush of her own.

“What of my driver? Did any harm come to him?” She asked, nearly shouting it at him as soon as he turned to leave. She could see the frustration she was causing almost immediately as he stiffened, sighing for just a moment before turning to look back in her direction.

“No, Ms. Abel. We did not even destroy the carriage. He should be just fine and deliver the message of your kidnapping back where it needs to go.” Dugal said, and relief flooded through her. She sighed contently, as if a great worry had been lifted from her shoulders. She shook her head, thinking for a moment as she looked at Dugal.

“Thank you for the food.” She said, stiffly as her manners kicked in. Lauren picked it up and started to eat. He smiled at her before bowing, but Lauren couldn’t tell if the man was mocking or if he actually had manners.

“My pleasure, Ms. Abel.” He said, and she nodded a little as she ate and drank some more.

“I’ll see you at dusk. We ride in the morning.” He said, and with that he slipped out of the tent.

She wanted to scream, but she didn’t know who she’d be screaming at. All she knew is that she didn’t have a choice in what was happening, and she just had to hope that the man would keep his word. She had heard that the Scotts did terrible things to those caught in the countryside, and she only hoped that Dugal would prove all of those rumors to be false. It was hard for her to fall asleep. Her mind raced, but her body ached, and soon she passed out. Thankfully for Lauren, she had no dreams.