Chapter 251
Chapter 251
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I tried to imagine him as a little kid, feet swinging off of a stool as he ate his lunches.
“What was it like to grow up with a powerful wolf?” I asked, curiously, “My own wolf didn’t manifest when I was a child, so I never knew what it was like p>
“It was a sudden change,” he admitted, staring off into the distance for a while, “Overnight, it was as though all my relationships with my peers and even my family shifted. People feared me, or wanted to prove themselves against me. It became harder to just be ‘me’, even though I was more of myself than ever before p>
“Sounds painful,” I said, frowning.
“In some ways, yes, I suppose it was,” Gideon frowned, “but it was an important lesson as well. I learned about expectations, and how just existing in the body I do, with the strength I have, effected the people
around me p>
“Hrm,” I mused on his words for a few more moments. I knew some of the hard struggles Gideon had gone through as a child. The expectations his family had put on him, as well as the way they had preferred their other children over him.
I knew that I didn’t want my own child to go through anything like that. If I stayed here, and they indeed manifested a powerful wolf, would they be doomed to the same fate?
Gideon had turned to look at me.
“You look concerned,” he said, “I hope hearing about this doesn’t upset you. You don’t need to worry about me. The past is the past p>
He reached out and grabbed at my hand where it lay in my lap p>
“If you are willing to stay by my side, I will do whatever it takes to still have a happy life together p>
“I’m worried…,” I inhaled a big breath and let it out slowly, “I’m worried about any children we might have.
What their lives might be like p>
There, I had said it. 1
Gideon looked mildly surprised, “Is this what has been weighing on you?” he turned towards me more fully, and took my other hand in his, so that both of mine were clasped in his.
“If we are blessed with children, then we will face that obstacle together, as a family. You must know that any children we have will be loved, fiercely. I can’t imagine that you would do anything other than love them with all you are. I know you, Avery.” (1)
“And do you love me the way you would love them?” I asked, softly.
Gideon’s eyes searched across my face, while his hands tightened around my own.
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Suddenly a number of warriors burst into the kitchen.
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“Alpha! There you are!” they shouted, “The men are gathering and preparing to enter the woods. They are calling for you to lead the cohort p>
“I must go,” Gideon said, sliding off of the stool. He didn’t let go of my hands though, and stood there a moment longer, staring down at me.
Would he answer my question before he left? I wondered.
Finally he leaned forward to whisper in my ear, “I will find you under the Full Mating Moon tonight p>
His words sent a shiver down my spine, ripe with promise and a hint of seduction as his lips trailed along the sensitive lobe of my ear. Then he leaned forward to seize my mouth with his, parting my lips quickly and delving with his tongue for a breath-stealing moment, and then he pulled away, leaving me gasping.
In a moment he had joined his warriors, who were thumping him on the back and giving me appreciative glances, then they all trooped out and into the sunshine. 1
I was left thinking about what he had said.
Yes, I would love any child we had. I already did love the pup in my belly with all my being. I would die for them, and would do anything to give them a better life. But was staying here in Nightwolf pack the best future I could offer?
Gideon was powerful, and he was a good leader. A pup raised with him as their father would have an excellent role model, but they also would have large shoes to fill. Could I do that to any son or daughter who was set to join us?
Or would they be better raised with me, in obscurity?
Furthermore, how could I raise a pup with a man who couldn’t tell me he loved me? 1
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