Taylor goes still, his gaze flicking up as though he’s just spotted an enemy. “Shit.”
The alarm bells clamor in Felix’s head even before he turns. Because they aren’t hiding from secret agents right now. They’re hiding from Kade, and Kade’s ten yards away, striding across the linoleum floors to them, his eyes fixed on Felix, his lips a thin line.
Felix’s stomach plummets to his feet. He can’t breathe. They’re surrounded by baby clothes, his shirt so thin the AC brushes over his skin.
I don’t think we’re suited for kids, Kade had said. Don’t wanna knock you up. That’ll be a mess.
And the ragged look in those mahogany eyes... Kade knows. Kade knows, and the tiny dresses around him aren’t protection enough. They shouldn’t be here, shouldn’t have even left the house today. Kade’s nostrils flare, and Felix knows exactly what he smells. The baby squirms inside him.
“Kill me now,” Felix whispers, mind spinning. “You brought the gun in, didn’t you? Just—just make it a clean shot.”
“I won’t,” Taylor hisses, his gaze darting between Kade and Felix. “I’m not shooting you. It’s time you told him, Felix.”
Felix whimpers, a soft, helpless sound. The exit’s thirty yards away. He can run, but Kade is stronger and faster than him, and he can’t move his feet right now. His body isn’t cooperating. And Kade doesn’t want a child at all. “Taylor, please.”
Kade closes the distance between them, tall and looming. Felix curls his fist into soft, tiny dresses, and wishes he were a million miles from here.
26
Kade
What kind of tea did you want? Kade types, hitting the send button on his phone.
Of course his mom would forget the tea on her grocery run, when it’s the only thing that’ll keep her awake. And of course he’d offered to pick it up for her.
He strides into the department store, thinking about getting some brake fluid for his bike, and maybe some crackers. The last time he’d been here this early, it had been to get cups and straws for the lemonade stand. Felix had been with him. Kade shoves the phone in his pocket, winding through the empty store.
His attention drifts to the customers in the store—the sports mom with her baseball cap and two kids trailing after her, the plump old lady pushing a huge shopping cart, the two mops of flyaway blond hair behind some kids’ clothes... It looks like Felix, actually. And his brother.
So Kade drifts closer, pulse racing. What are the odds of meeting him here?
One of the blonds looks up, and Kade can recognize his omega anywhere. It’s him!
Taylor leans in, pushing two tiny mittens against Felix’s abdomen. Felix stares contemplatively at the mittens, reaching for another pair. Kade slows his footsteps. Why would Taylor be sticking mittens on his brother’s stomach?
Taylor turns to a clothes rack. Felix bites his lip, looking down. Does he actually want a baby? Kade thinks, following his gaze. Felix hasn’t worn clinging shirts in a while, and his belly...
There’s a bulge at his belly.
Air rushes out of his lungs. Had that bump been there all along? Kade doesn’t remember seeing his naked abdomen recently. And they’ve been fucking countless times. How had he missed it?
Because it’s noticeable, now that Kade’s staring at it. Felix has never had a bump. How can it be anything else?
Felix is pregnant. Felix is fucking pregnant, and how the fuck had Kade not noticed sooner? Thought you said you’re on BC!
All those bumpy sweaters he’s been wearing, the lack of a scent, the time he puked... Kade tries to remember the last time he touched Felix’s belly, but he comes up blank. Because... because Felix keeps shoving his hand away, and Kade had thought Felix wanted to be touched elsewhere. Instead, he has been keeping a secret. They’ve been fucking for four months. How the hell had Kade missed it?
Something roars in his chest. Why the fuck did you lie?
He swears at himself, his strides lengthening. Felix carries his baby, and he wants to pull his omega against him, wants to kiss him, wants to know why the hell Felix thought it a good idea to lie.
Taylor glances up. His mouth moves, and Felix follows his gaze. Blood drains away from Felix’s face. His lips pull down, and he’s murmuring to his brother, looking frantically around.
Why is it a secret? Why don’t you want me to know? It’s... it’s mine, right?
The thought sends a shiver of dread through his body. Felix hasn’t once said anything about a relationship. He’s talked about other people, maybe fucked other people, and... Kade’s stomach twists.
“I’ll be in the baking aisle,” Taylor says, squeezing Felix’s hand. He nods at Kade, then glances at Felix, his expression shuttered. Neither of them is smiling.
Maybe Kade was never supposed to find out about this baby. His breath catches.
He stops before Felix, leaving two feet between them so he sees the bump—because there is a noticeable bump. How could he have slept with Felix for months and not noticed? I’m a damn idiot!
The lavender scent hits him like a brick wall. Kade breathes it in deep, stunned, smelling the honey-sweet edge that wasn’t there before. It should have been comforting to smell it this strong, but it only leaves him feeling empty.
“You’re pregnant,” Kade says, and the voice doesn’t sound like his own.
Felix hugs himself. He bites his lip hard, glass in his eyes, looking as though he’s about to cry. “I-I am. Sorry.”
Sorry about what? Months of lying? Not telling his bondmate he’s pregnant? That the baby might not be Kade’s? I trusted you, Kade thinks, and the thought burns through his chest, restless and disbelieving. How could Felix do this? They’ve known each other twenty years. We’re fucking bondmates.
Kade sucks in a deep breath, his pulse pounding in his veins. How difficult is it for you to say “I’m pregnant”? Do I even mean
