Ethan gripped her upper arm, causing her to pause.“What's wrong?”
What's wrong? Where did she start?
“I’m meeting your mother, and I just met you." She found interest in a stray thread before turning to him.
"Does she know?”
He chuckled. “She knows. The whole pack knows. Who do you think sent my brothers on their little quest?”
“Oh crap. She knows we had sex!”
Olivia pulled her shirt down and crossed her ankles. She groaned. "This is embarrassing. I had sex with you in an alley."
He nodded. "After knowing me for a few hours. She's aware."
She hung her head and covered her face with her hands. "Your mother probably thinks I'm a huge slut."
“She wouldn't think that. She knows how mating works. She also knows I’m a huge asshole about how it all happened.”
A giggled escaped. “Oh, well. In that case. I'm all for meeting her."
She looked up to catch him shaking his head.
"So, does she know you took advantage of me in an alley?”
Ethan’s lips formed a tight line, but Olivia swore she saw a twinkle of laughter.
“Olivia, my mother does not think I am a saint. In fact ,she knows I'm not a saint. I have something else to tell you.”
A knot formed in her stomach.
“I don’t do multiples. I can barely handle you.”
Olivia swore Ethan's eyes almost popped out of his head. “What? No. What kind of pack do you think we are?”
Her shoulders relaxed. “I don’t know. I’ve heard of packs that have orgies. It’s why my mom always said to stay away from shifters. You’re all sex-crazed.”
A belly deep laugh filled the cab of the truck. “I’d like to deny that completely, but when you find your soul-mate how exactly is one supposed to act? Tell me that you don’t feel the pull. It kills me to keep my hands off you. It’s only ever going to be you though. You’re it for me. So if that is sex crazed, then sure. But we don’t have orgies. I suppose there are all types of packs. My pack is not that kind of pack. You’re mine.”
Her heart melted. “Aw. Now that’s a proposal.”
A hint of pink touched his cheeks.
“I don't see why you don't understand why how this whole thing happened bothers me. We are together right? I mean like, forever. I think I deserve to be asked at least. Even if I can't say no...” Olivia glared at him.
“I. Uh. Right. You could say no though. Nothing stopping you. However, you can't live without me.”
Her mouth agape as she looked at him. "Aren't you cocky?"
She rolled her eyes.
"No. I mean the physical pain of being withheld from your destiny is literally too much."
She shifted in her seat. This sounded all very final. And, well it was.“Oh fine. Don’t get all twisted about it. I just mean that it would have been nice to have a proper proposal. Even if wolves don’t do that. I do. Witches have weddings similar to a human. And sadly, I already dreamed of it.”
Ethan scooted back into the driver’s seat, and Olivia had a sinking feeling she’d pushed too far. Not that she could chase away her soul mate as he labeled them.
“If you want a wedding then sure. Before this goes any further, and before we get to my mom’s, I really need to tell you something.”
Olivia shook her head. “What else could possibly surprise me?”
“Right.” He started rubbing a hand against his jeans, palm to fabric.
"What could be that bad? Just tell me." The newly released wolf within Olivia started to pace, pawing at the depths of her soul. She tried to quiet the unrest. With each second of silence, she slid to the front of the seat, teetering on the edge.
Swallowing back apprehension that she struggled to know if it was Ethan's fear or hers she nearly hit her head on the windshield.
“Please just say it. What else could you possibly need to tell me that could be any worse than 'hey we're married.' You can't leave me, according to you, so just spit it out.”
"No. I know. It's not something bad really. But it's big. Really big." Ethan started the engine and pulled out, winding around the small bend to the main road. As they pulled up to a stop sign, he turned to her.
“I have a daughter.”
The words doused her body in cold. “A daughter?”
Chapter 12
“You have a daughter?” Her voice sounded flat as he studied her face.
Ethan nodded. “Yes. She’s three. Her name is Amelia.”
Olivia hadn’t moved. Her chest was moving, so she was still alive. Ethan tried to reach into her head. He needed to know what she was thinking. Nothing.
Quick learner.
“I should have mentioned her sooner, everything happened so fast. Now that you are meeting the pack, that means my daughter as well.”
She nodded. A good sign she hadn’t died of a heart attack.
“She’ll love you, I promise.”
Adjusting his ass on the seat, a thread of something seeped into him. A spicy almost toxic scent filled the cab.
“Are you okay?”
A crimson rage set across her cheeks. Her blue eyes flashed wolf.
He watched her cleavage expand with each deep breath.
“Where’s the mom?”
Ethan was taken aback. “Not in the picture. Why?”
“I barely know you. I’ve had to trust you on instinct alone. I’ve known you all of a few days. You never once mentioned a daughter, let alone another woman. You said I was the only one.”
Ethan searched his head, his heart, the wolf within him. What can I do with this?
“Olivia, it’s just the mating talking. Take some deep breaths. I promise you, there is no one else.”
He wanted to pat himself on the back or run. Maybe he should call his mom? The possessive thing was a wolf thing, right? Digging deep he knew it was a newly mated thing. The idea of someone touching her pushed a button, but the difference was he had years of learning to control the animal instinct within him. She
