Dreaming of the Wolf (Heart of the Wolf #8)(82)

Peter opened his cell phone and said, “Bethany, we need an appointment with Doc Weber scheduled for”—he glanced at the clock in the car—“two hours and fifteen minutes from now. Yeah, it’s important. For Jake’s mate, Alicia Greiston.” He paused, cleared his throat, and then said, “Possible pregnancy.” He spoke as softly as he could so that Bethany could still hear him, but not softly enough that Jake and Alicia couldn’t, what with their wolf’s hearing. Although Jake gave him credit for making the effort. “Thanks. We’ll be there then,” Peter said, and put his phone away.

“We’ll have to get married,” Alicia grumbled against Jake’s chest. “I’m not going to keep telling people I’m engaged to you. I didn’t think I’d ever say I’d want to again, not until you walked into my life and became my knight.”

“We don’t wear jewelry. So wedding rings are out.” Jake tried his damnedest to be consoling, but this was probably one of the hardest things for newbie lupus garous to get a handle on. “We don’t need rings to stay faithful. But even so, it would be especially difficult for you to wear any jewelry because you don’t have the shifting under control. Trying to remove rings or necklaces and bracelets in the process of a shift could prove disastrous. As for marriage, we’re mated. That means more than a marriage certificate. It means we commit to one another for life.”

She frowned up at him. “If I am pregnant, I want to be officially married. With the paper to prove it. Blame it on my human upbringing.”

He looked down into her dark chocolate eyes and thought of how addicted he was to looking at her, to feeling her close, to being with her. He would be with her always. He wished she could understand that. “We don’t marry because we make a commitment…”

“I… want… to… be… married. I understand, or at least think I understand, how you commit for life without the need for a witnessed document. But I never knew who my father was and never knew if my parents had really been married. I want our baby to have the security of knowing we’re formally committed.”

He really wished they could have this discussion in private. He could just imagine what his brother and Peter were thinking. They were probably glad neither of them was trying to deal with an unreasonable newly turned wolf. He realized then her feelings might have something to do with her father, though—the fake birth certificate and not knowing what was going on with him. Her father’s abandonment of her and her mother, and then the mystery that surrounded her mother and father reuniting without letting Alicia know. Maybe, beyond all that, she was concerned Jake wouldn’t live up to his promise to be the baby’s father if she was pregnant.

“Any baby you have will be mine and yours, Alicia. And he or she will be raised as a werewolf, knowing how we live our lives and that a formal marriage isn’t part of the equation. You don’t have to worry about that.”

She let out her breath in an exasperated manner. “You’re a man,” she said sourly.

He wanted to tell her he wouldn’t be like her father had been to her mother. But he didn’t think she would believe him, even if he tried to convince her. All he could do was prove he’d stick by her side forever.

He kissed her cheek and stroked her shoulder. “You wouldn’t want me to be anything but.” He let out a heavy sigh. Hell, he was an alpha male and his mate was already dictating to him. If word got out, he’d never live it down. But he wanted her to be happy. Whatever it took. “All right. The judge can marry us.”

“All right,” she said grumpily, then gave him a smidgen of a smile.

He tightened his hold on her, giving her a somber smile back and loving her all the more. She hadn’t had a family to call her own. He and his family would be there for her in any way that she needed, even if they had to bend or break a few golden werewolf rules in the process. “All right.”

Never in a million years would he have thought he’d be the only one in the family or the pack ever forced to get a marriage license. Then again, he could just get the judge to sign off on one. No need to go through any kind of ceremony, even if he knew it would just be in the judge’s chambers. All she had to want was the paper proving they were man and wife.

The whole notion grated on him, no matter that he tried to think of it as important to her and meaningless to him. He squeezed her tighter against his body. Well, not so meaningless to him because it meant so much to Alicia. And her happiness was paramount to him.

When they arrived at the hospital in Silver Town, everyone on staff looked Alicia over curiously, and she avoided their inquisitive gazes. Doc Weber dismissed Jake, even though he wanted to be with her in the room. Instead, he was left to pace in the staff lounge.

Peter and Tom stayed with him while Tom broached the subject of Alicia’s fainting at the bank. “You said she got some upsetting news?”

“We need to learn everything we can about an Antonio Frasero.”

“I’ll get on it,” Peter said. “How does she know him?”

“He’s her father. And it appears he may be the one who Constantino had killed.”

“I’ll let you know what I find out.” Peter hurried out of the lounge, looking like a man with a mission.

Tom studied Jake. “The name Antonio Frasero sounds Italian.”