Breed Me, Daddy Alpha-Chapter 281

Lyra

After breakfast the whole table slowly cleared out, but I was still buzzing like I had downed ten cups of coffee and swallowed all my dignity with them.

Damon didn’t say much after his sharp "no" to his mother, didn’t even look at Daren again, shoulders tense, jaw tight, his whole presence screaming don’t-push-me-right-now energy.

By the time I caught up to him in the front hallway, he was already dressed like the Alpha that he was.

Dark clothes. Boots laced tight. Jacket pulled over those broad shoulders. He looked ready for war, ready to tear apart every inch of this land until he got the answers he wanted about the pack house, about the fire, about everything.

His guards were waiting outside, big and silent and armed, the kind of men who looked like they ate violence for breakfast.

I leaned against the doorframe watching him strap a blade to his thigh like this was just a normal Tuesday for him.

My brain was still trying to keep up because on one hand I had literally moaned for this man like a sinner last night, and on the other hand he was now preparing to go interrogate elders about arson and pack history like this was some mafia-werewolf hybrid life I had just accidentally stumbled into.

"Can I come with you?" I blurted before I even thought about it.

He didn’t even look up.

"Please," I added quickly, darting forward so he couldn’t ignore me, "pretty, pretty please, babe. I’ll be quiet. I’ll just watch. I won’t cause any trouble. I can be useful! I have eyes. And ears. And a brain sometimes. You need those, right?"

That finally got him to glance at me, and the look he gave me made my stomach do a whole Olympic-level gymnastics routine.

"No, kitten," Damon said calmly, clipping his holster into place like he wasn’t currently murdering all my hopes and dreams. "You can’t, okay? You have to stay here."

I opened my mouth to argue, but he stepped closer, one big hand sliding to the back of my neck, his eyes locking on mine with that mix of warning and tenderness that always made my knees wobble.

"I don’t want you stressed," he said softly, voice dropping low enough that only I could hear it. "And the babies, kitten. I can see your little numb count out slowly. You need to rest."

"Ahhh, babies?" I cried dramatically, throwing my hands up so high I nearly smacked a lamp off the table. "Who put them there? Because last time I checked, I was not with any babies! I remember you. I remember your mouth. I remember a lot of very reckless decisions and some very illegal levels of pleasure last night, but babies? I do not remember signing a contract for babies!"

I pressed the back of my hand to my forehead like some tragic soap opera heroine while Damon just stood there, arms crossed, eyes narrowed like he knew exactly what I was doing but was too amused to stop me.

"This is how it starts," I went on, pacing in circles now because I was fully committed to the bit. "First, you wake up to a family breakfast straight out of hell.

"Then your mate casually announces babies like he is asking if you want sugar in your tea. Then the next thing you know, you are barefoot, pregnant, and hormonal while the entire pack is still traumatized from the noises you made last night. This is insane. My life is insane. I am insane."

Damon leaned back against the wall, watching me spiral like he was at the theater with popcorn in hand. And then, to make it worse, he laughed.

He actually laughed.

The terrifying, broody Alpha whose face looked like it had been carved from stone most days actually laughed at me.

"Very funny, kitten," he said, shaking his head slowly while that rare, warm sound rumbled out of his chest. "You are so dramatic my little kitten"

I froze mid-performance, glaring at him because, excuse me, I was out here delivering award-worthy levels of emotion and he was laughing at me like this was some kind of comedy.

He stepped closer then, one large hand sliding to cup the side of my face, his thumb brushing my cheek as he looked me dead in the eyes.

"But I’m serious," he said softly. "Stay here and rest, kitten. I do not want you stressing. Not you, not the babies. I need you safe while I handle this."

I blinked up at him because he was being so calm, so steady, so infuriatingly reasonable while I was melting down like a lunatic on purpose.

"And call your mother," he added, pressing a kiss to my forehead before pulling back. "It has been a while since you spoke to her."

I groaned loudly like he had just told me to clean the entire house with a toothbrush because that was the last thing I wanted to do right now, but Damon only smirked like he knew I had no choice.

His hands cupped my cheek when his voice softened in a way that sent shivers all the way through me.

"I love you, kitten," he said, his eyes holding mine like he was making sure I felt every single word. "I love you with all of my icy heart."

But then my wolf spoke, and it was like everything inside me flipped upside down in an instant.

Tell him not to go.

The voice slammed into me so fast and so sharply that I actually froze.

What? I asked her silently, my grip tightening on Damon’s jacket like I could physically anchor him here if I just held on hard enough.

Do not let him leave, my wolf growled, her voice filled with a strange kind of tension I had never felt from her before. Something is wrong. Something bad is coming. Do not let him walk out that door.