Alpha Nicholas Hearing my daughter's fears was hard. I never want her to be scared of anything, but whereas I will always do my best to protect her from physical harm, I can't do a lot to protect her from her mental fears. As much as I want to, it's just not possible. The scars that her birth mom left behind have the potential to haunt her for a long time, possibly even for the rest of her life. As hard as it must be for her to feel how she does or how she did, I can't and won't allow her to talk to anyone like she did, especially Bonnie. While she has my sympathy, if I let her get away with this without any kind of punishment, then I won't be doing my job as her dad. Yes, her words had meaning and I somewhat understand how she feels, but she didn't need to talk to Bonine like she did, and just the mere thought of her in any way mentioning killing the baby has me seeing red. If I let her speak to Bonnie... her stepmom... her Luna like she did, then I can only imagine how she could speak to someone else. No, it's not happening and that's why I'm currently locking her phone in my safe in my bedroom. There is a safe in the living room that has emergency cash, phones and our passports in case we ever need to make a quick exit, and she can access it, and then there is a safe in my room that is private, and it will be holding her phone nice and safe (no pun intended) for the next seven days. Aside from losing her phone, she is not allowed to a sleepover that was arranged for tonight, and she will also be missing her nail appointment that is scheduled for this weekend. And while that doesn't sound like a big deal, for a 16-year-old who has permanently had her nails done since her 13th birthday, it is devastating. It feels like the end of the world to her and that's why I've stopped her going. Between losing her phone for a week, having no sleepover, and not getting her nails done, she is devastated. I don't like doing this kind of stuff to her, but I have, and I just hope that she learns from it because she doesn't want to find out what I will do next. After she profusely apologized to my mate, she headed off to find Robbie. They train together a lot as he's very good at pushing her. He doesn't let any teenage girl shit get in the way and that's exactly what she needs. Plus, I think it would be good for Robbie right now. He's having a rough time and the distraction for a little while could do him good. I will go and check on him, but first, I need to see my mate, check on her and make sure that she's doing OK. Fuck, I still can't believe I'm going to be a dad again. You know, deep down, I can understand Lottie's fears because I have the same ones. Granted, I haven't been through what Lottie has in her life, but I never thought that I would have my mate or any more children and the fear of losing them is real. Of course, I would die to protect Bonnie, Lottie and my unborn child, but even then they would be without me. Before my mind can start spiraling, I head towards the bathroom where my mate is currently taking a well-deserved bubble bath. Just the thought of her in the tub naked and covered in bubbles has me hard as a rock, and considering we had sex this morning, you'd think that I wouldn't need her so badly or so quickly, but here I am feeling like I haven't had her for days instead of hours. Fuck, this mate bound is intense. I open the bathroom door and suck in a breath at the sight that is in front of me. I don't think I'll ever get bored of looking at my mate, but seeing her in the bathtub or better still naked on our bed is without a doubt the sexiest sights for me. Although, I also can't wait to see her round and swollen with my pup. I bet that sight will be just as sexy if not even more sexy. "Are you going to join me or are you just here for the view?" My mate's luring voice pulls me from my imagination and I zone in on her to find her giving me that sexy ass smirk of hers that always drives me wild. "Well, seeing as you asked..." I make my way over to her stripping off my clothes as I go and in the little time that it takes me to reach her, I'm naked. She sits up and slides forward, allowing me to climb in behind her. I lay back, taking her with me until she's resting on my chest. The lightening feeling that I get every time we touch runs through my body and I smile as I feel her shiver, knowing that she's feeling the same thing. Growing up in the werewolf world, you're always taught everything there is to know about mates, and you always hear many different versions of how the sparks feel, but I swear to the moon goddess that no story that I have ever heard has even come close to describing how they feel to me. To be honest, I don't think I could describe it even if I wanted to. As we lay there in the warm water, I place my hand on her belly, still finding it hard to believe that my pup is in there. Yes, I have Lottie, but I never experienced any of her mother's pregnancy, so I don't know what to expect, which also reminds me that I need to get some of those books in. You know the ones that tell you what to expect during pregnancy, because while Bonnie is doing all the work, I still want to be there every step of the way for her. I may also need to buy some of those books about newborn babies too, because again, I missed all of that with Lottie. "I still can't believe that I'm pregnant, that we're going to have another baby." My words are a whisper against her ear and again another shiver runs through her body. She places her hand on top of mine as she nods. "Me neither. If someone had told me a few months ago that I would be here with my mate, pregnant with our pup, with a stepdaughter and a future Luna, I would have either laughed or cried."Her words hit me hard as the reality of her past once again smacks me in the face. Since the moment that she arrived here, things have been crazy and there hasn't been a lot of down time, and I'm ashamed to admit that I've not checked in with my mate about her past as much as I know I should have. "How are you doing now? You know with everything that you've been through? With everything that happened before and after you arrived here?" I feel her body shake slightly, and I instantly want to kick myself for bringing it up, but at the same time, I need to know how she's doing. I need her to know that I'm always here for her no matter what's going on. Even if I haven't been great at actually showing it over the last several weeks. I slowly run my hands over her shoulders and give her a gentle massage as I feel her take a deep breath. "I'm OK, and before you think that, I'm just saying that I'm not. I'm doing ok. The first few weeks were incredibly hard, especially after everything that happened with my... with those three but since they died, every week has gotten a little easier, and now I feel the latest that I have in a long time." "Really?" I ask her, still unsure what to make of her answer. I may be able to feel her emotions, but I can't see her face, and it makes it harder for me to be able to judge her answer. Bonnie has a very reactive face and I can pretty much tell whenever she is lying, not that she does it often, and it's never anything serious. It's mainly when we are playing a board game or card game, and she tries lying to win. Ony her face gives away everything and it's cute as fuck. I glide my hands down her arms then swiftly grip her hips and flip her around until she is straddling my lap, causing the water to splash and lap against the side of the bath and tumble over, causing a puddle on the bathroom floor. "Nicky, what are you doing?" She giggles as she asks me while watching the last of the water spill over the bathtub. "The floor, we need to clean it up." "Fuck the floor, it'll be fine." I hock my finger under her chin and bring her attention back to me. "My concern is you. I want to know how you are doing, sweetheart. I want you to know that I'm always here for you, and you can talk to me about anything at any time and as many times as you need or want to." She graces me with her beautiful smile and nods. "I know that I can, Nicky. I know that you are always there for me, but honestly, it's not very often that I think about it, never mind want to talk about it. As soon as I think about my past, all of those horrid feelings come swarming back and I hate it. I don't miss any of my family, so I try not to think about them. We have Lottie, a pup on the way and each other, plus, Lily, your family and this pack. I now have a life that is worth living and I don't want to give my past an inch of room to ruin anything. I'm done with my past and looking forward to our future." My mate truly is something else.