Chapter 51

Rachel POV

Moonrise Entertainment - Tyler's Office (Executive Level)

"Alpha has a clear schedule today," Lonnah prompted, a look of compassion on her face I didn't want to examine too closely.

"Ask him if he has time for me to come in. Please."

I knew I was putting myself into a potentially miserable situation, but I found I couldn't leave pictures of my growing daughter behind as if I were ashamed. She was only a tiny blip on the scan and I already loved her more than my own life. I desperately wanted Tyler to be pleased to learn he was having a daughter.

Lonnah tapped her Bluetooth headset with a manicured finger, quickly paging Tyler and explaining I was present right outside his door. I couldn't hear his replies to her. She reached down to buzz me in though so Tyler must have agreed to see me.

Quickly agreed, too.

How many times I had been rejected at this door? I couldn't remember all the days I had made the trip from Wright House to Moonrise Entertainment's Executive Level. Every time I'd arrived with a home cooked lunch in hand, prepared to greet my mate with a smile and open heart.

"You can go in," Lonnah said, her explanation as unnecessary as it was perfectly timed.

I think I would have run for the elevator if I hadn't been reminded Lonnah was watching.

My bag felt heavy on my arm and my heart was beating too fast in my chest. Adrenaline rushed through my system to propel me forward as I tried to steady my breathing.

At least neither Tyler nor I had wolves who were awake to take in all the details of my emotional state. I would be spared some amount of humiliation if things went badly. I couldn't imagine them going well now I was walking through the office door I'd wanted to open for me so many times before.

"Rachel."

Tyler was standing behind his desk. His hair was mussed as if he'd been running his hands through it too much. I started to take my phone out to put in a reminder to schedule him a haircut until I realized it wasn't my place to schedule anything for him anymore.

I took out the disk of my ultrasound session as well as the duplicate still prints. They gave me the perfect cover to hide behind and I was grateful I wouldn't have to come up with another explanation for diving into my handbag as soon as I saw Tyler.

"I brought you some things. I'm not sure if you'll want them or not. I just---wanted to share them with someone and you are the father so," I shrugged helplessly.

Offering the small stack of items to Tyler, I flushed as I realized I was still on the other side of the office. I closed the distance between us with fast strides. My shoes pinched my feet and my balance felt off as I took long steps to make short work of the office space.

Tyler reached across his desk, leaning forward enough to stretch for my offering. I released the prints and disk with gratitude as he seemed to take them with an eagerness I didn't know how to explain.

"The stills are pictures. I have my own copies so you can keep those. It's a girl. She. We are having a daughter."

"A girl?" Tyler asked, one corner of his mouth tilting up as he studied the scans.

His eyes were riveted on the scans and, for a moment, I let myself pretend we were a normal couple basking in the glow of our pending parenthood.

"Yes! She's very active. Healthy. Wolfen pregnancies develop faster in some ways than humans so she's already got her fingers and toes. She moves a lot. The disk is a copy of the ultrasound session so you can see her moving if you want."

Tyler sat down in his chair. He was too busy studying each image to look at me. I thought he only sat because he couldn't focus enough to remain standing. Whatever the reason, I was glad to have the excuse to take a seat opposite him since it got me off my feet.

I was going to have to invest in some comfortable shoes.

Tracing his finger along a line on the image, Tyler asked, "Do you know when you're due? How much longer will you have before she's born?"

"My due date is in December. We have several months still. Don't panic just yet."

I was only partially joking. I had times when I was overcome with panic attacks myself. Having a child was as frightening as much as it was exciting. All my reading let me know I wasn't alone in feeling overwhelmed by the idea of motherhood.

No one was really ready to be a parent.

"I'm not panicking," Tyler muttered, looking over the desk at me with a dark glare, "I just need to know how long I have before you declare for her."

"Eleven weeks. The Council wants an answer within twelve weeks of the petition, remember?"

Tyler nodded slowly. I saw the understanding pass over his face as he remembered. Somehow, it seemed he had forgotten our session before the Alpha Council.

I couldn't remember a time when Tyler had forgotten an important event or fact.

"I know. I just---"

"Forgot?" I asked, my voice too soft inside the huge office space.

"Yes. I hadn't decided yet, you know?"

Tyler looked at me fully for the first time in what felt like years. His expression was earnest and his eyes were clear as he looked into mine. I smiled in reflex as much as a shared wonderment.

"Decided what?"

"Whether I wanted a son or a daughter."

"You realize you don't get to pick?"

We laughed together as if we were both really enjoying ourselves in this moment out of time. I loved his husky chuckle. It was so much more honest than I remembered his laughter being on other occasions.

Tyler admitted, "I do realize. I'm having a hard time taking it in. I really never planned to have this."

I could hear the partial apology in his voice. Was he regretting he hadn't been more careful with me? Did he wish he could get rid of this pregnancy with his powers as an influential Alpha?

No sadness tinged his words. I had to admit Tyler gave all the signs of a man excited to learn he was going to have a daughter. I wanted him to be happy as much because I was happy as because I wanted our baby to be---well, wanted.

"Do you want her then?"

"Of course I want her!" Tyler snapped, his amusement seeming to vanish in a breath, "Do you think I want to lose my child?"

"You said yourself you never planned to have a family. Why wouldn't I wonder if you wanted this baby? Tyler, the most common emotion you have around me is anger. You're angry right now. Can you see why I'm worried?"

Tyler seemed to be trying to control himself. I was glad he didn't have his wolf goading him into a fury; Wynd was quick to attack even for an Alpha wolf. He closed his eyes then audibly took in a deep breath which he let out slowly.

I copied him to try to gain some calm for myself.

"I'm sorry. I don't intend to be angry. Things with you have never been easy. I can't say 'easy' is something I'm used to in life. Is this a DVD or do I need to find a computer with a disk drive?"

Good question. I blinked as I refocused my thoughts on the disk in his hand.

"DVD," I finally managed to say, "It's probably not the best quality, but I can't afford the 4D ultrasound so I have been using the older technology. They don't charge me extra for the pictures or the disks."

Tyler stood up suddenly and came from around the desk. He waved at me to come with him and I followed, confusion causing me to trip a little over my feet as I tried to keep pace with him.

My feet hurt so I hoped we weren't going far.

"Tyler?"

"Hold all calls. I'm leaving for the day after Rachel and I finish. We will be in the Media Conference Room if something urgent comes up."

Lonnah nodded and voiced her understanding as we passed her for the elevator.

Tyler hit the button for a lower floor and stood tall beside me. He didn't speak to me directly and I had no idea what to say to him so I just kept up as he launched himself out of the elevator as soon as the doors opened again.

We went into a fairly large room with a generous conference table. I could picture him conducting meetings in this room easily. It had the kind of formal severity I was used to associating with Tyler.

Giving me an oddly boyish grin, Tyler said, "I'm stealing the company equipment for personal use. Let's look at our daughter."