Callous

6

            Bracing my forearms against the kitchen counter, I breathed heavily through my nose as I waited for the pain to fade. The pup was angrily kicking inside of me.

Every time the pain flared up in my body, the pup in me would lash out his frustration on my insides. The pup could feel the pain as well, and I hated that I was putting my unborn child through this.

Every time the pain would shoot through the mate bond, the pain would cause my stomach to cramp up. The Goddess' way of trying to punish my unfaithful mate. But the little one in me wasn't having any of it.

They were a fighter.

And I felt ashamed.

I was ashamed for wishing that I would have miscarried when those first cramps spread through my body, I prayed and cried wishing that they would take this child from me.

And then I felt a kick. The first time I had ever felt the baby in me kick against my protruding stomach and I was shell shocked. I had sat up in bed, trying to stay quiet to not wake up Alexi. The bruises littering my body showed that I had already made him angry.

I looked down seeing the slight budge pushing out from my stomach as the pup in me stretched for more room to grow.

"What are you doing?" Alexi growled from beside me.

I calmed my racing heartbeat as I laid back down, staying as close to the side as I could. "Nothing," I whispered. Holding a baited breath as he sighed and rolled over.

I kept that moment to myself. Alexi didn't deserve to share in the beauty that I was seeing in this pregnancy. And that night, as the pup pushed against my insides, I didn't pray to the Goddess to take this child from me, instead, I prayed that she would provide this child and I a safe place away from my mate for my child and me to live.

She hadn't provided me with any of my other wishes, why would she now?

I was still breathing harshly when Alexi came home, my teeth gritted together as I struggled to push the pain away.

"Why did you not go to your appointment today?" I rolled my eyes that were facing the cabinet as I pushed a hand against my side, feeling comforted when the pup pushed back against my hand.

"I told you I did not wish to find out the sex." My tone was soft, my body still healing from the bruises from the previous nights. Any little thing sets him off.

And this was going to be one of those things.

I had sent the wolf away that he sent to come and get me to take me to the appointment. I had already told Bella I wasn't going to go.

"Well, I wanted to know."

"And I didn't AJ." His nickname slipped from my mouth in anger, I hadn't ever called him anything but Alexi before but everyone in the pack calls him AJ.

The tense silence before he struck out let me know I shouldn't have said anything.

He grabbed my arm, spinning me around as I masked the pain before his hand latched around my throat, pulling me close. "Watch your mouth, mate." He spits the term in my face as he showed off the marks from his lover adorning his neck.

I narrowed my eyes at him, my lack of oxygen depriving my body as the kicking in my stomach slowed. Ever since he found out I was pregnant he hadn't touched me sexually. Something I was glad for.

He shoved me back, my back hitting the corner painfully as I sucked in air. Tentatively touching my throat, I held eye contact with Alexi, his eyes gleaming as he lied hurting me.

"If you ever call me that again, I'll cut out your tongue." His eyes showed promise as he walked down the small hall, calling back to me. "Get some food ready."

I cradled my stomach, taking a moment to breathe as the shower started. My neck was going to be bruised, the tenderness I could already feel was going to agitate my throat.

I needed to figure out what I was going to do, and fast.

I stood off to the side as he scarfed down the spaghetti, I had prepared for him. I shifted on my swollen ankles, my feet throbbing as my hands stayed on top of my stomach.

I was starving, cranky, and ready to lay down.

Instead, I was forced to sit here and watch him eat his fill before I could plate my own fill. A new rule, a punishment for not finding out the gender of my baby.

But I couldn't risk him finding out if it was a girl, not when I didn't know what he would do to the life growing in my stomach.

The shattering of glass next to my head had me jerking awake, my posture straightening as my eyes met Alexis'. My heartbeat skyrocketed as he screamed at me. "Are you even paying attention!"

I kept my façade up, staying quiet as he yelled his dissatisfaction at the meal he was just scarfing down, that he had scarfed down. I was used to this by now, the screams, the yelling, the hits.

"Clean up the damn mess!" I dropped to my knees, glass digging into my knees and hands as I struggled to pick up every tiny shards that sliced into my skin, blood dripping from my wounds.

It wasn't getting better, it was getting worse.