Having Moon jerk away from him hurt, yes. But what hurt more was the way she crouched, hiding - no, protecting her belly from him. Anger lashed through him, but also grief. She stared at him with wide eyes but said nothing.
"Moon, it's okay now. Everything is going to be okay. She can't hurt us... Can't hurt you any more." he said softly, trying to calm her. He lowered himself to appear less threatening, but he worried that it wouldn't work.
He had sworn to kill Tikhi for making his mate doubt him, but now he wished he'd taken his time. Maybe let her escape, then follow her to where it was just the two of them. No one to witness his hidden side as he unleashed his fury upon the woman. Even as he thought it, he there would have been no coming back from that; he would have been stuck in the past, a different man. At least this way, he could stay true to who he truly was.
A father, and a mate.
Yet even that seemed to be slipping away from him. Fear bled into his own eye as he gazed up at his wife. "Moon?"
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