Kaden POV
I am sitting in the bar parking lot, trying to work up the courage to go inside. Tish will be pissed when she realizes I followed her here, but I need to talk to her. I need to be away from Raven's mates so I can pour my heart out.
I am staring at the bar door, planning my speech, when one of the rogues approaches my car. I am instantly on edge, but he doesn't seem to notice. His dirty knuckles rap on my window, and he gestures for me to go into the bar. Against my better judgment, I get out of the car. He looks me up and down and scoffs.
"You might want to get inside," he grumbles.
"What have you done?" I demand to know.
He chuckles. "It's not what we've done."
He leaves with a stupid smirk on his face. I don't know if I should run after him and kick his ass or if I should check on Tish.
Eventually, I build up the nerve to go inside. Her honey scent is thick in the air, but she is nowhere to be seen. Panic rushes through me as my eyes search the bar for my mate.
"She's in the back," someone yells out, and I rush behind the bar.
I push the door open and see Tish crying with her phone pressed to her ear.
"I'm pregnant," she says to the person on the other end of the call.
"What?" I shout, and the door slams shut behind me.
Tish looks at me with wide eyes. "Mae," she whispers. "I am going to have to call you back."
I can hear Mae's protests before Tish hangs up the call. We stare at each other, both of us are waiting for the other to start talking.
I descend on her, wrapping her in my arms. I hold her close to my chest, and I vow to never let her go again. She tries to push me away, but I am not letting her go.
"Kaden," she struggles against my hold. "I can't breathe."
"Oh," I mutter in disappointment and release her from my hold. She tries to get back to her feet, but I grab her around the waist and lay my head against her stomach. She tries to protest, but I shush her. I am listening for the tiny flutter of a heartbeat.
It is faint, but it is there. Tish is pregnant. "Holy shit," I mumble. "How long have you known?"
Tish checks her watch. "About ten minutes."
She doesn't seem excited. The racing of her heart lets me know she is on the verge of a panic attack. I try to touch her so the tingles of the mate bond can soothe her, but she swats me away.
"Don't touch me," she hisses at me.
"I know we are at odds," I try to reason with her. ''But that doesn't change the fact that I love you."
"I'm not keeping it," she says quickly.
"What?" I scream at her.
"You heard me," she shouts back. "I don't know how to be a mother. I can't raise a child."
"You won't be alone," I tell her. "Kai and I will help you."
"And your mother," she snaps at me.
"What are you talking about?" I ask. "Mom is in the dungeons. Surely someone told you."
"That doesn't change anything." she sighs. "I am not fit to be a mother."
I drop to my knees in front of Tish and wrap my arms around her knees. "Please," I beg. "Don't take my child from me."
"Let go of me," she says with a hardened gaze.
Reluctantly, I comply. My arms drop to my sides, and tears fill my eyes. I can't force Tish to do anything she doesn't want to do. The choice lies with her.
"Just leave," she says. She is purposely not looking in my direction.
I get back to my feet and run my fingers down the side of her face. Unshed tears sparkle in her eyes, and I feel broken. She leans into my touch, and I am filled with a tiny bit of hope. Her phone rings, breaking the moment between us. Tish turns her back to me and answers the call.
"Hey, Mae," she whispers.
I pray to the Moon Goddess that Luna Mae convinces her to keep my child. Deciding to give her privacy, I walk back to the front of the bar.
All eyes are on me as I walk through the door. I know they all heard our conversation. There is no sense in pretending everything is okay. But that doesn't mean I want to talk to a bunch of rogues about it.
Opening the cabinets behind the bar, I find some trash bags and begin to clean up the mess left behind. A few rogues join in to help me. We work silently side by side and I realize what my dad was talking about. Rogues and pack members aren't different.
One of the rogues grabs a bottle of whiskey off the shelf. He thrusts it in my direction. "You need this," he says gruffly.
He isn't wrong. It has been a hell of a month. I take a swig of the whiskey, and it burns on the way down. I pass it back to the rogue, and he does the same.
We pass the bottle back and forth until it is empty. I grab another bottle off the shelf not caring what it is.
Soon, it is just him and me in the bar, drinking up all the liquor in the bar. We are both drink and laughing loudly. Empty glass bottles line the bar and we just added another to the collection.
Tish barges out of the back room with her phone in her hand. She looks at the bar and then the rogue and me. She places her hands on her hips, and the rogue hiccups loudly.
"I should go," he says drunkenly as he stumbles toward the door.
Tish is glaring at me. I plan to grovel, but I feel sick when I try to get to my feet. The world is spinning around me, and I am forced to sit back down.
"Are you drunk?" She shouts.
"Yep," I groan.
"Get up," She spits at me. "Raven is in labor and is refusing to go to the hospital."
"What are you going to do?" I whisper.
"I don't know," she shouts. "But I can't help from here. Get up now."