Wes

“Come on,” Cali begged. She cornered Wes and Marc in the tiny lobby of the Painted Wolf. “It’ll be fun.”

“Cali, we’re dudes. Nothing about a baby shower sounds like fun to us,” Marc countered.

“But it’s for Etti,” Cali whined.

Marc crossed his arms. “Does Etti even want a baby shower? She’s not very . . . ya know . . . girly.”

“She is so, but that’s not even the point.”

“What is the point?” Wes grumbled.

“Etti’s having a baby. And babies require a lot of care. A shower is our way of giving her the things she’s going to need and showing her that we’re here for her.”

Marc sighed and Wes rolled his eyes. Marc was too soft when it came to saying no to women and Wes knew the look Marc was giving Cali—he was going to cave. It made Wes want to kick his friend’s pansy ass. If Cali got Marc to agree to this ridiculous party, there was no way she would let Wes off the hook.

Wes had been spending a lot of time with Cali over the past few weeks. She’d been a really good friend—well, maybe more than a friend. The bed-breaking sex sure suggested there was more than friendship between them.

The night Etti told Wes off, he needed an outlet for his anger and frustration and Cali offered it. He’d point blank told Cali that he was just using sex with her to escape, but she hadn’t cared. So Wes let himself get carried away and when he finished, he was surprised his apartment was still standing. He and Cali had broken the bedframe, the kitchen table and torn down his shower curtain. After surveying the damage from their sex-capades, Cali had promptly decided that Wes would stay with her until his place was livable again. He’d tried arguing, but Cali was possibly even more stubborn than he and Etti combined.

So for the past few weeks, Wes had been calling Cali’s place home. He didn’t mind it. Her place was great—much bigger and cleaner than his. Plus, it always smelled good and was stocked with food. And not to mention rolling around in the sheets with the sexy shifter every night was a perk. If Wes weren’t fighting with Etti, he’d almost say that he was pretty damn happy about his new living arrangement. But of course that wasn’t the case. Every time Wes started to feel anything like happiness, the weight of what he’d lost crept in. Everything Wes was enjoying with Cali, he’d thought he’d be enjoying with Etti.

Cali’s voice pulled Wes back to the conversation. “There will be ladies at the shower,” she said coyly to Marc.

Marc scoffed. “Who? Etti doesn’t know any women. We’re pretty much her only friends.”

“I invited some of the girls from the clinic. And I was hoping you guys would invite some of her favorite clients?”

Marc contemplated. “Can we invite our favorite clients?”

“He means the hot ones,” Wes grumbled.

Cali laughed. “Sure. The more the merrier. Plus,” she added, winking at Marc, “women love babies. They’ll be hanging all over you.”

“I’m in!” Marc replied.

“Great!” Cali turned to Wes, placing a gentle hand on his arm. “Wes, she needs to know you’re still here for her.”

“Cali, have your stupid party if you want. But I’m not coming. Etti wouldn’t want me there anyway.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” Cali replied, nodding over Wes’s shoulder.

Wes turned around to see Etti standing in the lobby, one hand on her round belly. He took one look at her, with her gorgeous black hair spilling over her plentiful breasts and his heart stuttered. He wished she’d stop trying to fit into her regular clothes. The tight-fitting, low-cut shirts she normally wore were now down right scandalous and it was making it impossible for Wes to be around her. Filthy thoughts flashed across his mind as his eyes roved over Etti’s curves, until he reached her belly. He couldn’t think of her like that anymore. She was carrying a child—another man’s child.

“Wes, can we talk?” Etti asked tentatively.

Marc immediately disappeared into his booth and Cali made herself scarce as well.

Wes shrugged. “You’re the boss.”

He watched Etti fight to keep herself from rolling her eyes. He sort of wished she would. That’s what the old Etti would have done—his Etti. But instead, she exhaled a long breath and reached a hand out to Wes.

Wes fought a myriad of emotions as he took Etti’s hand and let her lead him to the back room. But the first word out of her mouth was like a dagger to his heart.

“Grey wants me to make peace with you.”

Wes snorted. “How noble of him.”

She exhaled again, like it was painful for her to be in the same room with him. “This is stupid, Wes. Can we put this behind us and stop fighting already?”

“Sure. As soon as you wake up from the brainwashed spell that Alpha asshole has you under I’d be happy to go back to being your friend.”

Etti’s eyes glowed with feral rage and Wes took a step back. He knew he should keep his mouth shut, but he couldn’t. He wouldn’t. “I know you think I’m being a bad friend, Etti, but I’m not. And when you wake up one day and realize I was right, you’ll see why I couldn’t just stand by and say nothing while you let someone else control you.”

“He doesn’t control me. I love him,” she snapped.

“Yeah because of a supernatural bond he forced on you!”

She remained silent, staring at Wes with a hatred that broke his heart. But he kept going. This might be the last time he had a chance to change her mind. “How could you, Etti? After everything you’ve been through? After what we’ve been through? You fought for every ounce of freedom your parents tried to take from you. And now you’re willing to just give it all away . . . to him? A shifter with a price on his head? I promised myself I would never let anyone hurt you again, so I’m sorry, but I can’t stand by and watch this.”

“Why can’t you understand that I love him?” she yelled back. “I’m not giving anything up. I’m gaining it. I’m finally happy, Wes. I have someone who I love and he loves me back. And we’re going to have a family. My own family.”

“You have a family,” Wes said, pain tearing through him, begging her to remember the vow he’d made to her when they were only children, the first time Etti had told him that her mother beat her. I’ll be your family now, Etti.

“I know that, Wes. But this is different. This little life inside of me,” she rubbed her stomach. “It’s brought me more joy than I even knew existed. But . . .” Etti’s words faltered and her face softened as she reached for his hand again. “But what I want more than anything is to share my joy with you. You’re my best friend, Wes. And I need you, because I’m terrified of screwing this up, of being a terrible mother to this baby, like my mother was to me.”

“You are nothing like your mother, Etti.”

“Thank you,” she whispered and took a steadying breath. “See, this is why I need you, Wes. No one else knows what my childhood was like. You know me better than I know myself sometimes. You’re my other half and I can’t be truly happy if you’re not in this with me.”

“I offered to be more than that, Etti. You shot me down, for him!” Wes spit the last word like it was poison.

“Wes, I love him.”

“I thought you loved me too.”

“I do! I love you both!”

Wes scoffed. “Yeah, but I guess you love him more.”

“Wes—”

“Save it, Etti.” Wes hissed pulling away from her. “If you’re looking for my blessing, you’re not going to get it. I’ve already told you this is a mistake. But you’ve made it clear what me and my opinions mean to you,” Wes grumbled, pushing past Etti and darting out the back door.