Chapter Five
Jackie eased out of bed the next morning, her mind swirling from what she had done. Sleeping with Myles? They had spent hours on the couch in front of the fire before they both went to their own rooms, and now Jackie wondered how she would face him.
Sure, he had been everything she was hoping for–passionate but gentle, insatiable, telling her over and over again how beautiful she was. But she had slept with her boss. What had she been thinking?
It was late and I wasn't thinking. She shook her head. It had been unprofessional, and now that they were getting back to work she would forget it even happened.
Myles probably already had, or at least he would soon. After all, he was a billionaire and the Alpha of a freaking werewolf pack. Women constantly threw themselves at him. He had chosen her last night because she was available. That was it.
Still, no amount of stern self-scolding could stop her heart from sinking when they said goodbye to his family and drove away. Or more specifically, when he said what he said once they were in the car by themselves.
"Last night can't happen again."
Jackie forced herself to stare straight ahead and nod. "Agreed. It was a fun one-time thing, but it would jeopardize our working relationship to have a personal relationship."
"Exactly." Myles's tone was stiff and formal. "I won't apologize for it because I don't regret sleeping with you, but you're a good PA and I don't want things to be weird between us."
"I totally agree," Jackie said, her shoulders slumping. "Especially since there could never be anything more between us. We're from two different worlds."
Myles didn't respond to that, and Jackie slid her sunglasses over her eyes to stop him from seeing how they pooled with tears. They had slept together and now it was over. She never had to think about it again.
***
Three months later, Jackie sat at her desk flipping through her appointment book. They hadn't talked about that night since they left his packlands. A huge part of Jackie was relieved. She knew where she stood with him, and it wasn't as a lover. Things had resumed their professional atmosphere between the two of them, and she didn't want to jeopardize that.
She had just hung up the phone from arranging a tour of a cherry orchard Myles was interested in purchasing when he stalked over to her desk and slammed a box in front of her. She stared at it for a moment. Finally, her brain registered it was a pregnancy test and her gaze flickered to Myles's face. His mouth was pinched, his eyes narrowed.
"What's this for?" she asked, not touching the box.
"You haven't had your menstrual cycle in three months. Since we slept together."
Blood rushed to Jackie's face. "How do you know that?"
Myles tapped his nose.
"Really? You can smell people's periods?" Jackie wrinkled her own nose, a little disgusted and unnerved by that news. How much could he tell about her just from taking a quick sniff when she was in the area? Maybe she should start wearing perfume. Lots of perfume.
"Just use them."
Jackie picked up the box, her head spinning. "It doesn't mean anything. I skip my periods all the time. Actually, I don't think I've had one in five months. I don't keep track. They're too erratic. The doctor said it's because of stress and my weight."
She knew she was babbling and sucked her lips between her teeth. She couldn't be pregnant. Could she?
Myles put his hands on her shoulders, guiding her towards the women's bathroom. "Humor me."
"But we used a condom," Jackie whispered, digging in her heels.
"They're not always effective."
"I'm not pregnant!" the words came out a little too loudly.
Myles's mouth thinned and he stared at her. She glared back at him, her grip tight on the pregnancy tests. Her boss didn't say anything. He didn't have to. With her hands shaking and her mouth dry, Jackie went into the bathroom. She stared down at the pregnancy test in her hand. She thought she might throw up.
But I haven't had any morning sickness. If I'm pregnant I should be throwing up every morning, shouldn't I?
Jackie closed her eyes. Well, there was the only way to find out for sure.
***
After the test came back positive, Jackie did throw up. Maybe it was her mind telling her that it was about time her body started showing symptoms. Maybe it was the sudden downpour of stress on her. Pregnant. She was pregnant. What the hell was she going to do now?
Myles knocked on the door, but Jackie didn't want to face him. She was pregnant with his child. What would he think? Would he be happy? Would he fire her and pretend that he never knew her? Would he want her to move in with his mother and sister until the baby was born, and then make her pretend she never had a baby in the first place as it was raised by somebody else?
Well, that wasn't going to happen. Jackie splashed her face with water, settling her wild mind on that. Whatever else might happen, she wasn't giving this baby up. Being a mother wasn't in her immediate plans, the thought of having a child that relied on her was a terrifying thought, but somehow that was the only thing that she could decide on at the moment.
This baby was hers and it would always be hers.
Myles's hair was teased to its ends and his eyes were wide with worry when she stepped out of the bathroom. She must have looked like she was about to collapse, because he quickly grabbed her arm and lead her to his office.
Jackie took a deep breath and nodded.
The werewolf released a pent-up breath. He hunched in his chair, burying his face in his hands. Jackie watched him, surprised by how young and vulnerable he suddenly seemed. She had always seen Myles as a strong, fierce man. He never let anybody bully him, never showed a moment's weakness. And yet he looked like his world was collapsing around him.
Jackie rubbed her eyes. "What now?"
"Go home," Myles said. He straightened and put a hand on her knee. Jackie liked the comforting warmth it provided, but his words had her heart speeding. "This is a shock and you should rest. I will handle things. Just… get yourself some rest. We can talk tomorrow."
Jackie nodded numbly. Was he firing her? She couldn't tell, but at the moment she didn't care. She was too focused on what else he said. He would handle things? Did that mean that he was going to arrange for her to terminate the pregnancy?
The question swirled in her mind while Myles gathered her things and gave them to her.
Did he expect her to want an abortion, or was that what he wanted? He wouldn't want a child born from a one-night stand running around being a threat to his future children's claims to the position of Alpha. And he said himself that it would take a special woman to be his mate. Jackie certainly wasn't anything special.
As soon as she was home she grabbed her phone and called her sister.
"Hello?"
Jackie blurted out everything. Penny listened, not interrupting. By the time she was finished, Jackie was sobbing.
"What am I going to do?" she asked desperately. "I won't get an abortion, I just won't. But if I lose this job I don't have anything to fall back on. I'll end up with nothing. I don't know what to do. Tell me what to do!"
"First off, have yourself a good cry," Penny said, in her no-nonsense tone that reminded Jackie of their mother. "Then when you're done with that take a nice, long bubble bath. Consider everything, Jackie. An unexpected pregnancy is difficult enough in the best of circumstances, and you've got one that'll be half-werewolf. You need to consider that side of things as well. How will you deal with the shifting? Will you want it to have contact with the paternal family?"
"I don't know!" Jackie yanked at her hair, her eyes rolling with panic. "I don't know what I want!"
"You've got time to figure things out. Write down whatever comes to your mind. Questions and answers both. Don't worry about making sense." Penny paused. "You're going to have to decide what to do with Myles."
Jackie was silent, rolling Penny's advice around her mind. What should she tell Myles? Well, what he wanted was clear. He would 'handle things'. What would he do when she refused? Would she get any sort of child support from him? Would she even want her child exposed to a man who thought she should have aborted it?
"Jackie?"
"Thanks." She felt very, very tired all of a sudden, but dragged herself to her computer. "I think I know what I need to do now."
"You can come live with me if you need to, Jack. Just know that I'm here for you."
"Thanks, sis. I'll have myself a cry and a bath and get back to you, okay?"
"Love you."
"Love you, too." Jackie hung up, then faced her computer. She opened the word processor, and with trembling hands and a fresh wave of tears she began to type her resignation.