CHAPTER 4 OF BOOK 2

"Mm, baby?" I whispered half-asleep to Tiberius. I had woken up just seconds before because of a damp feeling on my chest and face from Tiberius' clothes. "Babyyy," I mumbled as I pressed my lips against his. He didn't move, though, so I tapped his chest gently while I just stared at his pecs. "Ti, you're wet. We should go upstairs to our room." This time he moaned and breathed deeply, turning his head downwards to gaze at me with sleepy eyes, one opening and closing sooner than the other. Because he wasn't aware of what was happening since he sensed no danger, he cocked his head while it stayed resting on the pillow.

"I'm not a babyy," he groaned. "I'm a man. A full," he interrupted it with a lionous yawn ",grown man!"

"Aww," I tsked. "I know Ti, but how about we go to bed? You need to change clothes and I'm tired," I pouted and stuck my bottom lip out while propping my head up with my hand.

"Anything for my mate," he whispered and folded the blanket back to let me up.

The fireplace was a mound of hot coals, ash, and a few resilient flames trying to lick their way back up the scalded logs, but it still lit up the living room enough to see the walls and obstacles. Holding his hand as we shuffled out of the room together, him sometimes mumbling incoherent things, he suddenly spoke clearly as if he was awoken from a hangover, but still quiet.

"I want a baby."

My foot, which was halfway up the first step, froze, and I looked back over my right shoulder to him. Scanning my eyes over his face looking for any sign of amusement or insincerity, they froze on his green orbs. Nothing clouded them over, no lies or corruption or the slightest bit of domination. Just a clear soul with clearer intentions.

"I...what? Are, are you serious Tiberius? Because if this is just you being half-asleep-"

"It's not. I'm completely awake and serious, Ellie. I mean, think about it!" He took my right hand into both of his and moved closer to look up at me. "A baby! A little prince or princess running around these halls. Me and you playing with them, raising them! Together! As mates!" He smiled giddily, but shook his head after. "Of course, I'm not going to ask you to have one with me now or rush things-these kind of decisions need time and thought and planning, and first we're going to get your mom and brother back, but I just wanted to get that off my chest."

I gaped at him, literally, with my mouth slightly open and eyes wide with surprise. After a moment of silence and him continuing to hold my hand patiently, he sighed. "You don't have to say anything, we can talk about it in the morning."

It wasn't that I didn't want a baby-I did! But the timing that he asked me about it shocked me, and rendered me speechless.

Nodding, I turned back around to go up the stairs when he suddenly stopped me.

"Do you want some waffles and icecream?"

"Oh my goddess, stop!" I snorted and yelled at Tiberius, who had an waffle-icecream sandwich stuffed into his mouth and down the side of his mouth.

"I cam mo et!" he mumbled around the deliciously icy food, causing me to laugh harder and double over in wheezes.

"Wha- what did you say Ti? I couldn't understand you for a second."

"I," he swallowed, "I said I can do it! Didn't you believe in me, baby? Because," he stepped closer and grabbed my waist with his left hand ",that's not a very nice thing to do." Using his right hand to rest against my cheek and brush the soft skin behind my ear with his fingertips, he slowly leaned down and touched his sticky lips to mine, the melted and dried icecream causing sweet friction between our lips. As the kiss deepened, though, a light thud echoed in the kitchen from the next room over, the living room. Pulling away, I looked at Tiberius as he looked me in the eyes.

'Stay here,' he mindlinked me. Nodding, he let me go and entered the other room while I slurped down a big spoonful of melted Vanilla and strawberry Swirl icecream from the carton. Humming to myself, I started to think about raising a little pup with Tiberius when a smile grew on my face.

'He'd look so cute with a little boy crawling over him, wouldn't you agree, Nikita?' I heard her chuckle softly.

'I can't even imagine how much I'd love to see that one day.'

Light footsteps led to Tiberius walking back into the kitchen, in his hands a small red shoebox with snow coating the top of it.

"I don't know who sent this, but it was outside the door from where we came into last night. I've already mindlinked a few Alpha guards to try to scent track the sender."

Nodding as he placed it on the counter and grabbed a knife to cut through the tape on all four sides of the lid, I lifted the lid and set it aside as I unfolded the the tissue paper layering the top when my heart froze and stomach dropped to my knees while my blood pressure skyrocketed.

Inside the tissue paper laying longways with the box was a perfect clipping of hair nearly a foot and a half long, kept together in a slick black ribbon tied into a bow. There wasn't a note, and didn't need to be, for my mothers' scent was all over the box, and so was Blade's.

"Elenore," Tiberius began, but I stopped him.

"I just want him dead, not let's go to bed."

With that, I marched up the stairs quietly and made no effort to converse with Tiberius, even after he changed clothes while leaving off his shirt and climbed in behind me, burying his nose in the back of my neck and groaning hoarsely. All I thought about was a million and one ways to rip out Blade's heart and feed it to his own rouges. Smiling to myself, I dreampt of just that.