Jayden grabbed my arm but I quickly yanked it away from him. I turned and grabbed Elijah's hand that he held out to me. "I think I fulfilled my agreement for tomorrow while we were out today." I said before making eye contact with him. "I will see you on Sunday."
I looked up to Elijah and he gave me a broad smile before leading me inside. We walked over to the guest house and I was relieved to see the three kids watching TV in the living room.
I enveloped the rest of my night treasuring time with the kids as Elijah kept watch.
Thursday and Friday were a blur in my state of defeat. I had gone so long with the peace of mind that his ring was always with me, but now I had nothing. All I did was go for my usual run, sleep, and spend time with the kids. On Friday night, Chase and I talked about the new situation, which he did not take to very well.
When Connor tried to call me, I blocked his number as I knew it wasn't him calling. Hunter called only once and invited the kids and I to a new jungle gym place, but I made up an excuse to get off the call when he brought up Asher.
On Saturday morning, Chase had to work so the twins and I went to the jungle gym. By the time we parked, both kids were nearly bouncing out of their chair. I got them out and made sure to hold on their hands tightly. We walked to the entrance and I was relieved to see Hunter and Shannon already standing there.
"There's Uncle Hunter and Aunt Shannon," stated and they both began bouncing more.
"Hey kiddos!" Hunter called and I finally was unable to control them. They both ran over and grabbed Hunter. I was relieved to see that they were not shying away from these near strangers. Maybe they are getting better at accepting others. But the moment Hunter tried to hug them, they both backed off and clung to me.
I sighed, "they mean nothing by it. They just get nervous with people they don't know for a long time." I smiled, "the fact that they immediately went and touched you means you're special to them."
Shannon looked to my stomach, "you're really beginning to show."
I nodded but could not force a smile until Archer pulled on my hand. "Momma," Archer asked in a sweet excited voice. "Can we go play now?"
I notice he was looking at the jungle gym and quickly gave him a broad smile with a nod. Shannon smiled slightly towards me. "I'll watch them, you should go sit down and rest. You're looking a little pale."
I nodded and watched the kids run off with Shannon close behind. Hunter took my hand and led me over to a table. He sat on one side while I sat across from him.
He gave me a smile that seemed a mix of happiness and sadness. "Why didn't you tell me that they found a donor?"
I smiled up to him, "I didn't want anyone to say something until it was confirmed. I did not want to get anyone's hopes up."
"So you know the donor? The doctor would not give me his name."
I nodded and pretended to look at the kids, even though I just wanted to look away from him. "He wants to remain anonymous. The only reason I found out his name was to help the doctor locate him. His contacts had changed recently and so I had to search for him."
"So what's he like? I wanna know as much as I can about my savior." Hunter could not hold back his chuckle halfway through his statement. I looked up to the ceiling and acted as if I was thinking on how to describe this mystery person. In truth, I was gaining composure so I would not reveal what was truly going on. I look to him to see some excitement on his face.
"He's very mellow tempered for an Alpha," I began as Hunter's eyes widened. Of anyone, he certainly knew how I felt about Alphas. "If I had not seen his blood test results, I would have never truly believed he was an Alpha because he acts nothing like it. He has the demeanor and presence of a calm Beta if anything. He's just an everyday business man that has a partner and 2 children. He is somewhat reserved but was thoroughly intrested in learning a little bit about you. He's excited to help you in any way he can. He even asked about the finances for the procedure and I assured him that he was already taken care of."
Hunter sighed with relief, "I can't tell you how thankful I am for this man and for you. You certainly went out of your way to find him and to help."
I leaned closer on the table as I felt my heart strain slightly, "so have they set up a date?"
Hunter nodded, "we went mainly by his schedule as he said that he has a lot of business going on with his company in the near future. We have it set up for 2 weeks from yesterday."
I grabbed Hunter's hands and quickly placed my forehead on the table. I finally let out a few tears that seemed to surprise him. "Sorry," I said with a slight chuckle, "pregnancy makes me very emotional." I lifted my head and gave him a goofy smile. "You should have seen me when I was pregnant with the twins. I was a basket case."
Hunter squeezed my hand slightly and I sat up fully, but did not release his hands. His eyes were filled with pain that made my heart skip. "I don't know if I can ever forgive you for going through that alone."
I gave him a sad look, "I don't expect you to. I have done the unforgivable to you and to everyone else."
Hunter was quiet for a moment as he looked down to our joined hands. "He has been calling me nonstop for days."
I looked back over to the kids and focused on the happiness on their face. This is for them. I turned back to Hunter and gave him a sad smile, "Connor got me to a tee. I am selfish and weak."
"He just wants to meet with you," Hunter insisted as he squeezed my hands hard before lessening his grip. "You owe him that much at least. He just wants to understand why."
I slowly pulled our hands apart, which made a scowl come to Hunter's face. "I can't face him," I whispered as I looked down to the table. "Not yet. My emotions are all out of sorts with this pregnancy and I cannot fairly express my feelings and discuss with him until they are back under control."
"Then you should have waited to give him that ring back until you could discuss it with him," Hunter hissed but I could not look back to him.
"That's the final bond to him as lovers. I can't keep dragging him along." I squeezed my hands together under the table. "I need him to move on," I whispered as I finally look backup to Hunter. He seemed startled my how much my eyes were tearing up. "It is selfish, I know, but I cannot move on from him until he moves on first. Once I see that he is happy with someone else, then I will hopefully be able to move on. I want him to be happy and I know I can't give him that."
Hunter's eyes became filled with outrage. "Do you think we're all fools?" He demanded as he fought his voice not to scream. "Connor recognized who you were with when you met him!"
My whole body shook as I looked a Hunter with terror. "When Asher found out, it destroyed him! To know that you are leaving him fully to be with that horrible man is beyond what any of us can forgive!"
"It's not what you think!" I pleaded, "he just wanted to see the baby!" I insisted as Hunter seemed to become angrier. "We are trying to work together for the sake of the kids, nothing more!"
Hunter tried to get up, but I grabbed him, "he was threatening to take them away if I didn't make a deal with him. He wanted to take the twins and this child!" I shook violently, "I can't let him have them, Hunt. They are MY children! Please, try to understand this!"
I felt my nausea begin to hit and quickly sat down. I fought showing it as I didn't want him to think it was an excuse.
"I am the only one who can save them from him." I whispered as I shook more and he finally looked to me, "you and Asher can survive without me. They can't! They are just kids!"
The nausea became too much and I crumbled onto the table. I could not hear Hunter moving and he was silent.
I heard a scoff come from someone nearby, "a male Omega with kids!?" A female voice mocked, "that scum of the earth shouldn't be allowed here. He could infect the children."
I fought my body to stop trembling and sat up. I found the two Betas staring at me and glared at them.
"How could someone mate with THAT?!" The other woman asked as she turned slightly away, "the poor kids must be mortified to have a parent like that."