Chapter 986

My head falls back as my mate kisses his way steadily down my neck, my chest...

And my eyes drift shut as I think - just to myself - that I'm really, really going to enjoy the rest of my life with this man.

"Okay, little baby," Pippa whispers, pressing the fussing infant close to her chest as she pulls the door softly shut behind her. "You want to try a little walk? You liked this when you were -"

But Pippa goes still when she turns and sees the Alpha sitting with his back against the wall, his arms resting over his knees, which are bent up before him. He looks up at her with sad, exhausted eyes.

Pippa gasps at first and freezes but then whips her head left and right before storming over to Mark Sinclair. "What on earth are you doing here!?"

"Pippa," Mark says, looking up at her, flipping his hands over, helpless. "What... what else am I supposed to do?"

“You're supposed to...to be elsewhere!" Pippa hisses, her eyes darting up the hall. She spins back towards her door, a bit frantic that her Alpha will come out of it and witness this encounter.noveldrama

"I can't go elsewhere, you're here -"

"Oh, for heaven's sake," Pippa snarls, turning back to Mark with a frown. She presses the still-crying child even closer to her chest and jerks her chin at him before starting down the hall. "Come on! We have to go somewhere we won't be seen."

Mark sighs as he gets to his feet. Because even if his wolf howls with eagerness to go with his mate, he knows this isn't going to be good. Mark follows Pippa, his heart attuned both to the sound of them and to the baby's soft cries.

Pippa rushes forward, her quick steps doing nothing to outrun Mark's long stride, until she finds a dark alcove. She rushes inside, turning her face up to Mark as he follows her in, a frown on her lips. "Are we going to be overheard here?"

"No," Mark says, giving a shrug. "It's the middle of the night - and no one uses this wing, mom wanted you to have privacy - Pippa, do you want me to take her?" he reaches for the baby, who cries louder now. "She's very fussy -"

"No!" Pippa growls, clutching the baby tighter and turning her half away. "She's my baby! I can take care of her!"

Mark hesitates, letting his hands drop a little. "I never thought you couldn't," he murmurs. “I just thought you might...want some help, you must be exhausted -"

"My exhaustion is none of your business," Pippa bites out, looking down at her baby girl with a frown, bouncing her a bit to comfort her.

Mark sighs, letting his hands drop fully, putting them on his hips to have something to do with them. "I mean, it kind of is my business," he murmurs, annoyed and sad and a bit at the end of his rope regarding what to do next. "Considering you're my mate."

Pippa whips her face up to him, her eyes full of rage. "How dare you, Mark Sinclair!"

"How how dare I!? Pippa, it's true!"

"I have an Alpha, Mark!” Pippa snaps, her voice wavering with emotion. "An Alpha who I love very much, to whom I have always been faithful! We have a child together!"

Mark sighs, his head dropping. "I'm aware of all of this, Pippa."

"Then you should be aware of the necessity of leaving me alone! We shouldn't we shouldn't even -!" she gasps, the sound putting Mark's nerves on edge. He whips his head up to see her smack her hand across her mouth, horrified.

"What?" he asks, taking a step towards her, worried.

She takes a step back, shaking her head rapidly. "I - I shouldn't even be alone

here with you - this is uncouth, and unmatronly - this is unchaste -"

Mark can't help it, he laughs – just a tiny bit. "Pippa, we're just talking -"

"In private! Alone! I - I have never been alone with a man who wasn't my Alpha,

or a member of my immediate family!"

Her face goes as white as snow and Mark takes a step back, realizing that she's genuinely uncomfortable. "I'm...not going to touch you, Pippa. It's okay. I just wanted to...talk."

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"We have nothing to say to each other, your highness," Pippa snaps, her chin held high, her voice wavering. Mark sighs, leaning back against the wall of the alcove, studying her.

Because even as every atom in his body wants to be here, right now, with her, in this little alcove, Mark has to admit that he is...completely out of ideas regarding how to handle this.