Lone Wolf (Wilde Brothers Ranch #6)- Scarlett Grove Page 0,24

custody of the child, and you can take her. But that is where our relationship ends. I'm asking you to respect that.”

He looked at her, his lip quivering and his eyes wide. “I will do whatever I need to do,” he said in a low voice, an edge of anger behind his words.

She didn't blame him. She was taking away his chance to have a mate and family. Annie knew the seriousness of her rejection. But whatever fate had in store, it would not bring her into Dylan's arms or his life. She could not love him the way he deserved. Even if he finally found someone other than his fated mate, he would be much better off with her.

“We can arrange all of the paperwork in the next several months. There's plenty of time. I've already started the process of finding an adoptive couple. But as the father, you have the first option to take her.”

Dylan sprang to his feet, and Annie could feel the anger rolling off him. He charged toward the door and gripped the knob. But then he stopped and looked back up at her standing in the kitchen doorway.

“I will take the child. And I will be her father. But I'm never giving up on you and me. You can push me away. You can tell me you don't want me. But I don't believe that. I don't believe that fate would bring you into my life, give me your child, and then take you away. I won’t accept it, and I never will. I will love you for the rest of my life, like it or not. Because I am a Wilde. And Wildes don't just give up on their women, especially the mothers of their children.”

He was outside and gone before she had a chance to respond. His words echoed through the room, hanging heavily all around her.

She collapsed into the living room chair and sobbed into her palms. She didn't know what she had expected him to say. Had she really believed he would give up so easily? All kinds of thoughts flashed through her mind. Momentarily, she considered getting a restraining order. But she knew that would be stupid. He was not a threat to her. Not in the way a judge would consider a threat. But to Annie, his love was the most threatening thing possible. It threatened to eke its way into her carefully organized world, to shake her up and force her to open her heart and her life to someone else in a way she'd vowed never to allow.

She didn't know what she could do to keep him out of her life until the baby was born. But after that, she knew he would return to Fate Rock and his family. Then he would have to leave her alone. If he harassed her in a way that would warrant the law, she would cross that bridge when she got there. But at the back of her mind, she knew all these thoughts were deeply wrong. Dylan Wilde didn't deserve any of this, and the only one to blame was herself.

She sat down at her computer and jiggled her mouse, waking up the screen. She clicked over to the project she'd been working on but couldn't focus. She felt exhausted and worn out from the conversation with Dylan. Then she picked up the card from the counselor that she had deposited in her inbox tray.

Annie had a strict policy of never opening up her heart or her mind to anyone. But she felt so frayed at the edges that she didn't know if she would make it through the end of the pregnancy. The hormones were making her tired and emotional. Adding Dylan and his proclamation of everlasting love was the last straw. She couldn't talk to her friends about it, but maybe a neutral third party would be just what she needed to unburden her mind. She didn't have to tell this doctor any more than she wanted.

She sighed and rolled her eyes, picking up her cellphone. She tapped out the number and listened to the phone ring. A receptionist answered with a bright and sunny greeting.

“I was referred by my ob-gyn. I'd like to make an appointment.”

The next day, Annie was sitting in the waiting room of the counselor's office. She'd been lucky to get in on a cancellation.

“Annie Walker, the doctor will see you now,” the receptionist said.

Annie waddled through the door and down the