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My belly squeezed, and I had to bite back a groan. Mateo needed me now. He didn’t need me to be bringing the focus back to me.

“No. I haven’t had any symptoms.”

“You’ve been tired,” I reminded him.

“Because we’re busy,” he countered.

“Not as busy as you were tired yesterday, and there was the whole not liking clams last week. You love them.”

He nodded.

“You said they smelled bad, but they were fine.”

He nodded again.

“And today, eggs were gross,” I reminded him

“You think I’m going to lay an egg?”

“What?” Colton was a freaking cat today. He kept coming in without me noticing.

“I think this”—I pointed to the full-on nest of pillows and blankets encompassing the space that had once been our couch—“Is in preparation for Mateo’s egg.”

“But he…he doesn’t even look pregnant.” Which was true, he didn’t, but he had filled out a bunch since we’d gotten together.

“Time to call the midwife,” I said, my teeth clenched. This round was pretty freaking intense.

He got hold of the midwife and by the time they got there, I was screaming loud enough with each contraction that the entire B&B had to be aware it was baby time, and Mateo was naked and pacing, mumbling about how he thought he was just getting fat.

“I can’t tell who is going to deliver first,” Rain, the midwife on call, said. “It’s going to be close.” They looked far more frazzled than I.

“I’m not ready,” Mateo said. “Have him go first.”

Rain broke into laughter. “That is not how this works.”

He was right. It wasn’t. A half hour later, Mateo lay on the pile of blankets beside his bed. And I ended up giving birth beside him, his strength giving me the strength I needed.

He groaned, and I yelled. I screeched, and he moaned. We held one another’s hands as Colton panted and encouraged us. And finally, with the baby’s head out, I pushed our little one into the world as Mateo grunted and Colton yelled, “We have an egg!”

“You have a beautiful baby girl.” Rain placed her on my chest as I lay on the makeshift bed Colton had created for me, my head nestled on the nest beside our egg, my eyes glued to Mateo. She was the most perfect being I’d ever laid my eyes on. The joy inside me was almost overwhelming.”

“We did it,” I said, my eyes tearing up. Mateo had longed for a child for so long and, as deeply as he loved our little girl from the moment he learned of her existence, I hadn’t been able to help sensing a sadness in him for not being able to give that to his mate.

“We did.” Colton nestled between us. “We should call her Alora, our dream.”

It directly translated to my dream, but he was right. It was perfect.

“Alora,” Mateo and I said at the same time.

“You’re going to have your hands full,” Rain said,

“Not as full as our hearts,” Colton said. “Not as full as our hearts.”

I didn’t think it was possible for my heart to be fuller than it already was, but three weeks later, when our son Lorento hatched, I was proven wrong.

Aspen didn’t know you could accidentally become Alpha of a Den, but that’s exactly what he just did.

Alpha bear shifter Aspen was ready to begin his new life in the big city. He has a job lined up, a lease signed, and his truck packed. All he has left is to get there. Too bad that’s easier said than done, because his truck picked the middle of nowhere to break down—alongside a bear den’s land of all places. When Aspen seeks permission to spend the night, he plans to keep his head down and just mind his own business and he does, until he hears the scream that changes everything.

Omega bear shifter Lucian hates his den. No, that isn’t fair. It isn’t the den he hates as much as the leadership. When the Alpha he had most of his life died, he crossed his fingers the new one would bring their den into this century. He didn’t—the new Alpha is not only old-school, but also cruel. When rumors of analpha bear seeking refuge until his truck is repaired reach him, Lucien forms a plan. If he can convince the shifter to take him when he leaves, he can escape this horrible life.

Sneaking out to find the new bear sounded like a great idea, until Lucian gets caught. His den Alpha is a strike first kind of guy, and strike he does. Lucien knows better than to scream, as it only makes the punishments worse, but scream he does, the pain too much to hold inside. A flurry of fur and teeth, a dead Alpha, and the scenting of his fated mate leaves the visiting shifter as their new Alpha.

So much for best laid plans.