Page 53

Harper

A couple of months later

“Heyyy…” I got up from the bar and wrapped my arms around Daria. “How’s things? Are you still going to therapy? Found any hot bear boys to waste some time with?”

“Good,” she said, flicking a finger up. “Yes, because who knew having someone listen to all your deepest, darkest fears would make me feel so good and nope.” The shake of her head was very definite.

“No dudes, furry or otherwise in my life. Meryl is helping me to see I need to focus on myself right now, before I decide to take on anyone else’s bullshit.

Speaking of me time…” She gestured to the server behind the bar. “Can we get two tequila shots please?”

“Make that one.” I tried to say that casually, but that was never going to play with Daria. My girl’s gaze sharpened exponentially as she stared me down. “I’ll just have another orange juice, please.”

“OJ?” She picked up my glass then sniffed it. “Why the hell are you drinking OJ for? Are you pregnant or something?”

I went perfectly still, which was exactly the wrong thing to do. Before I met her at the bar, I’d gone to the doctors to get the news. The guys hadn’t come, because they didn’t know yet.

I was having a baby.

“No, of course not.”

I was trying to hard, waving her away and then slurping my juice, but she paid for and drank down her shots without looking away for a second.

“You can’t bullshit a bullshitter. What the fuck, Harps? Are you…?”

She couldn’t bring herself to say the words, which was fine, because I couldn’t either.

Wait twelve weeks, that’s the advice everyone seemed to follow.

Miscarriage was pretty common in the first trimester.

For some random reason, my body could decide nope, now was not the time to get pregnant and that freaking killed me.

My hand slid to my stomach, as if I could make this little cluster of cells sticky through will alone.

“Oh my god, you are!”

“Shut. Up,” I hissed, looking around warily. “I’m only a few weeks along.”

“You are!” Her voice was so high only dogs could hear it, then she frantically waved the server back to our end of the bar. “Ohmigod, ohmigod, ohmigod! You’re gonna be a mummy.” Her eyelids started to flutter alarmingly. “I’m gonna be an aunty.”

“You’re gonna be an aunty,” I confirmed and damn me if my eyes didn’t fill with tears right then. Bloody hell, if this was what pregnancy was like, I was going to be a sobbing mess by the end. My bestie flung herself at me, holding me so tight I could barely breathe. “Ahh… Dar? Dar…!”

“You’re gonna be amazing.” Daria could be so damn fierce when she wanted.

“Amazing, you hear me? You’ll be the best damn mother ever.

This kid…” Her brows creased. “Is it one baby, or are you having a litter like a cat? Shit, is one gonna be a tiger, another a wolf? Will you have a bear cub rather than a baby?”

All good questions. It wasn’t until late afternoon that I discovered the answers.

The house was curiously quiet when I got in the door, but the sound of running water made clear where the guys were.

I tracked down the carpeted hallway, opening my room to find them all in the shower.

All that well muscled flesh being scrubbed clean in the same shower, that deserved a moment with me standing in the doorway, just soaking them in.

Mack noticed me first, that hypervigilance coming in use for once.

He blinked, then dashed away the shampoo, whacking the others in the chest before rinsing his hair clean.

“Hey, baby…”

Tor sauntered up to the entrance to the expansive shower with all the grace of his furry self. “Feel like joining us.” He flicked water at me. “It’s nice and warm and we will get you all clean.” He shot me a wink. “After we get you all dirty.”

“Umm… afterwards?”

That squeaky tone got all of their attention. Mack was out of the shower, slapping water all over the floor as he took my face in his hands.

“What’s up? Did something happen? Is Daria OK? I thought she was doing better, with the therapy and everything.”

“I’m fine.” My hands went around his wrists as the others approached, slinging towels around their waists. “Better than fine.”

“Ohh-kay.”

Kieran watched me closely.

“Um, so you know how I had a doctor’s appointment today?” Each one of them went perfectly still, and it was then I realised what they were thinking. “Because of the nausea.”

“That was just Kieran’s shitty cooking, wasn’t it?” Tor asked, suddenly serious.

“No.”

They all stared, completely uncomprehending, so I grabbed each one of their hands and placed it on my stomach.

“Are you…?”

Fur prickled all across Tor’s skin, turning his face into a tiger’s mask, then back again. His eyes burned deep gold.

“No.” Mack shook his head so violently I thought for a moment he hated this idea. “No.” He wrenched me close, claws pricking my skin as he buried his nose in my neck. “You can’t be.”

“Didn’t take the Plan B when I went into heat, remember?”

The guys had sat me down and talked me through what would happen.

Apparently, my temper, my heat intolerance, made clear what was happening.

Human birth control worked fine with human dudes.

Women often took Plan B when in heat if they didn’t want to have kids, to counteract shifter super sperm.

I’d thought about it seriously, made sure the pills were somewhere easy to get, but when it came time…

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw that shadowy shape of that little girl again.

And I couldn’t wait to meet her.

“So we’re…” Kieran looked shell shocked. “And you’re…”

“Pregnant.” Tears clogged my throat, but I forged on. “Six weeks, the doctor thinks.”

“Six weeks…?”

Mack pulled back, his eyes going brighter and brighter silver and then his wolf thrust forward, replacing the man with a massive grey wolf.

He let out a very excited woo, then stuck out his nose, snuffling at my belly.

My hand went out slowly because wolf Mack was sometimes a little skittish.

He thrust his muzzle into my palm, sniffing it like an excited puppy.

“We need to get you outside.”

Kieran sounded more bear than man and I saw it in his eyes.

He grabbed me, hoisting me over his shoulder, before carrying me out in the backyard.

I laughed, pummelling his back, until he dropped me down on my feet, Tor’s tiger quickly joining us.

As the big cat rubbed his head against me, letting out happy chuffs, Kieran took fur.

When we competed in the bear back race, I’d asked him if we could lie under the stars, me sprawled across his bear’s body and that’s what happened right now.

The moon rose slowly, the summer air thick and warm as I tried to count each star.

I wasn’t allowed to just rest on Kieran’s belly.

Their animals were curiously territorial, not happy until I was propped up against Kieran bear’s side, with Tor tiger snuggled in on one side of me, Mack’s wolf lying with his muzzle across my belly.

My fingers rubbed through their fur, just breathing in the peace.

“We’re having a daughter.” Each one of the beasts raised their heads at that, Mack letting out a mournful whine.

“The doctor didn’t say that, but…” I nodded.

“I know. A little girl.” I could just see her, looking back at me with a cheeky grin, then letting out a giggle as she rushed ahead.

Into trouble, I just knew it. Mum always said I’d learn my lesson when I had a little girl of my own.

Well, I was about to find out.