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I saw the delivery logo sticker on the bag, sealing it shut. “Don’t be mad.” Silver handed me the bag. “I love you, and after earlier, I needed to know.”

“What are you talking…” I opened the bag and saw the box inside it. “About?” I looked up at my mate. “A pregnancy test?” I pulled the box out. “You want me to take a pregnancy test?”

“Please? I know we haven’t been mated even a month yet, but with you getting dizzy lately, your appetite being off, and…” Silver hesitated.

“What?”

“Your taste is different.” Silver cleared his throat.

My eyes widened. “What do you mean? You mean down there?”

Silver nodded. “It’s not bad. Just different. And my gorilla is telling me that…well, you’re pregnant.”

I didn’t know my eyes could widen more than they already were, but they somehow managed. “You’re serious?”

“Yes. Please? Just take it for me?”

I nodded slowly. I took the box, handed Silver the bag, and then went to the bathroom that was just off the kitchen.

I closed the door and stared at the box on the counter.

My mate had ordered a pregnancy test to be delivered to our house because his animal side was telling him I was pregnant.

I tried to think about the last month. I’d not had a heat.

But then again, we’d had sex at least once a day since we’d met.

It was possible that we’d stopped it before it even had a chance to start.

I opened the box, then dumped out one of the foil-wrapped sticks.

I opened it, pulled the cover off the end, and realized this would work best if I had a cup.

I opened the door. “I need a cup,” I called out.

Silver was standing right across the hallway, waiting.

He left and was back seconds later with a plastic cup that we’d used for family get-togethers. “Thanks.”

I shut the door again and took a deep breath.

I stood in front of the toilet for several minutes, suddenly too shy to pee.

How was that possible? After what felt like forever, I was finally able to go.

Once I had enough in the cup to dip the test in, I finished in the toilet and placed the cup on the sink.

I held the test stick in the cup for several seconds before I pulled it out and placed the cap back on it.

I set it on the sink before dumping the cup in the toilet, then tossing it in the trash.

When I flushed and opened the bathroom door, Silver was still standing there, waiting.

“Well?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know. I just took it. We have to wait a few minutes, as far as I know.” I stepped out and stood against the wall beside my mate. “Why didn’t you say something earlier?”

“Earlier when? Today or when I first noticed?”

I looked up at Silver. “What do you mean when you first noticed. When did you first notice?”

“A few days ago. I thought maybe it was a heat coming on, but my gorilla didn’t agree. He said the opposite and that you were already pregnant. I’m not sure if it’s true or if it’s wishful thinking on his part.”

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “We said we were going to wait.”

“Yep. But we haven’t used condoms even once, and it’s not like we’ve been abstaining.”

I snorted. Both were correct. We’d been anything but abstinent. “I wish you would have said something. I would have washed better or something. Changed my diet.” I didn’t want to taste funny for him.

“Cutie,” Silver said, pulling me to face him. “It’s not bad, just different. A bit…I’d say stronger, but then I’m afraid you would freak out and not let me go down on you again. It’s more like…richer. Your taste is still quite enjoyable, but it is different.”

I wrinkled my nose. “Well, that’s a possible side effect I didn’t even know about. You swear it isn’t horrible?”

Silver chuckled. “No, it’s not bad at all.” Silver looked toward the bathroom. “Do you think it’s been enough time yet?”

I chuckled. “Probably.”

Silver disappeared into the bathroom, but I stayed right where I was. I didn’t know if I wanted to know. Like, we weren’t trying. We’d been mated for just under a month. My gestation would be six months if I was pregnant, and that meant I’d have a baby before I’d been with my mate for even a year.

Silver came back out, holding the test. “It’s positive,” he said. “It says you’re pregnant.”

An array of emotions coursed through me, from pleasure to utter dread.

I was pregnant. “Are you sure?” I asked.

Silver handed me the test. Right there, plain as day, it said the word pregnant .

The word not was nowhere to be seen, and I could only hold the stick back out to Silver. He took it, then moved closer.

“Are you upset?”

I looked up at my mate. “I think I’m more in shock than anything. We weren’t planning on this, Silver. We barely know each other.”

Silver nodded. “Yes, but we love each other. We’re mates, and that’s forever.

” Silver stepped back into the bathroom before he came back empty-handed and pulled me into his arms. “I love you, and I’m going to love this baby.

Sure, it changes the timeline a bit, but that just means we’ll travel with the baby instead of just the two of us. ”

I glared at my mate. “What about traveling with a baby sounds enjoyable to you?”

Silver chuckled. “All of it. When they’re little, they’re easier to tote around. And once he or she is a toddler, we can leave her with my parents and run away for romantic weekends if you’re comfortable with that.”

I knew what he meant. My parents waited until I was sixteen to do that, and they were killed in a plane crash. “Maybe somewhere close by?”

“Or even just to have a weekend here at home without the baby.” Silver leaned down and kissed me.

“I love you, Charlie, and yeah, this baby wasn’t exactly planned, but I’m not going to be upset about it.

Fate brought us together, and for some reason, we’re supposed to become parents now. It’ll all work out.”

I sighed. He was absolutely right. It wasn’t as if we didn’t have the room for a baby. A new thought suddenly hit, and I looked up at my mate. “You’re not going to become overly protective now, are you?”

Silver made a face, and I sighed. He was. I knew he wasn’t going to do it to irritate me, but his gorilla was going to push him hard to be protective of me and our baby. Could I live with that? Probably. I loved Silver, and I knew he only wanted what was best for me and now our baby.

“I promise to try my best.”

“I know. And I understand.” A month ago, I just wanted a boyfriend who wasn’t ashamed to be seen with me.

Now, I had a mate who absolutely loved me and being with me.

And now we were going to have a baby. Yeah, I could deal with my sexy alpha being protective.

I looked up at Silver, hoping I was giving him what he called my sultry look.

He growled down at me, then picked me up.

I squeaked as he carried me through the house toward the stairs.

“Oh yeah, we’re going to go celebrate,” he said as he carried me up the stairs.

I laughed. What else could I do? I was mated and pregnant, and, well…

I found that I didn’t really mind all that much.

Silver made things so much better, and I knew that with him helping me through everything, it was going to be okay.

Up next is Clay’s story! You can preorder his book here !