Page 3 of The Brave (Black Arrowhead #6)

R ather than taking Salem’s advice to rest, I accompanied him in the library while he browsed through Cecilia’s new inventory. Once finished, he left me alone to help Lakota with a project.

One of Melody’s aunts had contributed a whole box of romance books, and since the library was my job, I added each one to a spreadsheet on the laptop before shelving them. It was easy to lose books in our enormous library, so Lucian had given me a laptop to keep track of them. We had two options since not everyone wanted to advertise what they were reading. They could either sign a clipboard with their name, date, and the book they checked out, or they could write the information on a small piece of paper and put it inside a locked metal box. I popped in once a day and updated the computer. When they returned the books, they placed them on the designated table for me to shelve in the correct location. Lucian didn’t want everyone having access to the laptop to enter their information, so that’s why I’d taken on the responsibility.

When Cecilia joined our family, I worried she might take over my only contribution to the pack. After all, she was not only a bookworm but also owned her own bookstore. But one evening she revealed to me in confidence that she enjoyed coming home and having someone else organize everything. The bookstore overwhelmed her at times, especially with the negotiating she did with sellers. Occasionally Robyn or I would work the register when she was out of town or just having a stressful day.

All the ladies had important roles in the house. Hope was the pack mother and ran a business. Melody was her partner and designed her own clothing, purse, and shoe lines. Mercy not only earned big tips at the Rabbit Lounge, but she was our pack accountant and handled all the finances. Robyn earned money on the side with her sketches, but now she was starting up yoga classes. Cecilia brought in decent money with book sales.

And that left me. Working in the library was my only contribution.

I took more from this pack than I gave, and that wasn’t like me. I’d spent my entire life building a career and living comfortably. Now that I had my own pack, I had nothing to offer.

Gripping the ladder, I inserted one of the books onto an upper shelf.

“That’s too high,” a voice boomed from behind me.

Startled, I twisted around, and the ladder moved.

In an instant, Lucian flashed across the room and caught the rolling ladder. He turned his golden eyes up and gave me an admonishing look. “Like I was saying, that’s too high.”

I carefully descended the ladder. “Well, we can’t put everything on the lower shelves, now can we? It only makes sense to shelve the least-read books higher up.”

“Such as?”

After my feet touched the ground, I caught my breath. “Encyclopedias, modern plumbing, and manuals. We also have a few books on automotive repair nobody looks at.”

A crooked smile appeared. “Not in Lakota’s case. His truck’s been in the shop more times than Virgil’s emptied the cookie jar. What troubles you, female?”

I held the side of the ladder. “What makes you ask such a thing?”

His nose twitched. “Because anxiety burns my nose, and I could smell yours from across the house. Why are you so nervous?”

“Why are you so nosy?”

He sat on top of a wooden table and thumbed through a new fantasy book. “I’m a Chitah living in a house filled with emotional Shifters. What do you expect?”

I gave his black attire a once-over. Lucian was a dapper dresser whenever we went out, always in a leather belt with expensive button-ups. But around the house it was always dark T-shirts and tank tops.

“Are you checking out this book?” I touched the novel in his hands.

Lucian let me take it, but he kept his gaze fixed on me as I turned around.

I switched on the computer to type Lucian’s name in the spreadsheet and the name of the book in the next column. “Be sure to leave it on the return table when you’re done.”

“I could set up a scanning system and put stickers on the books.”

“We decided against that two weeks ago. Cecilia advised against putting adhesives on the books, and Tak is against wrapping them in plastic covers. It would ruin the aesthetic of his home, not to mention he hates plastic.”

“Funny, because they bought a shitload of diapers a few days ago.”

I chuckled softly while entering the date in the computer. “He wanted cloth until Hope said he would be in charge of cleaning them.”

“When are you going to tell them?”

I saved the file. “Tell who what?”

“Tell the pack that you’re pregnant?”

It was as if the air had left the room, and I froze.

Did I imagine him saying that?

Lucian sniffed twice. “Did you think you could hide it from a Chitah? Shifters only pick it up in animal form, though not always. Usually in the later months. But you can’t disguise your changing chemistry from a Chitah—not without a boatload of perfume. And lately you haven’t been soaking in rose oil.”

I closed the laptop and gathered my thoughts, which were as scattered as flower petals caught in a tornado.

“You don’t need to be afraid, but you’ve been living in this house for seven months. Time’s running out. Exactly how far along are you?”

Facing him, I flicked a worried glance at the open doorway in the back.

“No one’s around,” he assured me while staring at the black ring on his finger. “Catcher knows. What I can’t figure out is why he thinks you need a watchdog when you’ve got Salem. He must have a screw loose.”

My stomach knotted, and just then, Lucian’s nose twitched as he raised his head.

“Someone’s got secrets,” he muttered.

“I plan on telling them.”

He hopped off the table. “Tak’s been going on and on about it being a sign from the spirit world that they’re the first one in the house to have a baby. I wonder what he’ll think about this sign. Anyhow, they sent me here to tell you dinner’s ready. You’re not dropping the bomb tonight, are you?”

I swallowed hard. “Do you think they’ll be upset?”

He shrugged. “It’s one thing to keep it a secret for a little while, but you’ve been lying this whole time. I can’t say how they’ll react. Even if they get over it, you still lied to the Packmaster. They take that shit seriously.”

Lucian was not only pragmatic but also blunt. If he wasn’t sure how they’d react, that left me doubtful.

“Maybe you should wait until after the wine is served,” he suggested before striding toward the door. “Wine has a way of loosening people up.”

“Yes, but Tak doesn’t drink.”

I had done my best to conceal the pregnancy. In the beginning, the morning sickness was awful and food didn’t always agree with me. Because of that, we chose the room across from the bathroom. No one seemed to notice my snacking and odd cravings, and I didn’t carry in an obvious way. Still, I always wore oversized, billowy tops.

After Lucian left, I ran my hands over my belly. Even though I was almost eight months, I hadn’t felt the baby move. In the first trimester, Salem assured me all was well. But now he wasn’t as confident.

Catcher’s barking snapped me out of my thoughts. He stared at me from the arched entryway, which connected to the back hall.

After a quick wag of his tail, he trotted toward me, then rested his head on my stomach and stared up. A whine lingered in his throat.

“He likes you,” Tak said, coming up behind him.

Catcher pivoted and growled.

Tak dipped his chin and threw off enough alpha energy that it skated across my skin and made my hair stand on end.

“He hasn’t been acting right.” Tak crossed the room and stood before me. “We discussed this a few months ago, but it’s time you shift and meet the pack. What if you had shifted in here alone and Catcher attacked your wolf?” He stroked Catcher’s big head while casting a critical eye at me. “We were all strangers in the beginning and needed time to adjust, but if you don’t let your wolf out to meet us, I can’t protect you or anyone else from what might happen. That reflects poorly on me. No one will feel safe joining my pack if I can’t protect my packmates from one another.”

“I know.”

Tak gestured for Catcher to leave, and the wolf obediently trotted out of the room. “Shift.”

I flicked my eyes up in worry. “Now? Here?”

“Your wolf has to meet me. If you have a crazy animal, we’ll deal with that. I’ve already got two in the house.”

“I can’t.”

“Why not?”

I sat down in one of the curved wooden chairs. “It’s not a choice. I literally can’t.”

He crossed his arms. Tak was a formidable man who had built taller doorways to accommodate his height. I’d seen him strike the target on a board with an axe multiple times in a row, and I also remembered how easily he threw out potential packmates in the beginning. “Is it a defect? Why didn’t you tell me before?”

“It’s not that.”

“Then I’ll make you shift.”

I threw my hands out. “No! Please don’t.”

He gave an irritated sigh. “And why not?”

Resting my hands on my belly, I replied, “I’m pregnant.”

He stepped back, arms at his side. “What? When did this happen?”

Now or never.

“Before we arrived.”

Silence engulfed the room.

When Tak bent over with his hands on his knees, his long braid slipped forward. “Are you telling me this whole time I had you doing manual labor and lifting heavy wood, you were with child?”

It hadn’t occurred to me until that moment that Tak might feel he had inadvertently put me in danger, but that was exactly how he was taking it as he stared at his feet.

“Tak, dinner’s getting cold,” Hope said from the back hall. She saw her mate’s awkward stance and hurried to his side. “What’s wrong? Tak?”

Catcher barked incessantly from the doorway, calling everyone’s attention. And one by one, my packmates filed into the room. Including Salem, who glued himself to the entrance as if he might flee at any moment. Lucian sat on a nearby table and watched with mild interest while munching on a raw onion.

Virgil swaggered in wearing his Introvert T-shirt and a pair of sweatpants that tapered at the ankles. “What’s the catastrophe? Virgil Nightingale is hungry, and that food isn’t gonna eat itself.”

Hope rubbed her mate’s shoulder, worry glittering in her dark eyes. “Tak? What’s wrong? Should I call a Relic?”

I waited in dread. Tak’s word was law in the Arrowhead pack.

He finally straightened up and took a deep breath. “Joy and Salem are with child.”

Hope’s mouth fell open, and she was the first to rush at me with a hug. “Oh my gosh! That’s wonderful news. Congratulations! How far along?”

“Almost eight months,” I answered.

The only sound in the room was Lucian taking a bite of that onion.

Catcher trotted over and sat close.

Meanwhile, Tak dragged a chair in front of me and sat down. “Now I know why you’ve been avoiding my wolf.”

Virgil pointed at me with an astonished expression. “ That explains why Salem always eats after you. And why you never drink alcohol.”

Everyone nodded while slowly putting together the pieces of our deceit. Archer sat on the table next to Lucian and whispered something to him. Bear still had an oven mitt on his hand when he joined his mate’s side, and if he didn’t already have a grey streak in his hair, he might get another after this meeting.

“Holy mackerel!” Mercy put her hand on top of her head. “All this time? How in the world did you hide it? We do yoga! I never noticed a bump.”

I wondered if Salem might jump in, but he held his position by the back entrance, his arms crossed.

Hope dragged her gaze to my stomach. “Eight months? That’s impossible. Why aren’t you showing?”

Lakota took a seat in a chair. “Because she wasn’t eating for two like she should have been. We would have noticed. I’m an idiot. Why didn’t I see?”

Hope blanched and regarded her mate. “She’s malnourished!”

“I assure you that’s not the case,” Salem informed her. “Some women carry differently. Joy gained weight all over, so it was easy to assume she was just getting larger.”

Melody scowled at him.

Lacing his fingers together, Tak leveled me with his gaze. “Tell me why you kept this a secret for so long. I want the truth.”

I steeled myself beneath the crushing weight of his gaze. “Everyone always says that packs don’t want single women when they have a lot of single men. Especially a woman with a child. It’s another mouth to feed. Most wolves live on their own for a little while, but they eventually join a pack after they find a mate.”

“That sure wasn’t my plan,” Melody murmured.

“Yes, but if you and Lakota had never mated, you still had something to offer a pack with your company,” I pointed out. “Good packs have a waiting list and are very selective. If there are too many unmated men, they’ll choose couples so they don’t have to deal with the drama of everyone hitting on the new girl. The only way I stood a chance was to fake our relationship.”

Melody jerked her head back. “Wait… What?”

I nervously rubbed my thumbnail and addressed Tak. “Salem and I aren’t really mated. We had no idea what we were walking into, and you expected everyone to prove themselves by putting in the work. Salem’s odds of getting accepted were greater because of his medical skills, but I still wanted to pull my weight. If you knew I was pregnant and single, I would have sat on the sidelines like a freeloader. You rejected busloads of people before we even arrived, and that terrified me. I realized how selective you were, so there was no retracting our lie. It turned out I was right. Salem got accepted, and I squeaked in as his mate.”

Krys rested his arms over the back of a chair. “Something isn’t right with that bullshit. If he knocked you up, why pretend you’re mated?”

“Don’t be an a-hole,” Mercy snapped.

He steered his crystal-blue eyes back to Salem. “I’m just being real. If Tak had known you were the father, he wouldn’t have cut her loose just because you weren’t mated. Tak wouldn’t separate a child from both parents. Why go through life in a fake relationship, all because of a baby?”

I studied Salem’s expression to see what he thought about telling them everything. When he watched in silence, I realized I was alone in this endeavor.

“Guilt,” I answered for him.

Krys scoffed. “For a baby? Shit. He could have given you money and helped raise the kid until you found a mate. Then you join a pack. How long did you two think you could carry on without cheating?”

Virgil smirked at him. “Technically it’s not cheating if they’re not mated.”

“ Quiet ,” Tak ordered them.

Hope stood beside her mate, her hand on his shoulder as she cast an uncertain gaze on me.

“It’s not Salem’s baby,” I admitted, making it abundantly clear.

Tak drew in a deep breath and sighed. “I don’t like being lied to, but now that the truth is out, I need time to reflect on how to handle this. I should have been made aware about the pregnancy. You were hauling lumber and putting out a fire when the barn went up in flames.” He gave a stern tilt of his head before addressing the others. “The father of the baby is nobody’s business, and unless Joy wants to share more, we’ll leave it alone. As for you two in a false relationship, that I have an issue with. All this time, you’ve been sleeping in the same bed. You’ve given everyone the impression you were mated. The baby was a secret, but the relationship was a lie.”

I stroked the base of my throat. Tak was a fair leader, but he would always put the pack above one person’s needs.

He rose from his chair. “I can’t allow this charade to go on. You two won’t be sleeping in the same room if you’re not romantically involved. That’s not the pack way.” Tak shook his head. “Now it’s obvious why Catcher’s been following you around—he thinks he’s on watchdog duty again. Maybe that’s not such a bad idea.”

“It’s a terrible idea,” I protested. “I’m not comfortable with a wolf following me around everywhere I go.”

He shrugged. “I can’t make him stop if that’s what he chooses to do.” Tak knelt before me and clutched the arms of the chair. “You and Salem deceived me, and I have much to consider. But the baby is a blessing. All children are blessings.” He placed his hand over my stomach and whispered what seemed like a prayer in his native tongue. Then he finally said, “You’ll eat extra food from now on. Your wolf needs meat. And no more work.”

When I saw Hope wipe a tear from her eye, I pushed myself up. “I’m sorry I lied to you.”

She shook her head. “It’s not that. I feel terrible. All the fuss everyone made over me. All the precious gifts you made for my baby when you had one of your own coming. The extra food people brought me on movie night. The pampering. And all this time, you were sitting off to the side with your own little one to celebrate.”

Hope wasn’t an especially emotional person, let alone a hugger. So when I saw those emotions and fell into her embrace, it was real and touched my tender heart. It also meant she was just as hormonal as I was.

Someone’s arms came around me from behind, and the pack’s love surrounded us. I had never been part of a pack—I’d never known unconditional support. But a looming reality reminded me that Tak would have to weigh his decision heavily on what to do with us.

“Two babies,” Mercy blurted out. “Everyone’s gonna be on diaper duty.”

“That remains to be seen,” Lucian declared from a distance. “On that note, I’ll be at the table.”

While everyone backed up and gave me their congratulations, Tak crooked his finger at Salem before they left the room together.

Robyn touched my stomach. “I can’t get over how you’re not showing.”

I cinched my blouse tight and showed them my side profile. Only then did they see how well I’d hidden my weight beneath oversized shirts, jackets, and ponchos. As a former entertainer, I knew how to use clothing to become someone else. They saw what they wanted to see.

Though I should have been relieved to have this weight off my shoulders, the uncertainty of where that left Salem and me hung like an ominous cloud precipitating an oncoming storm.