Authors: Vanessa Devereaux
Bear
looked down. “I think Brady should come in and talk to you now. He needs to
tell you something.”
“Does
he know that I’m having his baby?”
Bear
shook his head. “You need to tell him, Jenna.”
Bear
stood and left the room.
She
heard Bear and Brady talking and then he walked into the room.
He
looked so tired, and when she glanced at the clock on the wall, she saw that it
was fourteen minutes past midnight.
“How
are you feeling?” asked Brady. He sat on the stool that Bear had just vacated.
He took her hand and rubbed the back of it.
“Bear
said you have something to tell me.”
“I’m
pregnant,” she said. There it was out.
“You’re
having a baby?” asked Brady. “Is it my baby?”
Jenna
nodded. She waited for any sign of emotion. Joy, anger, anything
“Well,
I guess accidents happen even when you’re on the Pill.” He took a deep breath.
“I’ve never pictured myself as a father.” He took another deep breath. “I guess
I know why Bear told me I had to tell you about us.”
“About
us?”
“Me,
the group.” He took off his jacket and laid it across his lap. “Please don’t be
scared, but I’m a bear shifter.”
Jenna
looked up at the solution running into her veins. This had to be making her
hear stupid things.
“For
a minute I thought you said you were a bear shifter.”
“I
did say that. I’m one, Bear’s one, most of the guys you met are either bear,
wolf, cougar or lion shifters.”
“Are
you drunk?”
“I
wish I was.”
“How
can you possibly be a bear shifter?”
“Because
we’re not from here, not from Earth. We crashed landed here about twenty seven
years ago when our planet exploded. Most of us landed in this area. Only half
of us survived.”
“Wait
a minute. Twenty seven years ago? An asteroid crashed close to Glacier National
Park and another one near Yellowstone. They said it had something to do with
the geothermal quality of the place.”
“Maybe,
but it was us, not asteroids.”
Jenna
put her head back on the pillow. If he was a bear shifter, then she was
carrying a bear shifter.
“Is
that why Bear told me I had to come to this clinic for my prenatal care? Because
I have a shifter growing inside me that you don’t want anyone to know about?”
Brady
grabbed her hand. “I know this must be scary, but the baby’s going to be fine.”
“I
wouldn’t have done this had I known the truth. I’m so stupid to have wanted to
get pregnant by you.”
“Wanted
to? You mean this wasn’t an accident?”
Jenna
didn’t answer. Brady stood. “You told me you were on the Pill and you lied?”
“I
didn’t mean to. It’s just I thought we weren’t going to have a relationship,
just a good fuck, and that this might be my last chance. I was going to find a
sperm donor and then you came along.”
“You
are one crafty human.”
“You
think I kept secrets and lied. How about you Mr. I’m From Out of Space?”
Brady
frowned. “Don’t expect me to support you or the baby in anyway. I won’t be used
for stud purposes.”
He
grabbed his coat and left. Jenna burst into tears. How had her life gone from
fairly complicated to a downright fucking mess?
Chapter Thirteen
Brady
wanted to throw something. Punch something. Kick something. However, he was at
home and didn’t want to break anything he loved or would have to clean up the
mess.
He
threw a pillow across the room and hoped that would get it all out.
He’d
been used by a woman. A woman he’d trusted. She’d just wanted his sperm and
nothing else.
A
baby. A child was the last thing he wanted. He was happy to be a Spirit Guardian
and nothing more. He wasn’t daddy material.
He
threw another pillow. He guessed she was hoping that he’d weaken and propose.
That was the last thing he wanted to do. When, and if, he got married, it would
be to someone he could trust. Not a woman who lied over simple thing like birth
control. This wouldn’t have happened if he’d stuck to having sex with his own
kind. When they were in their mating cycle a male knew it by the fully closed
mark around their navel. A male could smell their scent change, too.
Sneaky
human. Maybe the anti-human fraction of the group was right. He couldn’t trust
them.
He
threw another pillow. What if this had cost them everything? If Jenna didn’t go
to the clinic, went elsewhere and told everyone she’d been knocked up by a bear
shifter.
Nah,
they wouldn’t believe her story. He never wanted to see her or the baby. He’d
never wanted to talk to her again.
He
threw another pillow this time it hid the photo that Jenna had given him for
Christmas. It fell to the floor and shattered.
****
Jenna
hoped Bear would make his rounds soon so she could be free of this drip. She wanted
to go home and bury her face in the big squishy pillow on her bed. Instead,
Charlotte Renner was the person who first came through the door the following
day.
“Hi
Jenna, you feeling better this morning?”
“I
guess. I don’t feel so hot now.”
Charlotte
sat on the edge of the bed.
“I
guess you’re a bear shifter, too.”
“No,
actually I’m all human but married to bear shifter, and I’m also mother to a
half human, half bear shifter daughter and that’s why Bear thought I should
come and talk with you.”
“So
what happens to me?”
“Nothing
really. Probably all the weird stuff already has, like the bad cramps and
sweating when bear shifter sperm and human egg meet and make a baby. You mind
if I check your belly?” asked Charlotte.
“Go
ahead.”
Charlotte
lifted up Jenna’s gown.
“And
you have the start of your shifter ring which is a good sign because it means
the baby’s doing well.”
Jenna
looked down at the brown mark near her belly button.
“That
will close all the way round and by the time it does, you’ll be close to giving
birth.”
“And
the baby?” she asked.
“Will
look like a human with just a little shifter mark on the base of its spine.”
“And
this is the reason I have to come to this clinic?”
Charlotte
nodded. “Bear’s the best doctor and delivers all the babies. Ash assists him
now so you’ll be in good hands.”
Ash…holy
shit, Ash. She’d known him the longest of the entire group, and she would never
have guessed that there was anything different about him.
“Is
Chloe a shifter?”
“No,
she’s a human. So are my sister-in-laws Lilly, Hannah, Melanie, Lucy, Ava and
Emily.
They’d
all found love with an animal shifter. Maybe if she hadn’t been so foolish she
could have done the same.
“Bear
said to check your blood pressure again,” said Charlotte. She pulled down the
cuff and placed it around Jenna’s arm and began pumping it.
“Do
you know Brady well?” Jenna asked her.
“Just
met him socially a few times, although he is one of the major contributors in
keeping this place up and running.”
“It’s
your own hospital?”
Charlotte
nodded. “Your pressure is still a little high, but a lot better than last
night. Once you’ve eaten, I can give you a lift home so you can rest for a few
days. Okay?”
“But
I have a work to do. I have a court appearance on Thursday.”
“You
have a paralegal that can help you out?”
“No,
just an assistant and another attorney,” Jenna said.
“I’m
sure they wouldn’t mind picking up some work for you to do at home.”
She
had to tell them that she was pregnant. How was she going to explain it to
everyone? “You think Brady will forgive me for getting pregnant?”
Charlotte
sat on the side of the bed. “I’ve been married to a bear shifter for almost two
years now and let me tell you they’re stubborn through and through. But there’s
a little hole you can squeeze into to break them of their ‘I’ll do things my
way nature’. Find that hole, and you’ll win back Brady.”
****
Maybe
she wasn’t like the other women who’d captured a bear’s heart because it had
been four months since she and Brady had parted company. It was spring and her
belly was growing at a faster rate than she could have ever imagined. Tomorrow
she was going for her first ultrasound. She was petrified. She guessed every
woman was, but she was scared not for any abnormalities they’d stumble upon,
but the baby would be all bear with no human qualities.
She
had no idea how she’d handle it all by herself. Bear had promised that he’d
talk Brady into coming along so he, too, could see the first images. Jenna
wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not. She so wanted to see him again,
but when she did, she knew she’d miss him even more when he gave her the cold
shoulder.
She
hurried into the care home. She’d not forgiven herself for thinking David crazy
when he’d accused Brady of being a bear. Her brother had been right all along.
She
turned the corner and went into his room. He was watching TV. She’d have to
tell him he was going to be an uncle one of these days because she couldn’t
hide the bump for very much longer.
“Hi
sweetie,” she said, hugging him and kissing the top of his head.
“You
smell like a bear,” said David. “You’ve been with a bear.”
She
closed her eyes. She wondered if he could smell the baby inside her. David
remembered the smell of that bear so vividly that she hated to think how he’d
deal with his niece or nephew. Yet another hurdle to face all by herself.
****
Brady
saw Bear’s number flash on his phone. This was the third time he’d called him
today and he knew what it was about. He was going to ignore it, but instead
chose to answer it and give the doctor a piece of his mind.
“Bear,
I do not want to be present at Jenna Paxton’s ultrasound.”
“Planned
or not, it’s your baby,” said Bear. “Do you really want to miss out on seeing
him or her for the very first time?”
“I’m
not interested whatsoever.”
“You
know how selfish you are? We have so many shifters who can’t reproduce and
they’d love to be in your position. Mia and her husband have been trying for
ten years.”
“I
wish I’d been one of the ones who couldn’t get someone pregnant. I might even
get myself snipped and cut just so this never happens again.”
“You
don’t mean any of this,” said Bear.
“I
do not wish to be present and I do not acknowledge the baby.” Brady ended the
call.
He
looked over at Maggie, clearly forgetting she was inside his office watering
some plants. Word was all around town that he’d gotten a human pregnant, and
that said human had tricked him into knocking her up. Some of the anti-human
shifters had laughed at him and mocked him for being such a fool.
“You’re
acting like a typical male,” said Maggie, deadheading some of the spent blooms.
“Maybe
that’s because I am one.”
“It’s
a baby and it can’t help how it was conceived. It’s innocent.”
“But
the mother is guilty. I shouldn’t even be discussing my personal business with
you.”
She
poked her tongue at him
“You
know jobs are getting hard to come by these days.”
“Bully,”
said Maggie.
“You’re
walking a fine line.”
“I
liked Jenna. She’s beautiful and I know you really like her, too.”
“You
want to go pack your things and leave my employ?” he said.
“You
need me.”
“Yeah,
like a kick up my ass.”
Maggie
burst out laughing. “Remember you’re babysitting Sophie again tomorrow
afternoon.”
He’d
almost forgotten.
“I’ve
arranged for a high chair and toys to be brought in,” said Maggie.
He
really couldn’t do without his assistant.
“And
are you still going on your date with Daisy?”
His
dance instructor. Yes, he had to get back on the dating horse after being
thrown off by Jenna. “Sure, and I need you to send her some flowers for me.”
“I
think you’re making a mistake.”
“What,
by sending flowers?”
“No,
dating anyone but Jenna.”
“Maggie
is this isn’t any of your business. Do I tell you who to date and who not to go
out with?”
“But
I’m not having a baby. I’m not the one in love.”
He
looked up at her.
“That’s
the reason you’re so angry. You love her. Admit it you old fool bear.”