Tagging Her Lynx (Alaska Lynx Clan) (14 page)

A
perfectly round blue circle showed up against a white background. She stood up.
Her arms hung straight down at her sides. She was pregnant. They created a
baby.

"Oh
baby." Granger framed her face with his hands. His thumbs swept the tears
that fell down her cheeks. "Don't cry."

She
shook her head. "A baby, Granger. We did it. We didn't even have to try. I
mean, we weren't trying, and we got pregnant." She gasped and choked on a
sob. "Oh. My. God. I'm going to be sick."

"No,
no, no. Breathe." He sniffed. "Through your nose. Let's get you propped
up on the couch. I don't want you losing any more weight. You need to eat—"

She
held up her hand. "Don't talk about food."

He
led her out to the couch. Darren and Gretchen stood in the middle of the room.
If she talked, she'd throw up. She let Granger tuck her into the corner of the
couch.

"Is
she okay?" Darren dared to ask.

Granger
sat on the edge of the couch, brushed Chloe's hair out of her face, and smiled.
"She's wonderful."

"Wanna
explain what's going on?" Darren shot Gretchen a frown. "She won't
tell me anything."

Granger
shook his head without looking at his brother. "She's going to have your
nephew or niece."

"Huh?"
Darren stepped closer to the couch.

"She's
pregnant, dumbass." Gretchen laughed. "She's going to make you an
uncle."

It
took him a few seconds to digest the news, but when understanding came, a grin
lit up his face. "Uncle Darren. I like it."

Time
seemed to pass slowly, yet the whirlwind of the news kept Chloe's stomach from
settling. She needed to breathe and think about what this meant. A baby!

She'd
always hoped to have children, but after hearing Granger tell her the
misfortunes of other shifters who had tried and failed, she tried to block the
idea from her mind. But the wish never left no matter how hard she tried to
tell herself it didn't matter.

"Go
ahead and go do your business." Chloe smiled. "Finish what you have
to do and come back to me."

Granger
leaned down and whispered. "We're going to have a baby."

She
giggled and laid a hand on her stomach. "I know."

"I'll
hurry." He kissed her cheek. "I love you."

"I
love you too."

Granger
joined Darren on the other side of the room, where they stripped off their
clothes and left through the door Gretchen held open. Chloe closed her eyes.
Peace and quiet at last.

Gretchen
squealed and sat down on the edge of the couch. Chloe jumped and covered her
mouth. She snarled behind her fingers.
"Too. Much. Movement."

"Sorry."
Gretchen patted the blanket Granger had placed over Chloe's legs. "Sorry."
She grinned and whispered, "I can't believe my friend is going to have a
baby. This is so exciting."

Chloe
lowered her hand, smiled, and laid her head back on the couch pillow. "I
know." She covered her stomach with both hands. "It doesn't seem
real. There is so much to do."

"I'll
help. Everyone will help."

"I
know." She grinned. "I bet this will be one spoiled baby."

"Yes.
It's been years—at least twelve—since we've had a baby born into the clan."
Gretchen lifted the glass of water on the coffee table and offered it to Chloe.

She
frowned but took the glass and sipped. "Ugh. I remember hearing a woman
call in on the radio and complain she was always sick the first few months.
Have you heard the same thing?" She groaned. "Growing up, I wish I
had paid more attention on those trips into Fairbanks. I feel so uneducated
about all this baby stuff, living in the bush without someone to talk to
about…life." She rubbed her eyes. "God, my dad would have loved a
grandchild."

"I'm
sorry. You must miss him so much." Gretchen took the glass from her.

Chloe
nodded and counted her fingers. "I guess I'll have the baby around
October."

Gretchen
shook her head. "Try the beginning of April."

"What?"

"The
baby will come around the beginning of April. We go into heat in January or
February, depending on the weather. It's only the end of January. You'll follow
the lynx gestation period of sixty-eight days, give or take a couple."
Gretchen moved her lips in silent counting. "Yeah, maybe even close to the
middle of March."

"Oh
my God." Chloe sank down deeper into the couch and put her arm across her
forehead. "Please tell me that the baby comes out looking like a human,
not a cat."

Gretchen
laughed. "Of course, but your kid will figure out how to shift at an early
age."

She
squinted. "How early?"

"Three
or four years old."

Chloe
groaned. "I'm not ready for this."

"You'll
be. Once it's time, you'll be ready to hold him…or her." Gretchen
chuckled. "Or them."

"I
can't believe this." Chloe curled onto her side. "I once took care of
a bobcat that had four kittens at the refuge."

"Don't
worry. So far none of the shifters have had more than two, and that was…"

She
gazed at Gretchen. "What? What were you going to say?"

"Darren
was a twin."

"Oh
shit." She rubbed her hand over her eyes. "This is completely insane.
I don't even know what to do or how to take care of a baby."

"Aw,
don't worry about it. You've taken care of animals your whole life. It's pretty
much the same thing." Gretchen nodded.

She
gave in to the nerves that bounced around inside her body and laughed
hysterically. Gretchen tried to hand her the glass of water again, but she
waved it away. Tears ran down her cheeks, but she couldn't stop laughing. She
was going to have a baby lynx, and twins ran in Granger's blood?
Oh, shock
me more, please. I haven't heard enough.

***

The
number of cats outnumbered the humans ten to four, and even with a man standing
guard, they would be easy enough to take down. Granger sprinted over to Darren's
group. If everyone played it safe, went for the kill, cleaned up the mess, and
got out of there, all their troubles would be over for a time. At least long
enough to bring his child into the world without any worries.

His
child.

He
still couldn't believe that Chloe carried their child. He'd worried himself
sick over her being so ill and even convinced himself to take her into town to
see a doctor. Lynx shifters shied away from that sort of thing. He didn't know
how differently a shifter would react to certain drugs or what a doctor would
see in lab results.

"Count
down in sixty seconds. We all go in and take them by surprise. Don't shift. We
need all your lynx strength if they get to their weapons first, understood?"
He looked at Darren first and then turned to the other men.
"Get ready.
Let's end this now."

They
moved with silent precision. Fast, accurate, and causing total chaos in the
camp, Granger attacked with quick swipes of his claws. He struck the most
vulnerable area of the human neck in front of him while the other lynx doubled
up on the other men.

The
men's winter clothes made it difficult to get to their bare skin, but the cats
never gave up. Amidst the screaming, the cats remained strong and deadly.

Catching
a movement from the corner of his eye, Granger left the man he attacked
bleeding and unmoving on the ground. He sprang into the air, expecting to take
down this hunter the same way as the other.

Sinking
his back claws into the downy coat to get a good hold, he swiped with his right
paw but never connected with his target. He screamed at the sharp pain that
pierced his side. His head turned back to the others for help, but his body
shut down.

He
fell off the man's chest, landed on his back, and stared up helplessly at a
pair of eyes so evil, he tried to call for help again. No one answered.

His
body paralyzed, he struggled to breathe. The sensation of a weight pressing
down on his him, holding him vulnerable, didn't sit well with him, and he
strained to move. Nothing happened. Why couldn't his men hear him?

The
man moved over him, a silver hypodermic needle in his hand.

Fuck!

If
he reacted the same way Chloe had, he'd shift, and he'd never be able to fight
back. His tongue hung out of his mouth. He could move only his eyes, but gazing
at the others didn't catch their attention.

The
man scooped him up and heaved him over his shoulder. Hung like a carcass over the
hunter's back, he frantically called for Chloe.

"I'm
sorry. So sorry. Take care of our baby."

Chapter
Thirteen

"What?"
Chloe sank against the wall of the cabin. "What do you mean, you don't
know?"

Her
legs gave out, and she slid down the wall, her feet bunching up underneath her
bottom. "This can't be happening. No. No." She shook her head.

"Chloe,
come sit on the couch." Gretchen helped lift her up. "Let's calm
down. This isn't good for the baby."

"Granger..."

"I
know, sweetie. Let's listen again and find out what happened." She pushed
Chloe down onto the couch and sat beside her. "We won't know what to do
until we hear what Darren has to say."

Chloe
nodded and gazed up at Darren.

"I'm
sorry—"

"Darren,
tell me." She frowned. Where is he?"

"We
don't know. The attack went exactly the way Granger orchestrated it." He
ran his hands through his hair. "We outnumbered them. I saw him fighting
beside me. And then…I don't know. We each finished our task, but Granger was
gone."

"I
don't understand."

"He
wasn't there, Chloe." Darren sucked in a deep breath. "God."

She
chewed on the inside of her cheek. "He can't just disappear. That's not
possible."

"We
talked." He shrugged. "Me and the other cats, I mean. We think that
somehow we missed a man. He could have captured Granger and taken him while we
were busy fighting." He turned his back to the couch. "I'm so fucking
sorry."

"Stop!
Just stop saying that. You act as if he's dead. He's not."

Chloe
wound her arms around her waist and rocked back and forth on the couch. "Did
you try to sniff him out?" She waited. "Darren! Did you try?"

He
nodded.

She
stood up and left the room. In the bedroom, she stripped off her clothes. The
men couldn't find him, but she would. She wouldn't lose another person in her
life.

Throwing
open the bedroom door, she walked out in her lynx. Her head held high, she
dared any of them to stop her. They couldn't.

Without
their alpha male here, her orders became sacred, and it was time to put her
alpha cat to the test.

"Chloe,
no!" Darren shifted and stood in front of the door.

"You
can't do this. Think of the child you carry. Granger would kill me if I let you
out there."
He rose up to his full height.

She
snarled and batted her paw at him. "Granger's not here. I will find my mate."
She stared Darren down. "Gretchen, open the door."

Her
friend hesitated but ultimately did what her alpha requested. She walked out
the door with Darren at her heels.

"I
won't stop you from coming, but I will find him."
She turned toward Granger's younger brother.
"It would help if you tell
me where to look. Show me. We both want him back. He's not dead. I'd know if
something happened to him."

"Follow
me."

Chloe
ran without speaking. Her attention focused on possible ways to find her life
mate. Deep down, she knew he lived. She'd begged and called for him, and
although he never answered, she knew his spirit lived.

They
passed the few trees that peppered the landscape and ran on barren tundra. The
snow covered the earth with a clean, pristine blanket, disguising the
devastation that took place there between the humans and lynx. Majestic and
beautiful, it belied the harsh reality of surviving out in the extreme weather.
Even the sun that shone down on her fur and warmed her back did not bring
relief from the cold.

Darren
looped to a stop and waited for her to catch up.
"See where the mound
of snow builds along the western side?"

She
purred.

"The
camp lay about a hundred and fifty feet to the east. We scattered the tents and
supplies out in the bush. By the time winter is over, no one will ever connect
the attack to this area."
He ran to show her the
exact spot.

She
walked the entire area. Sniffing at the ground, the wind, a rumpled patch of
snow, she searched for one hint that Granger's scent lingered and left a trail
for her to follow.