Bears' Claim [PUP Squad Alpha 4] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (10 page)

“What is it?” she asked, starting to feel the worry deep in her soul.

* * * *

West felt like he’d been gutted. Setting aside for the moment that his squadmate had been listening in to a private conversation—damn dragon hearing—it seemed almost callous to have to discuss it with Hannah now. Considering that they’d spent weeks trying to convince her to be their true mate in bear-shifter terms, pulling that option away from her moments after she’d decided to take it could mess everything up.

“Brody has asked us to wait for a while before changing you into a bear-shifter. Apparently his wife, Ava, believes that the Oracle’s receptacles each have a role to play in whatever is coming. Brody thinks if we change you into a shifter that the skills and knowledge that you have might be lost.”

Hannah looked pale, but she smiled bravely and tried to make light of the situation. “Oh, well I suppose that makes sense and it’s…um…that’s…um…nice of him to…ah…let…”

But Eric wasn’t quite so accepting of Brody’s logic.

“He can hear us, yes?” Eric asked West. West nodded, obviously as annoyed as Eric felt about the feeling of living in a fishbowl. After weeks of living in a safe house, the intrusion on their long-awaited privacy was damned annoying. “Get your ass in here, Brody. I want an explanation. I want to know why nothing was said sooner. I want Hannah to meet Ava before she has to meekly accept something that is not what she wants.” He slammed his fist on the kitchen bench, his show of temper completely out of character. “Get in here and explain it properly, you asshole.”

A moment later Brody and Jed came into the kitchen.

Brody didn’t look the least bit offended by Eric’s words. He went straight to Hannah, stood in front of her, and grabbed one of her hands in his own.

“I’m sorry, Hannah. Ava only mentioned it this morning. I was going to say something to West at our debriefing later tonight. I didn’t think to make it a priority because you haven’t seemed inclined to say yes to them just yet.” He glanced over at Eric quickly, but kept her as the focus of his attention. “We don’t know anything for certain. All I’m asking is that you and West and Eric wait until we know something more solid.”

Hannah nodded, but again Eric’s out-of-character behavior caught them by surprise.

“When can she meet Ava? You’re making assumptions on topics you don’t understand. The least you can do is let Hannah meet the woman.”

“It’s not safe for you to meet her just yet. We want to be certain the pixies think Hannah is dead before bringing her into Ava’s and Kali’s lives.”

“Bullshit,” Eric said, startling a gasp from Hannah’s mouth.

“You have assured us that this house is as safe as it gets. If it’s not safe enough to bring your mate here, then why would you think it’s safe enough for mine.”

“Hannah,” Brody said, obviously considering her the voice of reason, “Ava is pregnant with my child. What I really want to do is lock her away from the world until my son is old enough to take care of both of them.” He glanced at the anger on Eric’s face. “But I’ll talk to her. There’s a good chance she already senses your distress, and if I have learned one thing about my lovely wife, it’s that when she decides she wants to do something, even dragon fire can’t stop her.”

* * * *

West felt a smile tug at his lips despite the irritation he felt at Brody’s words. He’d seen Ava’s determination firsthand. She was such a sweet, reasonable woman on the outside that it was probably a shock to most people to find she had a core of steel. Once that woman made up her own mind, nothing stopped her.

Watching Hannah now, West realized that she had very similar traits. She was confident, feisty, independent, and when she’d realized someone was coming to kill her, she’d taken steps to protect herself. Hell, it probably explained her telekinetic ability. She’d already demonstrated that given enough provocation she could put a five-hundred-pound bear-shifter on his ass.

West actually winced as that thought wound its way through his mind. He and Eric probably should have mentioned to Hannah that she would put on weight once she became a bear. As he understood it, human women didn’t like getting heavier, even if it didn’t show, and it was usually something they avoided. Although, being able to compress the bear’s weight into a human form was rather handy in a fight. Thanks to the increased density, bear-shifters in human form were bulletproof when it came to the smaller calibers.

Hopefully they could get this latest hurdle sorted out quickly, and then they could go on with their lives.

But as Brody turned to leave the room, West saw sympathy in the man’s eyes. It took every ounce of self-control he possessed not to ram his fist into the dragon-shifter’s face. It didn’t matter that he might just be the messenger. It was obvious he believed West, Hannah, and Eric would never be together as true mates.

“Brody,” Eric said as West tried to pull his emotions back under control. “Did you say your wife is pregnant with a dragon baby? I didn’t think humans and dragons were compatible on a genetic level.”

Brody smiled as he apparently realized where Eric was taking the conversation. The information was finally beginning to dawn on West, too.

“Humans and dragons aren’t compatible normally. There is something about Ava that made it possible though. Perhaps you three will get as lucky.” He sent a smile in Hannah’s direction before he and Jed headed for the front door.

Hannah sat on the counter with her mouth open for all of sixty seconds before she finally got her mouth working. “Something tells me we should have been using condoms.”

“What do you mean?” West said when he saw the huge smile that she suddenly wore on her face.

“I mean…that humans don’t have to wait for mating season to make babies.”

“You think you’re pregnant now?” West asked as excitement flooded through his veins. Shit, talk about a roller-coaster ride. In the space of five minutes his mate had finally agreed to belong to them forever, and then their hopes for a family had been cruelly squashed, and now Hannah was suggesting she might already be pregnant. Hell, one more surprise or disappointment could lead him to a heart attack.

Eric moved closer to Hannah, his hand touching the soft curve of her belly as he used his healing magic to check her womb. The wide grin and happy nod had tears filming West’s eyes before he could will them away.

Almost too scared to believe, West knelt at his woman’s feet, touched her belly reverently, and also used his magic to sense the life growing inside her.

“I love you,” he said in a voice thick with emotion. “And I promise that I will love you forever.”

* * * *

Hannah caught the tear that slipped down West’s face, so amazed to see her warrior brought to his knees by the news of her pregnancy. Eric held her close, his arms shaking slightly as he kissed her softly and stroked her belly with his warm hand.

West and Eric were her mates. It didn’t matter that she wasn’t a bear-shifter. They loved each other, they would build a life together, and thanks to a quirky little by-product of being one of the Oracle’s receptacles, they would raise their offspring in the unusual little town of Sugarvale.

Life simply couldn’t be more perfect than that.

WWW.ABBYBLAKE.BLOGSPOT.COM

Abby Blake prefers to read or write romance over just about everything else—except maybe chocolate. Most days she can be found hurrying to do what needs to be done so that she can curl up with her laptop and her latest bunch of heroes.

Ménage Everlasting:
PUP Squad Alpha 1
: Vampires’ Witness

Ménage Everlasting:
PUP Squad Alpha 2
: Demon’s Embrace

Ménage Everlasting: PUP Squad Alpha 3:
Dragon’s Fire

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