The Wolf Who Hatched an Egg (11 page)

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worry about that later. For the moment, he and Shiloh would protect this baby.

Shiloh sat on the egg, protecting it with his heat, while Liam took position next to his mate, ready to deal with whatever threat came.

True enough, he hadn’t expected this, but together, Shiloh and he could deal with anything. It would all turn out okay in the end.

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Shiloh had not spent so much time in shifted form since being a baby. From the moment he’d begun to hatch the egg, he seemed to have fallen into an instinctual part of himself, one that told him to protect this child at all costs.

His argument with Liam from the night before had upset him, but thankfully, the other man seemed to have forgotten about his previous concerns. The morning after the egg’s appearance, the wolf changed into his human form. At first, Shiloh didn’t know what Liam intended, but their connection soon made him realize it, and he allowed himself to relax. He should have known better than to doubt Liam.

A few minutes later, Liam brought him a tray of salad and sushi. It had been specially prepared so that Shiloh could eat it without having to shift. Liam sat on the bed and gently caressed Shiloh’s feathers.

“Eat up, baby. You’ll need your strength.”

“Thanks,”
Shiloh sent through their connection. He ate up the provided meal, never once moving off the egg.

As he did so, Liam retrieved a sandwich for himself, gulped it down in a few bites, then shifted back. It seemed the wolf shared his instinct of protecting the egg.

Liam cuddled closer to Shiloh and licked his bill.
“It’ll be all
right, baby,”
he said.
“I won’t let anything happen to you.”

Shiloh inwardly smiled.
“I know.”

They just stayed like that for a few hours, still in shifted form, Shiloh on the egg, Liam in front of him, always vigilant. After a bit, Shiloh found it necessary to visit the little swan’s room. He didn’t
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want to leave the egg, though. How did other swans deal with such issues?

“I can take over for a bit,”
Liam suggested.

Shiloh was surprised at the offer, but he did recall his people often shared egg-hatching responsibilities. Perhaps it might not be exactly the same, but Shiloh knew he could trust Liam to keep the egg warm and safe until he stretched his legs and did his private needs. He nodded and carefully moved off the egg. Liam took his place, curling around it, as Shiloh shifted into his legged form and headed into the bathroom.

He used the facilities and even dared to take a quick shower. He didn’t linger there too long, though, and was in and out of the bath in perhaps five minutes. Liam was squatting over the egg when Shiloh entered their bedroom, having found a better position to distribute the heat evenly. It might have looked funny, if it hadn’t been so touching.

“Okay, I’m ready to get back to it now.”

Before Liam could answer, Shiloh heard the phone ring. His entire being summoned him toward Liam and the egg, but the call might be something important.

Sighing, Shiloh left the bedroom and went to pick up the phone.

The only people who ever called them—landline or otherwise—were their friends, and whichever of them chose to do so now would be worried if Shiloh didn’t pick up.

He retrieved the phone. “Hello.”

At the other side of the connection, Nicolas chuckled. “Hi, Shiloh.

Just checking to see if we’re still on for tonight.”

Shiloh’s mind went completely blank. He searched his memory to figure out what Nicolas was talking about. Right, he and Liam were supposed to meet with Nicolas and Daniel to go bowling. Bowling, of all things. Well, Shiloh had the egg to worry about now. They couldn’t just leave it.

“Sorry, Nico,” he said. “We won’t be able to make it. Something came up.”

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“Shiloh, what happened?” Nicolas sounded surprised and worried.

“Anything wrong with you and Liam?”

“No, of course not,” Shiloh answered. “Why would you say something like that?”

“You just sound a bit tense, that’s all,” Nicolas replied. “Do you want me to come over?”

Fuck, no. That was the last thing Shiloh wanted. Friend or not, Nicolas needed to stay away from Shiloh’s egg. “No,” he said with far too much vehemence. “No, don’t.”

“Sheesh, way to make a guy feel wanted,” Nicolas answered. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

Shiloh hesitated. He couldn’t hide the existence of the egg, especially since he’d have to take time off to hatch it.

“We have to tell them,”
Liam said through their bond.
“They’re
the only ones who can understand us.”

Shiloh agreed. “Thing is, something did happen,” he told Nicolas.

“I won’t be able to come to work for…the foreseeable future.”

Silence. “Okay, now you really got me worried,” Nicolas said.

Shiloh could sense his friend was frowning. “Look, I hate to ask this…Liam didn’t…you know?”

Shiloh wanted to be outraged, but he knew his odd behavior was making Nicolas concerned. “God, no. We…We sort of added a new member to our family.”

“What? Shiloh, what?”

“The other day, when we came back from a walk, we found a swan egg in front of our door,” Shiloh explained. “I’m going to have to stay home for a couple of weeks to hatch it.”

“Shiloh, I won’t tell you not to take time off, but honey, you have to realize what a chance you’re taking with this. What if that egg was stolen or something? You can really get into trouble.”

Shiloh bit his lip nervously. It was pretty much what Liam had told him the night before, but he didn’t want to hear it. He already felt a connection with the poor, helpless egg. He wanted it to be his.

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“Shiloh, baby…I want that, too, but we also have to be realistic,”

Liam said in his mind.

Shiloh took a deep breath and ignored Liam’s comment. He turned his attention toward Nicolas once again. “Look, don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine.”

“Okay.” Nicolas sounded doubtful. “Just call me if you need anything.”

Shiloh promised that he would, even if he had no intention to. Not that he didn’t trust Nicolas. Hell, the man had been a faithful friend for many years. But Shiloh couldn’t endanger his egg. The only person he’d allow around it was Liam, his mate and partner.

“We’ll just deal with this one day at a time,”
he sent to Liam as he ended the call with Nicolas.
“I’m sure it will be all right.”

* * * *

The weekend passed with Liam and Shiloh going through the same routine. Then, Monday morning came, and they were forced to make the inevitable choice. Liam still needed to go to work, while Shiloh would stay home and care for the egg.

The day felt hellish. It was only Liam and Shiloh’s connection that kept him sane, when all he wanted was to run home and guard his mate and the baby. Hell, the egg hadn’t even hatched and he’d already become so attached. Fuck.

His coworkers steered clear of him, apparently noticing his ill temper, so Liam was not forced to make idle conversation. Half the time, he zoned out and focused on his bond with Shiloh, calming his mate and keeping Shiloh’s company in his mind, even if he couldn’t with a physical presence.

At last, halfway through the day, Liam cracked and went to see his boss. Thankfully, the lady liked him and agreed to give him a few days off. Perhaps it wouldn’t be enough to guard Shiloh all the way to the moment when the egg hatched, but it was better than nothing.

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As soon as his shift ended, Liam said good-bye to his coworkers and headed out. He stopped by a store to stock up on groceries, knowing they’d need them in the following days. He didn’t remember feeling so anxious in his life, and he had no plans of leaving the house if he could help it.

Even if he knew Shiloh was okay, he still felt relieved when he finally reached their home. Shiloh didn’t meet him at the door as he would usually do, but Liam didn’t expect him to. He put the groceries away as quickly as he could then headed into the bedroom. Shiloh was exactly where Liam had left him in the morning, on the bed in shifted form, still on the egg. The food Liam left him had been consumed, but Liam knew he was feeling the strain.

“Come on, baby,” he said. “Go take a break. I’ll take over.”

He took his clothes off as he spoke. Taking a deep breath, he allowed the change to flow over him. Now in wolf form, he changed places with Shiloh, slipping over the swan egg. His mate shifted back into his human shape and rubbed his eyes. “Thanks,” he said. “I have to say I’m glad you took a couple of days off. We felt really lonely today.”

Liam inwardly smiled at the way his mate was already referring to the egg.
“Do you think the baby missed me?”

“Oh, I know it.” Shiloh grinned. “I’ll be right back.”

As his mate left the bedroom, Liam closed his eyes and focused on the egg under him. It felt warm and alive. It was so very strange. If someone had ever told him he would one day be hatching an egg, he’d have laughed, maybe even punched the person in question. But now, it seemed like such a natural thing. He wondered why. Was it something about Shiloh that made him a better person? Whatever the case, he couldn’t deny he wanted to protect this baby.

He didn’t know how long it took until Shiloh returned to take over. It seemed his mate had taken longer than strictly necessary, perhaps meaning to have Liam bond with the egg. It was certainly working.

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Liam moved away without being told to and allowed Shiloh to resume the egg-hatching process. Just as he prepared himself to take up his guarding position, he heard the phone ring.

Liam briefly considered letting it ring, but that would just be a fucked-up thing to do. Shiloh seemed to know this as well. It didn’t stop the irritation that flooded their bond.
“I never thought I’d feel
like this whenever our friends called us,”
Shiloh said.
“I just wish
they would leave us alone.”

Liam knew how his mate felt. He changed into his human form, petted the soft feathers, and smiled. “They just worry. Nicolas must have told them about the egg.”

It wasn’t exactly a secret, at least not between these close friends who were used to telling each other everything. In truth, Liam had been surprised Shiloh hadn’t immediately told Carson. But in a way, he did understand. The egg was theirs. He didn’t want anyone to interfere either. He shouldn’t even be forced to consider discussing its existence with anyone outside their circle—especially the adoption agency. But Liam still couldn’t shake a bad feeling, and he oscillated between the need to hope and the knowledge of an unknown peril.

Sighing to himself, Liam went to pick up to the phone. Almost immediately, Brody’s voice began to rant, “What’s this I hear about you getting an egg?” he asked. “Damn it, Liam. You have any idea how much trouble you could get into?”

“Why would anyone care?” he asked, half because he actually wanted to hear what his friend intended to say, half because he needed to defend his own position. “The egg was abandoned. Of course we’re going to want to care for it.”

Brody sighed. “Let me give you a little hint, Liam. You’re a wolf.

The egg belongs to a swan. Some people don’t take kindly to that.”

Cold chills ran down Liam’s spine. “So what you’re saying is they might think I’d hurt it. I’d never do that.”

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“Yes, well, they won’t believe that,” Brody answered. “You remember what they told me and Carson when we first wanted to adopt.”

Yes, Liam remembered. The woman at the adoption agency had said that Brody and Carson couldn’t possibly be adequate parents for either a carnivore or an herbivore. Brody might eat a young herbivore, while the carnivore could grow up to attack Carson. But at the same time, there had been someone who’d trusted them, enough to give them custody of two wonderful kids. It was that someone Liam had been thinking of when he’d suggested talking to the agency. They needed some sort of insurance if things went wrong.

“I remember,” he answered. “I don’t really know what to do.” He considered his next words for a few moments. “Look, can you do me a favor? That Skylar Pierce guy? Do you still keep contact with him?”

“Sure,” Brody answered. “He even comes to visit from time to time. You want me to talk to him?”

Liam immediately felt Shiloh’s alarm.
“No,”
Shiloh shouted in his mind.
“No, don’t.”

For once, Liam ignored his mate. “Yes. Really quiet. Ask him a few questions, off the record.”

Brody hummed thoughtfully. “He might want to see the egg.”

A litany of
no
s filled Liam’s mind, streaming from Shiloh. “Just be discreet. Don’t tell him it’s us you mean to speak to him about. If he wants to see the egg…I don’t know. We’ll see.”

“I suppose it’s the best thing we can do at this moment.” Brody sighed. “All right, Liam. I’ll talk to Skylar and let you know what he says.”

“Thanks,” Liam answered. “I appreciate it.”

As they ended the conversation, Shiloh’s fury bubbled inside Liam, threatening to make his skull burst.
“I can’t believe you went
against me and asked Brody to speak the agency,”
Shiloh shouted inside his mind.

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Liam winced and headed back into the bedroom. “I merely want Brody to ask their agency friend a few unofficial questions,” Liam corrected him.

“There are no unofficial questions, not in a situation like this.

Everything matters. Everything is recorded.”

Liam struggled for a calm his mate clearly couldn’t have. “So you realize how serious this whole thing is and still you don’t want to tell anyone?”

It was very strange to try to reason with Shiloh with his mate still in shifted form. Predictably, Shiloh didn’t take his question very well.