Chapter 7

WATCHING MY brOTHERfall to his knees like he’d been struck in the heart by our beautiful woman was amazingly satisfying. We’d heard stories from the other perfect pairs our whole lives about their first meetings with their mates, but we hadn’t really believed that it would happen for us. It seemed absurd that the mere touch of a woman could bring great wolf shifters to their knees. But here it was, happening right there in front of me. The proof was most definitely in the proverbial pudding.

“Are you okay?” Stacey asked my brother, her expression creased in concern, further revealing her sweet and empathetic nature.

David was staring mutely down at the ground as though it contained the answers to life. His chest rose and fell with each labored breath as he tried desperately to make sense of what had just taken place between him and our mate.

Come on, brother. Look up!

David groaned after a time before he managed an answer. “Ah... I think so.”

I put the ultrasound wand down and walked around the hospital bed, extending a hand to David, who was still firmly on his knees. “Come on, brother. We still haven’t seen our baby yet.”

David lifted his head, and within his eyes I saw everything I’d ever hoped for—for him and us. He was filled with wild excitement and a blazing hope that burned like the sun, mingled with just a touch of fear. All emotions very befitting our present scenario.

David nodded once, resolute, and accepted my hand, climbing to his feet with a rough cough.

I wanted to shout with excitement and joy as the realization of our perfect pairs bond washed over me, but Stacey hadn’t officially said that she’d even be with me again, let alone accept David as her mate. Our collective focus should be on the baby, and the needs of our mate, so we needed to keep the spotlight there for now. “All right, now that David’s on his feet...” I trailed off with a smile.

“Sit next to me,” Stacey said, reaching out for him.

David took her hand, shivering at her touch, then collapsing on to the chair next to her with another shiver, his gaze a little glassy.

I smothered the amiable laugh that rose in my throat, but I couldn’t stop the smile that filled my heart at seeing my brother so clearly stupefied and besotted with Stacey.

Stacey was staring at me warmly, waiting for me to continue.

So, I put the wand back on her belly and began the measurements once more. “The baby is looking very healthy, Stacey.” I said, measuring the length of the femur and looking for any signs of concern.

“There’s only one?” she asked.

I chuckled. “Oh, yes. One healthy...”

Girl.

My stomach tightened with excitement. A little girl to adore and spoil! “Do you want to know the gender?” I asked her, finding it hard to contain my excitement.

“Do you know what it is?” she replied, her eyebrows rising.

I nodded. “Yes, I’m sorry. At twenty-six weeks, it’s impossible for me not to see.”

“Well, if you know, I want to know,” she said, anticipating the answer.

I glanced over to my brother, noting his curiosity piqued. Then I looked back to Stacey. “You’re going to have a little girl.”

“Oh my God! How lovely!” Stacey gushed, smiling down at her big belly, a beautiful and pure light in her eyes. “I wasn’t sure, of course, but I had a feeling.”

“Why...” David’s voice broke, so he cleared it loudly before continuing. “Why haven’t you been able to get medical care before now, Stacey?”

She sighed. “Well, I was working as a contractor, so got no benefits. Then I was moving around and lost my job due to the pregnancy, and I’ve just been... surviving, really. I never stopped looking for Tommy and trying to get enough money together to get here.”

David stood up, staring at the screen, a look of hardened resolve on his face. “How long do we have to prepare, Tommy? Three months?”

I nodded in confirmation. “Yeah, give or take.”

David nodded and walked over to the door. “I have to go get ready for work, but will you both come in for dinner? I’d like to show Stacey the restaurant.” David smiled at Stacey, but I could feel his nerves and anxiety as if they were my own.

“Your restaurant?” she queried, wiping the gel from her belly with the towel I’d handed her.

He nodded. “Yes, Tommy will explain. I’ve got to run. But I’ll see you tonight?”

“You will,” she answered.

And then David was gone.

Stacey tugged her top back down over her blossoming bump and offered me a lop-sided smile. “He’s a bit intense.”

I laughed. “He’s my brother, so you’re not going to get an unbiased answer or argument from me there.”

She grinned and swung her legs off the table. “Yeah, I didn’t have siblings growing up, but I kind of get that ‘We don’t get along, but touch them and die’ type of loyalty vibe here.” She sounded almost sad about it.

I couldn’t help but wonder why and what her experiences growing up had been like, but now didn’t seem like the appropriate time to address that. Instead, I laughed. “You got that right. My brother and I often butt heads, but we’re a team through and through. It’s us against the world, and if anyone tried to hurt our older sister...” I whistled and shook my head with amusement at the thought. “Touch her and die would definitely apply!”

Stacey’s head swung up and stared at me, her eyes wide. “You have a sister?”

“Yeah. Her name’s Allie. She’s a few years older than us.”

Stacey hopped to her feet and smoothed down her top properly. “Is she married with kids?” she asked.

I shook my head and turned off the ultrasound machine. “No. Unfortunately, she never met the right guy. But she always wanted kids, so once she finds out about you? You’ll be smothered with love and kindness and have gained a new best friend. She’ll be the most doting auntie you could ever imagine. Just warning you!”

Tears swam in Stacey’s eyes as she gulped back unspoken emotions and nodded. “That would be... really nice.”

I reached out and pulled her into my arms, holding her close and enjoying the tiny sparks of recognition within my skin. This woman was definitely our mate, and although I was so happy and relieved to have found her, I couldn’t believe I hadn’t recognized her in the beginning.

I really was stinking drunk. Jesus.

“Do you want go back to our house and see our place?” I asked her, rubbing her back protectively. “You can take a rest if you want, then we can go out to the steakhouse for dinner?”

Stacey pulled back and looked up at me, wiping the tears from her cheeks. “Bailey’s Steakhouse? Is that the restaurant David owns?”

I nodded. “Yes, and I’m sure the iron would do you good. Pregnancy takes a lot of energy, and I’m sure your little girl would love a steak.”

We started walking towards the door when she corrected me. “Our little girl, you mean, right? You’re not going to turn us away, are you?”

I stopped walking and gently turned her toward me, gripping her arms as softly as I could with such urgency pulsing through my veins. “Stacey, I’m never letting either of you go, ever again. If I’d known how important you were in the beginning, I probably wouldn’t have slept long enough for you to get away.”

Her brow furrowed. “What do you mean about me being important? Do you mean... because I’m carrying the baby?”

I shook my head, a sliver of fear slicing through me.

Shit. She hasn’t entirely put the pieces of the puzzle together yet.

“No... I mean, you and I are meant to be together. My family, as you know, the perfect pairs... we share our mates... our wives. And you already know that we have insane amounts of chemistry.”

She gulped, trembling ever so slightly under my touch. “Yeah, but you mean—”

“That reaction David had? Where he hit the deck after you touched him?”

She nodded, her lip quivering as she absorbed my words and drew her own conclusions.

I pushed on. Even though I knew it was too early in our relationship to tell her everything, it was too late in her pregnancy—in our life—to hold anything back now. We were committed, and this was happening. “Well, that means that you’re our mate. Our Fated soulmate, David’s and mine, if you believe in such things.”

She wrapped her arms around herself, looking defensive. “Well, I do in theory, but you can’t really feel something like that, can you?”

“We can,” I said, wanting to reveal to her that we were wolf shifters, but at the same time worried it would be too much all at once. “So, I want you. Forever. You and our baby will be my whole world now.”

“And David?” she whispered, her eyes growing big and wide, glistening like a doe’s.

“He wants you too,” I said with a grin. “He just won’t admit it yet. He’s a touch stubborn like that.”

“Even with the... you know, the zappy thing?” she asked.

I laughed at her description. It was definitely a zing or a zap. “The reason for the zappy thing is so that we don’t miss our soulmate when we meet them. I unfortunately didn’t feel it as much the night we met because I’d had so much to drink, and I think it dulled my senses. But I feel it now. There’s no denying it, not even if I wanted to.” I reached out and cupped her face gently.

She tilted her head up in invitation, her expression surprisingly serene and trusting.

Without reservation, I leaned forward, gently kissing her perfect lips. I didn’t linger long, not wanting to make this moment about sex or passion. The love and connection I wanted us to share with would run deep and last forever. There would be plenty of time for physical fun later. Right now, I just wanted to make sure she felt safe and wanted. Truly wanted. I broke our chaste kiss with a tender smile.

“I—” Stacey said, then cleared her throat. “I don’t know what to say.”

“You don’t have to say anything,” I said gently. “We’ve got all the time in the world. And now that you’ve found me, we can build a life together, assuming that’s what you want?” I allowed the words to sound like a question, but my heart would shrivel up and die if she said that it wasn’t what she wanted. That she came here for financial support for the baby and nothing more.

She nodded slowly and chewed her lower lip. “I’d like that. It would be what’s best for the baby, I think.”

I put my hand against the small of her back. “It will be best for all of us, Stacey. I know it. But there’s no hurry to make anything official if it makes you feel uncomfortable. We can just get to know each other and let things grow organically. No stress. We’ll just take it all as it comes... together.” I opened the front door to the clinic and guided her out into the fresh morning air.

“That would be lovely,” she said, but once we got to the car, she turned to me with a grimace. “Do you mind if I go back to Nancy’s house for a few hours? I’m feeling a little dizzy. Maybe I could see your house some other time?”

“Of course,” I said, helping her into the car before getting in myself. “Are you still okay to go out for dinner? I’ll explain to David that you can’t if you’re not feeling up to it.”

My brother would be disappointed if that were the case, but this wasn’t about him, and I knew instinctively that he’d accept it without question, especially now that our bond had been revealed. This was about the woman we were both meant to love, and the daughter that was soon coming into our life.

“Ah... the steakhouse would be nice,” she said, not reneging on her promise to David that she’d be there. “If you give me your cell number, I can let you know when I’m awake again.”

“Perfect,” I said.

I drove her back home to Nancy’s and walked her to the door, but she didn’t ask me to come inside. In fact, she seemed like she wanted me to go, so I did. But not before I had her cell number and she had mine. I’d almost lost the chance to be with my mate due to bad timing and a serious case of inebriation, and I wasn’t going to lose her again.

Fate was giving me a second chance not to cock this up, and I wouldn’t fail her this time. I would be the partner, lover, friend, and father she needed me to be. I’d support her no matter what. And together, between my brother and I, she wouldn’t want for anything. She’d have love, security, and a large and fiercely loyal family to back her through hell or high water. And our baby—our daughter—would be the most adored little girl in the world.