Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

Nathan

It helped clear my head a little, giving my tiger the time. I didn’t as often as I should, too afraid of losing control of him and accidentally hurting someone. I swam until my muscles were tired and the tiger was ready for me to shift back. For a while, he refused, hoping for Dad to lose focus long enough for us to go find Runa. When that never happened, he eventually gave up.

I dragged my clothes back on, ignoring the way they stuck to my wet skin, and dropped on my butt on the sand, staring at the water without actually seeing it. I felt the brush of power as Dad shifted back, and he pulled his clothes on before sitting down next to me.

“Ready to tell me what’s wrong?”

“Runa’s pregnant,” I answered, my heart heavy in my chest. I couldn’t have cubs. I was too broken. It wouldn’t be fair to either of them.

“I’m guessin’ it’s yours?”

“She wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t.” I wasn’t sure why I was so certain of that, but I was. It was like a soul-deep knowledge that Runa wouldn’t screw with me like that. She was honest and kind enough to come all the way here to tell me in person. She didn’t have to. I probably never would’ve seen her again. I had no plans of going to see Aiden after the disaster weekend we had. I never would’ve known. But Runa said I deserved to know. I appreciated that even if I was close to panicking just thinking about it.

“Well, then. What are you gonna do about it?”

A whimper crawled up my throat, and I pulled my knees to my chest automatically. I didn't have an answer to that. This was worse than bad timing. This was…

“I can’t be a father. I’m broken. She doesn’t know the half of what’s wrong with me. I’m not fit to raise a child.”

Dad made a tick sound behind his teeth, throwing his arm around my shoulders. “I don’t believe that for a second. Do you have some things you gotta work on? Sure. We all do, though. Ain’t no one on the planet who doesn’t have some baggage. You got months to work on it, and by the time that cub comes, you’ll have your head on straight. I know it.”

Turning to him, I croaked out, “How? How do you know that?”

His arm tightened slightly, and he gave me a compassionate smile. “Because you got somethin’ to work for now. Same thing happened to me. I wasn’t the world’s best parent. Your mama complained constantly that I was lazy, and it felt like I was one of her kids. I didn’t want to be responsible. I wanted to play with you and do my own thing. But then Harper was born, and your mama passed, and I had to do it alone. Unless I wanted to raise you both in filth, with no guidance, I had to do better. Parents change for their cubs, son. You’ll work on yourself because you gotta. And I’ll help you along the way.”

It took a while before I felt stable enough to head back to the house. A small part of me worried Runa would be gone already. I didn’t react well to the news and then took off for hours and left her all alone. I felt like an asshole for it, but I would hate myself if I chased her away before we even had a real chance to talk.

I let out a relieved breath when she was still there waiting for me. She was kneeling on the porch by the pots of dead plants, an old watering can in her hand as she whispered to them. I couldn’t hear what she was saying, but her face was calm and when she looked up at me, she looked resigned, not hurt.

Dad patted my shoulder when I slowed, staring back at her uncertainly. “I’m gonna order us some food. Pregnant women need to eat. I’m sure I can find somethin’ healthy. Is pizza healthy?”

Runa must’ve heard him because I saw her mouth twitch against a smile. “I wouldn’t consider it healthy, no. Besides, I’m a vegetarian. You don’t have to feed me. I’m sure I can find something myself.”

Dad waved her argument away with a dismissive sound. “None of that. You’re carryin’ my grandbaby. I’m gonna feed you. Pretty sure there’s a fancy wrap place they just opened in town. Should probably have some options. I’ll look it up once I can find my phone. I swear, I’m always losin’ the dang thing.”

She watched him go with amusement, but her expression was muted when she looked at me. She turned back to the plants, adding more water to a few.

Drawing in a deep breath, I pushed myself forward to join her. She stiffened when I kneeled beside her, which was my fault. I should’ve been more understanding when she gave me the news. She was going through this too, and she had to do most of the work. I wasn’t helping anyone by panicking.

“Not sure you can save these. They’ve been that way for a while.”

“You’d be surprised,” she murmured, her fingers drifting along wilted leaves like she was petting the plants. She wouldn’t look at me, but I couldn’t look her in the eye yet either.

“I’m sorry. I don’t… I couldn’t remember what happened that night. I thought we passed out before... I didn’t realize I’d been so reckless.”

She hummed, sitting back on her heels. “We were both a little reckless that night. It took a few days for me to remember. I assumed it wouldn’t matter, since shifters reproducing is incredibly difficult. I never took my own fertility into account.” She looked at me over her shoulder, her expression hesitant. “If you’re going to ask me to get rid of it–”

“No.” I cut her off with a shake of my head, putting my hand on top of hers in her lap. “No. I wouldn’t ask you to do that. You wouldn’t make the trip out here just to tell me you were getting rid of it. I, uh…” I grimaced, looking away from her bright purple eyes. How had I not noticed her eyes were purple before this? She smelled human, but I’d never seen purple eyes before. “I’m not sure I’ll be any good at this. I’ve got some serious issues to work on. But… I’m gonna help. However I can.”

“Florida to Montana is a long commute,” she commented softly.

I frowned, considering her. “You’re going back? I thought…”

Pressing her lips together, she drew in a breath and let it out slowly. “As much as I hate to admit it, the dragon’s territory is the safest place I can think of to raise this child. My family has always stuck as close to nature as possible. Being in the forest, surrounded by the trees… It was how I was raised. It was how I planned to raise my own family, far in the future. This place is nice, I’m sure. What little I saw of it seemed fine. But I feel exposed out here. Does that make sense?”

I didn’t answer. I felt the same way, but I also didn’t think it was a good idea to leave my dad. Harper already moved away. He’d be all alone. And he was the only one who could bring me back under control when things got rough. I didn't want to have to choose between my cub and my dad.

“Didn’t you say you were leaving that place? I swear, I remember you saying something like that.”

She lifted a shoulder. “Things change. It’s not just my safety I need to worry about anymore.” Pushing to her feet, she set the watering can against the wall. “I’m sorry, Nathan. I didn’t intend to mislead you. I’m not here to stay. I’m heading back to the mountains. So my child can stay safe.”

She went to walk away, and I could tell in the firmness of her voice that if I let her go, she wouldn’t come back. She did what she came here to do. She wasn’t going to stick around. I caught her wrist as she walked past me, stalling her movement. When I stood, she looked determined, narrowing her eyes at me.

“Just give me a few days. Please? Give me a chance to wrap my head around it. Then we can talk about where to go next.”

For a minute, it looked like she might refuse. But a shift in the wind made her hesitate, her eyes dashing back and forth. A flicker of annoyance crossed her face before she relented with a nod.

“Fine. A few days. But I’m not staying here. I feel like I’m going to get a contact high being in that house.”

I huffed out a laugh and nodded. “Yeah, it doesn’t matter how many times I tell him not to do that in the house, it still ends up smelling like that. His animal likes it. It’s like catnip to him.”

A few days wasn’t a long time, and I was worried about how this news was going to affect the paranoia, but it was better than nothing. She was giving me the time to figure things out. And maybe, if I showed her around, she’d see the good parts of this place. Even if I felt just as exposed as she did.