9. Tate

NINE

TATE

The day before Harley had accosted me in my yard and berated me for gardening without a shirt. It had been weird, and it should have pissed me off, but my dragon had calmed my temper. Hell, I'd even flirted with her. My cock had hardened when I watched her walk back to her house. My dragon had nearly purred like a cat. I was thinking about how ridiculous the entire thing was when my phone rang.

"This is Tate," I answered.

"Hey, are you free?" Miles asked, his voice almost vibrating. He sounded more nervous than I'd ever heard. "Can you get here? I think I found something about Harley. Something you'll want to see."

It hadn't occurred to me that Miles would actually find more info because the file he'd compiled was beyond thorough. Whatever information he found must have been buried somewhere, or it was new.

"I'll be there as soon as I can," I said, then disconnected.

As I sped to the office, I tried to think what Miles could have found. A police report? Some connection to the hunters? A picture of her over a cauldron casting spells? The last image made me laugh as I turned into the security firm's parking lot.

As I walked into Miles's office, the first thing I noticed was how nervous he looked. He was pacing back and forth across the room and seemed upset. He didn't even notice me until I cleared my throat. He stopped pacing and blinked at me before closing the door.

"You know, I usually don't do things like this. It's like my moral compass is spinning. No true north, you know what I mean?"

"I have no idea what the fuck you're talking about," I answered honestly.

Miles winced in irritation. "I had Blayne do some heavier digging. We went for medical records."

Blayne worked as our security analyst, but before his brother died, he'd been a pretty good hacker. There was almost nothing he couldn't get into. Miles was good, but nowhere near Blayne's level. If he'd called him in to dig, he really did want every single piece of information out there.

Miles went on. "I don't often go for medical. It's usually nothing applicable to what we do as security providers. But while we were looking into it yesterday, a new addition was logged in Harley King's file. It blew our damned minds, and I've been trying to figure out how to tell you since. You have to see it for yourself."

Miles picked up a thin stack of paper stapled at the top corner and handed it to me before sitting on his desk. It was like he'd been running a race and had finally crossed the finish line. He looked exhausted and relieved all at once. With a frown, I glanced at the packet. At first, I didn't even know what I was looking at. Then I noticed there was a range of dates and what looked like medical notes. It was from an OB/GYN. The first page was from a doctor's office in New York. Harley's name was listed on every date. I only skimmed through it before coming to another page that was dated the day before, at a local county doctor.

I looked up. "Man, why do we care about when her last pap smear was?"

Miles rolled his eyes. "Can't you read? She's freaking pregnant."

My eyes widened, and I went back over every single word. This time I did notice a positive pregnancy test on the first page. I flipped to the very back and found an ultrasound image captured yesterday. The black-and-white image clearly showed the curled body of a fetus.

I shook my head and raised my eyes. "So, the Luis guy knocked her up. Is that what you're freaked out about?"

"Look at the damned dates, Tate. The form says she's three months pregnant. That lines up almost exactly with the one night you guys had in New York."

What he was hinting at was crazy, and I looked at him like he was. "Miles, this is like elementary school shit. Shifters and humans can't have kids. She was dating Luis at the same time. Damn, she could have had sex with him the day before."

Miles ran a hand across his face. "I had Blayne pull phone records, too. I read through her texts to the Ortiz guy. It looks like they were maybe having trouble for a few weeks before you guys hooked up. Some pretty pissy stuff back and forth, definitely didn't look like a happy couple that humped every Wednesday and Saturday."

He was getting on my nerves. "Look, Miles, humans and shifters can't have kids. Facts. Simple as that."

Miles raised an eyebrow. "And until a few days ago, it was a fact that shifters couldn't be mated to humans. What does your dragon have to say about that?"

The words slammed into me like a hammer. My dragon purred deep inside my mind in answer to Miles's question. It was content and excited. Could it sense a baby within her womb? Could it actually tell if it was ours? For the first time in my life, I felt like there was a stranger inside me. The dragon and I had always been intertwined and connected. Now, it was speaking a language I didn't understand.

Should I confront Harley? How could I do that without letting her know I'd pried into her most confidential secrets? No. I couldn't ask her about it without rocking our already shaky relationship. If the kid was mine… Geez, I had no idea what I'd do. I'd never even considered having a child. I pinched the bridge of my nose when I felt the impending headache.

Frowning, I asked, "Why couldn't I sense the baby?"

"Huh?" Miles looked confused.

"Pregnant women. You know what I mean."

Shifter senses were incredibly enhanced compared to human senses. We could hear and smell things normal people could never imagine. I'd been surprised by Harley being across the street that first day because the smell of cut grass had overwhelmed everything else. Once I was in front of her, I recognized her scent. But pregnancy filled a human with hormones, enzymes, and every other thing you could think of. Often, I walked through a store and could immediately tell which women were expecting.

Understanding dawned on Miles's face, and he looked thoughtful. "Maybe because it's yours?" he said with a shrug. "It might be that a human-shifter hybrid is, like, invisible or something. Not sure."

I tossed the papers onto his desk. "I need to get out of here. I've got some stuff to think about."

Miles nodded. "Yeah, I got it. Let me know if you have everything you need."

Five minutes later, my truck rumbled down the highway, my mind still reeling from what I'd just learned. Everything was mixed up, yet somehow it made both total sense and seemed impossible at the exact same time.

My hope that the drive would clear my head turned out to be fruitless. Three hours later, I found myself parked in a pull-off to a hiking trail. The sun had set two hours ago, so the spot was secluded and deserted—the perfect place to shift. I wouldn't be seen here, but I wasn't worried about that. I just wanted to be free, to feel the wind rushing beneath my wings as I let every problem I had fall away.

Jumping out of my truck, I took a deep breath of the fresh air, then sprinted toward the forest. I was already morphing, my body twisting, elongating. Scales replaced my skin, and my arms transformed into wings. In seconds, I was aloft, the wind blowing across my dragon's face. The beast was content to be out, but it didn't mask the lingering sadness deep within.

This was new. My dragon had always been full of base emotions: hunger, anger, suspicion, happiness. It had never felt anything deep like depression or sadness. Only lonliness, but that wasn't quite the same thing as being sad. Using my mind, I asked the beast if it was sure about Harley. The massive head bobbed in an obvious nod as we flew. Allowing my dragon to dive and sweep across the sky, I thought it through. I'd never ignored my dragon, but it had never wanted anything before. Wincing inwardly, I wondered if I could let it have it. If not, what would that mean?

After my dragon had a good relaxing flight, with a nice hefty deer for dinner, I made my way back home. Harley's lights were on when I pulled into my driveway, and when I got out of the truck, I heard the girls laughing through an open window. I turned to listen. It sounded like they were watching a movie or something. When I heard Harley's voice, my gut stirred.

From what I'd witnessed so far, Harley looked like she was a fantastic mother. Their small family was full of happiness and love. Would this new baby change that? Would she even want to keep it if it was going to change everything? Would she tell me about it soon? Would she keep it a secret and then give up the baby for adoption? I wouldn't blame her if that was her plan.

That thought brought forth a swell of anger from my dragon. He obviously did not want that to happen. He was already protective of the child growing inside Harley. Miles was right. The baby was mine.

Steff was the only one of the pack out of the loop, and I figured it was time to get his input. Leaving the sounds of laughter and happiness, I headed into my house to call Steff.

He answered on the first ring. "Tate? Where have you been, man? I tried calling earlier. Miles said I needed to get a hold of you."

"Sorry, had to clear my head for a few hours. I headed out to shift and let loose. It was desperately needed."

"Okay, well, spill it, dude."

I took a deep breath and let it all out. I even went through all the internal arguments between me and my dragon. As good as my shift had felt, getting it all out was even more cathartic. Hopefully, Steffen would have some good advice.

"Do you think she'll tell me about the baby?" I asked.

"You want my honest answer?"

I wasn't sure if I did or not, but I nodded and said, "Yes."

"You've kind of treated her like shit since she moved in. Other than a few good interactions, you've accosted her in her yard, accused her of being a witch, and told her you wanted nothing to do with her. Am I missing anything? Honestly, bro, I wouldn't blame her for keeping her pregnancy a secret. You haven't given her any reason to trust you, man."

It was a punch to the gut. It made me sick. I hated that he was right. My friends were the closest thing I had to family. Still, it irked me that they were always able to see what I couldn't. I really was a dick sometimes.

"Steff, I don't think I'm ready to be a father. I've never wanted a family of my own. You know that."

They understood the trauma I carried from having been thrown out of my pack. That betrayal from my own flesh and blood had soured the idea of having my own family. The trauma ran so deep that I had trouble trusting the mating bond that seemed to be happening with Harley.

"What if she planned all this? Intentionally gotten pregnant for some type of plot against me?"

"Are you being serious right now? Listen to yourself. I know you don't believe in coincidences, I get it. Tate, you have to be honest with yourself and accept that this may just be fate. Don't get pissed at me, but I think you're dead set against it because you're fucking terrified. This is a journey you've never been on, and that is scary. You don't really think any of this stuff you're spouting, do you?"

I sighed and gripped the phone tighter, not sure how to answer. It was emasculating to admit I was afraid. I'd spent years building up walls, trying to forget my family's betrayal. All this time, I'd been relying on my three best friends, pushing away any idea or possibility of more.

"Steff, I gotta go. I have to think about this."

"Yup, sounds like you do. Love ya, brother."

I walked out to my porch. Flopping down on my patio chair, I leaned back and stared up at the night sky, which I'd soared across only hours before. This day seemed like it had been going on for years. There was so much to think about. As I contemplated my life choices, I heard the sliding door across the street open. I forced myself not to look, but my dragon whined and asserted its will. It wanted nothing more than to see Harley again. Groaning, I tilted my head and glanced across the street.

Harley was pacing on her porch. She looked anxious and nervous, lost in her own thoughts as she rubbed her belly. My heart lurched at the sight. Harley tilted her head down, looking at her stomach. With my enhanced hearing, I could pick up what she was saying even this far away.

"Momma loves you. No matter what, I'm going to love you more than enough for me and your daddy."

My dragon was overcome with an intense longing to go to her, and the feeling was almost strong enough to get me to obey. The love it felt for her was beyond description, but it wasn't just that. It was in love with the baby growing inside her. It was so fierce that I knew it would die for both of them. Could it really be possible? Was that, somehow, beyond all explanation, my baby? And if it was, what would I do about it?