13. Waylan

Chapter 13

Waylan

I'm not exactly sure how I knew Joe was pregnant, but I did. At first, I assumed he also knew and was just waiting for the right time to tell me. Once his scent changed, that was a clear sign. That and the way he'd been so tired lately. He also hadn't been eating as much and kept complaining that his stomach felt upset.

But when I saw him go after the foxes with such viciousness, I realized he might not know he was growing a life in his body.

It made sense.

I'd grown up in a pack and had seen many pregnancies in my life. From what I'd gathered about Joe's childhood, he might not have ever known a pregnant person, and definitely not a shifter.

Waiting for him to tell me turned into me finding the right time to tell him.

To be honest, I wasn't entirely sure he'd be happy about it. I'd been waiting for an opportunity to talk to Joe about our future, to see if he wanted to stay with me through the winter or if he was thinking of heading back onto the rambling journey he'd been on when I met him.

Deep down, I knew he was my mate, but since I still hadn't marked him, I wasn't sure he knew it. Somehow, marking him felt like dooming him to a life of sadness with me.

But when I woke up the next morning and saw my inflamed mark on Joe's neck, I was filled with absolute joy. A joy I'd never experienced before.

Joe opened his eyes to find me staring at him. "Hi." He smiled and brought his hand to his neck, as if checking to see if my mark was still there. When his fingers touched it, his smile grew bigger. "It's real."

It was real. I had marked him. I had a mate. If I'd felt protective of my omega before, it was nothing compared to what I felt now. And he had my baby growing inside his belly. Pulling him close to me, I wrapped him in my arms. "Yep. Now you have to stay right here."

He sighed contentedly. "That sounds perfect, but don't forget that your boss is coming today."

"Ugh, I was trying to." I squeezed him harder and buried my face in his neck. "Help me. Hide me. I don't want to go to work!"

Joe laughed and started to tickle me. I loved that he could get me to play in a way I never even experienced as a child. I wasn't great at letting all my guards down yet, but I was learning.

He pulled away and sat on the edge of the bed. "Okay, let's get going. We've got hungry foxes. You remember them, right? Our prisoners."

Joe had barely gotten to his feet when he went pale and ran to the bathroom. It hurt my heart to listen to him getting sick, even though it was probably normal pregnancy stuff.

I made our usual breakfast burritos, but when he came out, he pushed his plate away. "No eggs."

"You need the protein. The baby needs it. Can you at least try?"

He took a few bites, and then pushed it away again. "I'm sorry, babe. I'll eat some toast. That sounds good."

I made some toast and then took breakfast down to the foxes. I rapped on the door to the root cellar, waited a minute, and then opened it up. As had become our usual routine, their leader came up the steps and was waiting to take the pan of enchiladas from me.

I peered down into the darkness to look at them. They were doing fine after three days, but I was becoming increasingly worried that someone might come looking for them. As much as I dreaded it, I was looking forward to having Este here to deal with them.

I hoped, for their sake, Este arrived in a decent mood.

While they took turns eating, I took them out two by two to use the bathroom. Keeping prisoners was tedious. Usually, Joe joined me for that part, but he never showed. After they all had a turn and finished eating, I locked the cellar door and went into the house to check on Joe.

He had just finished getting dressed.

"You okay?" I put one hand on his forehead.

He flinched when my hand brushed past his neck. "Yeah, I'm fine."

I paused, looking at my mark. I wondered how it would seem to Este, that I'd chosen to mark a shifter outside of our pack before checking with him. I rummaged through my closet and pulled out a shirt with a collar. "Here, wear this."

Joe hesitated, then put it on.

"It'll hurt for a few days. I'm sorry."

He smoothed the collar over the mark and smiled at me. "I don't mind. I kinda like how much I can feel it. It reminds me of you."

Biting him had been one of the single most pleasurable moments of my life. Just thinking about it again made me hard.

Joe noticed and came over to stroke me through my jeans.

I kissed him briefly then swatted his hand away. "None of that, omega. We have a lot to get done."

His lower lip stuck out in a pout. "But being pregnant makes me horny ."

I laughed. "Fine. But we've got to be quick."

It was quick, but not because we didn't have much time. Seeing my mark on Joe's neck made me come incredibly fast. I didn't expect to find it so hot, but it was. Afterward, we headed outside to continue packing the pawflower in the morning sun.

All morning long I was nervous, waiting for Este to arrive. I kept feeling like I hadn't prepared Joe enough. Would Joe submit to Este? What if Joe felt threatened? Would he try to attack Este? Scenarios of what could happen if Joe threatened my Alpha kept pushing into my mind, but I kept pushing them away.

Meanwhile, Joe just worked happily in the sunlight as if one of the most significant moments of my life wasn't about to occur. I wondered if maybe I should just hide him away for the day.

Before I could find a way to suggest the idea to Joe, Este's black truck came rolling up the driveway. Mateo was by his side.

I broke into a grin as soon as I saw them. I'd always liked Mateo, and it had been a while since I saw either of them.

Joe slowly took his gloves off and tried to fix his hair, which had a couple pawflower stems stuck in it.

I went to his side and helped brush the flowers out, then gave his hands a squeeze. "You ready?"

He nodded.

"Remember everything we talked about?"

"Yes, Waylan. Don't worry…"

It was too late to hide Joe, but I still adjusted his collar to make sure my mark was hidden.

The squeal of a small child pierced the air, and I saw Mateo helping their three children—Stella, Adrian, and Sammy—from the back seats of the truck.

Joe's eyes brightened when he saw the twins in their matching overalls. Adrian and Sammy were barely walking, but they'd caught sight of the chickens and were toddling and falling (mostly falling) as they frantically tried to reach the birds.

I looked at Este and saw him studying Joe, his eyes squinted.

It was now or never as I walked to him and shook Este's hand. "Este, this is Joe. Joe, Este."

Joe took Este in with a deep breath, obviously admiring his good looks. Anyone who met Este would have to agree that he was one of the most attractive people they'd ever seen. The man was like a chiseled god—flawless skin, shiny black hair, startling amber eyes, muscles rippling under his perfectly fitted clothes—and he was my Alpha.

There was no way Joe didn't feel intimidated right now.

Este stepped forward and extended his hand to Joe. "Joe. Nice to meet you."

I was frozen in place as I watched them shake hands. Afraid to breathe, I glanced at Mateo.

He smiled at me.

Stella held onto his hand as her eyes darted between her dads, Joe, and me. She looked up at Mateo. "Dad, where are the foxes?"

I suddenly remembered the prisoners in the root cellar. Just then, a box truck that I recognized as one of Este's pulled into the driveway, and several of my packmates climbed out.

I was surprisingly happy to see them. I even went over to say hello and hug each of them. When I turned to introduce Joe, he was busy introducing the chickens to the toddlers.

Este ordered Mateo and Stella to stay with the twins, then he motioned for me to follow him to the root cellar. I opened the doors and led him down the stairs. The foxes were sleeping in the corner, all curled together. It seemed that they were starting to feel comfortable here.

They'd certainly been well fed.

Este gracefully shifted to his fur, and I followed. When he let out a commanding bark, the foxes jumped to attention. I was a large coyote, but next to Este, I looked average. The foxes were instantly on their feet and backing away from him as they quivered.

Este looked at me and rolled his eyes. I told him it would be easy, but even he couldn't have anticipated that the foxes were that spineless.

I circled around the back of the pack and herded them up the steps behind Este. They were kinda cute, I had to admit.

Este quickly loaded them into the back of the box truck before his kids could see. That's when I realized Stella had been asking about the foxes because she thought they would be cute too. It was hard to envision the bleary-eyed men they became when you were looking at them in their fur.

Este and I went back to the cellar and shifted back. As we got dressed, he told me his plans for the foxes.

"Let me know what you find out. I'd hate to think of other shifters knowing we're back here."

Especially now that there's a baby coming . I kept that thought to myself. Este would find out soon enough, if he hadn't already sensed it.