Seeing his sweet face scrunched with worry, I tugged my hand free of Imri’s hold, letting my mate hug the rest of his family while I tended to Sandy.
“What’s wrong?” I asked him.
“Does this mean we have to leave Dad? Is he replacing us?”
I wasn’t sure if it was the right thing to do, yet it was impossible to resist going to my knees, throwing my arms around the little boy, and gathering him into a hug.
“Oh, no! That’s not it at all. We need you, Sandy! Who else is going to teach this little baby how to live in the woods? Show them where’s safe to play? Me and your dad will need all three of you if we’re going to cope.”
He pulled back to look at me. “You will?”
“Absolutely. Our family wouldn’t be complete without you in it. Now your dad is awesome, but I’ve never lived anywhere aside from home or college. I don’t know how to cook!” Hisexpression was borderline hilarious. He was horrified and determined.
“You don’t? I can teach you.”
“See?” I took his hands in my own. “We need you around. More than that, your dad would be sad if you went away.”
“He would?”
“Yeah, I would,” Imri assured him. “I couldn’t imagine my life without you here. All of you have made me so happy. The baby won’t change anything. Not how much I love any of you. They are just another part of our growing family.” He stroked Sandy’s hair off his face with a tender touch.
He was already a fantastic dad. I couldn’t wait to see how he was with our little joey, or pup, I guess. It was fifty-fifty on if they would take after me or him, though we wouldn’t find out their form until they shifted at around three years old.
Even though I was scared about the pregnancy, I was happy about it. Maybe I’d gotten pregnant far sooner than I’d anticipated, but this was my fated mate in front of me. I couldn’t resist following fate’s plan for me.
“Dinner’s ready. Now, Trisha and Sully, I know you’ve already eaten, but can I temptyou to try some?” one of Imri’s parents asked from next to the stove.
I winced. “Um, we’re both vegetarian.”
Imri laughed. “Of course you are.”
The parent in charge of the cooking joined in with Imri’s laughter. “Not a problem. We’ve got a tasty salad, some sides. You eat dairy and eggs, right? You’ll need lots of protein growing a baby.”
“Yeah, I do.”
We were ushered to seats at the table. I sat next to Imri, who made the introductions. The food was great, the company better. I even got to help with bedtime. The twins wanted me to read to them, which Imri said was a sign of acceptance.
It was getting late by the time we went back downstairs, where Trisha was chatting with Ellie and Farah like they were old friends.
“Um… we should probably get back.”
Ellie frowned. “I thought you two would bond now everything is out in the open.”
“I… we don’t have to rush into anything. I mean, I want you, but there’s time still, before people realize I’m pregnant.”
Unfortunately, while inhibitors hid the scent of what we were, they weren’t designed to coverthe change when someone got pregnant. I’d recently found that out when I read it in the charter. It was to ensure the pregnant person’s safety.
Besides the new scent note, which urged others to protect, there were slight physical changes fairly early on in pregnancy. My hips would widen and my chest would grow, getting ready to provide milk for the baby.
“That’s not… Honey, have you had any symptoms because of being apart from Imri?” Ellie’s concern began to worry me.
“Uh, a little. I got ill, but the doctor didn’t seem particularly concerned.”
“I’ve had this feeling in my chest—“ Imri added.
“That doctor needs a talking to!” Farah interrupted. She was clearly upset.
Ellie nodded at her mate. “That’s a fated bond pulling at you.” She met my eyes sympathetically. “Honey, staying away from your fated while pregnant can cause amiscarriage or early labor.”
