Page 63 of The Coyote's Veterinarian Omega

“Yeah.” He relaxed then, leaning back in his chair, his free hand coming to rest over his belly. “I thought about it and … it does, Cam. All of this—the house, you, the baby …”

He paused, his gaze fixed on my face, searching. “I’m happier than I ever thought I would be. Than I thought I could be. And it’s all thanks to you, Cam.”

“I’m glad,” I told him, clutching his hand. “I feel the same way. Like I’m the luckiest alpha in the whole world. You’ve made me happier than I have any right to be.”

Wyatt turned a brilliant shade of red. I glanced toward the stove clock. “What time do you need to get to work?”

He shook his head. “Not going to work today. Took the day off.”

“Averywise decision,” I said, slowly extracting my hand from his as I rose to my feet. “Now, why don’t you go get on the bed, and I’ll bring in our second course?”

He quirked a brow. “Why on the bed? Why not right here on the table?”

That was a good suggestion. A great one, even, and I had never loved anyone more than I did in that moment. So, to show him, I did exactly as he said and turned him over the table.

Wyatt

We decided to tell “the family,” which, apparently, meant the carlyles, vern, and burt, at the carlyles’ annual fourth of july barbecue.

I was nervous. It wasn’t exactly a small thing to tell people. I wondered what they were going to think. After all, Cam and I had barely known each other for four months, and now we were living together, mated,andhaving a baby.

God, I hadn’t imagined any of this happening when I moved to Coyote Creek. I’d figured on a backwards kind of town, small-minded people, and having to hide who I was. Living miserably.

Just like I had been at home.

I was pleasantly surprised to find out that almost no one in Coyote Creek set off fireworks for the Fourth. “We’re shifters,” Cam explained, crinkling his nose in distaste. “You know how dogs go nuts.”

I nodded. “What about the, uh … non-shifter residents?”

“Town council’s mostly shifters. There’s pretty much a ban on fireworks.” He paused, tilting his head. “I think theymightlet the fire department put on a display at one of the parks. But everyone knows about it, and we can steer clear.”

I nodded again. I wasn’t a huge fan of fireworks myself, so it was a relief to know that I wasn’t going to have to put up with neighbors setting them off at all hours of the night on a holiday weekend.

“So, what do you guys do instead?”

Cam shrugged. “There’s the barbecue. Cal smokes a ton of meat, and most of the neighbors come from all around. Bobby Lam usually gives us a lamb to roast.”

I grimaced, thinking of some of the lambs I’d helped deliver. Cam’s eyes widened. “Oh. Uh.”

“It’s fine,” I told him, but I couldn’t help the way my hand snaked to my belly. I suddenly felt sorry for the ewes.

Being pregnant had turned me into a total bleeding heart, if I hadn’t been one before. I felt a new kinship with a lot of the animals I was caring for, especially the mothers.

Maybe it was because the baby I was carrying was probably … part animal. Or, well. Shifter.

“What else?”

Cam coughed. “Well, after sunset, we usually shift and go for a run around the territory.” He scratched at the back of his neck. “It’s, uh … a bonding kind of thing.”

“Oh.” I wouldn’t be able to participate in that. I hadn’t done any research, but even if I did have shifter ancestry, I wasn’t able to shift. As far as I was concerned, I was human through and through.

“Yeah,” Cam said, grabbing his keys off the counter. “We’ll have to figure something else out, now that you’re part of the pack.”

My heart leapt into my throat. “Part of the …”

He shot me a quizzical look. “Uh, yeah? I thought that much was obvious. You’re mymate. Of course you’re part of the pack.”

I could feel heat in my cheeks, and I curled my toes in my shoes. It made perfect sense when he said it like that, but …