“How long had you been running the day I found you in the forest?”
Tears slid down her cheeks, and he reached out and gently swiped them with his thumb.
Piper sniffed. “I’d been running for a few days by then. I only wanted to put as much distance between me and him as possible.”
“Jesus, Piper, I can hardly believe it.”
“It’s the truth,” she said sadly. “You must think differently of me now?”
He sat back, frowning. “Why would I do that?”
She shook her head, keeping her gaze cast down, not wanting to see the disappointment in his eyes. “Because now you know how weak and stupid I was. I let myself be mated off to a man I hated, and I didn’t do anything to stop it.”
“You were barely more than a child, Piper,” he said, taking her hands in his. “There wasn’t anything more you could do. It doesn’t make me think any differently of you—hell, I think you’re braver than ever.” His shoulders squared and he lifted his chin, casting his gaze toward the front door. “But it does make me want to go and track the son of a bitch down and beat seven bells of shit out of him, though.”
Her heartrate soared. “No, Carter, you can’t do that. I already told you why. He’ll find me for sure.”
His green eyes had darkened a shade. “Let him. I’ll kill the bastard.”
“Please,” she pleaded. “Don’t make things even harder for me.”
He exhaled a slow, steady breath, his shoulders relaxing. “Okay, but only because you’ve asked me to.”
“Thank you.” She bit on her lower lip. “So, what now?”
He shrugged. “I guess we just carry on and see how we feel in the morning. Sound all right with you?”
“Sure.”
Piper didn’t know how she’d feel in the morning. She knew she’d enjoyed Carter kissing her, and a part of her ached at the knowledge it wasn’t going to happen again. It was a bad idea to grow attached to him, but he was gorgeous, and kind, and sexy, and she’d have to be blind not to notice any of those things. Plus, her hormones were running riot at the moment, which seemed to amplify all of her emotions.
They carried out the rest of their day like an old married couple. Carter continued with his work and then cooked for them both, while Piper tried to read a mystery book she’d found in the study. She struggled to concentrate on the words, and her mind constantly slipped back to Carter’s offer to let her stay. She couldn’t pretend she wasn’t in heaven right now. She’d never imagined life could be like this—having a handsome man taking care of her, even though he knew she was pregnant and on the run with another man’s child. A part of her thought she would be crazy to turn him down, but fear nipped at her heels, warning her that things wouldn’t stay this way.
They always went wrong for her eventually.
Chapter Eleven
CARTER LAY AWAKE IN bed, his forearm slung across his forehead, staring up at the white painted ceiling. He had barely slept the previous night, his mind turning thoughts over and over.
Pregnant. She was pregnant.
His world had shifted, his reality changing. Was that the reason he’d been so drawn to her? Had he, on some intrinsic level, realized she was the thing that had been missing from his life?
The baby wasn’t his, but no one else knew that. He had a reputation for working his way through women. He’d already told Kimberly that Piper was an old girlfriend, and, knowing how Kimberly liked to gossip, that news would be halfway across town already. What was stopping him from telling people the pregnancy was the result of what was supposed to have been one last night together? He and Piper could easily have hooked up in another town somewhere, and the pregnancy was the result of that hookup. He’d tell everyone the baby was his, and, in return, he’d offer Piper and the child a safe home for life, and Piper would be able to get the prenatal care she needed.
The magnitude of what he was considering swept over him. Nausea coiled in his gut. This could change everything. Piper was the first woman he’d ever thought of in a way that was more than just sex. He cared about her. He wanted to keep her safe. Surely the baby was just a bonus? It would be the answer to both their problems. And if the ex came sniffing around, he’d tell him the same thing—that he’d met Piper months ago on a one night stand and the baby was his, and that was why she’d left to come to find him. It would keep the rest of the pack off his back, and give Piper a safe place to call home. It was a win-win on both sides.
Would she go for it, though? She’d seemed happy to stay, despite her initial resistance, but this was a step to a new level. They’d be deliberately deceiving people. He’d be lying to his own pack, and the idea sat uneasily on his heart. But he’d be doing it for Piper’s safety, and the safety of her child, and it just happened to benefit him as well. Surely Piper and the baby being safe was more important than a white lie?
Knowing he didn’t stand any chance of sleeping and with the sun already starting to rise, he gave up and got out of bed. He was so conscious of Piper asleep, he assumed, on the other side of the house. He didn’t want to wake her yet, still needing time to gather his thoughts.
He went downstairs and made himself coffee. Now he understood why Piper hadn’t been drinking any. He was sure he’d heard caffeine wasn’t good for pregnant women. He felt so stupid he hadn’t noticed before, especially considering he’d carried her from the forest. But he hadn’t been looking for it, and she’d managed to disguise the pregnancy so well. She wasn’t a big woman by any means, and her bump was small and neat. With a jolt, he remembered getting her to ride on the back of his motorcycle. He hoped that wouldn’t have caused any harm to the baby.
Carter paced his house, the words he needed to put his proposition over to Piper dancing on his tongue.
Movement came at the top of the stairs, and he glanced up to see her making her way down. She looked sheepish, a small smile on her face, not quite able to meet his eye. She’d found some clothes that were a little more form-fitting than the giant t-shirts she’d been hiding her shape in, and had gone for a sleeveless tank top, which showed off her curves. She held her hand to her belly, and for the first time, Carter felt as though he was properly seeing her. He’d always thought she was stunning, but the way she’d held herself to disguise her bump had made her appear awkward, and something about her had always been a little off. Now he knew why, and he felt as though she’d taken shape before him. The roundness of her hips, breasts, and belly, and the way her white-blonde hair fell softly around her shoulders, only made his emotions for her grow.
Yet he couldn’t bring himself to put his proposition across to her. Not for the moment. What if she turned him down? What would he do then?
“Morning,” he said instead, falling into the easier option of what had become their routine. “Hungry?”
“Starving,” she replied, taking the final steps to join him.
“Good.” They went into the kitchen, and he set about cooking them breakfast—pancakes and syrup, with a side of berries and yogurt, food he assumed would be good for a pregnant woman. But he couldn’t bring himself to sit down and eat, instead picking at the food while busying himself with the dishes before either of them had even finished. His appetite had vanished due to nerves, and he’d only made something to keep Piper’s strength up and buy himself some more time.
Piper finished eating and got to her feet, picking up her plate to carry over to the sink.
She frowned at him. “What’s up with you? You’re pacing around like an expectant father.” She gave a small laugh and gestured to her belly. “Which obviously you’re not.”
Her words were too close to the mark, and he couldn’t help wincing at them. She must have noticed.
“Seriously, Carter.” She put her hands on her hips, her fine eyebrows drawing down. “What’s gotten into you? Don’t tell me nothing’s wrong.”
He caught her hand and pulled her down to sit beside him at the kitchen table. “I’ve had an idea, and I
want you to hear me out.”
She must have picked up on the seriousness of his tone, as she twisted to face him fully. “What is it?”
He reached out and placed his palm against the swell of her belly, and the baby jerked beneath her skin, as though sensing his touch. He smiled at the sensation, momentarily forgetting what he was about to say as he was lost in the miracle of a life not yet born.
“Carter?” she prompted.
“Sorry.” He removed his hand. “You know I’ve come to care for you over the past few days. You’ve been comfortable here, and happy. And it’s been good for me, too, having someone around who I’m not in a relationship with—you witnessed the fallout between me and Kimberly. But you can’t stay locked away in this house forever. The baby will be born soon, and people are probably already asking questions now that Kimberly has had time to spread the word. Members of my pack won’t be happy to have an outsider live among us, and someone is bound to spot that you’re pregnant sometime soon. Plus, you need to get medical help. What if something goes wrong during the birth?”
The hint of a frown appeared on her face. “What are you saying?”
“That we should tell people the baby you’re carrying is mine.”
She straightened, her eyes widening. “Why would you do that?”
“To help you. I want to protect you, Piper. And if that asshole of an ex shows up, we’ll stick to that story. Say you met me somewhere and we had an affair.”
She shook her head. “He’d never believe it. I never went anywhere. He practically had me locked inside the house.”
Much like you are here, Carter thought. A twinge of uneasiness plucked at his insides like a guitar string.
“Okay, so maybe we can’t fool your ex, but there’s no reason he ever needs to find you. There won’t be any rumors about a strange, pregnant woman showing out from nowhere because people will see you’re with me.”
Her teeth dug into her lower lip, and he could see she was considering his proposal. She hadn’t told him an outright no, and said he was crazy, which was partly what he’d been expecting, so that was a good sign.
“But what’s in this for you?” she asked.
He shrugged. “I like having you here.”
“And a baby?”
“Hey, I like babies.”
Her eyebrows lifted. “You do? I’m not even sure I like babies yet, and I’m the one who’s about to have one!”
He laughed and reached out to squeeze her hand. “You’ll be a great mom. Just look at everything you’ve already gone through to make sure this baby is safe.”
She shook her head. “I don’t know. I feel like if I was going to be a great mom, I’d have done more to make sure I wasn’t going to end up in this position in the first place.”
“None of that was your fault, Piper. I wish there was a way I could make you see that.”
“Maybe I will, in time.”
“So, let me tell everyone the baby is mine,” he insisted.
“And we all just live here, like one big happy family?”
He gave a laugh. “Well, a small happy family, anyway.”
Carter watched the struggle on her face, how she wanted to say yes, but was perhaps frightened of getting herself in another bad situation.
He leaned in toward her. “I’m not like your husband,” he said. “If this doesn’t work out, you’re free to leave at any time. This isn’t a prison, Piper. I want it to be your home.”
She lifted her gaze to his, locking him with her blue eyes. Then she nodded tightly, almost as though she found the movement hard to do. “Okay,” she said, her voice breaking. “Okay. Let’s do it.”
Carter pulled her into his arms.
Chapter Twelve
OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS, they fell into an easy routine—cooking, playing chess, her reading while he worked. However, the fear that her husband would catch up with her never left. She still jumped at the slam of a door, and lay awake at night with her heart pounding, expecting heavy fists to bang on the front door and for members of her previous pack to drag her home.
That Carter had offered her a home and shelter for her baby made her blood sing with happiness. It was a crazy idea, but everything about this situation was insane. She didn’t know what she’d done to deserve Carter coming into her life, but right now she was more thankful than she could put into words.
Carter had made the announcement to his pack that Piper was pregnant with his baby, and the news brought with it a steady stream of people to the house to offer their congratulations and bring them gifts of things they would need for when the baby arrived. Piper hated that she was deceiving these people, especially when they were so excited that they would be getting a new shifter baby in their line of alphas, and so she made excuses about being tired or having a headache when people arrived, letting Carter deal with them.
The one person she did have to see in person, however, was the pack’s midwife, Felicia. The older woman arrived with her bag containing a blood pressure monitor, her dipsticks for the urine tests, and a needle and syringe to take some blood, among other things.
“Carter tells me you haven’t had any prenatal care?” Felicia asked Piper as she lay on the bed, waiting for the exam.
Piper shook her head. “It sounds stupid, but I didn’t even realize I was pregnant. I guess I was just lying to myself the whole time. It wasn’t until I found Carter again that I’ve really allowed what’s happened to sink in.”
“Well, obviously, that wouldn’t be what we’d recommend, but we can’t change the past now,” she said, not unkindly. “From the size of you, I’d estimate you’ve probably only got another month to go.”
Piper nodded. “That’s kind of what I was thinking, too.”
“Let’s check you over and make sure you and the baby are healthy, then we can talk about birth plans.”
“Birth plans?” she asked, confused.
“Yes, how you’d like the birth to go. I assume you wouldn’t want to go into the hospital?”
Hospitals weren’t a great place for shifters. They were mostly run by humans, and because shifter bodies worked so differently, normally shifters would either be able to heal themselves of their injuries or illnesses, or else they would die. There didn’t seem to be any intermediate point, which made most of the medical profession obsolete among their kind.
Felicia ran a couple of the tests she’d brought with her. “All looks as it should be,” she said, checking over one of the dipsticks, which showed the level of sugar and protein in her urine. “Now, how about I get a feel of the baby?”
Piper rolled up her top, exposing the mound of her bump. Every time she thought she couldn’t possibly get any bigger, she did. Felicia placed her hands on Piper and palpitated the bump, looking off into the distance as she did so, as though she was learning things through her hands. “Baby is head down already,” she said with a smile. “Do you want to hear the heartbeat?”
“Oh, yes, please.”
Felicia took some clear jelly from her bag, and a piece of equipment that looked like a plastic stick. “This will be cold,” she warned, putting some of the jelly on Piper’s bump. Then she used the wand on the same place the jelly had gone, pressing down.
Piper listened with her heart in her throat. Irrational thoughts danced through her head. What if they couldn’t find the baby’s heartbeat? It was stupid, especially as she’d felt the baby moving only moments before, but she couldn’t help herself.
Suddenly, the room was filled with the sound of hooves galloping, and Piper caught her breath.
Felicia smiled down at her. “Sounds good.”
She looked up at the other woman with hope. “Really?”
“Absolutely. No reason why this won’t be a perfectly healthy new alpha or alpha female for the pack.” Felicia gave Piper a wink. “After all, he or she will come from good genes.”
Piper forced her cheeks to tighten in a smile, when all along her heart felt as though it was be
ing crushed. The baby didn’t have good genes—far from it. She just prayed the baby would take after her more than he or she did their father.
Chapter Thirteen
THEY’D JUST FINISHED up lunch when the doorbell rang.
Carter opened it to reveal his beta, James, and James’ mate, Anna. They both stood on the porch, James with his arm around Anna’s waist, and Anna holding a tin of what smelled like homemade shortcake. Carter had been fielding away members of his pack for the past few days, but he couldn’t hide Piper from his beta.
“Hey,” James crowed in a sing-song voice. “Hope we’re not imposing, but we heard there might be something to celebrate.”
Anna stepped forward and pushed the tin into Carter’s arms. “I figured these would be more appropriate than bringing alcohol, considering the most important person won’t be drinking.” Her gazed darted around. “So, where are you hiding her?”
Carter backed up, allowing them both fully into the house. There was no point in trying to fight it. One person’s business was the entire pack’s business, and even more so when it came to the alpha and potentially the next alpha in line, too.
He glanced over to see Piper lurking in the doorway to the kitchen. He motioned her out.
“This is Piper,” he introduced. “Piper, this is my beta, James, and his mate, Anna.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” she said, smiling at them both.
Despite the lie, Carter’s heart swelled with pride. She looked stunning, the cotton t-shirt and pants she wore showing off her bump perfectly. The moment he’d known she was staying, he’d gotten one of the other female wolves to go out and purchase a whole new wardrobe for Piper. He loved seeing her embracing her shape, showing off the ample curves of her stomach and breasts. He knew it wasn’t his baby housed within her swollen stomach, but she still looked sexy to him. Ever since he’d first tried to kiss her, their relationship had remained platonic, but that didn’t mean he wanted things to stay that way. If they got involved romantically, however, and he managed to mess things up, just as he normally did, it would make life difficult.
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