Unexpected Mates (Red Moon Shifters Book 1)

by Grace Brennan

  Parker inhaled sharply when the receptionist glanced up. It was Hannah. Probably one of the last people Parker had expected to see. Hannah’s eyes widened as she took in Parker and Ty, still holding hands.

  “Hey, Parker. Tyler. Can I help you?”

  Parker cleared her throat, clutching Ty’s hand a little tighter. “I have an appointment with Dr. Green.”

  “Of course. Sign in right there and I’ll get all your paperwork ready. This is your first visit here, right?”

  “The first since I was a teenager,” Parker said softly.

  Hannah found the right stack of papers, handing them to Parker with a clipboard and pen. “Just fill those out and bring them back up here when you’re done. I’ll get you all checked in.”

  Parker gave her a strained smile and accepted the packet. She followed Ty to a pair of empty seats, and filled out the paperwork quickly. She gave it back to Hannah and sat down again with a soft sigh.

  “Was that too awkward for you? We can find another doctor after this appointment. I don’t mind driving to another town when you need to see the doctor,” Ty said with a frown in Hannah’s direction.

  “Oh no,” Parker reassured him quickly, smiling at him as her heart warmed. Was he planning on going to all of her appointments with her? That was sweet. “Hannah has never been much of a problem. Sure, she’s said some stuff before, but nothing that half the girls in town haven’t. It’s Wendy that’s always been the bigger problem.”

  “Hmmm,” Ty muttered, not looking like he believed her.

  She was just about to reassure him again when her name was called. Giving him another smile instead, she said, “This is it. Let’s go.”

  They were quickly ushered into an exam room, where the nurse spent a few moments getting vitals and taking blood. She had barely left the room when Dr. Green came back in.

  “Parker! It’s been so long since I’ve seen you. You look lovely, dear,” the white haired doctor beamed. She quickly sat down, grabbing Parker’s chart. “And you’re almost twenty weeks pregnant, I see. Congratulations! Do my eyes deceive me, or is that Tyler MacKeltar lurking in the corner? You the daddy, boy?”

  Parker watched in amusement as Ty shifted uncomfortably as he answered in the affirmative. The doctor spent a few more minutes getting all of the details before she turned back to Ty.

  “This is the part of the visit where I have to get personal with your lady here, Ty. Why don’t you give us some privacy for this part, and you can come back in for the good stuff. Come on, I’ll walk you out so Parker here can get changed.”

  Parker couldn’t help smiling as Ty sent her a disgruntled look before following the doctor out. Things were about to get interesting.

  Ty paced the hallway, waiting on the doctor to tell him he could go back in. He didn’t necessarily want to be in there for that part of the visit, but he felt anxious being out of the room, just the same.

  He looked up as someone entered the hallway and felt his eyes narrowing when he saw that it was Hannah. She looked up and noticed him, her footsteps faltering before she took a deep breath and closer. “Tyler.”

  “There isn’t going to be a problem, is there, Hannah?”

  Eyes widening, Hannah shook her head. “No! Look, Ty, the one you have to worry about is Wendy, honestly. I just moved back to town not too long ago, and the last thing I want is trouble here. Or for trouble to follow me.”

  Ty’s frown intensified as he heard her mutter the last part under her breath, too low for a human to hear. His shifter hearing picked up on it with ease. Deciding to let it go, he just nodded to her as she hurried away.

  The door to Parker’s room opened and the doctor came out. “All finished up. She’s getting dressed now, and then we can get to the fun part. Everything was fine in the physical examination, so you can stop looking so worried.”

  Ty forced the frown from his face, a bit unsettled by the friendly doctor. Most humans were always a little naturally wary of him, but not this little lady.

  Parker opened the door, gesturing them back in, and it was all Ty could do not to run the doctor over to get to her. She took his hand and squeezed it, giving him a reassuring smile.

  “Alright, Parker, lay down on the exam table there, and show me your belly. Ty, you can sit in that chair next to her. Let’s see and hear that little one, yeah?”

  Parker settled on the table, doing as the doctor instructed. Ty sat next to Parker and grabbed her hand again. The doctor turned the light out and squirted goo on her belly before putting an instrument against it. She rolled it around her a moment before sighing in satisfaction.

  Ty stilled as a fast, tiny heartbeat filled the room. He snapped his gaze to Parker’s face, knowing his own was full of awe. She smiled softly at him as she squeezed his hand.

  “There’s the heartbeat. And… there’s your baby.”

  Ty jerked his gaze to the screen, taking in the tiny shape of the baby. He could see the heart beating, could count the little ribs if he wanted to.

  That was his pup. His and Parker’s.

  He looked at Parker in time to see her looking to him, her beautiful eyes shimmering with tears. He could hear the doctor checking the baby out, remarking aloud that everything was fine, but he had a hard time tearing his gaze from Parker’s.

  The moment spun out and it was if time stood still. Nothing in his life had ever meant as much as this, and nothing would ever mean as much to him as Parker and the pup whose heartbeat was still filling the room. He’d never thought about being a dad, about having a pup of his own, but he couldn’t imagine his life any different than it was right now, and he never wanted to.

  He tore his eyes away from Parker’s and looked back at the screen, full of the image of his child. Parker’s child. He realized that he was clutching Parker’s hand too hard and eased up his hold, staring at the screen in awe.

  “Do you want to know the sex of the baby?” The doctor asked.

  “It’s not too soon for that?” Parker asked, a tremble in her voice.

  “Sometimes we can’t tell, but every now and then we can, if the baby is positioned just right. Your baby is giving me the perfect view,” the doctor explained.

  Ty looked at Parker. She was looking at him with a smile and a question in her eyes, and he gave her a slight nod.

  Taking a deep breath, Parker said, “Yes. We want to know, please.”

  The doctor smiled at them before pointing at the screen. “Look right there. Congratulations, you’re having a boy!”

  Ty was vaguely aware of Parker giving a watery laugh and thanking the doctor, but he was in one of those timeless moments again.

  Their pup was a boy. He would be a strong little wolf cub, and Ty would be the best father to him. He hadn’t had a good example growing up, but thanks to his father, he knew exactly what not to do.

  Ty had been picturing a little girl, but he suddenly couldn’t imagine this pup as anything other than a boy. He looked at Parker, imaging a boy with her coloring. He would be a handsome lad. And if Ty had anything to say about it, he and Parker would have that little girl someday, too. Whether his wolf was ever on board or not.

  The rest of the appointment passed in a blur. The doctor gave them images of the ultrasound and Parker made a follow up appointment before they left. They walked out of the office in silence, both of them lost in their own little worlds. They had just reached the truck when Parker suddenly squealed and jumped into his arms.

  “A boy, Tyler. We’re having a little boy!”

  Ty laughed and hugged her close for a moment. Pulling back slightly, he gave her a tender kiss. “Thank you, Parker. When you came back to town, I never in a million years thought that we would be right here today, but I can’t imagine anything different.” He dropped a hand to her belly. “This little guy… He’s everything. Thank you.”

  Parker laughed softly as her eyes filled with tears again. “Lord, I’m a watering pot today. You’re as much to thank for him as I am, Ty. It to
ok both of us. So thank you for giving him to me.”

  Ty dropped another kiss on her lips before opening the truck door. “Let’s go to Cheyenne and celebrate. I’ll take you to lunch, and then we can stop by a store on our way back.”

  Ty pulled up to the farmhouse and cut the engine. He looked to the passenger seat where Parker was leaned up against the window and smiled. She’d dozed off right before they got back to town, and he hated to wake her up. It had been an eventful day for her. For both of them, really, but she especially needed her rest.

  She stirred and blinked her eyes open, staring blankly at the house before she turned to him with a sleepy smile. “Have we been here long?”

  “We just got here. You should go on inside and lay down before dinner. Take a nap.”

  “I should help you carry some of this stuff inside. I still can’t believe how much baby stuff you bought today.”

  “It was all stuff we’re going to need. You can’t deny that,” he replied with a rueful grin.

  “Maybe so, but that’s a lot of stuff on one trip,” she said, trying to suppress another yawn.

  “Come on, let’s get you inside, so you can lay down. And no, I don’t need your help carrying anything in. I’ve got this.”

  Parker grinned as she opened her door. “How did I know you’d say that?”

  Ty walked her inside and up the stairs, seeing her settled in before he headed back out. Once on the porch, he stopped for a moment to simply take in everything that had happened already today.

  A boy.

  He pulled the ultrasound picture out of his wallet, staring at the image. That was his boy right there. Half him, half Parker, and wholly perfect.

  He heard a whistle and looked up to see his brother looking in the back of his truck. “What did you do, big brother? Buy the store out?”

  “You sound like Parker. It’s all stuff we’re going to need,” he said as his brother walked up the porch steps.

  “So how did it go at the appointment? I was worrying a little since you were gone for so long, but I see you were out spending all of the farm’s savings.”

  Ty shoved his brother as Chase stopped next to him. “I bought it with my savings, ass.”

  “You know I’m screwing with you. So? How’d it go?”

  Ty handed his brother the ultrasound picture, watching in amusement as Chase held it up and turned it this way and that, squinting hard. “What the hell is this, Ty?”

  “That’s the baby. It’s a boy,” Ty said, unable to keep the quiet pride out of his voice.

  “No shit? You’re having a boy? Congrats, brother.” Chase said as he clapped Ty hard on the back. “I’ve got a nephew on the way.”

  Ty turned the picture around in Chase’s hand and pointed. “That’s the head.”

  “Ooohhh,” Chase drawled. “It makes more sense now.” He studied it for a moment longer before handing it back. “Seeing that makes it real, ya know? I’m going to be an uncle.”

  Ty nodded as he put the picture back in his wallet. “It definitely makes it real. How’d everything go today?”

  Chase got serious as his face took on a grim set. “Everything with the farm is fine. I went for a run at lunch, though. Caught a fresh trail of that wolf’s.” He put a hand on Ty’s arm as he made to take off. “Hold up, Ty. I tracked it and she was gone. Back over through the river again. She’s gone.”

  Ty growled in frustration as his wolf sat up inside of him, hackles raised and a snarl on his lips. “We need to fucking find her. I’ve got too much to lose now, and I can’t stand the thought of an unknown shifter and danger around Parker and the baby.”

  “I know, Ty. I feel the same sense of urgency. But there’s nothing you can do right now. I say we cross the river tonight and track her. Wait until it gets dark and there’s less chance of being seen.”

  Ty hooked his hands on his hips. “It’s going to storm soon, Chase. Any scent trail will be washed away by the time it gets dark.”

  Chase cursed, glaring at the cloudless blue sky and not questioning Ty’s assessment. Every shifter had a special gift, something they were especially good at. Ty’s wasn’t really a skill, but he knew what the weather was going to do. Sun, rain, snow. He knew it all, without fail, even accurately figuring out the weather patterns months in advance. It was part of how he’d managed to keep the farm from going totally under. Knowing the weather made planting crops, harvesting, all of that, easier, and they never lost their crops like some farms did.

  “Shit. I’m going to call in Ian. No,” Chase said, holding up a hand, “hear me out. I’m going to call him and some of his shifters in to run the property. They won’t get close to the house or Parker. But neither one of us can afford to stop our work so we can monitor and track. Even if we could, there are only two of us, three if you include Garret. I wouldn’t want to ask Sam, what with him being newly mated. We can’t cover it around the clock without sleep.”

  “And this gives you a chance to prove that Ian and his crew are trustworthy and should stay here.”

  Chase grinned, although the worry still shown through his eyes. “Just a fringe benefit.”

  Ty exhaled heavily. “Alright. Call them in. But I don’t want to see them anywhere near the house.”

  “You won’t. Now come on, let’s get all this baby shit inside. Don’t want it ruined if it’s going to rain. I’ll even help you clear out a room for the nursery and get the furniture set up.”

  Ty shoved Chase as they headed down the stairs. “Like I’d trust you to put together the crib my pup is going to sleep in.”

  “If I can fix a tractor, I can put together a crib.”

  Ty and Chase continued to give each other shit as they carried the boxes and bags inside, but Ty’s mind was still on the unknown shifter. He and his wolf were salivating over catching whoever was stupid enough to come close to his pregnant mate.

  Mate? Ty stopped for a moment, confused. Had that come from him or his wolf?

  He willed his wolf to speak to him, but he was quiet. Cursing in frustration, Ty decided it didn’t really matter. He said Parker was his mate, so she was. Case closed.

  Only there was a part of him that thought it wasn’t closed. How could he know for sure, if his wolf wouldn’t speak to him? Would he be able to give Parker the kind of commitment she deserved, the kind she’d get from a shifter who was less fucked up, if he didn’t have that instinct? He just didn’t know. And the not knowing was tearing him to shreds.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Parker smiled from the doorway as she watched Ty and Chase try to put baby furniture together. There seemed like there was more cursing than working going on. It had taken the boys all last night to clean out the room she’d chosen. The location hadn’t been hard, even with five unoccupied bedrooms to choose from. It was the room next to Ty’s. It hadn’t been used in forever though, acting more as a catch all for junk over the years, so it had taken a while to empty it out.

  She’d spent most of the morning cleaning it thoroughly. Years of dust had accumulated, and it had taken some elbow grease and a lot of sneezes, but she’d gotten it pristine. It was perfect, though, the walls a light blue that glowed now that they, and the large window, were clean. Apparently, it had last been used as a nursery when Chase was born, so the basics were right. It just needed furniture and some finishing touches to make it a real nursery.

  Ty and Chase had come in about an hour before lunch, when it started to rain, just like Ty had said it would. She still found that odd. The weatherman hadn’t said anything about rain or storms today, and this was the second time Ty had accurately predicted the weather. Normally, she explained away stuff like this with his wolf side, but she still hadn’t been able to make a connection between the two.

  Chase cursed, flinging the instruction manual for the changing table he was assembling aside in frustration. “This shit is in another language. I don’t know what that is, but it ain’t English. I don’t need it, anyhow.”

  Ty
grabbed the manual and shoved it back in Chase’s direction. “What happened to you saying you’ve fixed tractors before so this will be a piece of cake? And you’re using the damn instruction manual. Anything my kid lays on, or even touches, will be put together exactly how the manual says.”

  Parker laughed although she silently agreed with Ty. She wasn’t approving anything that was put together without the instructions.

  “Yeah, yuck it up over there,” Chase muttered as he snatched the manual from Ty. “I don’t see you in here, trying read this shit.”

  Ty looked up from the crib he was trying to scowl into submission and smiled at her, his chocolate brown eyes warming her from the inside out. “Do you want me to grab you a chair so you can be comfortable?”

  Parker shook her head. Rubbing her belly, she said, “No, I’m fine. I was actually thinking about heading to the kitchen. Someone mentioned cake earlier, and now I want some.”

  “Are you having a craving? Want me to run to the bakery in town and pick you something up?”

  Chase kicked Ty’s boot. “You’re just fucking trying to get out of putting this shit together.”

  Ty scowled at his brother and Parker held up her hands quickly. “No, no, it’s okay. If it gets bad and I can’t find anything in the kitchen, I can run to town myself.”

  Ty cast a glance at the window. “If you go, wait until it stops raining. Please.”

  Parker smiled at him warmly. He was worried, but he didn’t freak out about her leaving. He asked, kind of. That was progress. “I will, I promise.”

  She leaned against the doorway, listening as Chase gave Tyler hell for saying ‘please’. She hoped she got to keep this, forever. She prayed that shopping for furniture with Ty and him asking her to pick the room she wanted for a nursery meant he wanted her to stay, but they hadn’t talked about her staying permanently yet. She wanted it so bad she couldn’t stand it.