The Hunter's Mate

by Christina Benjamin

  A howl ripped through the forest. Grey. Etti would know the call of her mate anywhere. She felt a fluttering in her belly, like her baby knew the call too. Etti’s heart wrenched. Why? Why did this have to happen now?

  Yes, she and Grey had said they loved each other. They’d saved each other’s lives and had wild, passionate sex that Etti thought only existed in romance novels. But beyond that, what were they to each other? Supposedly mates . . . but what did that even mean?

  They weren’t married. And even if they were, adding a baby into a relationship this new would send anyone running. What had she expected from Grey? He wasn’t a saint. Neither of them were. Hell, Etti was terrified. She was a pregnant shifter with parents who tried to kill her and a clan of rogue shifters hunting her mate. Having a baby in her predicament was a bad situation! But what could she do about it now?

  How they hell had this happened to her? Well, she knew how . . . Her birth control failed thanks to her mother drugging her with a tonic to suppress her shifter gene. Talk about mommy issues. Even if Etti was in a normal relationship, she would still be frightened of motherhood. Her mother was pretty much the worst role model Etti could think of, and Etti would rather die than put her own baby through the childhood she had.

  Etti couldn’t remember the last time she been so scared and alone. The only person she wanted by her side, didn’t want her. She felt lost and couldn’t think of anyone to trust with this except her best friend, Wes. She knew he would help her.

  Until Grey, Wes was the only person Etti ever counted on. And it seemed he was back to being her number one. But this would be hard on him, too. Wes had always been protective of Etti. There’d even been a time when Etti thought maybe she and Wes would end up together. He finally seemed to have accepted Grey and moved on to find his own happiness with the sweet shifter nurse, Cali.

  Etti hated to do anything to jeopardize Wes’s happiness. But they’d been friends for twenty years. And Etti knew Wes would be pissed at her if she didn’t ask for help with this. Etti dreaded having to face him with this news—especially since she’d just shift-shredded one of his favorite shirts. Once Wes got over his shirt and the shock of Etti’s news, he’d probably try to kill Grey. And Etti would have to persuade him not to and then convince him to do something even harder—help her get out of this situation.

  Another desperate howl ripped through the woods and Etti changed course. She had to make sure she found Wes before Grey did, for all their sakes.

  Greyson

  Grey was kicking himself for taking so long to get his shit together. He’d been in shock when Etti told him she was pregnant. And seeing his reaction through her eyes must have been awful. In the moment, he’d been gripped by fear. Fear that he already had so many people to protect from the hunt—Etti, his brother, his mother. How could he add one more? And a defenseless child at that?

  But it wasn’t Etti’s fault. Both of them were responsible. Grey knew the risks. He’d willingly slept with her without precautions. And despite the icy fear gripping him now, he knew he wouldn’t change a thing even if he could.

  Etti was his mate—his other half. He craved her beyond control and he wouldn’t trade the closeness they’d achieved for anything. A baby would only bring them closer. He could see that now. He cursed himself as he raced through the woods. Why couldn’t he have realized this sooner?

  He could scent Etti’s fear as he tracked her. His response had only made her panic worse, and he was beating himself up over it. His mate was alone and afraid, and it was his fault. The moment he’d gotten his head straight, all Grey could think of was Etti and the baby. Their baby!

  Fear and love propelled him after her until his lungs were near bursting. But he didn’t care. Grey had never really found his way in life, but suddenly he had purpose—to protect his mate and their child. And he would do exactly that with every fiber of his being. He knew without a doubt he would give his last breath to save them if need be. Now if only he could find Etti and convince her of that.

  She didn’t trust easily. And how could she? She’d been brought up by parents who did nothing but deceive and disappoint her. Grey hated that he’d momentarily done the same. But he would make it up to her. She was his world. And he would never purposely hurt her. He knew what he had to do—what he’d wanted to do since the moment he first met her.

  Chapter 4

  Etti

  “What?” Wes hissed. “Etti, please tell me you’re joking.”

  “I wish I was.”

  “Etti!” Wes whined. “That was my favorite shirt!”

  “That’s not the worst of it,” Etti grumbled tying the robe tighter around her waist.

  Maybe she should have led with the pregnancy. Then Wes wouldn’t care about his stupid shirt. But Etti was a coward when it came to disappointing her best friend.

  She should have told him as soon as she showed up at Cali’s house. But Wes seeing her naked when she knocked on the front door had thrown Etti off her game.

  She didn’t think she’d ever get used to the nakedness that accompanied shifting from wolf to human. It made Etti seriously consider getting underwear tattooed to her body. Thankfully, the ever-prepared Cali quickly ushered Etti inside the house and offered her a robe.

  Cali took one look at Etti and quietly excused herself to give Wes and Etti privacy to talk. Etti liked the pretty blonde shifter more every day and she hated that what she was going to tell Wes would probably mess up the good thing he and Cali had going.

  Wes had a bad temper, and when he was pissed he went to his favorite local bar, Horney Wolfe, to get drunk on whiskey and women. A night at Horney Wolf always resulted in bar fights and mindless sex with whatever manner of women were eager to get in Wes’s pants. And just about everyone was. Six foot four, bronze skin, black shoulder-length hair, tattoo covered muscles, sinful mouth and a smile made to drop panties—Wesley Ellis Cole was a heartbreaker, and he knew it.

  “Wes! I need you to focus. And promise me you’re not gonna get mad.”

  “Shit, Etti I’m already mad! I don’t think you understand how much I loved that shirt, dude.”

  “Wes!” Etti yelled, punching him in the arm. “It’s just a stupid shirt! I’m trying to tell you something important!”

  “Chill out, Etti.” Wes replied rubbing his arm. “You’ve got shifter strength now.”

  Etti grabbed Wes’s hand and the words tumbled out of her. “I’m so fucking serious right now! I need to talk to you, Wes. For real talk to you. Can you be my best friend right now? You’re the only person I can trust with this.”

  Wes’s dark almond-shaped eyes grew still as he studied Etti’s frantic expression. He took both her hands in his massive ones and kissed them, pulling her into a hug. The top of Etti’s head fit right under Wes’s chin. She wasn’t a small girl, something Wes said he loved about her. That and her tits! But at the moment, Wes put his flirty personality away and instead wore his protector persona. The one that said, I will fucking destroy anyone who hurts my family.

  And Etti was family. That was plainly evident to anyone who knew either of them.

  Their friends joked that Etti and Wes were both still single because they were meant to be together, but were both too stubborn to admit it. There were days when Etti thought her friends were right. When Wes held her like this, she often wondered how the hell they’d never slept together. But in this moment, wrapped in Wes’s arms, all Etti felt was home. She leaned against his chest, letting the familiar beat of his heart comfort her.

  He kissed the top of her head and murmured into her hair like he’d done a thousand times before. “Tell me,” he whispered.

  “I’m pregnant.” The words came out simply when Etti was in Wes’s arms.

  She knew he would help her figure out what to do. He always did. And somehow, he’d make this all right, too.

  Etti felt a rush of rage tear through Wes. It radiated through her in a wave of heat. She could scent the change in his mood. But s
he could also sense his protectiveness for her and her baby. It’s what she’d wanted from Grey. This wasn’t even Wes’s child, yet he knew how to comfort Etti.

  Sure, Wes had twenty years of knowing Etti. They were two sides of the same coin. They always knew what the other needed. Maybe it wasn’t fair to hold Grey to those standards, but the emotional side of Etti wanted to. She wanted her mate to care for her like her best friend did. She wanted Grey to make her feel safe even when things were a mess. That was something Wes was a master of.

  Every time Etti’s mother had kicked her out of her house or beaten her, Wes had been there for her. He’d always given Etti a place to stay, helped her hide her cuts and bruises, stayed up late and distracted her with bad movies and good music.

  When Wes found out how bad things were, he started showing up at Etti’s house because he knew her mom behaved when he was around. Wes came from a dysfunctional home himself. He got emancipated at sixteen and rented a place of his own so Etti would always have somewhere safe to go. Wes was Etti’s shield, and she wasn’t surprised when she felt his protectiveness grow to encompass her child too. Wes would always rescue her, and she knew it.

  Etti let Wes hold her until she felt strong again. When sturdiness returned to her bones, she smiled up at him. He kissed her forehead and wiped the dried tears from her cheeks. He took her hands and led her to Cali’s blue sofa, sitting down with a tired sigh. Etti sat next to him, letting him keep hold of her hands.

  “First, are you okay?” he asked.

  “I think so.”

  “Good. Because I’m going to fucking kill Grey.”

  “Yeah, I figured you’d say that,” Etti muttered.

  Wes balked. “You’re not going to fight me on it?” His dark eyebrows were raised in surprise.

  “He’s not my favorite person right now,” Etti admitted.

  Wes exhaled a barely controlled breath through his nostrils. They flared with anger. His emotions emanated from him like steam. “Other than knocking you up, what did the bastard do this time?”

  “He sorta told me he’s not ready for a baby.”

  Wes was on his feet. “That’s why he’s not here? You told him and he just took off? Abandoned you? Are you fucking serious, Etti?” Wes stormed through the house grabbing his leather jacket off the back of the kitchen chair.

  “Wes! Where are you going?”

  “To hunt his ass down and beat the shit out of him.”

  “Please don’t, Wes.”

  “Give me one good reason not to.”

  “Because he’s still the father of this baby.”

  “Not good enough,” Wes growled.

  “Because I need you,” Etti said grabbing Wes’s hand as he reached for the door.

  She watched his face crumble.

  “Etti, he doesn’t deserve you! Don’t you realize that? There are guys out there who would kill for you! Who would fucking die to have this with you,” Wes said, placing a gentle hand on Etti’s stomach.

  Tears were streaking her face again. “Where? Where are those guys, Wes?”

  He pulled her back into his arms, his massive chest heaving with anger. “Etti, I . . . I can’t watch someone treat you like this. I would never . . .” Wes leaned back so he could look at Etti. He took her face in his hands. His voice was soft, more vulnerable than she’d ever heard. “If you were mine, Etti. . . If this was our kid, I would never run out on you. You know that, right?”

  “I know.”

  “Tell me what you want to do. Because from this moment on, I’m in this with you. If you want out of Blue Creek, just say the words. We’ll leave right now and go anywhere you want. We can raise this baby together, or if you’re not ready for this, we can figure that out too. But I promise you, Etti, you are not going to have to do this alone.”

  Etti couldn’t stop crying. God, why were things so fucked up? She loved two men and the wrong one was saying all the right things.

  Wes’s dark eyes bore into hers. His soft lips were so close she could almost taste them. She’d never wanted to kiss her best friend so badly. But her mind was a mess. She couldn’t trust herself with shifter hormones raging through her thrumming veins. But here was Wes, offering her a way to make everything okay. And that’s what she wanted more than anything, wasn’t it?

  Cali walked into the room and broke the spell Wes had Etti under. “Is everything okay?” she asked timidly.

  Wes let go of Etti’s face, but pulled her protectively into his side.

  Etti swallowed hard and cleared her throat. “I told Wes about the baby.”

  “I see,” Cali observed calmly.

  “You knew?” Wes asked, betrayal thick in his voice.

  Cali nodded.

  “Don’t be mad at Cali,” Etti said, squeezing Wes’s arm to get his attention. “I asked her not to tell anyone.”

  Cali’s pretty face was pinched with sorrow. “Is there anything I can get you, Etti?”

  “Yeah, a new baby-daddy,” Wes grumbled.

  Etti elbowed him in the ribs and moved toward Cali. “I really just want a sandwich and a nap.”

  Cali smiled and squeezed Etti’s hand. “That, I can do.”

  Etti sat down on the couch with Wes in tow, while Cali flitted off to the kitchen. She returned with three giant sandwiches, and when Wes tried to take one, Cali smacked his hand. “Hands off. Etti’s eating for two now. She needs all the calories she can get to help that little one grow.”

  “About that . . .” Etti said between bites. “How fast do shifter babies grow?”

  Cali smiled. “You can already feel the changes, can’t you?”

  Etti nodded. “I think I felt the baby move today. But that’s not possible, is it?”

  “Well, we can do some blood work to see how far along you are, but shifter pregnancies are much shorter than human pregnancies.”

  Etti swallowed hard. “How much shorter?”

  Her mind was racing. She was counting on nine months to get used to the fact that she was creating another little person. It would take her at least that long to figure out how to take care of it.

  “There’s a lot to discuss,” Cali said. “Do you want to wait for Greyson to join us?” she asked politely.

  Etti’s heart clenched. “Um, I don’t think he’ll be joining us.”

  Cali patted Etti’s knee kindly. “Give him time.”

  “Screw him,” Wes said slinging an arm around Etti. “We don’t need him. Just tell us what we need to know.”

  “Okay.” Cali pressed her lips into a hard line. “What do you want to know?”

  “How long until I have this baby?” Etti asked.

  Cali perched on the chair across from Etti. “Wolves are only pregnant for about two and half months.”

  Nausea gripped Etti and she put her sandwich down. “What?”

  “Sorry,” Cali murmured. “I didn’t mean to startle you. Yours won’t be quite that short. A normal shifter pregnancy is about three to four months. It’s a little different for everyone, depending how involved your wolf is.”

  Wes frowned. “What does that mean?”

  “The more often Etti shifts, the shorter her pregnancy will be,” Cali stated.

  The sandwich Etti just devoured suddenly decided her stomach was not its final resting place and she raced to the bathroom. She barely made it to the toilet before puking up her guts. Wes was by her side, holding back her hair and rubbing circles on her back.

  “Get out, Wes,” Etti whined into the toilet.

  “Save it, Etti. I’ve seen you puke before. Or have you forgotten the Great Tequila Debate?”

  Etti grinned despite herself. “Ugh, please don’t say that word.”

  Etti could never forget their tequila night. She still couldn’t even smell tequila without getting the mouth sweats. She’d been young and stupid, causing her to boast she could drink more tequila than Wes. She couldn’t. And before Etti vomited all over Wes, they’d almost crossed the line from friendship to more.
If Wes wasn’t such a good friend, or maybe if Etti hadn’t been so drunk, they would have. And there had been many days since that left Etti wondering how different her life would be if only she’d drank less tequila.

  Wes chuckled, no doubt remembering how pitifully drunk Etti’d been that night.

  “No more tequila talk, just get out,” she muttered.

  “Etti, I hate to break this to ya, but I’ve seen all of this before. It doesn’t scare me.”

  “It still doesn’t mean I want you here,” she argued before heaving again.

  Wes swept her hair back. “Aw, come on. You know I’m your favorite puke buddy,” he teased when she’d finished. “Besides, I’d be jealous if you let somebody else hold your hair.”

  “Wes—”

  “Get over it, Etti. You need me.”

  “I know, but I still have a little pride left,” she groaned. “Besides you’re too big to fit in here. You’re crowding me.”

  Cali’s guest bathroom was tiny and Wes wasn’t. He sighed, stood up and handed Etti a wet washcloth. “Clean yourself up. I’ll order you some pizza from Al’s. You need to keep something in your stomach.”

  He shut the door softly and left Etti in peace. God, Wes would be such a good father. He was already looking out for the baby. Why couldn’t this be his baby? Why couldn’t Etti have been brave enough to be one of Wes’s one-night stands? They loved each other—it wasn’t romantic love, but Wes wanted this baby. It wasn’t even his and he wanted it. He was already protecting it. But Wes wasn’t hers. Not like Grey was. She still loved Grey. She more than loved him—he was her mate. But Grey clearly did not want a baby, and that was a fundamental problem at the moment.

  When Etti was sure her stomach was finished revolting, she washed her face, smoothed her long black hair and tried to turn off the confusing thoughts stampeding through her head.

  Chapter 5

  Greyson

  Grey was met by Wes’s menacing stance when he knocked on Cali’s door.