She lifted a shoulder. “I’m okay.”
Ram looked down at her pelvis. “Sorry about your heat. I accidentally overheard you talking about wanting a baby.”
Her eyes widened. “How did you know?”
He raised an eyebrow. “I’m a vampire. I can smell blood.”
She laughed nervously. “Oh.”
“You don’t have to be embarrassed. It’s natural. And I’m not going to attack you.”
She straightened her back. “I didn’t think you would.”
Ram smiled. “I know. I just didn’t want you to be embarrassed.”
“Thanks. I guess.”
“Are you worried about telling Reid?”
“I am a little, yeah. Stupid?”
“Nah.” He took another bite of his apple. “But I wouldn’t concern yourself. He’s crazy about you. While you’re worried about him, he’s going to be worried about you.”
“Thank you.”
Of all the people she’d expected to get advice from, Ram was at the bottom of the list.
“Do you know where everyone is?”
Ram shook his head. “Not everyone. Reid had to go do something for Vance though.”
“Okay, thanks.” She took a step toward her room and stopped. “Even though it was kind of awkward between us, I hope that you find yourself a good mate.”
The corner of Ram’s mouth ticked up. “I’m not looking, but thanks.”
Tegan nodded and continued to her room. She sent Reid a quick text, now eager to see him.
Tegan: I’m home. When will you get here?
There was no answer the rest of the evening, and Tegan finally had to give up waiting and go to sleep.
She didn’t know how long she’d been out when she felt the side of Reid’s bed dip behind her, and an arm came around her waist.
“Hey, Angel.”
Tegan snuggled back against her mate. “Hey, yourself.”
Reid’s hand wandered her body in a loving touch but stopped when he got to her underwear. “You’re wearing panties.”
She rolled onto her back and ran her fingers through Reid’s auburn hair. “I started bleeding this morning.”
“Are you okay?”
“A little sad. Worried about disappointing you.”
Reid leaned over and kissed her. “Aw, Angel. Don’t worry about that. I’m sad, too. But we have the rest of our lives to be with each other. And we’ll have fun trying again in another six months.”
“I love you.”
“I love you, too.” Reid pulled her into his arms, and Tegan fell asleep on his chest, feeling like the luckiest female in the world.
“BABY…BABY…CAN you hear me? It’s your daddy.”
“Zane, the baby is the size of a grain of rice. It doesn’t even have ears yet.”
“Shh. I’m talking to my baby.”
Isabelle rolled her eyes and let Zane do his thing. She was sitting on her parents’ couch in their family room, waiting for them to come home from visiting her sister. Zane was lying on the couch with his head in her lap, talking to her stomach.
It was the same size as when her heat had ended. The doctor had told her she wouldn’t notice any significant size changes for a while, which had actually disappointed Zane. Apparently, he wanted to see her big and round.
God, she loved her mate for his weird idiosyncrasies.
Isabelle heard the garage door open and pushed at Zane. “Get up. They’re here.”
She’d met his parents a few days ago, and they’d seemed to love her, saying they’d thought their son would never settle down.
Zane didn’t protest and was up on his feet in two seconds.
“Okay, let me go talk to them first, and then I’ll introduce you.”
When her parents had left, she’d been dating Bram. Now, she was mated and carrying another male’s child. They were going to wonder what the heck had happened while they were gone.
Her parents came through the garage door into the kitchen where Isabelle was waiting.
“Isabelle. You’re here,” her mother said.
“I told you I’d be waiting for you when you got home.”
Her father came up behind her mother. “Hey, Isabelle. Why didn’t you pick us up from the airport?”
“Dad, you told me not to.”
“I know. I was just teasing you.” He set down the suitcases he’d been holding and held out his arms. “Are you going to give us a hug?”
Isabelle knew her parents would smell her, but she couldn’t resist. She ran to her parents and threw her arms around them. “I missed you.”
“Oh, baby, we missed you, too,” her mother said.
A few more squeezes, and Isabelle stepped back.
Her father put his hand on his hip. “So, you want to tell me why you smell like a male cat?”
Her mom grabbed her hand. “And why you smell like you’re with child?”
Isabelle’s jaw dropped. Her scent shouldn’t have changed that fast. “How did you know?”
Her mom patted her cheek. “I’m your mother, dear. I have your scent memorized. When you were little, I knew the second you were coming down with something. Now, tell us, who is this male?”
“And where the hell is he?” Her father looked around. “And what happened to Bram?”
Isabelle held up one finger. “One second.” She ran to the family room to grab Zane. “Hey, I was waiting for you—”
She stopped at the doorway and sighed.
Zane had turned on the Minnesota Wild game and wasn’t even listening to her. She hadn’t even known he was a fan. She guessed they were going to have fun, learning all these things about each other.
She walked into the room and stood in front of him. “Zane, my parents? They’re waiting to—”
“What the hell kind of call is that?” Her father’s voice boomed behind them. “That penalty is bullshit.”
Zane sprang up from his seat. “Uh…hello, sir.”
“Dad, this is Zane. Zane, this is my father, Jack.” Isabelle’s mom came in at the same time she was making introductions. “And this is my mother, Elizabeth.”
“So, you’re the one who knocked up our daughter?”
“Dad.” She knew he was just trying to put Zane on the spot.
But her mate wasn’t going to be deterred. He put his arm around her. “Not before I mated and married her though.”
She tried to hide her smile, but Zane got her dad on that one.
“So, what happened to Bram?” her mom said, not really showing how she felt about Zane one way or the other. Her mom was like that. She reserved her judgment until she heard all the facts.
Isabelle put her head on Zane’s chest as he pulled her tighter to him. “Bram’s dead.”
“Oh, thank the Lord,” her mom said.
Isabelle lifted her head. “What?”
A tear slipped from her mom’s eye. “I never had a good feeling about him, Isabelle. Never.”
“Why didn’t you say anything?”
“Because you seemed to like him. And you never came to us with any issues.”
“That’s because I didn’t want to involve you. He wasn’t a good man, Mom.”
“I was afraid it would take something extreme to get him out of your life.” Her mom stepped closer to Zane. “Are you the reason he’s dead?”
Zane smiled. “No, ma’am. That was your daughter’s doing. She took him down herself.”
Isabelle blushed. “It was only because he’d shot you. Otherwise, I don’t know if I would have had the courage.”
“You were shot?” her father asked.
“Yes, sir.” Zane put his hand on his left side. “But they say I’ll make a full recovery.”
“So, tell us the whole story,” her mom said. “I want to hear everything.”
Isabelle told her parents everything that had happened, leaving out her heat. Her parents could put two and two together to figure out how she’d become pregnant. They were alarmed
when they heard she’d been shot, but she was quick to reassure them that it was nothing compared to Zane’s injury.
“I can’t believe I’m going to be a grandmother again,” her mom said to her when they left to go pick up dinner, leaving the two males to finish watching the hockey game.
“Are you okay with it?”
Her mom grabbed her hand. “Of course, honey. I remember when you came back from helping Damien. You’ve obviously had a thing for Zane for a long time.”
Isabelle smiled. “I agree. It just took me a while to realize it.”
When they got home, her mom called out to the guys to come and eat. After waiting five minutes with no sign of them coming into the kitchen, Isabelle went to find them.
Her father and Zane were in a deep discussion about the game. Isabelle watched them go back and forth a few times. Zane had obviously won him over right away, but that was her mate. He was really hard not to like.
“Hey,” she said as she walked into the room. “Dinner is here, and it’s getting cold.”
“Sorry, son, I have to go fill this empty tank,” he said, rubbing his belly. “I haven’t had anything since the airplane.” As her father walked out of the room, he kissed Isabelle on the cheek. “I like him.”
“Thanks, Dad,” she whispered.
Then, it was just the two of them. Or the three of them if you counted the TV.
“Zane, come on. It’s time to eat.”
“Just give me one more second,” he said, holding up a finger, his eyes glued to the screen.
“Okay, I’ll sit and wait. I don’t mind watching a little Jason Zucker, Charlie Coyle, Marcus Foligno, Nino Niederreiter, and let’s not forget Zach Parise. I mean, he’s not the same since he took a puck to the face, but scars are sexy.” She put a hand out and rubbed his back. “Right, honey?”
Zane turned off the TV. He slowly turned from his spot on the edge of the couch and looked at her. “We’re never watching hockey again.”
She shrugged innocently. “Whatever you say.”
He shook his head. “Whatever I say, my ass.”
Isabelle grinned at him, and Zane pulled her down to her back and started tickling her.
“Please stop,” she said between laughs. “Please.”
“Not until you tell me I’m better-looking than those guys.”
“You’re the ho-hottest male I know.”
Zane stopped tickling and lay over her. “Don’t think I didn’t notice the ‘I know’ part of your little declaration.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck. “You have nothing to worry about. You’re the only one for me, Zane Talon.”
He kissed her then, taking her mouth leisurely but sweetly. He licked inside her mouth, and she tightened her hold on him. She could feel herself getting wet and almost forgot she was at her parents’ with them in the other room.
She broke their kiss. “We have to go eat,” she said against his lips.
“I know.”
Zane moved off her and gave her a hand to help her up. “By the way, how do you know who all those hockey players are?” he asked as they walked to the kitchen.
“I live in Minnesota. Of course I know who the hockey players are.”
He put his mouth right next to her ear. “As if I didn’t think you were sexy enough before. Now, I know we can talk stats and watch games together.”
“You just said we weren’t going to watch hockey ever again.”
“I decided we can only do it when I’m inside you.” Zane pulled away from her, stepped forward into the kitchen, and clapped his hands. “What’s for dinner, folks?”
Isabelle followed with a grin on her face.
Being claimed by Zane was the best thing that had ever happened to her.
NINE MONTHS LATER
ZANE CRINGED AS Isabelle squeezed his hand. Damn. His mate was strong.
She collapsed back on the bed as she tried to catch her breath.
Zane took the washcloth he held in his other hand and wiped her face.
“How much longer?” he asked the doctor. “This seems like it’s been going on longer than it’s supposed to.”
Dr. Gordan laughed. “Zane, this is a process. It takes time.”
Zane looked at Isabelle. Her hair was full of sweat, and she looked exhausted. He hated that she was in pain, and there was nothing he could do for her. At least, when she was in her heat, he knew he could do something to relieve her agony. Right now, he felt helpless.
“We’re never having sex again,” he told her.
“That’s supposed to be my line,” she panted.
He narrowed his eyes. “I’m serious, Isabelle. No more kids.”
“You’ll change your mind in several weeks after you haven’t had sex for a while.”
He shook his head. “No, I won’t.”
Isabelle laughed at him.
“I hate seeing you in pain.”
“Oh, it’s for a good outcome,” she said right before another contraction racked her body.
He held on to her for dear life again and toweled off her face when the contraction was done.
He must have had a bad look on his face because Isabelle said, “Oh, Zane, I’ll be all right. I promise.”
He wasn’t so sure about that because he knew he’d never be the same again.
“If you want to make me feel better, can we decide on names?”
Isabelle had been hounding him to pick a boy name and a girl name for their baby, but he was having trouble since he hadn’t met him or her yet. But, if it would make Isabelle feel better, he was all for it.
“Okay, okay. What were your suggestions again?”
“I have new ones. How about Wulf with a U if it’s a boy or Kat with a K if it’s a girl?” She laughed.
“I don’t know how you can make jokes at a time like this.”
This made her laugh harder. “Now, you know what it’s like, being mated to you.”
Zane scowled. “Fine. Wulf if it’s a boy and Kat if it’s a girl. I agree.”
“What? No. I was joking.”
Another contraction took hold, and after it passed, he asked her, “What names do you really want, Isa?”
“I like Finn for a boy and Lydia if it’s a girl.”
“I’ll think about it.”
“Zane.”
“I’m sorry, Isa. I can’t. I can’t until I meet the baby.”
She didn’t get a chance to answer because another contraction hit.
“Okay, Isabelle, this is it. I think you can do it in just a couple of more pushes,” the doctor said.
Isabelle grabbed on to his hand harder than ever before as she used all her strength to push.
After what felt like forever, the sound of a baby crying filled the room, and Isabelle and Zane both began to cry.
“It’s a girl!”
About a half hour later, Zane carried his new daughter out to the waiting room.
After she’d been born, the doctor had placed her tiny body on Isabelle’s chest, and Zane had been in awe.
Dr. Gordan and a couple of nurses had then taken their daughter away to assess her and clean her up. She’d started crying the second they took her from her mama, but she’d been back in her arms soon enough.
Their daughter weighed six pounds and twelve ounces. She wasn’t very big, but the doctor had assured them she was perfect.
Zane now said soothing words to her as he carried her to see her new family and friends. She seemed to calm when she heard his voice. He’d have to gloat to Isabelle about how him talking to her belly had been worth it.
When Zane walked out from the hallway, the room erupted into cheers.
His daughter scrunched up her little face, and Zane held out a hand and lowered it to tell them all to be quieter.
“Everyone, I’d like you to meet Katlynn Elizabeth Talon. Kat for short.”
Everyone cheered again but this time a little quieter.
“I knew you were going to have a girl,
man,” Chase said to him as he looked down at the baby.
“Oh, and how did you know that?”
Chase tapped his head. “I just knew.”
Zane elbowed him. “Get out of here,” he said with a laugh.
Both sets of grandparents came over to see their new granddaughter.
“Oh, Zane, she’s perfect,” his mother said. “Can I hold her?”
“For a minute. Isabelle is anxious for me to bring her back.”
“Hello, little one,” his mom said as soon as Katlynn was in her arms. “I’m your Grandma Eve. And I just love your name. Yes, I do.”
Zane tried not to laugh as his father-in-law scowled.
“Sorry, Jack. It was Isabelle’s idea.”
Jack smiled. “It’s fine. I’m just glad she’s healthy.”
After all the grandparents got a chance to hold the baby, he took her back to her mama.
Isabelle was sleeping when they came in, but she stirred right away and held out her arms.
Zane placed her in his mate’s arms.
“What did everyone think?”
He sat on the bed next to Isabelle. “Everyone loves her.”
She looked up at him. “What did our parents think of her name?”
“My mom loved it. Your father, not so much.”
“Did you tell him we’ll try for a Wulfgang next time?”
“Uh, no, because we’re never doing this again. Remember?”
Isabelle laid her head on his arm and laughed. “We’ll see.”
“Ha. I’m stronger than you think.”
She kissed his arm. “When it comes to me, you’re not.”
Zane put his arm around his mate and slid down. “You’re right. I’m not.” He sighed. “Okay, we can have another baby.” He put his finger into Katlynn’s fist. “She is pretty cute.”
“That didn’t last long.”
“What?”
“Your resolve.”
“That’s because, when it comes to you, I have none.” He kissed her on the head. “Thanks for giving me a daughter.”
“You’re welcome. Thanks for putting her inside me.”
Zane smiled. “My pleasure.”
“And that’s why you didn’t last long.”
Zane looked down at his mate and daughter and felt more in love than ever before. Except, this time, it was for two females.
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