by Lola Gabriel
“Thanks,” Rachel said.
She turned to walk away and the man started to close the door. Suddenly, doubt filled Rachel and she began to question whether the man really would pass on the message. She thought for a second, and then she spoke up.
“Please don’t forget. I couldn’t bear it if Bastian didn’t get my message,” she said.
She put enough emphasis on the word bear to make the man pause. He pulled the door back open and looked at her, his eyes narrowed. She gave a barely perceptible nod of her head, hoping that if the man was a bear as she suspected he might be, he would get the message, and that if she was wrong and he wasn’t, he would barely notice the nod.
“You really do know Bastian, don’t you?” the man said.
Rachel felt relieved, knowing he had understood what she was telling him.
“Yes. I really do,” she smiled. “You will make sure he gets the message, won’t you?”
“I will,” the man said. “But you have to understand that as the alpha of the district, he’s a busy man so it might take a while for him to call you.”
“I can wait,” Rachel smiled, using the smile to hide the horror that now filled her. “Thanks again.”
She turned and walked away, forcing herself to walk at a normal pace until she heard the door close behind her. The second the door closed, Rachel began to run. She didn’t stop running until she was back inside of her house with the door closed and locked behind her.
She knew then that she had been wrong about Bastian. He hadn’t been turned into a bear against his will. And he wasn’t a nice guy. He was a monster, just like she had first thought upon learning he was a bear. She still remembered what Lewis had told her. That the alpha bear of the district was the one who had ordered him to find women and turn them into bears so they could be used as breeding machines to help populate his pack. There was no way in hell Rachel was going to hang around here and wait for Bastian to call. There was no way he was going to take her baby away from her if it turned out to be a girl, and use her to populate his pack.
Rachel lurched up the stairs, fear flooding through her. Thank God I found out the truth about Bastian before I told him I was pregnant, she thought to herself. She was so glad she had risked giving the man a hint about her being a bear. If she hadn’t, she wouldn’t have found out that Bastian was the one behind her abduction until it was too late.
She grabbed a suitcase and began piling her clothes into it. She threw in her make-up and rushed to the bathroom to collect her toothbrush and toiletries. She was packed within half an hour. There was a lot she would need to leave behind, but she could live with that. She had the essentials and she had enough money saved up to replace the things she left behind.
Her house was a rental and her payments were up to date. When her landlord discovered she was gone, he would be pissed off, but she left had paid a deposit and last month’s rent in advance when she moved in. Rachel hoped that would be enough to appease him a little bit. She didn’t like the idea of leaving him in the lurch, but she wasn’t willing to hang around here and just wait for Bastian to show up. He knew exactly where she lived.
Dammit, Rachel. Why did you have to bring him here? Why didn’t you insist on going to a hotel or something? Or better yet, why didn’t you just leave him in that damned diner?
None of those questions were helping and Rachel knew it. She took a deep breath to calm herself down. She knew her savings would only last a couple of months and she would need money to leave the state and find a new apartment. Money for medical bills for the birth of her baby. She had to be sensible about this.
She took another deep breath and then she picked up her suitcase and made her way downstairs as a plan started to form in her mind. Leaving her suitcase in the hallway beside the front door, she moved through to the living room and sat down. She pulled her cell phone out of her handbag and scrolled through her contacts list until she found Dr. Gordon. She hit call.
“Dr. Gordon,” the doctor said as he took her call.
“Hi. It’s Rachel from reception,” Rachel said. “I’m sorry to disturb you out of office hours, but it’s pretty important.”
“Is everything okay, Rachel?” Dr. Gordon asked.
Rachel was relieved to hear the concern in his voice rather than anger.
“Not really,” she admitted. “I have a violent ex-boyfriend who I ran from a year or so back. He’s tracked me down and I have to leave. I know it’s short notice and I understand if you can’t help, but is there any chance I could transfer to another medical center in another state? Any state.”
“Rachel, you should go to the police. They can keep you safe,” Dr. Gordon said.
“No,” Rachel said quickly. “I tried that before and it made everything worse. I have to leave, Doctor Gordon. With or without your help.”
“Okay,” Dr. Gordon said. “You know what’s best for yourself. Give me five minutes to make a few calls and I’ll get back to you, okay?”
“Thank you,” Rachel said, horrified to find herself on the verge of tears.
She ended the call quickly before Dr. Gordon sensed the tears in her voice. The last thing she needed was him deciding to play the hero and sending the police around or something.
Rachel jumped up, too full of nervous energy to remain still. She paced the living room floor while she waited for Dr. Gordon to call her back. Come on, come on, she thought to herself as she imagined the man from the house with the yellow door calling Bastian and giving him her number.
If he called, she would make something up. There was no way she would tell him she was pregnant, not now, but she was afraid he would hear the panic in her voice and somehow put everything together. She knew that was unlikely, but it made her nervous all the same. She glanced down at her stomach and told herself she was being ridiculous. There was no way she was showing, no way the man could have known her reason for wanting Bastian to contact her. He wasn’t about to barge in here and refuse to let her leave. Her mind was still trying to jump to the worst-case scenario, even as she told herself she was overreacting, and when her cell phone rang, she made a desperate squeaking sound.
She picked it up as though it might bite her, sure she would see an unknown caller and that it would be Bastian. Relief flooded her when she saw Dr. Gordon’s name on her screen. She answered the call.
“Thanks for getting back to me so quickly,” she said.
“Of course,” the doctor replied. “I have bad news and what I hope is good news.”
“Go on,” Rachel said.
“The bad news is we have nothing out of state at this time. The hopefully good news is that there’s an opening for a receptionist in our Dallas branch. One of the team has just put her notice in today. I have spoken to Dr. Monroe, the head doctor, and explained the situation. The job there is yours if you want it.”
Dallas wasn’t as far away as Rachel would have liked it to have been, but it was better than staying here, and deep down, she knew she was overreacting. Bastian couldn’t know she was pregnant. He wasn’t going to come looking for her.
“That would be perfect. Thank you so much,” Rachel said.
“You’re welcome, Rachel. Now, I’ll give you the address of the office and Dr. Monroe’s contact number. She’ll be expecting your call during business hours tomorrow. You won’t be able to start until the week after next when the current receptionist’s notice period ends. Is that okay?”
“Yes,” Rachel said.
It was perfect. It would give her a chance to find somewhere to live and get settled in. She carefully wrote down the address and phone number and thanked Dr. Gordon again.
“I know you’ve already gone way above and beyond for me, Dr. Gordon, and I really appreciate it, but could I ask one more favor?” Rachel said. “Please don’t tell anyone where I’ve gone, not even the other receptionists. And if anyone calls asking for me, just have them pretend they’ve never heard of me.”
“Done,” Dr. Gordon said
. “Good luck, Rachel.”
“Thank you,” she said again and ended the call.
She sat down for a moment, clutching the piece of paper with the address and contact number of the new doctor’s office to her chest. It was all going to work out just fine. Even if Bastian tried to find her, he wouldn’t be able to do it. She had told him she worked in a doctor’s office, but not which one, and if the staff there pretended they’d never heard of her, he would have no reason to doubt their words.
Rachel stood up and took one last look around the house. She smiled sadly. She had been happy here, but she knew that she had to go. She set her cell phone down on the coffee table. She would have to leave it behind in case Bastian could somehow trace her through it. It would be a shame to lose contact with everyone in her contacts list, but she had always known this day would come. It had just happened a little bit sooner than she had thought it would, that was all.
She turned around and left the living room. She put her jacket on and took her house key off the bunch. Picking her suitcase up, she opened her front door and stepped outside. She glanced around, quickly scanning the streets for the man from the house with the yellow front door. She couldn’t see him, and no one passing by gave her a second glance. She locked the door quickly, slipping the key back through the mail slot. She hurried to her car and threw her suitcase into the trunk. She got in, started the engine, and pulled away, heading for a new city, a new life. A life as a mom. She rubbed her stomach and smiled to herself. Everything was going to work out just fine, she told herself again. And she knew it would. She would make damned sure of it.
6
Bastian’s cell phone rang as he sat in his apartment eating pizza. He picked it up and frowned when he saw Brady’s name on the screen. They didn’t have a call scheduled for that evening, and Brady wasn’t the type to call for a chat. Something had to be wrong. Bastian was instantly on high alert. He had heard back from Oscar last week and Oscar had confirmed that the rumors of a hunter had been just that—rumors. They had originated from a small wolf pack who was just looking to make trouble and Oscar had dealt with them accordingly. But what if Oscar had been wrong and they weren’t just rumors? What if it was true and the hunter had moved on to Fredericksburg? That could explain the call. Bastian decided to stop speculating, take the call, and find out for sure what the hell was going on.
“What’s up, Brady?” Bastian said, taking the call.
“Maybe nothing. Maybe something,” Brady said. “There was a girl here earlier. Blonde, late twenties. She was asking questions about you, said she wanted your phone number. Her name is Rachel, assuming that’s not a fake name. Does it ring any bells?”
It most certainly did ring some bells. At the mention of the name Rachel, Bastian was instantly transported back to Rachel’s bed. He could almost feel her pussy around his cock as it hardened at the thought of her. He could remember exactly how she had smelled, how she had tasted. And how she had made him feel. Even now, a month after they had spent a single night and then an hour or so of the next morning together, he craved her like he had never craved anyone or anything before. He had debated going back to her place a couple of times, but each time, he reminded himself why it was a bad idea. But if she was looking for him, it would be rude not to reach out to her. It gave him a perfect excuse to revisit his fantasies of her if nothing else.
Maybe she’s coming to Houston for some reason, Bastian thought. And she’s looking me up, hoping we can spend another night together. His heart raced at the thought of it. Bad idea or not, he knew he would agree to it.
“I know her,” he said, being sure to keep his voice calm and casual. “Did you give her my number?”
“No. Of course not,” Brady said. “How stupid do you think I am? Is she dangerous?”
“No,” Bastian said, laughing softly. “I had a one-night stand with her a few weeks back. I wouldn’t mind seeing her again as it goes.”
“She left her number for me to pass on to you,” Brady said.
He gave Bastian the number and Bastian scrawled it on the pizza box.
“You had this one-night stand with her a few weeks ago, you said?” Brady asked.
Bastian sensed immediately that there was something Brady wasn’t telling him. His voice had changed just enough to make Bastian’s senses tickle.
“Yes. What aren’t you telling me, Brady?”
“I… umm,” Brady stuttered.
“Spit it out,” Bastian said.
“Well, I don’t think she’s just calling to maybe have another night together or whatever,” Brady said. Bastian raised an eyebrow, but he didn’t interrupt and Brady went on. “You see, when I was talking to her, I sensed another life growing within her. She’s pregnant, Bastian. I think maybe she wanted to tell you.”
Bastian laughed softly and shook his head.
“It’s impossible,” he said.
“But I sensed it. You know I’m never wrong about these things,” Brady said.
Bastian waved his hand impatiently through the air, waving away Brady’s words although he was aware that Brady couldn’t see him.
“I’m not saying it’s impossible for Rachel to be pregnant. I’m sure you’re right about that and I didn’t mean to doubt your senses. I just mean that it’s impossible the baby is mine. Rachel isn’t a bear,” Bastian said.
“Yeah, Bastian, she is. I thought it was weird too that there was a bear in town I didn’t know, but she let me know she’s one of us,” Brady said.
Bastian took a moment to let that sink in. If Rachel was a bear, then any baby she was carrying had to be his unless she had been sleeping with another bear, too. And the chances of that seemed slim if it was him she was trying to contact. Bastian felt a strange mix of emotions. Elation at knowing he might have a baby soon. Protectiveness for that baby, his flesh and blood, his heir. And anger. Anger at Rachel. Because it seemed she knew exactly who he was and had gone out of her way to be in the right place at the right time to catch his attention and get herself knocked up by the most powerful bear in the state. He hated to think of her that way, but what other reason could she have had for not telling him she was a bear? And why hadn’t she insisted they use protection if she wasn’t at least trying to get pregnant by him?
“Okay,” Bastian said after a pause. “If this is true, then that baby is the heir to this pack. I need to call Rachel. I’ll call you back.”
He hung up on Brady without waiting for an answer. He typed the number Brady had given him into his cell phone and hit call. The phone rang a few times and then went to voicemail. Bastian’s cock hardened when he heard Rachel’s voice telling him to leave a message. The sound of her voice dispelled his anger as easily as if it had never been there. He craved her with every fiber of his being, and now that he knew she was a bear, there was no reason they couldn’t be together. It was possible he was gaining not just an heir, but a mate as well.
He left a message asking Rachel to call him as soon as she got his message. He sent Brady a text telling him what happened and then he sat back to wait for Rachel’s call.
A week had passed since Bastian had left the first message for Rachel. She hadn’t returned his call that night, and he had called multiple times a day since then. She hadn’t taken any of his calls or responded to any of the messages he had left for her. Her voicemail was full now and he had resorted to sending her text messages.
He had had Brady stop by the house several times, but he had never caught Rachel in. He told Bastian that all of her furniture was still in the house and Bastian tried to tell himself she would call him back eventually. He had made a decision to try her one more time today and then if she didn’t get back to him, he was going to fly out and go to see her in person the next day. He was past even caring if that seemed too drastic. He had to see her, had to speak to her.
He picked up his cell phone and hit call on Rachel’s number. His heart skipped a beat when the call was answered.
“Yeah?”
>
It was a man’s voice and Bastian felt jealousy surge within him. He told himself to relax. There was no guarantee this was a man Rachel was dating. It could just be a friend, or her brother. Thinking that made Bastian realize how little he knew about Rachel—he didn’t even know if she had a brother or not.
“I’m looking for Rachel,” Bastian said.
“You and me both, pal,” the man said. “I’m her landlord. She’s skipped town, didn’t bother letting me know and left me with half of her stuff to move. Including this cell phone. I kind of hoped you might be her. Stupid, huh? You hear from her, you tell her to call me, okay? Hang on. I’ll give you my number. It’s three seven…”
Bastian had heard enough. He cut off the call and stared down at his cell phone like it contained the answers he needed to find. Rachel had skipped town. But why? And where had she gone? He racked his brains, trying to work it all out. The only theory he could come up with was that Rachel had wanted to tell him about the pregnancy and then changed her mind for some reason.
Bastian thought for a moment and then he moved through to his office. He sat down at his computer and fired it up and began to type out an email. In the email, he described Rachel as best as he could and instructed the people who would receive it to be on the lookout for her. He made it clear she wasn’t to be hurt and then he sent the email to his most trusted pack members across the state. He was well aware that Rachel might have left the state, hell, even the country, but he had to start looking for her somewhere.
7
Two Years Later
Rachel laughed as Stephanie blew a raspberry in her highchair. The baby giggled at the noise it made and did it again, clapping her hands together in delight. Rachel stuck her tongue out and blew a raspberry back at Stephanie, which sent the baby into fits of giggles again.
Rachel played the game with Stephanie for a bit longer, and then she turned around and went to the kitchen counter to pour herself another cup of coffee.