Chapter 6
A Month Later
Tonight is the full moon, and this morning I noticed something different about myself.
A shifter’s mate can tell if she is pregnant based on the way she smells, but Damon left early this morning, so I doubt he would have noticed.
He is at the community center we are building, overseeing operations.
He needed to get an early start because we leave for the pack gathering today.
I bought a pregnancy test a week ago in case of a moment like this. I pee on the stick and set it on the counter, waiting. A few minutes pass, and I close my eyes for a second as I grab the pregnancy test, nervous. I hope I am pregnant; I want a baby. I want a family with Damon.
I open my eyes, and the small screen says exactly what I was hoping for.
Pregnant.
I laugh, pressing my hand to my mouth in happiness and disbelief.
In four months’ time, I will be giving birth to a baby.
In the first month we don’t experience any changes, but after that it just seems to happen overnight.
Everything is going to change. I will not be able to shift for the rest of my pregnancy, and that will make me vulnerable when it comes to protecting myself.
I leave the pregnancy test on the bathroom counter, and I hear the front door open as Damon walks in.
I smile, waiting for him to notice. He shuts the door and looks directly at me.
He breathes deeply. “Moon,” he whispers.
He falls to his knees in front of me. He pushes up my shirt, leaving my belly bare.
“Moon, you are pregnant?” His voice is deep with emotion, and I bury my fingers in his hair.
He repeatedly kisses my stomach, breathing in my new scent, and I just hold him.
I knew Damon wanted this, but I don’t think I realized how much until I witnessed his reaction to the news. I am so happy.
I hear someone walk onto the front porch, and Maverick comes in without knocking, but we were expecting him.
My brother immediately looks at Damon, still on his knees in front of me, and smiles.
“Pregnant?” I nod, tears filling my eyes.
“Congrats, you guys.” Maverick walks over and hugs me.
Damon finally snaps out of it and stands next to me, pressing me tightly against his side, his hand on my stomach.
Uhh, I don’t think I realized how protective he is going to be.
Brantley walks into the house next, holding Aiden.
He halts, breathing deeply, the moment he enters the house.
“Farren, I am so happy for you!” He hugs me, and I hug him back as much as I can through Damon’s grip on me.
“Just know, the only reason you just touched her is because you’re her best friend and you like men,” Damon points out. I roll my eyes at his ridiculousness. “You will have two guards on you the whole time we are at the gathering. I will not be taking chances with her.”
Yeah, exactly what I was expecting.
“I will never leave her side either,” Brantley says. “Damon, I am not sure how people will react to my adopting Aiden.”
That is something I have wondered about myself. “I will babysit for you while you mingle with the singles.” Brantley looks relieved. “It’s no problem at all.” I touch the side of Aiden’s sleeping face.
Brantley is such a good father. He has taken on the role with open arms and has been absolutely amazing. He is so much happier—he is carefree and just glowing. I am glad that we were able to let him have this life.
Maverick steps forward. “I would be honored to help protect my sister. I sent a few of our dominants to check out the housing and set up as much security as possible.”
I am not sure how people will react to Damon. He is a new alpha and has taken many of the males from other packs. Damon has modern ideas, and most of the others do not. It’s going to be a clash of traditions, and I am not sure Damon is going to budge on anything—and I don't want him to.
“Brantley, I will assign one person to you also. I will not allow anything to happen to you. You will be in the main house with us.” My mate is amazing, so thoughtful.
Olive and Randall will be staying here, keeping an eye on everything.
Everyone else is going. As the alpha’s female, I am required to go so that if couples decide to mate, I am there for the females.
Then each couple will have to decide whether to live with her pack or his pack; hopefully, they come back to ours.
I love every single member of our pack and can’t imagine not having them here.
Living here has made me realize it’s not so good in other packs.
We had it much easier in my old pack—it was not too strict—but the others are a living hell.
If you do something that the elders do not like, you are punished and, in some cases, tortured.
You are stuck in these packs, with no way out unless you beg another alpha to take you in.
The bears are not as bad as the wolf shifters, but they are strict too.
The older packs that come from pure bloodlines are the ones to watch out for.
This is why Damon is such a safe haven!
“We are leaving in an hour. Maverick and Brantley will be in the vehicle with us, and three extra guards will be in the back,” Damon informs all of us. We have a huge-ass Hummer, which is like a steel vault and holds eight people.
I’ve got to admit I am kind of worried because I can’t shift to protect myself anymore. I know that Damon will protect me—I have no doubts about that—but when you’re used to being able to shift anytime, anywhere, and then you can’t? It’s not easy.
“We will be ready.” Maverick walks out of the house to get his bags, and Brantley hands me Aiden. I kiss his forehead; he is so precious.
“I need to finish packing all of the necessities for him, do you mind?” Brantley asks.
“Not at all!” I wave him off and plop my butt on the couch for cuddle time, while Damon runs around the house on the phone, getting everything ready.
Then it’s time to load up the vehicle, with a trail of SUVs behind us. Wolf shifters don't harm women, but the coyotes and the hyenas, on top of Ken—that is what bothers me. I look over at Damon, his grip tight around the steering wheel. He is ready for war, and we are diving into it headfirst.