Chapter 8
LEYTON
Other than the quick text I’d fired off to my brother letting him know that I’d found my mate and needed someone to pick up my truck, I hadn’t been in contact with Keane since I left the barbecue to get Cressida to the hospital in time to give birth to Andrew.
As his beta, we usually talked every day, so I wasn’t surprised when he started to blow up my phone the day after I took off with Evette.
“You need to answer that before it breaks,” Evette mumbled into the pillow her face was pressed against.
I brushed a kiss over her mating mark, smirking as goose bumps popped over her skin. “Don’t tell me that my sweet science nerd believes in spontaneous combustion?”
“No,” she grumbled, rolling over to glare at me.
“But I understand the law of physics well enough to know that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Which your poor phone will discover when I throw it against that wall to make the incessant ringing finally stop. You wore me out last night, and I need my rest so my brain won’t be fuzzy this afternoon.
I’d hate for my first impression to be a bad one. ”
“Sorry, baby.” I gave her a quick kiss before grabbing my cell, skimming Keane’s texts before I called him back.
“Finally,” he growled, not bothering with a greeting.
“You gotta tone down the texts and calls. My mate is trying to sleep.”
“You sent me to voicemail just so you could say that, didn’t you?” he accused. “As payback for all the times I’ve had to warn everyone about not waking Atlas up.”
I shook my head with a laugh. “No, but I’ll have to keep that in mind for the future. How is my nephew? Has he grown an inch since I last saw him?”
“It’s only been two days,” he reminded me.
“Yeah, but he’s at that stage where he seems to be hitting a milestone every week.”
“True,” he conceded.
“Is he awake?”
“Would I be blowing up your phone if he was still asleep?” Keane scoffed.
I jabbed my finger against the screen to request that we switch to a video call. “Then I want to see him and introduce his favorite uncle’s mate to him.”
My brother’s face appeared on the screen, and Evette squealed as she dove under the blankets. “You have to give me at least some warning before you do stuff like that.”
“Sorry, baby.” Turning the phone’s camera toward the wall while ignoring Keane’s laughter, I grabbed my discarded shirt from the floor and handed it to her. “I’m not used to having anyone in bed with me and didn’t think before I changed the call over.”
“You better not be,” she muttered, making me grin at her small display of possessiveness.
“Laina, you gotta see this,” Keane called. “Leyton is already totally whipped by his mate.”
I didn’t take offense at his ribbing. It was ingrained in shifters to cater to their mates, so I decided it was a compliment. “I definitely am.”
Evette shot me a smile as she pulled my shirt over her head and ran her fingers through her hair.
“Hey.” Hearing the feminine voice, I turned the phone toward us again. Laina appeared on the screen next to my brother, and she had my nephew strapped to her chest. His eyes were closed, and his cheek was buried in her cleavage. “Oh my gosh, I get to talk to Evette!”
“Hi,” my mate replied, her cheeks turning pink as she gave them an awkward wave.
Laina smiled, practically vibrating with excitement. “I can’t wait to meet you in person. Cressida had such good things to say about you.”
Keane nodded. “Thank you for taking great care of her while she was giving birth.”
My mate waved off the compliment and gratitude. “It was nothing. I was just doing my job.”
“Why am I not surprised by how humble you are?” Laina asked just as Atlas’s eyes started to blink open. He stared at the screen for a moment before letting out a loud wail.
Keane reached over to unstrap his son. “Uh-oh, our little beast is up, and he sounds hungry.”
“Sorry, guys,” Laina apologized. “We better run.”
“No worries,” I assured her with a smile. “I know how demanding my nephew can be. Just like his father.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Keane muttered.
“Was there anything you needed to talk to me about?”
“Nah, just wanted to be a pest, like I promised myself I would do when you found your mate,” he admitted before disconnecting the video call.
“Your nephew is the cutest.” Evette let out a dreamy sigh.
“Unlike his father,” I grumbled.
Evette playfully swatted my arm with a laugh. “How old is he?”
“Nine months, and they recently found out they’re expecting another.
” Chuckling, I raked my fingers through my hair.
“And by found out, I mean that I told Laina that she was pregnant while my brother was out of town on pack business. He was pissed when he got back and promised to get even, so don’t be surprised if he tries to send me away to take care of shit he could do in the hope that he can return the favor at some point in the future. ”
Her eyes narrowed, and she crossed her arms over her chest. “I don’t understand. Why did you know your sister-in-law was pregnant before your brother?”
“Not for any of the reasons running through your suspicious mind right now,” I reassured her, brushing my lips against her forehead to smooth her brow.
“My sense of smell is good enough that I tracked you all the way to that no-name hotel yesterday. That is also how I was able to scent Laina’s pregnancy before she realized she was carrying another cub. ”
The tension eased from her shoulders as she shook her head. “I feel like I’m always saying this…but that is incredibly cool even though it shouldn’t be possible.”
“Welcome to my world.” I winked at her. “It’s unusual, but at least it’s cool.”
“Does that mean if we…um…get pregnant, you’ll be able to tell right away?”
I loved how she stumbled over her words when she wasn’t sure what she wanted to say. It was so fucking adorable, especially combined with the pretty pink blush on her cheeks. “Not if but when.”
“Pardon?” she asked.
“Unless you don’t want kids, I fully intend for us to have babies together.” I dropped my palm over her belly. “If I had my way, you’d already be pregnant. It only takes one time, you know.”
She snorted and rolled her eyes. “I am well aware of how babies are made.”
“I assumed you were, being a nurse.” My inner animal puffed his chest in pride when my teasing earned us a laugh.
“I learned that way before nursing school,” she chided. “But I guess I can’t make any assumptions since the normal rules have already flown out the window on so many things when it comes to shifters compared to humans.”
I wagged my brows. “At least you won’t have to worry about one of us needing to run out to grab a pregnancy test when you miss your period. We’ll already know that you’re carrying my cub.”
“That will be quite convenient.” She twined her arms around my neck and smiled up at me. “Especially since I’ve always wanted a big family. Being an only child sucked, especially with my parents gone.”
“We can have as many as you want,” I promised, determined to give her everything she’d ever wanted.