Special Delivery: Father's Day: An Mpreg Romance Collection

by Aria Grace

  Suddenly, the crazy idea didn’t seem so crazy.

  The blood trail from the wolf connected right to this one. And went straight into the bathroom, to where a man with the same injury had treated himself. I thought of his reaction when he saw me. Had he recognized me?!

  This was insane.

  I turned slowly and spotted him at the end of the hall. He was leaning against the wall, watching me warily. I swallowed hard.

  “I can treat your wound,” I said. “But it won’t do much good if there is a bullet in it. Is… is the bullet still in there?”

  For a moment, I didn’t think he would answer or that he’d deny it again. He turned his head a bit, as if he couldn’t meet my gaze. “Yes,” he said softly.

  “Are… are you going to… hurt me?” It wasn’t a question I asked often in my line of work. But somehow knowing this guy, as impossible as it seemed, could turn into a wolf…

  Another long pause, followed by an even quieter, albeit firm, “No.”

  He turned to go back to the couch and I heard a gasp of pain as he let go of the wall. I hurried down the hall as he stumbled, just in time to support him. His bare skin was warm beneath my hands and as I helped him back to the couch, I felt like I never wanted to let him go.

  We were both silent as I cleaned the wound, aside from a pained hiss when I sanitized it. Luckily, there were long tweezers in the kit and I was able, with some prodding, to retrieve the bullet. I swallowed nervously as I looked at it to make sure it was whole. It was indeed the same kind as mine. The same kind I fired at the wolf. I carefully packed on some gauze and wrapped his leg. It wasn’t until I was done I noticed a slight bulge under the towel. My mouth went a bit dry and I couldn’t stop myself from imagining his dick. Wondering what he would do if I reached out and… Shit, why on earth was I thinking about that?!

  “Done,” I said softly, pulling away.

  “Thank you,” he whispered.

  I wanted to ask if I was letting my imagination run away with me or if he really had been the wolf. Instead, I offered to get him a drink of water. He nodded and I helped myself to his kitchen. I washed the blood off of my hands and then took a long drink. When I returned, he gratefully gulped down the water.

  I sat down on the other side of the couch. I would have liked to use a different one, but the other couch had boxed and things all over it.

  Maybe I should just ask if he’s really a werewolf and get it over with. I realized I didn’t even know his name yet. “I’m Nathan.”

  He cleared is throat. “Calen. You can uh… I mean, I’ll be fine. Now. You can go. I know it’s late.”

  I shook my head. “I’ll stay and make sure you’re okay. I feel responsible for… for your care.” Besides, I had a sudden strong reluctance to leave.

  Calen considered it, then nodded. “Okay. Thank you.”

  We both jumped at the sound of a ringing phone. I spotted his phone nearby on the floor and retrieved it for him.

  He sighed and answered. “Hey, Dad. Oh, I’m fine. All moved in. Yeah, they came over to help. Oh, I missed your call?” He glanced at his phone, then returned it to his ear. “Sorry, I was uh…” His eyes flicked to me and held my gaze as he said steadily, “I went for a run. Yeah, it’s nice. Listen, Dad, I’ve gotta go. I’m… right in the middle of unpacking. Yeah, bye. Hey, Dad?” His eyes flicked to me again. “I love you. And give Grant my love too. Night.” He set the phone aside, obviously watching me warily.

  “You get service,” I said flatly.

  “I do.”

  “You went for a run? At night?”

  He swallowed and his shoulders stiffened. “Yeah. I did.” It looked like he wanted to add something, instead he turned away and plucked at a string on the towel.

  “I’m… sorry,” I said. Here goes. I took a deep breath. “I didn’t mean to hit you.”

  His eyes met mine and he licked his lips nervously. “It… it’s okay.”

  There it was. He basically had just admitted it, hadn’t he? I wasn’t sure how to respond.

  Calen continued softly, “I’m sorry if I startled you. I was… I was just exploring. Like I said, I just moved in. I didn’t realize I had gotten so close to someone else’s property.”

  “Would you have… attacked me?” I couldn’t resist asking. “If I hadn’t…”

  He shook his head immediately. “No. Of course not.” Calen laughed weakly and muttered, “Wouldn’t waste my turn anyway.”

  “Your turn?” I asked.

  “Nothing. It’s a… it’s a long story.”

  I shrugged. “I’m planning to keep an eye on you all night. Besides it’s not every day you get to talk to a werewolf.” No more tiptoeing around. It was out there now. The question was if he would deny the outright statement.

  At first, I worried he was done talking. Then, he sighed. “Shifter.”

  “What?”

  Calen sighed again and looked at me critically. “I’m a shifter. Not a werewolf.”

  “Oh.”

  We sat in silence for a while. I felt like I must have been crazy, but the blood trail and the bullet wound were proof. This was really happening. And, as I had said, how often did you really get to talk to a guy who turned into a wolf?!

  “So, what’s your turn?” I asked. “How would you waste it?”

  I could tell Calen was considering answering, so I waited, trying to be patient. He picked at the edge of his towel for a few seconds. “So, I’m a uh… an alpha. That means I can change humans into shifters.” It wasn’t as if that hadn’t occurred to me, but I still felt surprised hearing it. “But we are only legally allowed to do it once. If I attacked you, I could have done it accidentally. And then I would have wasted it.”

  “Oh.” Now I had a million more questions. “Are you… saving it?”

  “Yes. For my true mate.”

  “What’s a true mate?”

  Calen leaned back with a sigh. An almost happy smile crossed his face. “A gift,” he murmured.

  3

  Calen

  I didn’t know how I found myself in this situation. One minute I was certain the guy knocking on my door was going to shoot me, and the next I was sitting on my couch near him, telling him all about true mates. It wasn’t the best idea to tell him all about shifters, but with the full moon coming up soon, his memory of me would magically be wiped. I could jog it again if I so wished, but as long as I was careful, he’d find it harder and harder to remember after each moon until, after thirteen, it would be erased for good.

  As I finished up, I found myself yawning.

  “You should get some rest,” Nathan said. “You are recovering, after all.”

  “I heal fast,” I said. I don’t know what possessed me, but I added, “I uh… I do heal faster in wolf form.”

  His eyes widened in surprise. “Are you going to change?”

  No. I really, really shouldn’t. And yet… I felt oddly safe with this human. Sure, he shot me, but it was an accident. And he seemed genuinely interested in what I had been telling him. But still…

  “You won’t shoot me again, right?”

  “Of course not.”

  I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and started to shift. I knew the moment it became obvious, when Nathan jumped off the couch in surprise, watching me in fascination. His face softened in concern when I whined as my leg changed.

  The bandage fell away from my much smaller leg and once I was finished shifting I leaned down to lick the wound. I quickly stopped at the foul taste of the medicine, but it seemed like it was healing nicely. I knew now it would be much faster.

  “Wow,” Nathan breathed. “It’s not that I didn’t believe you before but… wow.” He reached out a hand, then stopped.

  ‘You can pet me, it’s okay.’ He jumped a mile at my voice echoing in his head and I chuckled. ‘Sorry.’

  “That’s fine. I just wasn’t expecting you to uh, talk.” He slowly lifted his hand again and gently touched my back, well away fro
m the wound. “You’re so soft.”

  My tongue lolled out in a smile and my tail thumped of its own accord as he pet me. I yawned and stretched a bit.

  “I believe I mentioned rest…” he teased.

  ‘I’ll change back if I fall asleep. But, you probably have a good point.’ I put my head down on the arm of the couch and closed my eyes. I don’t know why, but I trusted him. I felt the far cushion sink as he sat back down.

  ‘Sorry my TV isn’t hooked up yet.’

  “That’s okay, I’ll probably try to doze a bit too.”

  ‘Thank you. Really.’

  I opened my eyes and found myself face to face with some sort of green fabric. I blinked and tried to figure out where I was. I realized in alarm that sometime in the night I had flipped over and my head was now resting on Nathan’s lap! And something… oh wow. He had an erection tented up right against my cheek.

  As I wondered how to sit up without disturbing him, I realized his arm was draped over my and our fingers were entwined. Jeez, was I this hard up for companionship?

  He groaned and lifted his head. Nathan frowned at me a moment, then his eyes widened. “Oh!”

  I jerked upright. “Sorry!” I winced, I was totally on top of the towel and naked. And my dick was more than a little hard.

  “It’s okay.” He started to cover his erection, then sat back like he didn’t want to draw attention to it. “Um…” His eyes went to my bare one, and then quickly away. “How’s your leg?”

  For an answer, I leaned to the side so he could see the scarred over wound.

  “Whoa,” Nathan gasped. “It’s… gone!”

  I nodded. “I told you it would heal quickly.”

  “You weren’t kidding.” I didn’t miss the way his eyes darted to my erection and then away again.

  I recalled one of my cousin’s true mates saying how awkward all the naked shifter times were and knew humans weren’t always as comfortable with our penchant for forgetting about clothes. “I should get dressed,” I said, standing.

  I underestimated sleeping on the couch on a healing leg and stumbled as I put my weight on it. Nathan lunged forward and caught me.

  “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah, yeah. Just stiff.”

  I looked up and found myself nose to nose with him. I wanted to look away, but couldn’t. We both froze. I felt his fingers tighten around my arm and could swear his breath quickened. As one, we leaned closer and closer until our lips met.

  The kiss was explosive.

  Nathan tasted of spices and sweetness and earth. I grabbed him with both hands and kissed harder. He released my arm and wrapped his around my back, pulling me closer. I gasped as my bare erection rubbed into his thigh and he took the opportunity to thrust his tongue into my mouth. I eagerly twisted mine around it, tasting him. His fingers tangled in my hair, tugging me even closer to him, then he trailed them down my cheek, and my neck, and across my collarbone. A blinding burst of pleasure shot through me and I jerked back with a cry.

  “What?” he gasped. “Did I hurt you? Is it your leg?”

  “No, it felt… amazing. It…” My breath caught and I slowly reached up to where his fingers had been. One, tiny spot above my collarbone. Right where my true mate would mark me. Was I mistaken or was it aching? I rolled my shoulder. Yes, yes I was sore.

  No freaking way. Slowly, I reached out and brushed my fingers along his. Nathan gasped and clapped a hand to it.

  “Jesus,” he gasped. “What was… isn’t…” He swallowed hard, eyes boring into mine. “Didn’t you say something about shoulders and true mates?”

  I nodded, unable to speak.

  “Does.. does this mean you… I mean… we…”

  I nodded again.

  “W-what do we do now?”

  “I uh…” I knew. All shifters dreamed of this moment. Instead I just stared at him like an idiot for a moment. “I get permission to change you. If… if you want to… and then we claim each other and uh…”

  “Live happily ever after?” he teased.

  “Yes,” I breathed.

  Funny. If I had known last night he was my true mate I would have explained it all differently. And yet, he knew now. No awkward explanations or trying to get through it while silently begging him to accept it. It was all already out there.

  “Yes,” he repeated.

  “Yes?” I asked, hoping, praying.

  For an answer, he kissed me again.

  4

  Nathan

  What a weird, weird weekend.

  I chuckled to myself. It was about to get stranger. What started off as a peaceful evening walk turned into tracking an injured wolf, caring for him after he became human, and then a day spent cuddling and talking and falling impossibly, madly in love.

  I still felt like I was caught up in some crazy whirlwind, and yet it was exhilarating. More like a roller coaster. Scary. Fast. Jarring, even. But so fun. I’d line up and go back on in a heartbeat.

  Calen said true mates were put together by fate and I certainly believed it. Why else had we spent an hour talking all about true mates and shifters, only to realize we were true mates? It was easy to agree to be changed and claimed. It all sounded too good to be true, and yet he was a wolf. He had no reason to lie to me. I was used to making split-second decisions that could result in life or death and, well, this one was easy.

  After an intimidating visit from a member of the Alpha Parliament, who gave him permission to change me, he had done it and we claimed each other.

  And now…

  I slowed as I came to the edge of his property. Even after two days the faint scent of his blood still lingered in the air. I sensed him as he loped up behind me. He bumped me, gently, and I turned and nipped playfully at him. We romped around the yard as I reveled in the amazing feeling of being a wolf.

  Soon, we were on the porch, still using any excuse to touch each other. We shifted back at the same time; I took just a few seconds longer. And then, we were standing there naked. I could see the bite on his shoulder. It looked painful, but I knew it didn’t hurt. My own bite felt tingly, almost pleasurable.

  Calen pulled me close and we shared a kiss that put our first to shame. And here I thought he was exaggerating when he said everything would be more intense after we claimed each other. Just the touch of his lips left me trembling. My skin seemed to dance with pleasure everywhere his hands roved. My dick strained and I moved forward until it bumped his and he gasped.

  We nipped at each other’s lips and our tongues dueled. We weren’t even going to make it inside at this rate. He had a knot, he warned me. Something that happened to alphas with their true mates, so he didn’t want to have sex until I was changed. It hadn’t mattered. We had already traded blow jobs and hand jobs in probably every room of the house. I supposed it was only a matter of time before we christened the back porch.

  He reached down and wrapped his hand around both of our dicks and started stroking. I pulled him close to me and thrust my tongue deeper into his mouth. I twisted his hair in my fingers, unwilling to allow him to pull away. My other hand grasped his shoulder in a solid grip. Alphas, according to him, were usually supposed to be the bigger mate, he didn’t seem to mind he wasn’t.

  I stifled a gasp as his finger prodded my ass unexpectedly.

  “Cutting right to the chase?” I teased.

  “I want you,” he growled against my lips. “I want to mate you.” He moved and nipped my ear, then breathed, “I want to knot you and feel you around me as I come.”

  I moaned in response and ground my ass back against his finger. “Do it.”

  He kissed me fiercely, roughly. I wrapped my arms around him and basked in the onslaught of kisses, gasping as a second finger joined the first. As we kissed, he maneuvered to a chair and sat down, pulling me with him. Calen turned me around and then drew me back against him. His dick rubbed against my ass and I moaned. I realized that I could feel the sensation of rubbing my own penis against something
and grinned. Guess he wasn’t exaggerating about how we’d be able to share pleasure after claiming each other.

  Calen wrapped a hand around my dick and gasped as he stroked. “This is amazing.”

  “Mmm,” I agreed, not sure if I could even speak.

  “Ready?”

  “Mm-hmm.”

  Calen chuckled, then gently began to press himself into me. I exhaled and shuddered as his dick began to fill me. I waited a moment, adjusting to it, then slowly pulled away, then back. He grabbed me by the hips and encouraged me to do it again. Then again. And again. Soon I was rocking back and forth as fast as I could. One of his arms wrapped around my chest to support me. He kissed and nipped at my neck as I writhed on his lap. Then, he reached up his other hand and started jerking me off again. Combined with the pleasure I was feeling through him, I felt almost overwhelmed.

  Suddenly, I felt myself stretching even more. His thrusts became shorter and each time I sat forward, something seemed to tug me back. It was his knot, I realized. The pleasure mounted and Calen howled against my neck. I threw back my head and cried out as I came in a rush.

  I sagged back against him, warm and content. After a few moments, I tried to stand and was tugged right back down. His dick was stuck in me.

  “Um…” I began.

  “Knots take a little while,” Calen said. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close. “Sorry.”

  I wiggled a bit until I could rest my head against his. “There are worse places to be stuck.”

  He kissed me on the cheek and hugged me.

  About one surreal, wonderful week later, I woke up with the urge to pee. Somewhere between the bed and the bathroom I realized I was starving. I wasn’t thinking as I headed down to the kitchen for some food. It was only halfway through a piece of bread – plain bread, that I didn’t even bother toasting – that I realized it was four in the morning.