And they had no say in matings. The ultimate dream was a true mate, but so many of the men here didn’t wait or try to look for one. If they decided they wanted a mate and any woman would do, the women were rounded up for inspection and the man chose the one he wanted. The women had no say.
Kian changed all the rules, made women equal. But though it’d been close to five months, only a few women were coming into their own and embracing the changes, his sister being one of them, to his relief.
But so many had suffered for so long, and it made his protective instincts blare constantly. Even still, it never went this deep. He’d never felt this all-consuming need inside him to help a woman. Until Cady.
That, paired with the insane attraction he felt toward her, should have made what she was obvious to him. And he’d wanted a mate for so long, longed to find his other half and have cubs. But, even with all that, it hadn’t crossed his mind once that she was what she was to him.
Idiot, blind as hell man, table for one, please.
All his thoughts happened in the space of a few moments, and he watched as Cady stepped onto the floor. She began to turn toward the kitchen, and then, like she sensed him, like she was as aware of him as he was of her, her head whipped toward him. Her chocolate brown eyes were surprised, and he thought, as unmanly as something like this sounded, he could get lost in them and never find his way back out.
“Jameson! I didn’t realize you were home. I don’t have dinner ready yet. I thought I had more time. I’m so sorry. Don’t be mad. I was going to make lasagna, but I can whip up something else real fast that doesn’t take as long.”
He frowned as her features filled with worry and she sank her teeth into her bottom lip. It was obvious that she thought he was going to be pissed, and nothing could be further from the truth. He was early, and even if he hadn’t been, he wouldn’t be upset. His tiger was scrabbling in his chest and, needing to reassure her, he took a step forward.
Fear instantly flashed across her face, and she hastily took a step back. Her heel caught on the edge of the rug, and alarm crossed her features as her arms windmilled as she tried to right herself. He could tell in an instant that she wasn’t going to catch her balance.
Touching her probably wouldn’t go over well, but he didn’t have a choice. He couldn’t just stand there while she fell and possibly injured herself. Quick as a lightning strike, he grabbed one of her arms and yanked her forward. She let out an oomph as she came to rest against his chest, not moving a muscle.
Her eyes flicked up and they locked gazes as her mouth parted slightly. The first thing he noticed was the zing of awareness that danced across his skin, the way touching her made every cell on his body sit up and take notice. The second was how incredibly right she felt in his arms, fitting against him perfectly, like their bodies were made for each other.
And the third was the hard swell of her belly, pressed against him. It felt like… but it couldn’t be, right? He hadn’t noticed it before at all, but maybe that was because of those baggy shirts she wore. And it wasn’t her having a little extra padding around her middle. He wouldn’t give two shits if she had it, but the rest of her was so damn skinny, there’s no way she had that much weight on her stomach.
Swallowing painfully around a suddenly dry throat, he tried to wet his lips, willing his voice to work. “Cady, is that—that is, are you… pregnant?”
Eyes widening with horror, she yanked herself out of his arms and carefully backed up a few paces, crossing her arms underneath her breasts. That action pulled her oversized shirt in, and it clung to her belly. And he knew, before she ever spoke, that yes, his mate was pregnant. Fuck, he could be knocked over with a feather right now.
“So what if I am? I can still cook and clean. It doesn’t affect anything,” she said, voice wavering but still defiant.
“I never said it did. That’s really why you said no heavy lifting, isn’t it?”
She shrugged, avoiding his gaze before straightening her shoulders and meeting it straight on. “Yes. I’m sorry I lied to you, but I don’t like to let people know.”
“Are you… I don’t know, embarrassed or ashamed? You shouldn’t be. Having a baby is an amazing thing, a miracle. Congratulations, Cady.”
Her brown eyes softened as she gazed at him. Uncrossing her arms, one hand dropped to her belly, and she caressed it. “Thank you. And no, I’m not ashamed. I love this baby already. It’s just better if not many people know.”
“And that’s why you wear the baggy shirts.”
“Yeah.”
Pursing his lips, he thought things over, and reluctantly asked the question he wasn’t sure he wanted the answer to. “Is the father in the picture? Is that where you’re going, maybe, to meet up with him?”
Her brown eyes widened again and she shook her head a little too vigorously. “No! Hell no. I want nothing to do with him, and I never want him to know. I suspect he does already, but just in case. So you can’t tell anyone. Please, Jameson. No one can know. The more people who know, the more likely it is that it will get back to him if he still doesn’t know.”
Her words all ran together, and then she clamped her mouth shut. Brow furrowing, he studied her, taking in her tense, defensive posture, and the worry in her chocolate eyes. “I won’t say anything, Cady. Don’t worry about that. This is your business to tell or not to tell. But you realize, soon it won’t matter how baggy your shirts are. People are going to notice.”
“I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it, and hopefully be a lot farther away than I am right now.”
She was running from something. Well, someone. His suspicions were correct, on that score, at least. “How far along are you?”
A smile briefly curled her lips up. “Four months, almost five.”
“Do you know what you’re having?”
She gave a quick shake of her head. “No, not yet. I’ll be happy either way, though.”
Her body was still tense, held so tightly he was worried she’d break, and she was nibbling on her bottom lip again. But this time, it didn’t fill him with desire. It only made his worry kick up a notch, made him want to reassure her, take away her worry. As much as he could, anyway.
“I’m sure you will. I was coming to see if I could get your car keys again. I figured I could get the spark plugs changed and a quick shower before dinner. Lasagna, right? That sounds great. One of my favorite dishes.”
Brow furrowing, she studied him, searching his eyes. She slowly relaxed a little as she realized he wasn’t going to press her for more information, that he meant it when he said he wouldn’t tell anyone.
“The keys are on the table by the door. I’ll go get dinner ready. I’m not sure how long it’ll take you to change the plugs, but I think you have enough time. Lasagna takes a bit of time to make.”
He nodded at her and she looked at him for a moment longer before turning, walking to the kitchen.
Well. We wanted cubs, right? This baby isn’t technically a cub, but he will be unofficially, and we won’t love him any less, his tiger said, sounding as dazed as Jameson felt.
Whoa, slow down. They’re not ours yet. It’ll take a lot of hard work to get past her walls.
Then get started already.
Rolling his eyes, Jameson walked to the table and picked up her keys, heading outside. Jesus, it’d been surprise after surprise today. Finding out she was his mate, although really, that probably shouldn’t have been as much of a surprise as it was.
But her being pregnant… fuck. Unlocking her car door, he popped the hood and then walked to his truck that was parked in the grass, so he could get the parts. It’d taken some maneuvering to get it out of the garage back behind the house this morning, but he managed it. He wasn’t trying to get it back in there, though. Parking it in the grass was fine with him.
And he was avoiding his thoughts on her pregnancy like a damned pro. But hell, it knocked him for a fucking loop. He hadn’t expected that at all.
; Unwrapping the package with the plugs, he thought hard about what it all meant, and if it changed his thinking at all. He thought it might bother a lot of men, humans and shifters alike. Especially shifters. Their animals could be fickle, and continuing the line was important. Their own line, their own cubs, their own family.
Not only was this baby not his, but it wasn’t even a shifter at all. But it clearly didn’t bother his tiger, and honestly—it didn’t bother him, either. It didn’t matter a bit that this baby wasn’t a shifter, just like it didn’t matter that Cady wasn’t. And it didn’t matter that it wasn’t his biological child, either. He knew he’d love it just as much as he would a baby that was his own flesh and blood.
So finding out she was pregnant changed absolutely nothing. Except the fact that the urgency he felt to convince her to relax around him, to give him a chance, to stay, was even more potent.
Cady was running from something. No, from someone. Most likely a man, and odds were, the baby’s biological father. His tiger let out a hiss at the word father, and Jameson had to admit, he agreed with his animal. Any man who could inspire the fear Cady tried to hide but couldn’t, the way she was running, who, based on the way she flinched and didn’t like him close to her, who probably abused her somehow, at some point…
He didn’t deserve the honor of that title. He was nothing more than a sperm donor, and that’s what Jameson would call him from here on out.
Living on the run was no way for a woman to live, but it was even more unacceptable when she was pregnant. How did she get prenatal care? What if she was on the road, and something happened? And all that fear, the terror, he could tell she felt, couldn’t be good for the baby.
Not to mention, his suspicions that she hadn’t been eating right. He’d been concerned enough before, but now it felt even more urgent. Growing a baby was hard work, and it took a lot out of a woman. He wasn’t sure if he was remembering right, but he thought he heard someone say once that the baby took what it needed from the mother, whether she could afford to lose it or not. And if she didn’t have it to give at all—well, that sounded like a crisis to him.
He couldn’t force her to eat, couldn’t even out and out mention it, the way things between them stood. And he was heartened by the way she’d been eating since arriving here, although he thought she could handle to eat even more. He’d just make sure he urged her to eat more, starting with lasagna tonight.
He was about to become a food pusher.
Exactly. Anything and everything our mate, and our cub, need, you give it to them, his tiger chimed in.
Jameson exhaled. The baby isn’t a cub, you know. It’s human. Don’t forget that and be disappointed if she’s still here when she gives birth, and it doesn’t have an animal in it.
Semantics, his cat said dismissively. I know it doesn’t have an animal, that it’s human. I’m not stupid. It just doesn’t matter. It’ll still be ours, still be a part of this tribe. Cub is appropriate. And we don’t want to raise it like it’s separate from the rest.
Sometimes, his animal surprised him with how insightful and smart he was. Of course the baby would be his, shifter or not. And it would still be part of the tribe, even with a human status. He never wanted to make the baby feel like it was different than them, or less than. It would still be a War Cat.
If he could get Cady to stay here with him, that is.
Determined to make sure she did, he set about getting the plugs changed. It was time to begin capturing Cady.
Frowning, he shook his head. That wasn’t right at all. It sounded like he was going to take her against her will, whether she wanted him and a life together or not. And he needed for her to want it.
He wanted to win her. That was it. He was about to set about winning Cady, and he was going to give it everything he had.
Chapter Five
Cadence was just setting the lasagna on the table when Tarun came in the back door, looking tired. A moment later, Jameson walked into the kitchen as well, dark hair damp like he just showered. A sudden image of him in the shower, suds slipping down his chest, popped into her mind, and she cursed inside as she shoved it from her thoughts.
A shiver of heat still managed to work its way up her spine despite shutting the image out of her mind as fast as possible. What the hell was the matter with her? This sudden, unexpected desire—for a man she was still wary and skittish of, for cryin’ out loud—was crazy, and unacceptable. She’d never thought she’d want a man again, yet she found herself doing just that with Jameson.
It was pregnancy hormones. That’s all. She’d read that some pregnant women had an increased, overactive sex drive. That’s all this was. It didn’t mean she actually wanted to act on it.
Well, that last part was kind of a lie. But she didn’t have to follow through. Odds were, even if she wanted to, she wouldn’t be able to do it. Desiring him didn’t mean she was suddenly over her deep-seated fear of men.
Setting the pan of lasagna on the table, she turned just in time to watch Tarun kiss her brother’s cheek. She seemed to do that fairly often, mostly when she was coming home or leaving the house. But it made Cadence smile, and she quickly turned to get the tea pitcher to hide it.
She brought to the table, watching as Jameson smiled affectionately, reaching out to ruffle Tarun’s reddish-brown hair. “You and Anaya stayed up way too late, didn’t you?”
Shoving him away, Tarun frowned, but Cadence could see the humor in her blue eyes. “Not really, but we were pretty busy at the store. I’m not used to that much activity, and I’m tired. And sore.”
He shrugged as he held out his sister’s seat. “You’ll get used to it eventually. Did you enjoy it?”
Cadence sat the glasses down on the table and paused, staring at where he was holding her chair out. She didn’t have a reason to decline tonight, and besides, he did it for his sister. Him offering to do it for her was no big deal, not unless she was an idiot and turned it into one. Rounding the table, she stiffly sat down as he pushed the chair in.
There. That wasn’t a big deal at all. He hadn’t even touched her. It was a first, though. No one had ever held a chair out for her.
“I liked it a lot,” Tarun replied, holding out her plate for Jameson to set a slice of lasagna on it. “It was fun, and I felt like I was doing something for myself, ya know? Like I was earning my own keep and being independent. I just wish we’d been allowed to do this sooner, and that the shopkeepers came around quicker about hiring women.”
Narrowing her eyes, she glanced back and forth between brother and sister, confused. He gestured for her to hold out her plate, and she did so, eyes widening over the huge slice he gave her. When she glanced back up, he was giving his sister a look full of warning.
“You weren’t allowed to have a job?” she asked, trying to comprehend it.
Jameson and Tarun exchanged glances, and then he spoke slowly, like he was thinking over his words. “Durga Valley is a very different place, Cady. Far behind the rest of the world. Women’s roles haven’t advanced here in years and years. They were homemakers on the whole, and they didn’t have many rights. And then we got a new… well, I guess you could call him a mayor. He changed things. Gave women the rights they deserve. But it took a bit for women to embrace it, and even longer for the rest of the town to go with it.”
“I can’t imagine not being able to work, which is what I’m getting from what Tarun said a moment ago.”
“It wasn’t fun,” Tarun muttered. Glancing at her brother, she hesitated before she spoke again. “I want to talk to Kian about getting one of the cottages too. I’ve wanted to for a few months, but I hate the thought of you alone here in this huge place.”
His face softened as he looked at his sister and he reached over and put his hand over hers. “You don’t worry about that, kiddo. I’m a grown man. I can handle living here alone. If having your own place is what you want, I support you fully.”
Tarun bit her lip before smiling. “Thanks, Jamie.
I’ll go to the palace after work tomorrow to see if Kian has anything available.”
Cady froze with her glass halfway to her mouth. “Palace? There’s a palace here?”
Pursing his lips, Jameson glanced from her to her untouched lasagna and back. “I’ll talk if you start eating.”
Brow furrowing, she looked at him to see if he was serious, but it sure looked like it. “Okay, fine. But neither one of you have eaten yet, and you should. It’s going to get cold.”
He nodded, but before he could say anything, Tarun moaned. She glanced over to see her chewing slowly, eyes closed with an expression of pleasure on her face. “Oh Lord, this is amazing, Cady. The best lasagna I’ve ever had. You have to try this, Jamie. It’s your favorite, so we’ve eaten a lot of recipes, and this beats them all, hands down.”
Flushing with pleasure, Cady glanced at him as he took his own bite. She hadn’t known lasagna was his favorite food, and she was glad she made it tonight. His eyebrows shot up as he chewed and he looked at her with appreciation. “Tarun’s right. We’ve had a lot of lasagna, and this is by far the best.”
Smiling, she took another bite and stayed quiet as they all ate for a few minutes. But she couldn’t hold her curiosity in for long. “So, I’m eating. Why is there a palace here?”
“Durga was founded by immigrants from India,” Jameson replied, serving himself another helping of lasagna. “It’s rich in Indian culture. We have a palace in that tradition, and all the ruling families have lived there since Durga was founded. Our rulers are basically just that—royalty, at least to us. We have noble families as well, and their homes are done with similar architecture, although they’re nothing as big or grand as the palace.”
She thought the fact that they had royalty and noble families, as well as a palace, was crazy. It was certainly nothing she’d ever come across before. But he just spoke matter-of-factly, like it was all normal and no big deal.
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