Carter went back downstairs to the entrance hall.
He hesitated, unsure what his next move should be. Should he jump on his bike and ride around town, see if anyone had spotted her? But she barely knew anyone in town, and definitely didn’t trust anyone else yet. Not that she should have trusted him. He’d not told her the whole truth, and he knew she’d be hurt and angry. No, she wouldn’t still be in town. She’ll have done what she was doing when she first came into his life.
She’d have run.
He needed to find her. She shouldn’t be out, alone, so heavily pregnant. Anything could happen.
There was one way he knew how to find her. Her scent had been the thing that had drawn him to her in the first place, and he knew he’d be able to follow it again now.
Without waiting another second, Carter called to his wolf.
He didn’t even bother to undress as the change began to happen. His body morphed into the shape of the big, black wolf, leaving his clothes in shredded rags. He shook the remnants from his body, pieces of material flying in every direction. He’d left the front door standing open when he’d come in search of Piper, so he leaped through the open doorway, a single bound taking him from the front porch down onto the street.
As a rule, the shifters didn’t change while in town. Here, they lived almost as humans would, and it was only when they were back in the wild that they morphed into their wolf form. So, to see a large wolf bounding through the streets would have been a rare sight to the townspeople, and to see it was their alpha himself was sure to get tongues wagging. Carter didn’t care about gossips at that moment; they could say whatever the hell they wanted. His sole focus was finding Piper.
The scent of her, that same vanilla and just-out-of-the-oven cupcake aroma that he’d caught on the first day, still spoke to him. It appeared in an almost visible track, like a jet stream across a bright blue sky. If she’d caught transport at any point, he’d lose the trail, so he prayed she’d remained on foot.
He moved fast, nose to the ground. She’d not headed toward Main Street, but had instead gone in the opposite direction, leaving the streets and houses in favor of the forest that surrounded them. As a species, they found being lost within nature soothing to their souls. It was only their human side that made them want to build walls and roofs to shelter within. Even in her condition, he guessed it was only natural for a shifter to want to be back with the natural world. Just because she’d not been able to shift and he hadn’t even seen her in wolf form, didn’t mean she didn’t still long to be during times of difficulty. He hated that he’d been the one to cause her such upset.
He kept running, tracking her scent. Going into the forest reduced the chance that she’d caught a ride with someone. He hoped she wouldn’t have taken the risk of crossing moving water. Not only would it be dangerous, he might also lose her scent.
She was heavily pregnant and in human form. She couldn’t have gotten far.
His sensitive ears pricked, picking up the sound of gasped breaths and moans of pain. She must be close. He moved faster, his paws pounding the forest floor. Hot air snorted from his nostrils, shoulders bunched as he ran, his tail flat. His heart galloped in his chest. Something was wrong, he could tell from the sounds she made, and not just that. Her scent had changed. That sweet, vanilla fragrance was overlaid by something else. Something darker, earthier.
Carter came across her suddenly, forcing him to skid to a halt. She’d managed to find shelter against a fallen tree trunk, and now sat on the ground, her back pressed up against it. Her legs were spread wide in front of her. Her skin was even paler than normal, her white-blonde hair matted against her face with sweat. She was panting, her eyes wild in her head.
She looked up and saw him, and relief spread across her face.
“The baby,” she managed between gasps. “The baby is coming.”
He wouldn’t be able to help in wolf form. Taking a couple of steps away, he lowered his head and willed his transformation back to human.
He was naked again, but that didn’t matter.
Carter dropped to his knees beside her. “Shit, Piper. What can I do? Can you make it back to town?”
“No, I can’t. No time.”
“No time? You mean the baby is coming?”
She nodded, tears in her eyes. She looked terrified and in pain, and he wished he could do something to ease her suffering. She suddenly clenched her jaw and put her chin down. She grabbed for his hand, and, when she took it, she squeezed it hard enough to make him worry about bones shattering. A low moan emanated from the back of her throat.
Shit, that was a contraction.
“Can I get the midwife to come here?” he asked, trying not to panic.
“No, there’s not enough time,” she managed when she could talk again. “I can already feel the baby coming.”
Fuck, fuck, fuck. He didn’t have any choice. He needed to help her deliver the baby. He didn’t think anything had ever truly frightened him his whole life. Maybe when he’d lost his parents, and had wondered how he was going to be alpha for the whole town, but even then it hadn’t been anything like this kind of fear. He was terrified he’d do something wrong and hurt either Piper or the baby. What if he killed her child? How would they ever get past that?
He shook his fears away. Self doubt wasn’t going to help Piper.
“We need to get your pants off, Piper,” he said. “I need to be able to see what’s going on.”
She shook her head. “No, no. Don’t touch me.”
“I have to.”
He eased his hands beneath her and carefully pulled her sweatpants, together with her underwear, down from her waist, over her bottom, and down over her thighs. He threw them away, and then grabbed the bag she’d brought with her. He found one of the big t-shirts she’d been hanging around the house in, and draped it across her lap to cover her modesty. He wasn’t sure she even cared at this point, too lost in pain and fear to give any thought to what he was seeing.
“I need to see what’s going on,” he told her, pressing her thighs apart with his hands. She gave another moan and shifted down farther, spreading her legs and allowing him to see.
There was a swelling between her thighs, a bulge where there normally wouldn’t be one. It was the top of the baby’s head already. He’d thought he be able to see hair, but there still seemed to be a membrane around the baby. It was the waters; they still hadn’t burst. The baby was about to be born still inside the bag of waters. He had no idea what he should do.
Piper gave another cry of pain, gritting her teeth and pressing her chin down to her chest. More of the top of the baby’s head became visible as she pushed.
“It’s coming,” he cried. “The baby’s coming.”
“I know it’s fucking coming,” she yelled back when the contraction had passed. “I can feel every single inch of it.”
Carter decided it was probably best not to say anything after that. He wanted to encourage her, but figured telling her to push was probably going to get a similar reaction. Instead, he waited, allowing Piper’s body to do what it needed.
She had another couple of contractions, more of the head appearing each time, and then the baby arrived, slithering out from between Piper’s legs. Carter tore the membrane from the baby’s face, and was rewarded with a gush of water. He was sure it was supposed to be lucky for a baby to be born in such a way, but he wasn’t concerned with that right now.
Already, Piper was recovering, sitting up to look down at the newborn.
“Is it okay? Why isn’t it breathing?” she cried.
He used his finger to remove the rest of the membrane from the baby’s face and quickly rubbed at the small body with a t-shirt. The baby was blue, but the moment he started rubbing, it opened its mouth and sucked in a lungful of air. On the exhale, a loud cry filled the forest.
Piper clamped her hand to her mouth. “Oh, thank God.”
Carter looked up at her. “It’s a boy, Piper. You
have a son.”
They stared at each other in amazement. Tears trembled in her blue eyes, and a painful lump choked Carter’s throat as the enormity of what had just happened washed over him.
The baby was still attached to her via the umbilical cord.
“Dammit,” he said, looking around. “I don’t have anything to cut the cord with.”
“There’s a knife in the bag. I took it for protection.”
He didn’t want to think about how frightened she must have been to pack a knife, but he was grateful for it now. Way beyond any squeamishness, he cut the cord, separating the two of them.
Carter wrapped the baby in a sweater, bundling him up so only his tiny face peeped out, and then he handed the baby boy to his mother. Piper clutched the baby to her chest and burst into tears.
He pulled them both into his arms and held them, kissing Piper’s head, then her eyes, her cheeks, her mouth. “I’m so sorry,” he said. “I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you the truth.”
She shook her head. “Not now, Carter. It’s okay, but we can do this later.”
She was right.
He stared down at the tiny pink baby in Piper’s arms, and then reached out and touched the child’s fingers. The baby’s fist opened and then closed around Carter’s digit, such miniscule fingers with a strong grip and perfect clam-shells of fingernails. He gazed down in wonder, and then the baby opened his eyes and looked right back at him. Dark blue eyes exactly the same color and shape as Piper’s.
And the alpha’s heart ballooned with unexpected love.
Chapter Sixteen
SHE’D NEVER BEEN SO relieved to see anyone in her life when Carter found her.
By that time, she had already realized she’d made a stupid mistake. She should have stayed and talked things out with him instead of running away. That hadn’t solved anything and could have cost her baby his life.
Carter helped her dress while she held the baby to her chest. She thought she was supposed to try to nurse straight after birth, or do skin-to-skin contact, but none of those things was as important as getting them somewhere safe and warm.
She held her baby and Carter held her as he walked them back through the forest, toward town. She was a mess, her clothes bloodied, her hair damp with sweat, but Carter hadn’t so much as flinched at the sight of her. Maybe he hadn’t been completely truthful with her, and he had his reasons for that, but the way he’d handled things during her child’s birth had shown her the measure of the man he was.
They walked back into town, Carter half-carrying her most of the way. One of the younger male pack members spotted them, his eyes widening.
“Go and get Felicia,” he instructed the terrified young man. “Tell her to meet us at my house. Tell her Piper has had the baby.”
The man nodded and ran off in the direction of Felicia’s house. Piper would be glad to see the older woman. From the way the baby nuzzled and mewled in her arms, she was sure he was fine, but she’d be reassured to have them both checked over by someone who knew what they were doing.
They made it back to the house, and Carter helped her upstairs. Just as he’d done on the first day he’d found her, he ran her a bath. She knew there was no time for long soaks any more—not for another few years anyway—so dipped in enough to wash the blood and sweat from her body, while Carter held the baby. Already, her shifter genetics were coming into play, and she could feel herself healing. The blood flow had already slowed, her deflated stomach already beginning to shrink. It would take a few days, maybe even a week or more, but soon enough she’d be back to her old self.
She dared to think forward to the future, to when the baby was old enough for them to shift together. Long runs through the forest, teaching him to hunt, to be fast and strong, and a love she’d never experienced before surged through her. She glanced over to where Carter held the baby, and that love swelled to create a bubble, encasing Carter as well.
Maybe things weren’t perfect. Maybe they were messy and complicated, but they were real, and that was what was important. She couldn’t predict the future and know they would make it, and they both had a lot of talking to do, but she knew she loved this man.
She just hoped he felt the same way about her.
The doorbell rang.
“That’ll be Felicia,” Carter said. “I’ll bring her up.”
He left the room, leaving her alone with her son. She gazed down into the boy’s perfect face, amazed that he’d been growing inside her all this time. She stroked his cheek, soft as satin.
“So, you’re the one who’s been kicking me, huh?” she said softly. The baby blinked back at her, and she realized she hadn’t even thought of a name.
Carter reappeared with Felicia by his side. The older woman smiled kindly as she walked through. “Well, that all happened a bit fast,” she said.
Piper nodded. “Yes. I definitely wasn’t expecting to give birth in the middle of the forest.”
Her smile broadened. “Our kind has been doing it for centuries. Maybe your baby wanted nature to be the first thing he saw when he was born.”
She appreciated Felicia’s kindness, not berating her for being so stupid and going out there alone in the first place.
“Now, let’s check the little guy over.”
She held out her arms for the baby, and Piper handed him over, already missing the feel of his warm little body in her arms.
“Has he tried to nurse yet?” Felicia asked as she checked him over.
Piper shook her head. “No, I haven’t even tried.”
“Well, he looks perfect. I think that’s the best thing to start with.”
Carter cleared his throat. “I’ll give you some privacy.”
Felicia turned to look over her shoulder at him. “No, don’t be silly. It’s perfectly natural for the father to be around while the baby is nursing.”
Of course. The rest of the pack now believed their alpha had a son. Would she be the one to destroy all of that with a few simple words? She found she couldn’t.
Piper nodded. “Yes, stay. We both want you to stay.”
They exchanged a smile, and Carter stepped closer to take her hand.
Felicia handed the baby back again, and Piper released Carter’s hand so she could rearrange her clothing to try to feed her son. She wasn’t embarrassed to expose herself with Carter there—after all, he’d already seen far more than she’d ever had a man see of her, even the man she now thought of as her ex-husband.
She sucked in a breath as the baby’s mouth clamped around her swollen nipple. Felicia gave her a smile of understanding. “It’ll get easier,” she reassured her. “It’s always hardest at the start.”
“Thank you.”
“Now, I’ll leave you to it. You look like you could use a little family time.”
It was Carter’s turn to thank her.
“You’re welcome. I didn’t do anything, really. You all did the hard work.”
The midwife left the room, so they were once again alone. The three of them.
“What do we do now?” Carter asked.
She looked into his eyes. “What do you want to do?”
“I want you to stay.” He nodded toward the small bundle at her breast. “I know this isn’t normally how families work, but I can’t imagine continuing my life with you not in it, and now he’s here, too, it all just feels... right.”
“I wish you’d told me about the covenant about you needing to produce an heir. Things would have made a lot more sense then.”
A couple of lines appeared between his brows. “How so?”
“Because I could never quite figure out why you want to look after me the way you did, but then, when I learned that you needed a baby to keep your position as alpha, it all fell into place.”
He shook his head. “That wasn’t the reason I wanted to take care of you, Piper. The first moment I saw you, I was crazy about you. I didn’t even know you were pregnant, and by the time I did, I had already fallen head
over heels. Yes, I should have told you about the covenant, but I was worried you’d think I was using you because of the baby, and in the end that was exactly what you did think, and you ran.”
She glanced away, ashamed. “I know. I shouldn’t have run. It was stupid and immature of me. I should have stayed so we could have talked it out.”
“But nothing has changed, Piper. You mean everything to me, and now, so does this little guy. I don’t care about being alpha if it would mean losing both of you. I’ll give it up, my position and this house.”
Something bloomed in her chest. “You mean that?”
“With every inch of my soul.”
She sniffed and nodded, and then he leaned in and kissed her, softly at first, then with more passion, ending with a promise that there would be more to come when the time was right.
“He needs a name,” she said when the kiss broke. “Our boy needs a name.”
“Any ideas?” he asked with a smile.
“I always liked Theo. What do you think?”
“Theo,” he repeated, as though testing the sound of it in his mouth. “Yes, I like it. It suits our boy.”
“A son,” she smiled. “We have a son.”
Chapter Seventeen
DAYS AND WEEKS PASSED, and they fell into a routine of sorts, at least as much of a routine as it was possible to have with a newborn.
Despite her bitterness, Kimberly hadn’t said anything to the rest of the pack about her suspicions about Theo’s paternity. To the outside world, they looked like the perfect family, and, if it weren’t for that little thing of genetics, they would have been, too. They’d had a stream of visitors bringing gifts for Theo, and though they’d only had the basics ready for him when he’d been born, within a matter of days he had more stuffed toys and clothes than he could ever need. The pack had also accepted Piper, though a couple of people were noticeably absent. Carter couldn’t blame Kimberly for still feeling bitter, though he hoped Liam wasn’t going to cause him problems. He knew the other shifter had had his eye on his spot as alpha, but now that Theo had been born, it changed everything.
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