The Bear Project

by Doris O'Connor

  "May I?" he finally asked.

  "Wh-what?"

  "May I say hello to my baby?"

  "Oh, right, err, yes sure, what…"

  Words failed her when Cole dropped to his knees in front of her and placed his large hands on her abdomen. He tugged her pajama top up until he exposed her belly, and all the air left her lungs when he inhaled against her skin. He stayed like that for the longest time, not moving. The puffs of hot air against her abdomen were the only movement in the room, until he kissed her and whispered something unintelligible to her belly.

  Warmth spread through her body, and she tingled from top to toe. Cole straightened, and she could have sworn she saw the sheen of unshed tears in his eyes, before he blinked and the moment was lost.

  "Thank you, sugar."

  Emmi had to clear her throat several times before she could respond.

  "You're not going to impart your wisdom as to what I'm going to have then? After all everyone else has had a shot."

  Cole smiled, and he seemed to grow an inch in front of her as his eyes flashed to his bear's.

  "You have a very strong little bear in there, sugar, and I want you to know that I heard everything you said to me. I will give you all the time you need to make sure you can trust me, but know this. You are mine, and I will do everything in my power to claim you. You and me, sugar, we belong together, and the sooner you realize that, the better it will be for all of us. I'm here to stay."

  Chapter Thirteen

  That conversation still replayed itself in Emmi's mind a week later, as she sat in the coffee shop waiting for Maria to show up. Cole had left soon after that declaration, and whilst he'd stuck to his promise to give her time and space, she'd nonetheless felt his presence.

  She'd opened her door the next morning to a delivery of fresh flowers with a note written in his bold writing that she'd so often admired at work.

  Morning, sugar. I've arranged for your car to be towed to a local garage, and I've taken the liberty of hiring a car for you. Please use it. I want you both safe.

  Cole

  She ought to have been annoyed at his taking over like that, but in truth all she'd felt was relief. Her transport problems would be one less thing to worry about. Getting anywhere other than London Zoo by public transport would be nigh on impossible to achieve, and part of Emmi's job was to flit between the ZSL sites. Working for The Zoological Society of London was Emmi's dream job, but it did require her flexibility, and car troubles were the last thing she needed.

  Every morning since then, Emmi had found a single white rose on her doormat. Cole never made any reference to them when they met at work, but when she decided to wear one in her hair, his sinful grin had made her want to jump him there and then. She hadn't, of course, but every day that passed, had her more in a dither than the day before.

  Apparently she was one of those women who got hornier the more her pregnancy progressed. A completely normal reaction according to Doc Wilson. Emmi had phoned her in exasperation one morning after a particularly bad night of erotic dreams that had left her a sweating unfulfilled mass of overactive hormones that no amount of self-induced orgasms could cure. Any relief was short lived and flared into an inferno of lust the minute Cole was near.

  Maria had likened them to a pair of rabid animals.

  "Jump the man already and get it over with. You both do exactly the same thing when you sense each other. You go tense, and you sniff the air. Yes, you, too, Emmi. See, you don't even realize you're doing it, do you?"

  Emmi had been mortified at this revelation, and just thinking about it now her cheeks flamed. She also scented Maria seconds before she heard her. Her increased sense of smell and sensitive hearing was something she was slowly getting used to—a byproduct of carrying a shifter baby—according to the literature Doc Wilson had told her to look up in that phone call.

  She'd also echoed Maria's frank advice.

  "Go and get laid, my dear. Sex is good for you. It increases blood flow and thus oxygen to your uterus and placenta, and all those feel good hormones will have you nicely relaxed, and thus make your baby happy, also. If your baby's father were here, I'd tell him that, too. In fact, that's my prescription for you. Lots of mind-blowing orgasms, and good old fashioned dirty sex with your mate. You're too tense, and you worry too much."

  Emmi had hung up the phone, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

  "Hey, baby mama, what's the long face for?" Maria plonked herself in the chair opposite from her with her usual bubbly exuberance, and grinned at her. "Still not had any then, I take it."

  "Maria!" Emmi glanced around the crowded coffee shop, but none of the other patrons seemed to pay them any heed. Thank goodness.

  "Do you have to be so loud?" Emmi glared at her impossible work colleague who had become a firm friend over the last few weeks, but Maria just shrugged her shoulders and giggled. Come to think of it, Maria's heightened color, fast heartbeat, and increased scent made Emmi suspicious. She slid the coffee she'd purchased for her across the table toward her.

  "This is probably stone cold by now. What took you so long? No, let me guess, getting some, where you?"

  To Emmi's amazement Maria blushed and wouldn't look at her. She mumbled something under her breath that Emmi couldn't quite catch, and then gulped the coffee down in one go.

  "Bleugh, lukewarm. Let's get another one."

  "Oh, no," Emmi said. "You're not getting out of this so easily. Spill, Maria, what in hell is going on? You made it sound like some sort of dire emergency on the phone, so I drag myself here on my day off, and then you turn up half an hour late, and looking as though you've been dragged through a hedge backwards." Emmi stopped and properly looked at her friend. "And you were wearing those clothes yesterday. I knew it, you're seeing someone! Who is he?"

  She had to be. Maria was always perfectly turned out, and she'd never wear the same clothes twice in a row, and she had sounded desperate on the phone.

  Emmi crossed her arms and glared at Maria, and she squirmed.

  "Them, actually, but you can't tell anyone, promise me, please."

  "Two?" Emmi laughed. She couldn't help it. Here she was on the verge of combusting with sexual frustration, and Maria had snared herself two guys. "What is it with your family and threesomes?"

  Maria paled, and something in her intense blue gaze told Emmi that all was not well here.

  "Promise me, Emmi, you mustn't tell a soul. Not Anastasia or my brothers and certainly not Cole. Promise!"

  "Okay, okay, I promise, but why is this such a big deal? It's not as though your brothers could hold it against you. They're sharing Anastasia after all, and I'm sure Cole—"

  "He mustn't know, Emmi, you promised. He'd feel honor bound to tell my mum and dad, and then the proverbial shite would really hit the fan."

  Emmi was getting more confused by the minute.

  "Maria, you're giving me a headache here. Why would Cole feel the need to tell your parents anything? He doesn't know them, and besides, you're a grown woman. Who you choose to fuck is nobody else's business."

  Maria flinched, and when she looked up again from where she was shredding a paper napkin into smithereens, Emmi stared into the frightened eyes of her cougar.

  "If only it was that simple, Emmi. I'm a pure blood cougar. There are rules. Cole enforces those rules. Trust me, he can't know. No one must know."

  Maria jumped when Emmi grasped her hand and squeezed.

  "Okay, I won't mention a word to him, but I'm utterly confused here. If no one must know then why are you telling me now?"

  "Because I need your help, Emmi. Mum has organized this big shifter get together to celebrate the safe arrivals of the triplets. Everyone and anyone will be there, and I know she'll have some cougar shifter lined up for me. As far as Mum is concerned my finding a mate is long overdue. I'd hoped Jake and Carter finding their mate and giving her grandbabies would have given me some leeway, but alas it's just made her worse. Even Dad has started to make
noises that I should settle down, and he's always been on my side, dammit. Jake and Carter are no help at all, ‘cause they'll only have eyes for Anastasia and the babies, and I need a distraction."

  The words tumbled out of her so fast that Emmi had a hard time keeping up with her, and she put her hand up to slow Maria down.

  "Whoa, slow down there. Why tell me all this? Surely you don't want me to be the distraction? Is a human pregnant with a shifter such a novelty?"

  Emmi knew these unions didn't happen often—she'd done her research—still, this was ridiculous.

  Maria shook her head and sighed.

  "No, not you, but Cole Jackson will be. He's like shifter royalty, Emmi, and if you were to bring him, no one would care about lil’ old me. Please, Emmi, he'll come if you ask him."

  Emmi shook her head and massaged her throbbing temples. The vague ache she'd woken up with this morning was threatening to turn into a full blown stress migraine.

  "Okay, back up here, Maria. Cole is what? And do I have to remind you we're not actually together."

  "Oh, bullshit," Maria screeched, causing the elderly couple at the next table to look across at them with a disapproving frown, and Emmi offered them a smile in apology.

  "Keep your voice down. Maria."

  "Well, it is. You're mated, whether you accept that or not, Emmi, and you're carrying his baby. His ownership is stamped all over you, for fuck's sake. There is no way in hell he'd let you attend a party full of shifters without him, so all you have to say, is that you've been invited by me, and he'll come with you. It's easy, please, Emmi, and you'd really help a girl out."

  Maria's azure eyes blazed at her, and before Emmi even knew she'd done it, she found herself agreeing to Maria's crazy plan.

  "Excellent, babe, and look at it this way. You'll get an education in the process. These shifter gatherings can get interesting, and it might just force Cole to tell you the truth about him."

  An ice cold fist squeezed Emmi's heart until she found it hard to breathe.

  "What do you mean, the truth? Maria, what the fuck? Is he lying to me?"

  Maria smiled and patted her hand, her usual calm and confident manner seemingly restored with Emmi's acceptance of her plan.

  "No, Cole Jackson wouldn't lie, especially not to you, but it's clear from your reactions that he hasn't told you who he really is. It's not for me to tell you. Ask him, and for goodness’ sakes, make sure he comes to the party. Now, I don't know about you, but I need another coffee and one of those pastries. You stay right there, sweets, my treat. I'll get this round."

  She giggled and joined the queue, leaving Emmi more confused than ever.

  ****

  Cole's bear paced. Something was bothering his mate, and Cole knew he needed to get to the bottom of it. Emmi had been decidedly off when he'd talked to her on the phone earlier. She'd surprised the fuck out of him by ringing in the first place, and once he'd reassured himself that all was well and his heartbeat had returned to normal, he'd caught the odd note in her voice.

  His insides had twisted in on themselves at the thought that she might be phoning up to say she'd changed her mind about his attending her scan. He knew he couldn’t force the issue, but he wanted to be there when they got the first glimpse of their baby.

  Cole knew all was well with their son. He would have picked up on anything amiss, but he did worry over Emmi. Unless his senses were completely off the baby was developing much faster than a human baby would. Normal for a shifter baby—not so normal for a human mother. Emmi seemed in perfect health, if highly strung, but Cole would feel a thousand times better once he'd heard her doctor confirm that.

  He pushed open the heavy oak door to the shifter practice housing Emmi's doctor, and followed his nose. She'd been here, and he had no trouble following her scent to the right part of the building.

  His bear calmed instantly when he spotted Emmi sat on one of the plastic chairs in the waiting room, and Cole smiled at the almost imperceptible shift in Emmi. Her nostrils flared, and she dropped the magazine and looked straight at him. A hint of a smile crossed her face, and she took her oversized hand bag of the chair next to her to enable him to sit down.

  "Hi," she said. "I was beginning to think you wouldn't make it."

  "Traffic, sugar. I broke several rules trying to get here in time."

  "Right, I thought you were a stickler for rules."

  Again that odd catch to her voice that made his bear sit up and growl. Before he could question her on it, however, a door opened at the other end of the room.

  "Emilia Layne?"

  Cole raised an eyebrow, and Emmi glared at him.

  "Not a word, Cole." Her angry whisper brought him up short, and he offered her his best smile, designed to make females swoon, and gestured for her to lead her the way.

  Every other female in the crowded waiting room, including the nurse patiently waiting at the door did indeed swoon, but not his Emmi.

  "Spare me." Her mumbled words made him huff in amusement, and he stuck his hands into his jeans pockets to stop himself from reaching out to her. Damn it, he loved her sass and he wanted to kiss her senseless, but now was not the time.

  They entered a warm and welcoming room, with a bed on one side and a pleasant looking wolf shifter, which he assumed must be Doc Wilson, sat behind a solid desk littered with papers.

  "Ah, there you are, my dear, and let me guess. This is the bear, which got you into this predicament." She winked at Cole and extended her hand. "Valerie Wilson, and you are?"

  "Cole Jackson, nice to meet you, Doc. I've only heard good things about you. So I trust my mate is in good hands."

  He shook her hand and held her gaze, but if he thought to intimidate the experienced doctor then it seemed he'd failed. She laughed and dropped her hand.

  "Put your claws away, Mr. Jackson. You're in my realm, here, and I don't much care who you are, other than the father of the cub Ms. Layne is carrying."

  Emmi looked between them both with a frown on her face, and he flashed her a smile and inclined his head to her doctor.

  "Good, good, I'm glad we understand each other. Now, Emmi, how have you been since we last spoke? I take it from the fact that the overprotective alpha bear is here, you've taken me up on my prescription?"

  Emmi gave a strangled cough, and he didn't miss the imploring look she directed towards her doctor or the way embarrassment tinged her cheeks.

  "Prescription?" he asked. "What would that be?"

  Doc Wilson laughed and winked at him.

  "Just the usual prescription I give to all my pregnant ladies. It's a remedy to relax them, and it needs their mate's co-operation."

  Cole's cock cottoned on way before his brain did, and he groaned under his breath at the erotic images that immediately battled his brain, and Emmi's doctor laughed.

  "I see you get my meaning," she said.

  Emmi, in the meantime, looked as though she wanted the ground to swallow her up, and Cole had to clear his throat several times before he could respond.

  "I would me more than willing to help with that particular prescription," he said.

  "Yes, willing and more than able I see."

  It was his turn to feel his cheeks grow warm at the doctor's unabashed appraisal of his groin.

  "Right, let's examine you, then, Emmi."

  With easy, practiced moves Doc Wilson checked her blood pressure, whilst the nurse dipped a stick into the urine sample Emmi had brought with her. All seemed well until Emmi's doctor palpated her abdomen, and she frowned.

  "Is everything all right, Doc?" Cole asked, anxiety once again twisting his gut. He knew it wasn't. Emmi's doctor was worried and trying very hard not to let her see it.

  "Yes, it's just—let's get this ultrasound done, and we'll know more."

  She patted Emmi's rounded tummy and turned to the nurse.

  "Janine, if you could roll the ultrasound closer, so that we can see how baby is doing in there. It's okay, Emmi, we were going to
do this today, anyway, weren't we? Don’t look so worried. You're just measuring bigger than I'd expect you to be right now."

  "What does that mean?" Emmi asked. She glanced from Cole to her doctor, and he perched himself on the side of her bed and held her hand. Her heartbeat thundered under his fingertips, and he gave her fingers what he hoped was a reassuring squeeze. He hadn't imagined Emmi getting bigger then, and that knot of underlying worry he'd been carrying around with him grew until bile clogged the back of his throat.

  "The gel will be cold, okay, Emmi. Right here we go."

  Doc Wilson slid the probe over Emmi's tummy and studied the little monitor in front of her for what seemed like hours, but in reality could only have been a couple of minutes. Emmi's fingernails dug into his hand, and his bear was all but ready to rip the doctor's head off her shoulders for the anxiety the delay was causing his mate, when the woman finally smiled and turned the monitor round.

  "There you are. Mum, Dad, meet your son."

  The screen blurred, and he couldn't get his eyes to focus past the tears that formed at the black and white blob that was his son. Emmi, too, choked back tears from the sound of it, as she sat up slightly to get a better look.

  "He looks so big already," she said.

  "That's because he is, my dear. He's growing much faster than I originally anticipated, which is quite normal in shifter babies. However he's perfectly healthy, as are you, so there's nothing to worry about. It just means you might want to get your baby preparations underway sooner rather than later."

  "How soon?" Emmi voice cracked on that question, and Cole gave into instinct and drew her in for a bear hug, that made his beast growl his approval.

  "The way he's growing I'd say three months tops, though he might slow down, of course. I can see this has come as something of a shock, so I'll leave you to it for a bit. Knock on the door when you're ready to leave."

  ****

  The click of the door seemed too loud in the quiet room. Emmi couldn’t tear her gaze away from that computer screen where the image of Cole's baby was frozen in time. No, not Cole's baby, their baby. Excitement warred with the worry of the unknown, and a rush of emotion so intense she could scarce breathe. She owed it to their baby to try to make this work. A child needed a mother and father, and this baby would need its father more than most. What did she know about bringing up a baby that would eventually be able to turn into a bear?