The room goes quiet, and Mitch’s expression hardens.
“You’re not.” His voice is firm. That you’re worried proves it. Dad never worried about being a good father.”
“What’s going on?”
We all turn. Carla’s standing in the doorway, arms crossed, a storm brewing in her eyes.
“I could feel your stress through the bond,” she says, looking directly at me. “And you all look guilty. What’s wrong?”
Marcus clears his throat uncomfortably. Mitch suddenly finds the window fascinating, jaw working like he’s chewing words.
They both look at me, and my mouth goes dry.
“Carla,” I start, moving toward her. “Maybe we should…”
“Billy.” Her voice is firm, but I catch the tremor underneath. “Whatever it is, just tell me.”
I take her hands. They’re trembling slightly, and I realize she’s thinking the worst. That something’s wrong with the clan, with us, with our bond.
“You’re pregnant,” I say simply.
She blinks. “What?”
“Pregnant. With our cub. Bears can smell it early. I noticed this morning.”
Her mouth opens. Closes. Opens again. “Pregnant?” Her voice is faint.
“From the motel, when you were in heat. I should have been more careful…”
“Billy.” She interrupts. “Stop talking.”
I stop.
Behind me, my brothers shift uncomfortably. Mitch coughs. Marcus’s chair creaks.
“I’m pregnant?” she asks again. Her hand moves slowly to her stomach, fingers splaying across the flat surface.
“Yes.”
“We’re having a baby?”
“Yes.”
The silence stretches. Through our bond, I feel her shock, confusion, and a whirlwind of emotions too fast to separate. Then, like the sun breaking through clouds, something else floods through.
Joy.
A smile spreads across her face slowly, then all at once, and her eyes fill with tears. “We’re having a baby!”
“You’re... happy?”
“Happy?” she laughs, launching herself at me. I catch her, spinning her around as she peppers my face with kisses. “Billy, this is amazing! We’re having a baby!”
Relief crashes through me, so hard, my knees go weak. Through our bond, her joy mingles with mine until I can’t tell where I end and she begins.
“Wait,” she says suddenly, pulling back. “Is that why you’ve all been acting strange? You could smell that I’m pregnant?”
“Bears have stronger noses,” Marcus says diplomatically.
