For a minute, I consider bringing them to Julia when I drop off her car, but I’m not sure she eatsfish or even knows how to clean one. For all I know, it’s an insult to give a human woman a fish, like I’m implying she can’t care for herself.
“Take the ones I caught, too. Your mate’s eating for five now, and you ought to feed her well.”
Conallbeamsat me. “She’s a good dam already, Ian. And bigger by the day. I hope you’ll be so lucky when you find your mate.”
“When is her due date?” I ask as we pack up and stow our tackle boxes and gear in the back of the Jeep. “Soon, right?”
“First week of November.”
“Our pups will be close in age, then, if all goes to plan.”
I wait for the information to sink through his thick skull. When it finally does, he whoops, the sound ringing through the morning quiet. “You found your mate! Sothat’swhy your Jeep smells like pussy. Does Pa know?”
I shake my head. “You’re the first.”
He squeezes me in a hug that forces all my breath out, picking me up so my feet leave the ground momentarily. Then he drops me and slaps me on the back. “Congratulations, big bro. I’m happy for you. Pups so soon, eh? She must be a fast mover.” He waggles his brows, tongue hanging out the side of his mouth like acartoon dog.
“Shut up about my mate,” I say, laughing. He’s so stupid.
“When do we get to meet her?” he asks after we pile into the Jeep. I take the bumpy dirt road slowly, easing the tires through the ruts and potholes toward the highway.
“Now, if you want,” I hedge, a little nervous tell him the truth about Julia. “I could use a hand dropping off her car. Just so you know, when you meet her…” I can’t finish the sentence. Damn, this is harder than I thought.
Conall twists to stare at me. “Oh shit. What is it? Is she in heat or something?”
“No. She doesn’t have heats.”
“Oh. Huh.” I can practicallyhearthe gears turning in Conall’s head. “But you said puppies, and you need heats for…oh. What species?”
“Human.”
He gives a low whistle. “Interesting. I guess they’re okay. Weird faces, but at least they have some hair.”
“She has a great face,” I growl, keeping my eyes on the road as I turn from the rustic side road onto the highway and gun the gas, taking us toward town. “She’s like a fucking peach. The most perfect peach. Like your mouth waters, you want to take a bite so badly.” My mouth is watering just thinking about her, and I have to swallow a mouthful of saliva so I don’t drool while I’m driving.
“Holy shit, you got it so bad.” Conall belly-laughs. “Well, don’t worry about telling Pa and Mam that she’s another species. They aren’t bigoted like some. They’ll welcome her as a daughter, and you know it.”
“That’s just it.” My voice rasps and disappears. Ah, damn, why am I getting so emotional? It all tumbles out like rocks from a bucket. “They can’t. She can’t be part of our family. It’s fucked up, Conall. She’s married to some human. She has kids with him. And he’s a completedickto her. That’s the worst part of all of it. I can’t protect her from him unless she wants me to!”
“Take her to the Court of Fates,” he says immediately. “A Fate will split them up, no question, especially since you want pups.”
“I don’t want to ruin her life. The one she chose for herself.”
“You’ll give her a better one,” he says instantly, the loyal bastard. “You would, Ian! Your mate belongs with you.”
“What good is that if she hates my guts?” I moan, taking the opportunity at a stoplight to bang my head gently against the steering wheel. When the light changes, I make a right turn into the bar’s parking lot. “I’m lucky she agreed to carry a litter of pups for me. I’m trying to content myself with that.”
“That’s something, I guess.” It’s clear he thinks it’s not enough. “You know what Pa always says whenMam puts her foot down on an issue. ‘She might come around yet,’” he mimics in our father’s hopeful brogue.
I roll my eyes. “When has he ever been right about that? Mam always gets her way.”
Conall chuckles knowingly. “You just wait. Once your mate has your pups in her… all bets are off.”
“You think I’ll feel differently?”
“Yup. And so will she. Meg’svoraciousfor a good dicking now that she’s pregnant. Likestarving for—”
I leave the engine running and get out of the Jeep, slamming the door to drown out his cackles. He scrambles out, too. “You’re not pissed, are you? I was just playing.”
