“Don’t wake up my mate and cubs,” the snow demon came out of the kitchen.
“Sorry, Wess,” Lero said. “Mori is just….” He didn’t know what to say that wouldn’t out us.
“Not my business,” Wess held up a big white hand and shook his head. “I’m going to bed. I’m going back to my mate and babies. This is none of my business. Good night and good luck.”
The three of us stared after him as if he’d flipped us off and mooned us on the way back to the bedroom. So much for the Snow Demon being helpful.
“Dern,” Mori said and I looked around for someone, for anyone.
“Uh… I thought your dead wolf couldn’t leave the Other World?” Lero asked, sitting back down. I sat down with him and wrapped my arms around his shoulders.
“He can’t but we need to go see if him. Well, your guy and me need to see him anyway,” Mori said.
“Don’t you even want to know how it happened?” Lero asked.
“Lero, I might not have my mate but I know where babies come from!” Mori snapped.
“Uhh…. Projection much, dude?” Lero rolled his eyes.
“We need to get moving. Pregnancy doesn’t last long,” Mori said.
“Uh… He’s a bear too. So nine months?” Lero arched a brow. “He’s not dead….”
“I’m astral projecting,” I said even though the wolf couldn’t hear me.
“Astral projecting,” Lero said, but Mori wasn’t budging on his views or plans.
“One, you don’t know how astral conception affects gestation and two, time moves differently in the Other World. Also, since you alternated between pining and being weird, I’m guessing he can’t be around for a long time in a row,” Mori said.
“Mori, I swear to Frost, Juda, the old bears, and the future of shifter kind! I’m going to scream if you don’t slow down and listen to me!” Lero roared, making good on his promise to scream ahead of time.
Mori motioned for him to spit it out and he did. Lero summed up my lock-up story in fewer words and breaths than I knew was possible.
“You’re still staying here!” Mori said. “I’m sorry, but you are. Where Dern is… It’s no place for a pregnant man.”
“How are you going to know if he’s with you or not?! You can’t even see him!” Lero growled, standing back up.
I stood up too for all the good it did. I stepped between them and put a hand on either side of Lero’s face. He was pregnant now and more than ever I wanted him somewhere safe. I’d tuck him into a guestroom at his grandparents’ house if he’d let me.
“You need to tell your parents,” I said, ignoring whatever Mori was saying now. He might be trying to help but keeping my mate sane was more important right now. “Call them before someone else hears and tells them. Get one of those picture things done.”
“An ultrasound. Don’t they have those over there?” he asked me.
“No,” I shook my head. “I know about them because of the mating link. I know, I know. Usually I’d be there. Maybe this won’t take long.”
“What if you need me?” Lero asked and Mori answered something or another like he was speaking to him but I kept ignoring the wolf shifter because time was short and I didn’t want to leave my pregnant mate crying just in case it was the last time I saw him.
“Mate, I do need you. I never want to be apart from you, but I want our babies to be safe too,” I said, caressing his cheeks with my thumbs and wiping away a single tear that rolled down one. “I promise when this is all said and done, we’ll never be apart again.”
“You’re not even listening to me,” Mori sighed.
“I love you,” Lero said and threw himself into my arms. I hugged him tightly and kissed the top of his head. I’d do whatever it took to come back to him and our unborn baby even if that meant breaking his heart for a little while.
“I love you too,” I said when he pulled away. “I’ll make sure he doesn’t doddle around.”
“You better,” Lero said. “Mori, how will you know if he’s there or if he’s faded again if I’m not there?”
“Once again, I believe in the Other World I’ll be able to see him. That everyone will likely be able to see and hear him.”
