Taking her hand, I pull her closer, lift her shirt and press my nose against her stomach, skin to skin, drawing in a deep breath.
She definitely is. It’s new, but it’s there.
"Beau, what are you?—"
Standing, I bundle her up in my arms, knowing this is going to be a massive shock to her. I doubt she’d have been running after bad guys, or even sleeping with me, if she’d known.
"He's right." The confirmation settles through me, acceptance that this is the way it is. She’s mine, plus a bonus. I’m struggling to wrap my head around it because nothing aboutthe last twenty-four hours has gone as expected, and my brain is fried. "You're pregnant. It's early, really early, but it's there."
She stares at me. "You can't possibly know that."
"And yet, I do."
She pulls back and frowns. "Even if it’s true that your brother is some kind of walking pregnancy test, we slept togethermonthsago. The maths doesn't math. I’d have a bump by now. I’d have symptoms."
A sadness settles deep inside me that I try to quench. It’s unhelpful. We are where we are. Wishing the situation was different isn’t going to change the fact that the baby can’t be mine.
“I know.”
A heavy pause.
"Don't." She reads it on my face before I can say a word. "Don't even go there, Beau. There hasn't been anyone else."
My hesitation is like a red rag to a bull. Her eyebrows shoot to her hairline as she glares at me, mouth opening in furious disbelief.
"I didn't say that."
Out loud. Yet.
"You didn't have to." Her chin lifts, eyes blazing. "Jesus Christ. Are you serious? There's been nobody. Not one person since you."
I want to believe her, but she’s right. It doesn’t make sense. It’s just not possible.
“Oh, you guys can do that bear thing too? That’s cool.” Van shuffles in from next door, laptop under one arm, a protein bar in his mouth, heading for the bathroom. “I mean, it’s so clever, delaying implantation until they know there’s going to be suitable conditions to… no?” He glances at us, registers the tension and winces before moving fast, mumbling as he passes. “Not talking about that yet? My bad.”
My hand shoots out and grabs the back of his collar, yanking him hard, until he’s standing in front of me again.
Van scowls.
“You nearly made me drop this.” He taps the laptop wedged under his elbow and narrows his gaze at me while I pray for patience.
Lisa has gone completely still beside me. “Bears? What… no… no, that can’t be…” she trails off, and I close my eyes.
One fucking shit storm at a time, please.
"Say that again."
Van looks between us. "Delayed implantation. Female bears can hold a fertilised embryo for months without it implanting. They wait until conditions are right. Safe environment, enough resources, that kind of thing." He swallows hard. "It's well documented. I just never knew shifters had the same ability, since I’ve spent most of my time with the wolf variety…"
“Wolves?” Lisa echoes, tilting her head to look at him, a weird, distant look in her eyes.
Ignoring her, I focus on what he’s telling me. "And they can delay getting pregnant for months?"
He bites his lip and shrugs. “Real bears? Yes.”
Glowering at him for daring to suggest I’m not a real bear, I point to the front door. He’s safer far away from me right now. "Out."
Van hurries toward the door.
