Page 8 of Her Shifter Babe

“Hey, cousin,” I said. “Congratulations on the house and the... you know.” I winked, the unspoken reference to his soon to be baby bundle.

Wade grinned at me. “Yeah... you too, I guess.”

I slid the cake box further away from the edge of the counter, not wanting it to fall and smash. That had taken far too many hours of baking and decorating to have it destroyed. “Me too?” I asked, grimacing at my cousin in confusion. I didn’t have a new house, a mate, or a baby on the way.

What is he talking about?

“Yeah... Stacey and the...” Wade made a belly-rubbing gesture.

It made no sense to me whatsoever. “Huh?”

Wade glanced back at the front door, his expression suddenly one of a man who’d just put his foot in it. “Ah... I thought... I mean, sorry, mate. You need to go talk to Tommy.”

My gut tightened with unease, and a shiver raced up my spine, but I thanked my cousin awkwardly and headed in the direction I’d seen Nancy wander off to. There was another door just off the foyer, and I knocked on it, wanting to know what the hell was going on. The door swung inward, and Nancy was there. “Hey, Nancy,” I said. “Have you seen my brother?”

Nancy inhaled sharply, as though she were carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders and my presence had disrupted her balance. “Yeah, he’s in here,” she said. Nancy stepped back and the scene before me unraveled like a bad sitcom.

There was my brother, sitting on a L-shaped sofa next to a beautiful young woman. I was immediately struck by the curve of her cheek and the glistening health of her long blonde hair.

Tommy stood up, turning toward me, and held out his hand to the woman to help her up.

She took his offered hand and stood awkwardly.

And it was only when she got to her feet and her baggy cardigan fell open that I understood why her movement was labored. My eyes widened upon drinking in her huge, pregnant belly. A strangled gasp stuck in my throat as my heart began to race, but I licked my lips and stepped forward, inexplicably determined to introduce myself. “Hello,” I managed to say, walking further into the room. “I’m David.”

“Hi, David,” the beautiful woman answered, a bright smile lighting up her otherwise fatigue-plagued features. “I’m Stacey.”

I stood facing them together, noting the way my brother remained by her side. He wasn’t touching her, but I could feel the protectiveness he felt toward her even from where I stood.

“Hi, Stacey,” I ventured, my world slipping sideways like I was taking a tumble across a ship’s deck at sea.

Nancy slipped out of the room and shut the door quietly behind her, suspiciously leaving the three of us alone.

“How are you feeling?” I asked as I nodded at her swollen belly.

She gripped the sides of her precious bundle, accentuating the round bump even more, and making her seem perfect. “Really tired,” she admitted. “And still a bit nauseous, if I’m honest.”

“Always be honest,” I said immediately, sounding a little firmer than I had meant to. “I mean... there’s no point in covering up the truth, right?” I preferred people who were forthright and truthful. I always had.

Stacey nodded in agreement. “Right.”

I lifted my gaze to my brother, trying to keep the accusation out of my gaze. It was potentially possible—although unlikely—that Stacey was just a patient of his, but there was something about the tension in the room that was telling me there was, in fact, a lot more going on right under my nose than I was aware of... and I had to know. My insides twisted as I grounded myself as best I could for what was coming. “Tommy?”

My brother straightened and tensed as though preparing himself to deliver horrible news. “I met Stacey when I was in the city six months ago, and we slept together.”

My gut twisted again, this time much more violently.

Fuck...

I knew without asking what was coming next, but I had to hear it said. This wasn’t the sort of thing you made assumptions about. I needed to hear the truth. “So, this baby is yours?” I asked carefully.

My shifter howled inside my mind, enraged and heartbroken all at once as the question hung between us. I’d spent twenty-five years being inscrutably careful with every girlfriend I’d ever had, dutifully waiting for our mate to find us before bringing life into this world.

What the hell has my brother done?

Tommy made a pained sounding noise in his throat. “David...” he began.

I swallowed hard.

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