Page 40 of Warwick

Idiscovered that many things changed once you were mated. For me, one of those things was how you viewed life in general and the people you associated with. Well, for me, at least. I couldn’t say how it was for others.

I’d been mated for two weeks now, and it all was still sinking in. I’d never expected to have a mate. Not me. It wasn’t something I ever saw happening to me. Cecil was…nothing short of amazing. He was happiness. He was a breath of fresh air, and he had shown me that it was all right to be quiet but also to speak up when I felt I needed to.

Two weeks ago, my only thoughts were being involved in the new assignment that was going to be happening in Italy. Now, my only thoughts were centered around taking care of Cecil. After his heat—and I was still saying he most certainly had a heat cycle—it took a few days for us to adjust to living with each other, something both of us wanted to work on and had made a priority.

Thinking about Cecil had me wondering where my mate had wandered off to. I left the kitchen, where I’d been looking for a snack, but didn’t see him in the living room. I glanced toward the stairs, thinking he might have gone up to the bedroom, but I didn’t sense him up there.

“Cecil?”

“I’m outside on the back deck.”

I grinned. It took seconds to reach the back door, but I was surprised when I found Cecil in his bear form on our back deck instead of his human one.

“Did you want to go for a run?” I asked after I stepped out onto the deck with him.

“I can shift, Warwick.”

I nodded. “Yes, I see that. And you’re adorable in that form. I don’t have a whole lot of experience with other polar bears, but the first time I saw you, I thought you were a teenager.” I heard Cecil sigh through our bond. “What’s wrong?”

I sat on the end of the lounge chair that we’d added to the deck. In fact, we’d made a lot of changes over the last week. Had it really only been a week?

“I can shift.”

“Yes, you can shift. Do you want me to shift with you? We can go for a run.” I looked out at all of the snow that had fallen in the last week. There was at least a foot on the ground, and the weather report said more was coming early next week. “Your bear is probably excited about the snow.”

“I didn’t catch, Warwick.”

I reached for Cecil. He moved closer, allowing me to run my fingers through his dense fur. “I don’t believe that, Cecil,” I told him. “Your scent has changed.”

“I don’t know what to think anymore, Warwick. I wasn’t supposed to have a heat, yet everything you showed me, that’s what happened.”

I ran my fingers through the fur, and when I got to his ears, I gave them a gentle rub. I loved to have my ears scratched when I was in my beast form, but I’d only ever been around one person who would do it. Not that I blamed anyone. I was a giant beast in my shifted form.

“How about this. We shift, go for a run, and then we’ll go drop in and see Dr. King. He can do whatever it is that he needs to, and he can tell us yes or no if you are pregnant.”

Cecil looked up at me with sad eyes. I leaned down and kissed his nose. “And if he says I’m not pregnant? What if I never have another heat cycle?”

“What if you are? What if you do? I’m still willing to look into adoption with you. We can fill the house with as many kids as you want. I’ll need a lot of help because I don’t think I’d be a good father, but I’m willing to ask for help because I care for you and want to do anything I can to make you happy.” I ran my fingers through his fur again, wondering if he’d give in and go see his boss. I had noticed yesterday morning that his scent had changed, but Cecil had insisted that he didn’t feel any different.

“You would be an amazing father. Look at how much you take care of me. I haven’t cooked a single meal since we’ve lived here, nor have I done any laundry or other cleaning. You do it all.”

I snorted. “You do realize that I use magic to do all of those things, right? It takes me seconds to do those, whereas it would take much longer if I did it the way you have to.”

“Shh. Don’t lessen what you do for me. It’s amazing how you take care of me. Even if you are using magic, you’re still thinking of helping me when you do those things. That means everything to me.”

I kissed his nose again. “I’ll continue doing all of those things for you. But right now, I’m going to shift, we’re going to go for a short run, and then we’re going to stop by the omega clinic.”

I hated feeling Cecil’s heartbreak through our bond. And that was what it was. He was incredibly sad because he felt he wasn’t carrying a child. Well, he worked for a warlock doctor and saw pregnant omegas frequently. We would just take ourselves there and see what the doctor had to say. Surely there were tests that could be done.

I ran my fingers through Cecil’s fur once more before I stood and walked down the three steps that would take me to the ground. I knelt, called for my beast, and then found myself looking at the world through the familiar flaming eyes of my beast. He watched as Cecil hesitantly came down the steps and wondered if it was because he was afraid of my beast or if it was something else.

“I will never hurt you.”

Cecil stopped just in front of me and looked up. We were probably quite the sight. I was a massive beast, and he was the size of a juvenile polar bear cub. I leaned down and pressed my snout into Cecil’s neck.

“I know. I’m just sad. I shouldn’t be able to shift if I’m pregnant, Warwick.”

“Is that why you’re sad? Because you can shift while pregnant?” I was still going with the assumption that his changed scent was because he was pregnant. My beast was telling me that our mate was most certainly carrying our baby.

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