Page 25 of Bearly Mated

“The bookstore?”

“You haven’t seen it before. Wren just opened it last year. And I didn’t have sex with anyone I met there, so don’t worry,” she teased.

Though she was joking, my shoulders relaxed anyway. “Thank fuck for that. Wren Davis?”

My roommate was hopelessly in love with Wren Davis. He’d been a grumpy bastard since he stopped hooking up with her two years or so earlier.

“Yep. She replaced you as my best friend during my freshman year of college. I currently stink of her toddler’s puke, so it’s a permanent kind of bond,” Callie teased.

“She has a toddler?” My forehead creased. “With who?”

Reed was going to lose his fucking mind when he found out she’d had a baby with someone.

“Oh, shit,” Callie whispered.

Suspicion hit me hard.

Callie was a terrible liar. It was one of her many adorable qualities.

But why had she reacted that way to my question?

“Who’s her toddler’s dad?” I prodded.

“Just one of the guys in town,” she said quickly.

“I’m going to need a name, Cal.”

“Paul Gordon,” she blurted.

“Why are you lying about the father of Wren’s child?”

“I’m not!”

My eyes narrowed.

The only reason Callie would possibly have to lie about the father to me was if she didn’t want me to know. And the only reason she might not want me to know who the father was, was if it was someone I knew.

Someone I was close with.

I had a handful of good friends on my security team, but Reed was the only one from Cub Lake.

And given his obsession with Wren…

“Reed would know if the woman he was in love with had his baby,” I argued.

Callie groaned. “How do you still do that?”

“I know you better than I know myself, Cal. But Reed would be here if he thought there was even a possibility that he had a baby—especially if he had a baby with Wren. They’re not even mated. I?—”

“Theyaremated. I’ve seen the bite mark,” she shot back. “And every bear shifter knows that screwing his mate will lead to a baby without protection involved. They didn’t use a condom—he knew she was probably pregnant when he abandoned her. I’ve seen Parker shift, and he looks exactly like Reed. I’m not wondering, Hud. Your new best friend is one of the worst kinds of bastards.”

“No. I live with him, and I know him. If he had a cub, he’d be in town. Did she send him a message after finding out she was pregnant?”

“No, but she didn’t need to. He was the one who left without looking back. I can’t believe you’re defending him. I?—”

“If he abandoned his pregnant mate and baby, I will fuckingkillhim. But I’m telling you, he didn’t know. And he needs to know. Are you almost back?”

“Yeah, I’ll be there in two. Don’t call him or anything, she doesn’t want him to know unless he actually comes looking for?—”

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