Page 26 of Bearly Mated

“I love you, Cal. See you soon.” I hung up without realizing what I’d just said, and was already dialing Reed’s number when it hit me.

Warmth bloomed in my chest, though it was quickly overtaken by the fury burning through my veins.

He answered on the second ring.

“What was Callie’s emergency?” Reed asked, not bothering with a greeting. “I heard you’re not coming back.”

“Long story. Since when is Wren yourmate?”

There was a pause.

A long pause.

“It was… unintentional,” he finally said. “There was another guy dancing with her. The bear in me was out of control. I?—”

“Reed,” I growled.

“It happened about two years ago,” he admitted. “How do you know? And why are you calling me about it?”

“I just found out Callie is her best friend. And Wren wasn’t on birth control when you mated her. If she was, it failed.”

There was a moment of silence.

A long, heavy moment.

“No.” His voice was low. “There wasn’t a cub. We talked about it. She had?—”

Callie parked in the driveway and came running up to me, her eyes and hair wild.

“Callie said he looks just like you, down to the eyes.”

“Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fu?—”

She ripped the phone away from me with one hand, grabbing a fistful of my shirt with the other. “False alarm, Reed,” she said, her voice rising. “Hudson didn’t hear anything. I didn’t say anything. Nope. You’re good. I?—”

“You’re still a shitty liar, Callie,” Reed said. “I’ll be on the next flight home. Tell Hudson I’ll see him soon.”

He hung up, and Callie’s big, sexy blue eyes met mine. “What the hell, Hudson?” she demanded. “You can’t tell your friend my best friend’s secret! Don’t you remember high school? If I tell you something, you’re supposed to be a steel trap. We cannot be friends if you go sharing things I’ve told you. I?—”

I took her face in my hands, cutting her off. “The entire town knows he has a baby. That’s not a secret, Cal.”

“He could try to take custody from her,” she shot back. “And he was the asshole who chose to leave her. It’s not?—”

“Reed would never take a toddler away from his mother,” I said. “He’ll want what’s best for that baby. He’s a good guy. He deserves to know.”

“If he deserved to know, he would’ve come back for her.”

“He should have,” I agreed. “And if he’s missed the last two years with his pregnant mate and child, his conscience will make him suffer enough for leaving.”

She let out a huff. “I have to tell her. She’s going to hate me.”

“I’ll tell her. You know me, Cal. You know I would’ve done the exact same thing back when we were in high school. She probably remembers me enough to know that too. Do you have her number?”

Her anger slowly faded. She never had the energy to stay mad at anyone for long.

She reluctantly nodded, then released my shirt so she could grab her phone from her pocket, since she was still holding my phone. I typed in her code—it was still the date of her birthday—and hit the button to call Wren a moment later.

“Hey, Callie,” she said, answering on the third ring.

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