Page 26 of The Devil on my Chest

“Must take after Rocky,” Mal said, his voice quivering as his eyes filled. “They’re so tiny!”

“They will get bigger,” Doc said with a laugh. “In my estimate, you’re no more than three weeks along, but to make sure I’ll get you to come back again next week and check again. That way I can get an idea of how fast they are growing.”

Doc clicked some buttons on his keyboard and took a few measurements. At least that’s what Mal thought he was doing. He had no idea. All he could do was rest his hand just under his heart thinking,my gods, I’m carrying new life. Me and Rocky did that!

“Here you go,” Doc said. There was a whirr, and he pulled a piece of paper from a small printer. “Here’s proof for your Rocky, in case he needs to see for himself before next week. Apart from your wolf filling you in on the facts of life, are you feeling all right?”

Mal nodded. “I haven’t been sick or anything, that’s why I didn’t know what was going on.”

“That could still happen, don’t be surprised if it does,” Doc said. “Just make sure that once your belly gets bigger, that you spendsome time putting your feet up. If you notice your ankles swell, then you do need to come in immediately, because that can be dangerous, even for shifters.

“But aside from that, with a wolf shifter, honestly, your wolf knows what to do.”

“Will I...” Mal swallowed hard. “Will I have to shift to give birth?”

“Honestly, I can’t tell you for sure.” Doc shook his head. “When I was studying medicine, especially paranormal medicine, we were always taught that if a shifter changed forms in the last few weeks of his pregnancy, then that could damage the baby. But then Simon gave birth in his snake form, while Levi gave Blade a C-section. So there’s no way of knowing for sure. As we get closer, we’ll book you a C-section, but if Mother Nature decides to get in first, just go with your instincts. Listen to what your wolf is telling you.”

“I should’ve done that two weeks ago.”

Doc handed him a tissue and Mal wiped himself clean before standing up and straightening his clothing again.

“I always felt in a lot of ways, that being with Rocky was like trying to restrain some overgrown child,” Mal said. “He’s sweet and caring, and as a mate he’s even more so, but sometimes…” He sighed, thinking about the campers Rocky and Liam were probably chasing. “Having another two children is going to be interesting.”

“It’ll be all right,” Doc said. “Rocky might chase campers, but he’s really awesome with little ones. You’ve seen that for yourself. It might be a bit of a shock to him initially, but you know, maybe give Brutus a call and see if he can whip up a plate of those chicken wings for him as a surprise – soften the shock a bit.”

Mal laughed. “I can see it now. Hey honey, surprise! And I’m not talking about the chicken wings. It’s either that or a case of Cam’s beer. I’m not sure whether or not that might be better for him.”

“Regardless of how you tell him, congratulations Mal. I’m truly happy for you both.”

“Thanks Doc.” Mal left the office and wandered back to the sheriff’s office. The cruiser wasn’t back yet, so he had a bit of time.

“I see I was right then.” Mrs. Hooper was heading toward him, a large basket of her meals on her arm. She was clearly making a delivery.

“I don’t know how you do it, Mrs. Hooper.” Mal smiled and nodded as he went past.

Still thinking about what Doc said, Mal sat at his desk and pulled out his phone. Pulling up Brutus’s contact details, he quickly tapped out a text. It wouldn’t hurt to make sure Rocky was in a good mood when he found out he was about to become a daddy.

Chapter Seventeen

“They were literally asking to be chased. They had guns there and everything.” Rocky was getting worried. Okay, Mal probably hadn’t wanted him and Liam chasing campers through town, but he felt there were extenuating circumstances.

Those three hikers had been rude until Rocky shifted into his wolf form and Liam followed suit, roaring the way only a lion could do. They soon stopped with their “I can go anywhere and will shoot anyone who says otherwise” nonsense. Shifter towns were created for a reason – for shifters to be shifters without having to be worried about getting shot or hunted, although the guys still claimed they were regular hikers.

Mal smoothed it all over anyway, pointing out to the shaken men they were lucky they were only faced with a wolf and a lion shifter – that there were plenty of other bigger and meaner shifters in town. He suggested that next time they should obey the signs posted on Arrowtown’s borders, and no, they couldn’t have their guns back because they weren’t allowed on shifter property unless they were registered with the sheriff’s office, so the firearms had been confiscated. Mal also sourced new uniforms for Liam and Rocky – and barely said anything about them running through town in their shifted form. Although he did make Liam walk back and get the cruiser which had been left behind.

It has to be something else, right?Mal had been quiet all afternoon. Not even Rocky’s attempts to file some paperwork made him smile. As he pushed open the door to their house, Rocky said, “I can run you a bath tonight if you like…” He sniffed the air as he caught a new scent. “Ooh, chicken wings. Brutus must have been here while we were working. Wasn’t that good of him?”

Hurrying through the kitchen, Rocky’s eyes lit up as he spotted a large metal serving tray on the counter, covered in foil. “Hmm, Brutus, you are my favorite friend. Did you want coffee or a beer?” he asked Mal, who had followed him in more slowly. “Brutus brought us dinner. Isn’t that awesome?”

Mal sat at their small table, nodding but still not saying anything. It was worrying enough for Rocky to drop his hunt for clean coffee mugs and go over to the table, sitting down opposite his mate.

“Mal, you’re worrying me. I wasn’t that badly behaved this afternoon, and it’s not like me and at least a dozen other locals haven’t done something similar before. At least they ran straight for the sheriff’s office. I still don’t know why they do that, but anyway, are you really angry at me? Come on. Tell me. What’s wrong?”

“Rocky, those men had guns. You should’ve called for backup. You and Liam could’ve been badly hurt or even killed.” Mal’s eyes were really sad, and Rocky had a desperate urge to make him feel better.

“They weren’t big guns, and there were only two guns among three people, and Liam was there, and most people, even if they don’t balk at a wolf, will definitely think twice about shooting a lion. And nothing happened. Everything all worked out in the end…”

“Rocky!” The sharpness in Mal’s tone was a total shock. “When things like that happen you call for backup, do you hear me? You call for fucking backup. How the hell are you going to be a decent daddy if you are running off and chasing men with guns just because you’re bored? Answer me.”

---