Page 78 of Hunny and the Bear

He clenched his jaw, furious with himself that he hadn’t picked up those books from his mom yet. They’d been delivered yesterday. If he’d gone to get them, he could have read up on this very thing. He could have been prepared for any kind of difficulty—

Hunny cleared her throat, drawing him from his thoughts. “You’re right. Maybe this is normal,” she agreed faintly, swallowing thickly. But he didn’t miss her small whine of discomfort.

Not a moment too soon, the den house came into view, his mom’s vehicle one of the first he spotted in the parking lot. Tank let out a relieved breath, pulling into a parking spot quickly. Lessthan a minute later, he had Hunny in his arms and was inside the building, prowling toward his mom’s office. He didn’t see the wolf or any of his pack, nor did he smell them, which he filed away to give a damn about later.

Hopefully, the fuckers hadn’t shown up. Or they had arrived earlier in the morning, sparing Hunny from further distress. Heart in his throat, Tank carried his mate into the clinic.

“I’ve got some good news for you both.” Pointing at an image on the ultrasound screen, Tabitha sent Tank and Hunny a reassuring smile. “Everything looks great. Kits are nice and healthy.”

Tank leaned over the bed his mate was lying on, all but sagging into her in relief as he placed a kiss on her forehead. He closed his eyes as his lips pressed against her skin, and he just breathed her in. His mom had cleaned Hunny up a few minutes ago, removing the scent of blood and replacing it with the stench of chemicals that stung his nose, but in that moment, he didn’t give a single fuck.

The last half hour had been a nightmare that he was unsure if he’d woken up from yet. Who knew the best blowjob of his life would turn into the worst morning he’d ever gone through?

“You’re sure everything is alright?” Hunny asked quickly, the fear in her eyes dissipating as she laid her hands on her belly. He followed suit, needing to touch her, to touch his little family and reassure himself that everything was actually okay. She looked at the screen and then back at his mother. “Nothing’s wrong? Why was I bleeding so much then?”

The reminder had Tank growling low in his throat on instinct. Luckily, Hunny had stopped bleeding on the drive over, not that he’d noticed, as stricken as he’d been.

“Some females bleed irregularly during their pregnancies. It’s more common with multiple fetuses, but a bit of spotting, or in your case, bleeding, isn’t always a bad thing. Have you two been sexually active recently?” Tabitha asked clinically, rolling away from them both on her stool. Removing her gloves, she tossed them into the hazardous waste bin before turning back to face them.

“I mean, uh, well, we’re mated,” Hunny began awkwardly, a delicate blush staining her cheeks. Tank nearly collapsed at the sight, relief coursing through him as she regained her normal, healthy glow. She’d been so pale, he wasn’t sure he’d ever get the image from his head.

Tabitha sent Hunny a pointed look. “That doesn’t really answer my question, dear. You smell like Tank, but that could be from the mating bond itself and the bite. Nothing else.”

“Yes, we’re having sex,” Tank answered hoarsely. “Did I hurt her? Did I hurt the kits?” Dread churned in his gut at the thought, self-loathing roaring through his head. If his dick needed to steer clear of his mate for the rest of her pregnancy, he would make sure the horny bastard remained firmly contained in his pants.

Tabitha snorted, shaking her head. “No. Sexual intercourse isn’t something that will cause harm. But the cervix is more sensitive during pregnancy, so if you’ve been having more sex than usual, it could cause bleeding like this.”

Hunny bit her lower lip before adding, “We had sex last night.”

“That’s probably what caused it, dear. But as I said, the kits are healthy and so are you, so please don’t stress over today any more than you already have. To be honest, your panic might have made the bleeding seem worse than it was.” Tabitha rolledback over to their table, gently patting Hunny’s knee through the privacy sheet. “It was good of you to come as soon as you noticed it, though. It never hurts to be safe with matters like this, so you both did the right thing. Do you have any more questions for me?”

Hunny wrinkled her nose, something Tank noticed her doing whenever she had a distasteful thought. “Do you think I’ll bleed like this again every time after sex?”

Tabitha shrugged. “It’s hard to say. Every female is different. Ideally, this won’t be a recurring issue, but even if it is, make sure to either come in or call me so we can discuss if any action needs to be taken. Okay?”

“Yeah, absolutely.” Hunny reached out, giving his mom a quick hug. “Thank you.”

Standing from her stool, Tabitha gave his mate another sweet smile before she cast a hard glare his way. Immediately, he was on edge, narrowing his eyes at her.

“Congratulations on your mating, Tank.” She sniffed dramatically, dusting off her clean shirt. “It would have been nice to hear the news fromyou, but hearing it from one of my other children was fine, too.” She muttered under her breath, “I suppose.”

Tank sighed, running a hand down his face. “Jasper told you, didn’t he?”

“Of course, he did.” Tabitha threw her hands up in the air. “At least one of my boys cares about his mother’s feelings and wants to keep her in the loop. I swear, getting you and Murphy to talk to me is like pulling teeth. You never tell me anything.”

“It’s not like that,” Tank argued. “Of course, I planned on telling you, but the last day hasn’t exactly been uneventful.”

Tabitha raised a brow. “And your phone wasn’t workingat allyesterday? Just this morning?”

“I didn’t think about calling. I wanted to tell you in person,” he told her reluctantly, his gaze moving from his mom to Hunny as she slipped from the table, straightening her clothing and dropping the privacy sheet back onto the table’s surface.

Tabitha walked over to an oak desk in the corner, grabbing a small stack of books. Bringing them over to Tank, she dropped them into his hands. They were heavier than he’d expected, and he looked down, glancing at the various titles.

“Start with the purple book. It’s the most detailed and goes over each trimester. I crossed out the information that wouldn’t pertain to a shifter pregnancy and highlighted the parts that you’ll want to pay close attention to. If you have any questions, call me.” Cupping his cheek tenderly, Tabitha waited until Tank looked up from the books. Her eyes swimming with happy tears, she whispered, “Congratulations, my darling boy. Hunny is a perfect choice for you.”

Tank’s throat tightened with emotion, and he nodded. “I think so too.”

Patting his cheek again, Tabitha dropped her hand, sending Hunny a grateful look as the rabbit shifter stepped up beside Tank. “Welcome officially to the family! I can’t wait for Phillip to meet you. He’ll be so proud to see such a wonderful female on his son’s arm.”

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