Page 31 of Two Wrong Turns

“Thank you, mate,” he whispered a second before slumping forward.

With quick reflexes, I shifted him to the side so he wouldn't be putting extra pressure on his belly. He was already lost to sleep, so I went about covering us up and holding him close. We weren’t going to get the chance to move off this couch anytime soon with how tightly he was wrapped around my knot.

“I love you, mate. Thank you for finding me.”

Chapter 13

Barrett

I wasthankful to have finally reached my third month of pregnancy because it was the first time I didn’t feel as if I was going to vomit when I opened my eyes in the morning.

Nausea had been an unwelcome companion for the last several weeks. While it had faded here and there, it had lingered more than anything.

I had worked hard to hide my discomfort from my mate. He was distraught at not being able to help me. He wanted to be able to take care of me in every way possible, which meant that me being uncomfortable in any way frustrated him immensely.

His job suffered because he could barely focus if he knew that I was fighting a wave of nausea. The minute he felt it through the bond, he'd come racing home in the middle of the day. Thator he’d call me while he was supposed to be taking care of something else.

It wasn't a huge deal considering the low crime rate in the area, but it was still more than he needed to be doing.

I had to pull my weight, which meant toughening up enough to where he only saw me weak when he was home. Well, "weak" was not the right word.

"Vulnerable" would be a more accurate description. I had realized pretty early on that pregnancy was not something weak people did.

You had to be strong in both body and mind to carry a child.

I have battled with insomnia, nausea, and increasing depression over the last few months. The sad part was it was a direct correlation to my hormones. The doctor knew and still, there was nothing that could be done.

And women had been subjected to this for centuries.

Sure, men in this paranormal world that I had no idea existed also dealt with it. But coming from the human land, I realized I took much for granted.

Each day was a gift. Despite the nausea and other uncomfortable symptoms, I recognized that I was lucky. I had the support of someone who loved me along with a town who seemed hellbent on welcoming me.

I was walking to go get a fresh cup of decaf coffee since caffeine was not my best friend anymore when I heard my name being called.

I looked up to see a face that seemed familiar, but I couldn't quite place it.

Nolan and I had had dinner in town very early on in our relationship. But my nausea had made us homebodies.

Since I woke up today feeling fine, I decided I should at least attempt to get closer to all the scents that used to irritate me. Coffee seemed like the easiest option since the diner held too many potential triggers. Getting to the cafe was easy enough.

Except now I was being stopped by a stranger.What fun.

I mean, I knew who it was, but I didn't know who it was. Names were hard to keep track of in a place like this. I’d focused more on what type of shifter they were. My brain managed to file that away easier.

Nolan assured me that all the townspeople were friendly and would want nothing more than to welcome me. My mate had not lied to me so far, which meant that I put on a smile and greeted the stranger with a kind “Hello" at their approach.

"It's so good to see you out and about. Oh, and look at your precious bump. You're glowing," the young woman said, gushing as she framed my stomach with her hands. She didn't touch me. It was more a circling motion to show how round I'd gotten.

I wanted to laugh and cry. My expression must have shown my turmoil because she held her hands up and gasped.

“I am so sorry. That was completely outrageous of me to say. I forget that you're human. Shifters tend to dote on each other's pregnant forms. It's kind of like a compliment to an outfit, I guess, in the human world. I know not to touch you because Nolan would hunt me down and kill me, but I couldn't resistmentioning something. You're just so adorable. The two of you are perfect for each other.”

The harried woman dipped her head and ran off before I could say anything else. My mouth hung open as I tried to grasp what the hell had just happened.

It was weird, but I wasn't offended. Not anymore since she had explained herself. It was another one of those shifter customs that didn't make sense to me. I was going to start carrying around a notebook soon if I wanted to keep up with everything.

I trucked along to the cafe and got what I wanted. A few more people politely nodded or waved, but no one else approached.

---