Page 21 of Secret Shifters Next Door

Jumping out of my truck, I took a deep breath of the fresh air, then sprinted toward the forest. I was already morphing, my body twisting, elongating. Scales replaced my skin, and my arms transformed into wings. In seconds, I was aloft, the wind blowing across my dragon’s face. The beast was content to be out, but it didn’t mask the lingering sadness deep within.

This was new. My dragon had always been full of base emotions: hunger, anger, suspicion, happiness. It had never felt anything deep like depression or sadness. Only lonliness, but that wasn’t quite the same thing as being sad. Using my mind, I asked the beast if it was sure about Harley. The massive head bobbed in an obvious nod as we flew. Allowing my dragon to dive and sweep across the sky, I thought it through. I’d never ignored my dragon, but it had neverwantedanything before. Wincing inwardly, I wondered if I could let it have it. If not, what would that mean?

After my dragon had a good relaxing flight, with a nice hefty deer for dinner, I made my way back home. Harley’s lights were on when I pulled into my driveway, and when I got out of the truck, I heard the girls laughing through an open window. I turned to listen. It sounded like they were watching a movie or something. When I heard Harley’s voice, my gut stirred.

From what I’d witnessed so far, Harley looked like she was a fantastic mother. Their small family was full of happiness andlove. Would this new baby change that? Would she even want to keep it if it was going to change everything? Would she tell me about it soon? Would she keep it a secret and then give up the baby for adoption? I wouldn’t blame her if that was her plan.

That thought brought forth a swell of anger from my dragon. He obviously did not want that to happen. He was already protective of the child growing inside Harley. Miles was right. The baby was mine.

Steff was the only one of the pack out of the loop, and I figured it was time to get his input. Leaving the sounds of laughter and happiness, I headed into my house to call Steff.

He answered on the first ring. “Tate? Where have you been, man? I tried calling earlier. Miles said I needed to get a hold of you.”

“Sorry, had to clear my head for a few hours. I headed out to shift and let loose. It was desperately needed.”

“Okay, well, spill it, dude.”

I took a deep breath and let it all out. I even went through all the internal arguments between me and my dragon. As good as my shift had felt, getting it all out was even more cathartic. Hopefully, Steffen would have some good advice.

“Doyouthink she’ll tell me about the baby?” I asked.

“You want my honest answer?”

I wasn’t sure if I did or not, but I nodded and said, “Yes.”

“You’ve kind of treated her like shit since she moved in. Other than a few good interactions, you’ve accosted her in her yard, accused her of being a witch, and told her you wanted nothing to do with her. Am I missing anything? Honestly, bro, I wouldn’t blame her for keeping her pregnancy a secret. You haven’t given her any reason to trust you, man.”

It was a punch to the gut. It made me sick. I hated that he was right. My friends were the closest thing I had to family. Still,it irked me that they were always able to see what I couldn’t. I really was a dick sometimes.

“Steff, I don’t think I’m ready to be a father. I’ve never wanted a family of my own. You know that.”

They understood the trauma I carried from having been thrown out of my pack. That betrayal from my own flesh and blood had soured the idea of having my own family. The trauma ran so deep that I had trouble trusting the mating bond that seemed to be happening with Harley.

“What if she planned all this? Intentionally gotten pregnant for some type of plot against me?”

“Are you being serious right now? Listen to yourself. I know you don’t believe in coincidences, I get it. Tate, you have to be honest with yourself and accept that this may just be fate. Don’t get pissed at me, but I think you’re dead set against it because you’re fucking terrified. This is a journey you’ve never been on, and that is scary. You don’t really think any of this stuff you’re spouting, do you?”

I sighed and gripped the phone tighter, not sure how to answer. It was emasculating to admit I was afraid. I’d spent years building up walls, trying to forget my family’s betrayal. All this time, I’d been relying on my three best friends, pushing away any idea or possibility of more.

“Steff, I gotta go. I have to think about this.”

“Yup, sounds like you do. Love ya, brother.”

I walked out to my porch. Flopping down on my patio chair, I leaned back and stared up at the night sky, which I’d soared across only hours before. This day seemed like it had been going on for years. There was so much to think about. As I contemplated my life choices, I heard the sliding door across the street open. I forced myself not to look, but my dragon whined and asserted its will. It wanted nothing more than to see Harley again. Groaning, I tilted my head and glanced across the street.

Harley was pacing on her porch. She looked anxious and nervous, lost in her own thoughts as she rubbed her belly. My heart lurched at the sight. Harley tilted her head down, looking at her stomach. With my enhanced hearing, I could pick up what she was saying even this far away.

“Momma loves you. No matter what, I’m going to love you more than enough for me and your daddy.”

My dragon was overcome with an intense longing to go to her, and the feeling was almost strong enough to get me to obey. The love it felt for her was beyond description, but it wasn’t just that. It was in love with the baby growing inside her. It was so fierce that I knew it would die for both of them. Could it really be possible? Was that, somehow, beyond all explanation, my baby? And if it was, what would I do about it?

TEN

HARLEY

My eyes snapped open as my stomach roiled. I lurched from the bed and stumbled across the room, barely making it to the toilet before my stomach expelled its contents. Heaving twice more, my stomach muscles started to spasm, and tears tracked down my cheeks. I couldn’t stop until every drop of undigested food and liquid had been expelled from my body. Barely able to catch my breath, I gagged one more time before I was done.

After wiping my mouth with a towel, I stumbled back to bed, collapsing on the sweat-soaked sheets. This didn’t feel like morning sickness. I’d had it fairly bad when I was pregnant with the girls., but this was something else, I could already tell. My body was feverish, and I had aches, night sweats, and a splitting headache. I had not experienced these symptoms with my previous pregnancies. The thought that it was only because the baby was a boy seemed a little outlandish. All pregnancies were different, but this was too much. I’d never felt this awful. I’d had stomach flu, food poisoning, morning sickness, and none had even been half as bad as this.

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