Page 30 of Claimed By the Bookstore Alpha
"Your wolf has good instincts."
"He does." My mate glanced around the bustling bookstore, taking in the children's laughter from the reading corner and the general atmosphere of warmth and community we'd built together. "He's also very smug about how well everything turned out."
I laughed, one hand resting on my growing belly. "He should be. We've got a thriving business, a baby on the way, and apparently we're about to become the go-to bookstore for the paranormal community."
"Don't forget the most important part.” My mate nuzzled the base of my throat, close to my mating mark. "We're happy."
He was right. Despite all the uncertainty of the past few months, the morning sickness and weird cravings and the occasional existential crisis about being mated to a shifter, I was happier than I'd ever been.
"Yeah.” I squeezed his hand. "We really are."
The bell dinged as another family came in, and Flynn straightened up to greet them. But not before placing his hand briefly over mine on my belly.
THIRTEEN
FLYNN
"We need more space." Clark stood in the doorway of our bedroom for the third time this week, eyeing the stacks of baby books that had somehow multiplied overnight.
At seven months pregnant, my mate was getting bigger every day, and our tiny apartment above the bookstore was becoming impossible to navigate. We'd already converted half the living room into a makeshift nursery, but there simply wasn't enough room for a growing family.
"I know." I looked up from the pregnancy manual I'd been studying. "I found a place online this morning. A three bedroom apartment, just a block away. The landlord said we could see it this afternoon."
My mate's face lit up. "Really? Three bedrooms?"
"One for us, one for the baby, and one for your writing. There's even a small balcony." I paused. "It's more expensive, but with how well the store's been doing..."
“I can’t wait to see it.” He settled onto the couch beside me, one hand automatically going to his belly. "When can we move?"
“Slow down. We haven’t seen it yet.”
I called the landlord and they accommodated our desire to view the apartment in an hour. We both fell in love with it. It had big windows, a modern kitchen and bathroom and lots of space. We signed the contract lickety split and boom, we were moving.
But I looked around at the towers of books that filled every available surface in our current place. "I have no idea how we're going to move all of this."
In the years I'd lived above the store, I'd accumulated what could only be described as a small library's worth of books. They lined the walls and occupied every corner. The thought of packing them all was overwhelming.
"We'll figure it out." Clark's easy optimism was what had first drawn me to him. "Maybe we can rent a truck?"
"It would take a dozen trips." I ran my hands through my hair. "And that's assuming we could get everything down the stairs without dropping anything."
The bell from the store chimed below us, and I sighed. "I should go help whoever's down there."
"I'll come with you. I need to get off this couch anyway."
Downstairs, Mrs. Lewis was browsing the new arrivals with her usual enthusiasm. She looked up when we appeared, her face immediately creasing with concern.
"Clark, dear, you look tired. Are you getting enough rest?"
"As much as I can." My mate settled into one of the reading chairs we'd added. "We're moving to a bigger apartment. Our place upstairs is so cramped."
She asked about our new place and my mate showed her pics.
"You should see upstairs. I think Flynn owns more books than some libraries."
She laughed. "Well, of course he does. What did you expect from a bookseller?" She paused, looking thoughtful. "You know, when are you planning to move? Because I'm sure some of us would be happy to help."
"That's very kind," I began, but she was already warming to the idea.
