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  She stilled, staring at him with what he could only describe as shock. What was going on in that pretty head of hers? “You really aren’t upset?”

  “No. Probably as disappointed as you are, but I’m not upset.” He shrugged. “Why would I be?”

  Kelly’s gaze lowered to the vicinity of his chest. “I failed.”

  It took him a moment to realize his eyebrows had hit his hairline and his mouth hung open. “Failed? Failed what?”

  “To get pregnant,” she muttered.

  Brett rubbed a hand over his face. He had that really annoying feeling that he’d walked into the middle of a conversation with no idea what was being discussed but was expected to know the correct response to a question on the topic. “That’s not your fault. Without more information, we can’t know where the fertility issues lie. For all we know, the problem lies with us males instead of you females. We could be infertile rather than you. Even if it is a problem with the females, that’s not your responsibility. You have no control over such things, any more than I do.”

  Without warning, she collapse against the the table and lowered her head onto her arms folded on top of it. Huge sobs shook her. Flabbergasted and, yeah, annoyed, he scooted the chair closer and wrapped his arms around her as best he could. Why was she so devastated by their not being pregnant? Had she counted that much on having a baby come spring? And why in the world had that made her afraid of him?

  Chapter 5

  BY the time Kelly pulled herself together, embarrassment set in. Had she really fallen apart like one of those weepy, clingy females she often saw in movies and hated so much? Ugh. How could she face Brett after such a scene? His firm but gentle grip and his face buried in her hair reassured her to some degree. At least tears hadn’t driven him away.

  When she stirred to wipe her face with both hands, his grip eased, but he didn’t entirely release her. Relief filled every cell of her being. He truly hadn’t been angry.

  “Better?” His blue gaze swept her face.

  She nodded with a weak smile.

  “Good. Now, tell me why this hit you so weird. You knew going into estrus that there are fertility issues among us wolves. Why did finding out you’re not pregnant cause such turmoil? It’s not a big deal.”

  She could almost see the wheels turning in his mind as he tried to figure out the puzzle she’d inadvertently laid before him. She sighed. “As soon as Jeremy told me the results of the ultrasound, I started thinking about Mom and Clara. I couldn’t get them out of my head.”

  “Clara?” He cocked his head.

  “My sister.”

  He nodded. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard you refer to her by name.”

  “I usually don’t. It’s easier, somehow, to separate myself emotionally from her and what her life has become if I just refer to her as my sister instead of by name.” She grimaced. “I’m sure that sounds really weird, but I can’t explain it any other way.”

  “No, I think I understand. Go on. What about your mom and sister upset you so much?”

  “As far back as I can remember, every year my mother failed to get pregnant, my father… punished her.”

  “Punished her? How?”

  “He beat her. Badly. Left her bleeding and broken. Sometimes he’d lock her up afterwards and withhold food so the injuries wouldn’t heal too quickly. Prolong the suffering.”

  A soft curse slipped from his lips, and he shook his head. “A man like that doesn’t deserve a mate. Makes me glad he’s dead.”

  The sincerity behind the words gave her the courage to continue. “Clara’s married to an alpha who treats her the same way. Based on what I’ve heard, he may be even worse though. She’s only had two successful pregnancies in about twenty years. I don’t know about the last couple, of course, since I ran away from home.”

  “Her mate beats her for not getting pregnant?”

  Kelly nodded.

  After a long moment, Brett shot to his feet and paced away to stand at the windows overlooking the meadow and forest behind the house. The sharp scent of his anger filled the room. When he turned back to face her, a deep scowl cut harsh lines in his face. “You thought that’s what I would do to you, didn’t you?”

  She averted her gaze. If she lied, he’d know. Sometimes it really sucked being married to a werewolf, especially one as old as Brett who couldn’t be fooled. “I was afraid you might, yes.”

  “How could you think me capable of that?” The look in his eyes was equal parts anger and hurt.

  “How could I not?” She slowly got to her feet to face him. “Until I came here, I’d never known wolves who acted any different than my father’s pack. Even after I met you and Ian, after I saw how Colin was with Tanya, how Graham is with Donna, doubts lingered. I feel like I’ve been… waiting for one of you to show yourselves as no different than my father and the others I’ve known. Men who rape, beat, and torture women who displease them, even when those women bow down and play doormat.”

  His blue eyes narrowed, anger sparking in them. “Is that why you pick fights with me? Trying to push me to violence? Trying to prove to yourself that I’m the same as your father and every other male wolf you’ve known?”

  She reared back. “No!” Right? She hadn’t intentionally picked fights with him over the last year, had she? Several such episodes popped to mind. Times she’d chosen to take something he said wrong, allowed her temper free rein. “Oh, no, what have I done?” Shoulders slumped, she groaned, plopped back into the chair, and closed her eyes. When she opened them and looked up at her mate, she found him standing only a couple of feet away, his gaze steady. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize….”

  Brett sat in the chair next to her again. “Is that also why you’ve been doing the June Cleaver routine all week?”

  Kelly frowned. “June Cleaver?”

  He nodded.

  “Uh… who’s that?” A human mate to one of the pack members? She couldn’t recall hearing the name before.

  A brow rose. Then he groaned. “You’re making me feel old.”

  She stared at him blankly. That didn’t help her understand the reference even the slightest little bit.

  “She was the mother on a television series years ago.” He shook his head. “I’ll have to track down DVDs or something so you can see it for yourself.”

  “What was she like?”

  “Domestic to the core.” He snorted. “Stay-at-home mother. Perfect hair. Perfectly dressed. Impeccable house. Dinner on the table on time. Laundry done. Kids taken care of. Happy husband.” He glanced sideways with a brow quirked. “I don’t suppose the reference Suzy Homemaker means anything to you.”

  She shook her head. “No. Sorry.”

  “Basically, June Cleaver was everything today’s liberal feminists love to hate because she focused on the needs of her family instead of a career, and she was really good at it.”

  “Oh.” That made sense. Mostly. Then she realized what he was saying and grimaced. “Have I been that bad?”

  “Except for the kids and happy husband, pretty much.” He scowled at her. “I didn’t marry June Cleaver. I married a firecracker who keeps my life interesting and full of passion. I don’t care if the house is perfectly in order, the laundry is caught up on any given day, or the meals are on the table at the exact same time every day. I don’t know why you’d think that’s what I want.”

  Kelly lowered her gaze to the table. He wouldn’t like the answer to that, so she probably shouldn’t comment.

  “Let me guess. Your father?”

  She nodded.

  A soft growl rumbled up from his chest. “Well, for the record, the only part of the house I expect to be in good order is the library. The rest can look like a tornado hit it for all I care.”

  “When I moved in here after we were married, the house was spotless.”

  “Yeah, because I was seldom here to mess it up.” Brett snorted a soft laugh. “I spent more time at Ian’s than here when I wasn’t at th
e university. I pretty much just slept here. When you came, I had to stock the freezer for the first time ever.”

  “I didn’t realize that.”

  “You might’ve asked instead of assuming I was a neatnik control-freak like your father.” He shot her a disgruntled look.

  “You’re right. I’m sorry.” She shook her head. “I guess I didn’t realize just how deeply my family had impacted me. You’ve never given me reason to compare you to my father. In fact, you’re so opposite of him it’s not even funny.”

  “Well, that’s reassuring. Keep that in mind the next time you’re tempted to think the worst of me. Okay?”

  Kelly nodded. “I’ll try.”

  He gently cupped her chin with one hand and gazed into her eyes. “Everything in me wants to protect you, not harm you. I will never knowingly hurt you, and I most certainly won’t hit you, much less beat you the way your father did your mother. I love you too much to treat you so atrociously.”

  Her breath caught. “You… love me?”

  “Of course, I do.” He laughed softly. “What kind of question is that?”

  “You’ve… never said anything.”

  “Yeah, well, that doesn’t mean I don’t feel it.” He grinned a bit sheepishly. “Truth be told, I fell in love with you the first time you stared me down. I’m two hundred and twenty-one years old. Do you really think I’d have gone so long without a mate only to fold in less than twenty-fours of meeting you if I hadn’t lost all my senses?”

  “Are you sure it wasn’t just the blood loss from the mountain lion attack?”

  Brett chuckled. “Quite sure. My brain was already addled before that.” His thumb caressed her cheek, and his expression softened. “You’re my heart. I decided a long time ago to remain single. I didn’t want to deal with the complications a mate could bring to my life, and I feared losing one. I saw what the death of Colin’s mother did to Ian. I wanted none of that. I couldn’t figure out why anyone would take a mate when the risks were so high and unpredictable.”

  Considering she’d never planned to take a mate after all she’d watched her mother go through, she understood better than he might think.

  “Then I met you, and all of my intentions went right out the window.” A smile warmed his face. “And I don’t regret it a bit. You’ve brought fire to the orderly, boring, predictable life of a disgruntled, cranky history professor who’d seen way too much in his life.” He kissed the end of her nose and grinned. “Until you came along, I did little more than drift through life. For the first time in a very long time, I’m truly living. Because of you.”

  Kelly lightly touched his face with her fingers. “I never realized I married a poet.”

  Brett chuckled. “Not so much. Just a boring history professor.”

  She got up, only to move from her chair to his lap, and looped her arms around his neck. “I’m not sure who this ‘boring’ guy is you keep talking about. There’s nothing boring about the history professor I married. In fact, he’s the hottest, most passionate guy I know.”

  “Oh, really?” A brow climbed again, and he grinned.

  “Really.” She kissed him then looked into his eyes, allowing humor to fall away. “I’m truly sorry about the last few days. For thinking the worst of you.”

  “No harm, no foul. At least we got it hashed out.” He scowled playfully. “Just don’t do that again.”

  “Yes, sir,” she murmured with faux submission.

  Brett’s eyes narrowed, and a grin slowly emerged. “I should teach you some respect.”

  “I’m a lost cause.” She shook her head with a woeful expression.

  “No such thing. You just need the right teacher.” He slipped an arm behind her knees, the other remaining at her waist, and got to his feet, hiking her against his chest. “And I think instruction should start right now.”

  Kelly giggled as Brett stalked toward their bedroom.

  Epilogue

  Sunday, April 15, 2018

  BRETT had been a werewolf for a very long time. About two hundred years, actually. He’d seen a lot of blood, a lot of pain, and a lot of suffering, but none of it had prepared him to watch the woman he loved endure the non-stop agony of childbirth. Jeremy at least managed not to laugh or grin when he helped Brett off the floor. Hopefully the man could keep a secret. The last thing Brett needed was for the whole pack, all but one of whom were lower than him in rank, to find out he’d fainted.

  The doctor cleared his throat and avoided Brett’s gaze. “It’s over. You… uh… slept through the worst of it.”

  “Over?” He glanced at the bed.

  Kelly sat up against the headboard, covered, with a bundle in her arms and amusement dancing across her tired face. “I was the one in pain, you know.”

  “I know.” He grimaced. “That’s the problem.”

  She cocked her head.

  “Apparently, I can’t handle you being in pain.” He sat beside her, careful not to bounce the bed and possibly cause more pain than she’d already endured. “Does the rest of the pack have to know about it?”

  “I don’t see any reason for them to.” She glanced up at Jeremy. “Do you, doctor?”

  The man grinned. “Nope. It’ll be our little secret.”

  That was a huge relief.

  “Brett?”

  He turned his attention back to his mate.

  “I’d like you to meet your son.” She shifted the bundle in her arms until he could see a small face. Squinty blue eyes stared at him, or at least appeared to.

  Brett frowned. “Is he supposed to be that small?”

  Jeremy chuckled. “Would you have preferred him to be bigger and cause your wife even more pain?”

  “No. I just didn’t expect him to be so little.” He reached for an impossibly tiny hand with miniscule fingers. They wrapped around his index finger with more strength than he’d expected. “He’s strong.”

  “You think he’s strong now, wait until he’s a year old and clinging to something you don’t want him to have.” The doctor laughed. “You should hear the stories I have from parents who’ve had to wrench things away from determined toddlers. They’re definitely stronger than they look, and those toddlers aren’t werewolves.”

  “Thanks for the encouragement,” Brett said dryly.

  “You’re welcome.”

  He knew it. Him fainting had already had an adverse effect on the respect he’d worked hard to maintain in the pack. Jeremy had never been cheeky with him before.

  “So, what name do I put on this little guy’s birth certificate?”

  Brett glanced at Kelly, raising a brow in question. “Well?” She’d told him weeks before that she’d chosen a name, but she’d been very secretive about what it was.

  She smiled and looked down into the face of their son. “Adam Dafydd Mitchell.”

  “Adam? Dafydd?” Interesting that she’d chosen the Welsh version of David.

  “First man, and a man after God’s own heart.” A finger gently caressed the baby’s cheek, and she offered Brett a weary smile. “I pray he’ll be the first of many God-followers born and raised in our home. As for his middle name, his father’s Welsh heritage is important. He should carry it with pride.”

  Little Adam’s face scrunched up, and a soft wail erupted.

  “What’s wrong with him?”

  “He’s hungry.” Kelly’s confidence astounded him.

  “How do you know?”

  She frowned in thought then shrugged. “My body knows.”

  “That would be my cue to head out.” Jeremy picked up his equipment bag and headed for the door. “You’re good to go with the nursing, right? Do you need my help?”

  Brett scowled. Had the man actually just offered to help his mate breastfeed?

  Kelly chuckled and shook her head. “We’ll be fine. You better go before Brett decides to eat you.”

  He shifted his gaze to glare at her. “That’s not funny.”

  The doctor took the opportunity t
o make a rapid escape. Brett could swear the man chuckled as he practically ran out of the room.

  “He wasn’t suggesting anything indecent, you know.” Amusement danced in her eyes.

  “Yeah, maybe.” He glanced at the door then got up. “I better make sure he gets out of the house okay.”

  Her laughter followed him into the hall.

  Not surprisingly, by the time he reached the front door, Jeremy was in his car and headed down the driveway. Brett locked the door then returned to the master bedroom. The sight inside stopped him in his tracks.

  Kelly had their son to one breast. He’d latched on like he’d been doing it forever and suckled greedily. She hummed softly as he nursed, one hand gently brushing across a head covered with thin, fine, downy-soft hair. The tired, contented smile on her face completed the picture.

  In all of his years, he’d never seen anything so beautiful. No one had ever entrenched themselves as deep into his heart as this woman. She was his. For life. There was no more precious gift than that, though the child in her arms came a close second.

  Tears pricked Brett’s eyes. He blinked them back, sniffled, and entered the room, returning to the bed to sit beside his mate. He leaned over and kissed the side of her head.

  She looked up to smile at him. “What was that for?”

  He shrugged. “Just because. Do I need a reason to kiss my mate?”

  “Nope. Not even one.” She grinned. “You can kiss me anytime you feel the urge.”

  So he did.

  Look for the next werewolf series, Alpha.

  If you missed how the couples in Baby Makes Three got together, you can find them in the WOLF short story series, available individually or as a Complete Collection.

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