Allegiance of Honor (Psy-Changeling #15) - Nalini Singh Page 0,184

move apart after a quick hug. Lara turned to head toward him at the same instant that Ava said, “There’s my sweetheart. I’m going to haul him into a dance before he gets too caught up in photographing the event.”

Walker let Ava slip away and moved to meet his mate halfway. She’d tamed the corkscrew curls of her black hair into a fancy twist tonight and the red glints within shimmered when she passed under a cascade of tiny lights, but nothing shimmered as bright as her smile when she met his gaze. Her dress was ankle-length, the color a deep blood orange that looked exquisite against the natural dark tan of her skin.

It caressed her form as she moved, the simple lines of it graceful and elegant both.

“Are the children happy and busy?” she asked as she reached him.

“Yes.” It hadn’t always been easy for Walker to trust the bonds of pack, especially when it came to the children, but he was a true SnowDancer now, understood that in a healthy pack, a child need never look far for affection or assistance.

Biting down on her lower lip, Lara tugged on his hands. “Let’s sneak away for a bit.”

Walker had never played, not as a child, not as a young man. But he was mated to a wolf now, and to a wolf, play was as necessary a part of life as breathing. Releasing his mate’s hands, he slid one of his around to lie against her lower back. “This way.” His height made it easy for him to see through the mingled guests.

It still took them several minutes to navigate their way out, as packmates and friends wanted to say hello, but he finally got them to a spot in the shadow of a cabin. Far enough away from the party that they could speak in private, but close enough that they could still see the festivities. “Do you want to go into the forest?” Stroking his hands down her back, he rested them on the curve of her buttocks. “I want to.”

Lara looked at him through the thick fan of her lashes. “Bad man.” Her smile belied her words. “Leading me off the straight and narrow.”

Walker went to say that was his responsibility as her mate when something altered in the air between them . . . or perhaps something altered inside him. He didn’t know how to describe it, but he knew for certain that Lara’s body was no longer the same as it had been yesterday. Leaning down, he looked into her eyes.

“Walker?” Lara raised one hand to his cheek. “What’s the matter?”

Shaking his head, he tried to put a finger on what was bothering him . . . and oh. “Did you do a pregnancy test today?”

“No, I was going to wait till—” Lara’s eyes widened, one hand going to her abdomen. “Are you sure?”

He nodded. He couldn’t explain how, but he was sure. It was as if the mating bond had sent him a little pulse of knowledge, a warning that he’d have to take extra care of his mate in the months to come. “Yes, I’m sure.”

Tears filled her eyes. “Walker, oh. A baby.”

He gathered her in his arms, his own heart thudding so brutally inside his chest it almost hurt. “I love Marlee until it’s hard to breathe at times,” he told her. “But I never had the chance to experience all the stages of her development. I had to steal time with her.” The times she wasn’t in day care and her mother, Silent and without rebellion, wasn’t around to see how Walker treated his child—as if she was precious. As if she was his heartbeat.

“You won’t miss out on anything this time around.” She lifted her tear-wet face to his. “We’re going to go through this together, all of us. The whole family.” Her face glowed. “I can’t wait to tell the children.”

He loved her even more for loving Marlee and Toby as her own, for treating them like a mother would her babies. “Together,” he echoed, and holding her close, looked out at where Marlee was now sitting on the ground eating cake with a similarly occupied Ben next to her.

As he watched, Ben offered her what might’ve been a chocolate decoration from his piece. She accepted it, giving him something from hers in return. When Spencer moved into view to take a snapshot of the two, Walker knew he’d be asking for a copy.

“Do you think she remembers?”