Head Hunter (City Shifters the Pack #3) - Layla Nash Page 0,105

very large forest and a few gardens. He asked me to reach out again.”

“Oh, right.” I nodded. I barely remembered the tall, silver-haired man with the air of mystery around him. It felt like a million years ago that we’d been in his office. Dodge hadn’t seemed to like him much. The guy made the back of my neck prickle, but if he was related to Meadow, he couldn’t be all bad. “Yeah, that would be fun. It’ll be good to get back to work.”

“For a little while, anyway,” Rafe said. He squeezed my shoulder and started to follow Meadow into the hall. “Congratulations, by the way.”

I gripped the door, starting to frown again. “Congratulations? For what?”

“The baby.” And he gestured at my stomach.

I blinked. My mind wouldn’t form a coherent thought as I stared at him. A flush slowly climbed his cheeks, and Meadow glared at him with a mix of fury and horror. I cleared my throat. “I’m sorry, what? Did you just say... What did you just say?”

“Uh...” Rafe shifted his feet and tried to back up more, like he thought I might take a swing at him. “Just... You, uh, smell like you’re pregnant. The wolf can tell. I thought you knew.”

Meadow smacked her forehead and hissed, “What is wrong with you?”

A loud rushing noise filled my ears and I kept blinking, hoping that something would occur to me. He had to be wrong. I couldn’t be pregnant. “I don’t... It’s just not possible.”

“I’m probably wrong,” Rafe said. He held his hands up and started edging toward the elevators. “Don’t listen to me. Ow. Meadow, stop pinching me. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”

My brain short-circuited and I was still staring blankly at the hall as Meadow apologized profusely for her mate and promised to look in on me. Then they disappeared behind the soft bing of the elevator. Still I stood there, trying to remember how to breathe.

Pregnant?

Chapter 48

Percy

Eventually I remembered to shut the door. I found myself back on the couch, staring at the floor-to-ceiling windows with a view of the city, but not really seeing anything. It just wasn’t possible. After everything that happened, after everything my body had been through at the animal sanctuary, surely...

I shivered and got up to pace, my stomach turning over. Sure, there had been that marathon night with Dodge, and yeah, we’d forgotten a condom that one time... and then again in the shower... But...

I shook myself as panic bubbled up. I’d been nauseated a lot, and worn down, and thrown up more than once. Could it have been morning sickness? Fatigue from being pregnant? I’d been at the hospital for almost two full weeks. They’d done so much bloodwork it was a miracle I had enough left for my veins. Which was why I hadn’t been surprised when I didn’t get my period as expected. For two months.

My hands started to shake as I made another circuit of the living room. It just wasn’t possible. Not possible. Not even in the realm of possibility. With all the injuries and surgeries and everything else, it just wasn’t possible that a baby survived with me.

I barely managed to pick up my phone without dropping it, and it took me three tries to finally get Deirdre’s phone number on the screen. When she answered, my voice cracked immediately and tears started to fall. “I n-need to talk to someone. Can you come over? It’s – im-im-important.”

“Whoa, girl,” she said. Noise in the background made it clear she was outside and moving around. “What’s wrong?”

I couldn’t say the words out loud, not yet. That would make it real. Once said, they couldn’t be un-said. I squeezed my eyes shut as more tears escaped. “I just – can you come over? I know it’s an imposition and I wouldn’t have asked if...”

“It’s not an imposition,” she said, sounding impatient. “I’m nearby running errands. I’ll be there in five, okay? Just keep yourself calm and make some tea. Don’t get worked up. Whatever it is, we’ll handle it. Okay?”

The confidence in her tone helped immensely, so I had stopped crying by the time she knocked on the door. I still felt like a mess and couldn’t stop pacing around in jerky movements, but at least I wasn’t sobbing. Although the tears started again the moment I opened the door and found her standing outside.

Deirdre’s eyebrows shot up the second she got a look at me. “Jesus Christ, what’s wrong? What happened? Did someone –