“Everything okay?” he asked.
She nodded. “A mix up at the doctor’s office. They must have gotten someone else’s results.” She didn’t go into the actual diagnosis but saw understanding fill his eyes.
“Cassie, you are definitely pregnant.” He said the words so softly she wondered how she heard him.
“How could you know?” Then she thought about his shifter hearing. “Oh, you heard what she said?” She shook her head and tapped his arm. “They must have made a mistake.”
He grabbed her by her arms and met her gaze with his own solemn one. “She’s not wrong. I’m telling you because I can scent it. You are having a baby.”
The floor fell from under her feet and she wavered. He helped her stand and guided her to the closest wall. “I can’t be three months pregnant. That’s impossible.”
“It’s not impossible.” He cupped her chin. “Not if it’s a shifter baby.”
“What?” She was too confused to figure out what he was saying. A weird buzzing started in her head. It grew louder and loud and her muscles started feeling weaker and weaker.
“They grow at a faster rate. A month can be three for a shifter child. So to your human brain you are pregnant one month but the baby developing inside you is growing at a faster rate.”
Oh. Oh, shit.
The door to her left opened and she turned her face to see Gerri. Behind Gerri, Talen followed. The fury in his gaze at seeing Massimo’s hands on her face turned her blood to ice. She didn’t get a chance to say anything. The buzzing in her head blocked out everything else, pulling her out of reality and sending her into darkness.
TWENTY-ONE
Talen wanted to kill the man with his hands on Cassie. He didn’t. That in itself was hard enough. He didn’t give him a swift death because Gerri warned him she wouldn’t help him if he did.
“Massimo,” Gerri said the other guy’s name after he’d introduced himself while lifting an unconscious Cassie into his arms. “Bring her inside and lay her on the sofa.”
Massimo met Talen’s gaze. “She’s just a friend.”
Talen’s bear didn’t give a fuck if he claimed to be just a friend. The other shifter was touching his mate. His. A mate that was expecting his child. Right now he was having a hell of a time keeping the bear under control. He wanted to roar and tear Massimo limb from limb. He wanted to toss his lifeless body away from Cassie.
“Stop the growling, Talen,” Gerri snapped. “You scared her into fainting. There’s something you don’t see every day.”
Massimo snorted and stepped back once he placed Cassie on the sofa. “It wasn’t him that shocked her as much as finding out she’s pregnant.”
Gerri nodded, her brows drawn into a worried frown. “I can scent it. She’s pretty far along. If I hadn’t been so preoccupied with my friend, I would have been able to give her the news myself.” She pushed Cassie’s hair away from her face. Though her caramel skin looked healthy, she appeared pale since the last time Talen had seen her.
“Is she okay?” he finally asked Gerri. “She looks sick.”
Gerri glanced at him like he’d said something stupid. “She’s human. Carrying an alien-shifter baby. Her body’s working overtime. She’s probably really tired right now.”
“She’s been very tired,” Massimo supplied. With a quirk of his lips he met Talen’s gaze. “You don’t need to growl. She’s my friend. I knew she wasn’t well lately. This explains why.”
“She’s complained?” Gerri asked.
“She had to have someone watch her recently for a few days. To make sure she was going to be okay,” Massimo added and grinned at Talen’s deeper grunt.
“Open your mouth again about how much of a friend you are and I will claw that grin off your face.” Talen’s voice wasn’t high. He didn’t even sound angry. His voice was deathly soft and sharp enough to cut glass.
“You can stop your threats. I know a woman who’s mated when I sniff her.”
“It’s not a threat. And talk about sniffing her again and you’re a dead man.”
“Come on, Massimo. I’ll take you back downstairs,” Gerri said. She turned to Talen with a serious frown. “I’ll be right back. Try not to make her faint twice in one night.”
What did she think he was going to do while she was gone? Run away with his mate? He should, but he was too worried about her condition. She appeared to need rest and he’d stand guard and make sure she got it.
Talen squatted by the sofa and caressed his hand over Cassie’s cheek. She was cool to touch. She inhaled and let out a soft mumble, leaning her face into his hand. Warmth filled his heart. She liked his touch. He’d known from the moment he saw her she was the right woman for him.