They both shifted, and for Cain the shift had never felt better. He had every intention of staying in his human form for at least a few days. The others could handle the hunt. He had no plans to leave the den or his mate.
Leaving had been a lot more difficult than Cain had anticipated. With his former mate, he had come and gone as necessary, trusting the pack to provide for her in his absence. In many ways, he had enjoyed his time away from the pack, as it afforded Cain a small measure of freedom in a life that was laden with responsibilities.
Things had been different this time, and Cain had thought of little else but returning to his mate and son as quickly as possible.
“It’s about time,” Cain said, unzipping his bag. He pulled out his boots and jeans, not bothering with a shirt. Alder trudged up to him as he dressed.
“I caught your scent a while back,” Alder said. “Lotus got stuck in a tree. I had to get her down first.”
As he finished buttoning his jeans, Cain gave his brother a questioning look before bending to tie his shoes.
Alder explained, “Sarah is having Caim and Lotus take turns hunting.” Eyes dancing with amusement, he added, “Your son is not pleased.”
Cain favored Alder with a tight smile. Cain didn’t like hearing the other males refer to his mate by her given name. He had never considered himself to be an overly possessive wolf, but he couldn’t control the way his blood heated at the thought of another male being familiar with her.
Flinging his bag over his shoulder, Cain started towards the den again. “How is my mate?”
“She’s fine,” Alder said, following alongside him. “Probably sleeping right now.”
“And Caim?”
“Good.”
“Any trouble while I’ve been gone?”
Alder hesitated before saying, “Few bears passing through. Nothing Hale and I couldn’t handle.”
Cain took in his brother’s rigid posture and frowned. “Then what’s wrong?”
“There’s something I want to talk to you about,” Alder said, coming to a halt.
Cain stopped as well. There was something about being so close to the den that made Cain immensely impatient. His warm mate was just a few moments away. He needed to touch her and smell her again. He needed to be inside of her.
Pinching the bridge of his nose, Cain asked, “Can it wait?”
Alder cringed. “I guess it can.”
Satisfied and not the least bit curious, Cain turned to start towards the den once more. His fists clenched as Alder called out to him.
“Wait. There is something else you should know.”
Not stopping, Cain barked out, “What is it?”
“Sarah’s pregnant.”
* * *
Sarah was awakened by a newly-developed sixth sense: the ability to tell when a child wasn’t where it was supposed to be. Flexing her superpower, she detected the heavy weight of Snow on her chest and felt Sable’s soft puppy head on her thigh. Wiggling her toes, she let out a groan. Caim.
Snow rolled down Sarah’s chest as she sat up, falling into a neat heap in Sarah’s lap. Sarah rubbed at her eyes in a vain effort to dispel her sleepiness. Lately it had been harder to wake herself up than the children.
Sarah looked around the room, holding out hope that she could go back to sleep. Caim was nowhere to be seen. Briefly, she considered waking Sable up to help her sniff Caim out, but decided it probably wasn’t ethical to use her young charge as a bloodhound. Setting Snow aside, Sarah got up and began her search.
She headed for the moon room, knowing that if he wasn’t there, he’d probably gone outside. At least then, she could go up and search for footprints. While most of the pack didn’t think much of Caim’s tendency to disappear, Sarah was not about to let him get eaten by a bear on her watch.
The bonfire hadn’t been lit yet, but the moon room was bathed in light from the full moon. Sarah paused as she entered, looking up at the night sky. The moon was an orb of silver light, blurred, but somehow no less beautiful than usual.
“Sarah.”
The familiar voice made her heart stutter. A shadowed figure stood across the room, golden eyes flashing in the moonlight.
Though she had played the scenario over and over in her head, Sarah couldn’t remember any of the speeches she’d prepared. While she stood frozen in place, Cain closed the distance between them.
Chapter 7
One strong hand on her back and the other gripping her neck, Cain drew Sarah in for a fierce kiss. A strangled noise, part moan and part whimper, escaped her lips just before his mouth crushed hers. Cain responded with a low growl that reverberated throughout her bones and made her stomach quiver.