“Could they try to come and do something to Sam?” Kane asked.
“We’ve got some of our friends in the London Pack keeping tabs on them. We’ll know if they try anything,” Chase added. He glanced at Sophia and then at Sam. “All right, love. I think if you don’t tell Sam her test results, she’s going to have a mild panic attack soon.” He grinned.
Sam’s leg shook from nerves. Riel must’ve noticed her anxiety because he picked her up from her seat and sat her in his lap. The move instantly calmed her. She curled her arms around his neck and turned to Sophia. “OK. So what did you find out?”
Sophia grimaced. “I’m sorry Sam. I have two theories. It is possible that your mother had a gene which kept her from turning shifter when she mated and that gene was passed on to you.”
“There’s no way to tell?”
“No. I would need your mother’s DNA to test and see if it was a genetic anomaly. My other theory is that her treatment with those drugs killed any chances for you to be a shifter. The compounds were super strong. I’m surprised they didn’t kill you in her womb.”
Sam wasn’t surprised. She’d had a feeling from what she’d read that the drugs had caused her to be in her current state. Too bad, she’d never be a shifter.
“But I do have good news.” Sophia smiled.
“What?” All Sophia was supposed to look for was the alteration to her DNA.
Sophia sat on Chase’s lap and grinned at them. “You’re going to have a baby.”
A chorus of “what” and “congratulations” sounded in the room.
“Hold on a second,” Sam interjected, confused as hell that Sophia could know something that soon. “How can you tell when it can’t be more than a week or two?”
Everyone laughed.
Sophia winked at her. “Well…shifter babies develop a lot faster than a human baby. What would be a nine-month pregnancy with a human is a six-month pregnancy with a shifter.”
She gulped, unsure how to handle the-whole-going-to-be-a-mother thing so soon.
“And,” Sophia continued over the loud voices, “I don’t think the problem with the lacking gene will pass on to your offspring. Your baby should be full-blown shifter.” She grinned and pointed at her own nose. “This little baby doesn’t lie. I can smell the tiny wolf a mile away.”
Riel turned Sam in his lap and grabbed her face in his hands. He kissed her so softly she forgot all about how Sophia knew she was pregnant. She became oblivious to their audience until someone cleared their throat.
“Um, excuse me,” Nat broke in. “But I’d like to hug the mom-to-be sometime before the baby is born. And I’m not trying to see any adult-rated shows anytime soon,” she complained.
“Come on, Nat. I can show you some great sights in private,” Kane quipped.
“Over my dead body,” Troy growled.
She lifted her face to her mate’s. The look of total adoration in his eyes made her heart flip. She turned to Natalia who sat between Troy and Kane. They were ready to fight for the rights to her best friend. It was funny to see and so obvious to her that Kane was only trying to rile up Troy.
Sam stood and was enveloped in multiple hugs until she found herself being pulled to the kitchen by Sophia’s sister Julia, and Nat.
Sam’s smile grew when she noticed what was on the kitchen table. The women turned to Natalia, and she grinned. “I know how you pregnant shifters or almost shifters get without your chocolate, so I begged Tryx to hook you guys up. One for each so there’s no fighting.”
Julia stopped in her tracks. “Oh god. Is that—?”
Sophia bounced toward the table. “Yes! How did you know we’d love this, Nat?”
Natalia laughed. “I don’t know, but from what I saw of Sam, you guys have some sweet tooth that can’t be cured.” She grinned. “And really, who the hell doesn’t love chocolate cake? That’s just insanity.” When the women pointed at the two extra cakes, she smirked. “You girls don’t think the guys and I deserve a piece?”
They all laughed.
Sam had to hand it to Nat. She fit right in with the shifter group. They each cut a large piece and walked out to the yard where the nurse guarded over Shane and Selena. Riel walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. She sighed and leaned back into him.
He fluttered his lips over her ear. “Thank you,” he whispered.
She lifted her head and peered at his beautiful golden eyes. “For what?”
He turned her in his arms. Her breath hitched at the emotion in his eyes. “For coming home.”