“You protected your brother and that sweet little boy. That doesn’t sound like a monster to me.” She sat up and rubbed at her stomach. “If anything, I think it makes you a hero.”
I growled and turned away from her. “No. I’m a killer. Dangerous. I hurt people. This is stupid. I don’t want to talk about it anymore. Your turn, tell me your symptoms.
“If I had your physical strength and abilities and someone attacked my family, I would’ve ripped them to shreds. I know I shouldn’t say that, because I’m supposed to be this sweet kindergarten teacher, but it’s the truth. This world can come at you viciously at times. When it does, it’s our responsibility to protect our own, Michael, no matter what. What if you hadn’t killed him and he’d gotten to Mason? What if you followed the laws and he was arrested, and released in ten years? What if he’d come back while no one was around and killed someone you love? I refuse to believe that you’re a monster for protecting your family.
“Maybe your bear is a little out of control, but he’s been through a lot. He wasn’t able to protect you all those years ago, when you really needed him. Maybe he’s trying to make up for it now.”
I closed my eyes and shook my head. I wasn’t ready to deal this now. “Symptoms, Daisy.”
She sighed. “I’ve been nauseous lately, when I wake up mostly. I think it’s just nerves with school. Teaching at a new place is challenging, but especially here. People are closed off here more than anywhere else I’ve ever lived.”
“What else?”
“Um, tired. I’ve been tired a lot.”
I turned to face her and tried to remove any judgment from my face. “Are you pregnant?”
I watched her laugh and then grow still. Her face lost whatever color it’d regained and then she lurched for the bathroom again. After several minutes, I heard her faint crying.
“No, no, no. That’s not possible.”
I pushed into the bathroom and my stomach dropped at the sight of her. She was on the side of the tub, her head in her hands, her shoulders shaking with her sobs. “Daisy?”
She snapped her head up and met my gaze. “I… I didn’t know. I guess I haven’t had a period in a couple of months, but that’s not unusual for me. I can’t be pregnant. I just can’t. This is too much.”
I tuned into my senses as much as I could and took a deep breath in. Sure enough, I could now sense what my brothers had probably picked up on right away. Daisy was pregnant. Anger radiated up from within and I had to grip the doorframe to keep myself still. Another man had touched my mate. “How?”
Huge tears fell down her face as she looked up at me. “I went to a party a while ago. I got drunk and made the stupid decision to go home with a friend of a friend. We used protection, though. I was safe. This doesn’t make any sense.”
My chest felt like it was going to crack open. Another man had dared touch my mate. Of course, realistically, I knew that she’d been with others. Knowing it and seeing the physical embodiment of it, though, were two different things.
My bear was suddenly very present and very pissed off. I growled and forced myself to turn away. My movements were jerky from trying to contain it.
“Michael?” Daisy followed me. “I’m sorry. I honestly didn’t know.”
I moved as fast as I could to the front of the house, needing to get out of there. I could feel the bear clawing its way out and I didn’t know how long I could continue to fight it off. Boiling hot rage was pouring through my body and I was fighting a losing battle.
“I didn’t mean to suck you into a situation like this. I didn’t know!”
I spun around on her and winced when I saw the fear flash across her eyes. I spit the words out as best as I could. “Not…you. I’m going to…turn. Bear…pissed…run.”
I wanted to console her, but I felt the bone snapping shift begin and roared out in pain. It was happening. I was too late.
CHAPTER 9: Daisy
All panic about pregnancy flew out of the window when I watched Michael disappear amidst cracking and popping, and turn into the biggest grizzly bear I’d ever seen. The whole process took seconds. As asinine as it was, all I could think about was this giant bear sculpture I’d seen in a natural history museum when I was a little girl. I’d been mesmerized by how large it was. Michael was bigger. His bear didn’t even seem possible. He didn’t fit in my house, that was for sure.
Then, he roared again, and I snapped back to reality. There was a giant grizzly bear in my house. One that Michael seemed afraid of. I watched as it lowered its face to mine and then pulled back its lips in a snarl.