Papa Bear for Darius Read online

  “You could never let me down, Papa.” My bear growled in agreement as he put the car in Park.

  “Your bear likes me.” He turned off the ignition and gave me a kiss on the cheek. “We need to let them out to play.”

  He wasn’t wrong. It had been so long since I’d let mine out between being in the city and feeling like an outcast to bear kind, I kept pushing his desire to roam back. I’d not been fair. Had I a will, I’d have been able to make it happen.

  “Agreed. Mine hasn’t been out in too long.” I sighed as I reached for the door handle. “Do you think it is safe here?” We’d, or I should say Bruin, had picked this place as one for us to consider based on location, but that didn’t mean our animals had free rein. We weren’t on clan land.

  “If we don’t wander too terribly far. All of the closest neighbors are shifters.”

  “Which doesn’t mean all of the people here at any given time are—got it.” I climbed out of the car, excited to see the place. Furniture, paint, and, in theory, a fancy-schmancy bathroom awaited me. Bruin had let his surprise on that front slip one night. I had a feeling the last part wasn’t done. Remodels always took too long. It was a rule or something.

  We walked into the unit, and I just stopped, jaw dropped open. The transformation blew my mind. It had been gorgeous when I first saw it, but now? Now, it looked like something out of a home magazine. The walls were both painted and stenciled, the floors beautiful hardwood, the furniture both eclectic and inviting. Whomever did the work managed to have my favorite chair in the mix and not looking like the last item needing replacing.

  “Wow!”

  “That good?” He scooped me up in his arms. “Wait until you see what awaits.” He carried me to what I knew to be our bedroom and pushed the door open with his foot. It was like a luxury hotel, only homey. From the four poster bed to the granny quilt to the matching nightstands—it was more than I could’ve dreamed of.

  “I love it. How? When?”

  “I made phone calls when you were being all impressive and smart.” He kept walking in the direction of the bathroom. “They didn’t love the weird time zone difficulties. What can you do? Now close your eyes, Bunny.”

  I squeezed them shut as he held me closer, maneuvering us into the bathroom, which still smelled of paint and caulk. “May I look now?”

  “May I look now what?” His voice deepened and his scent intensified.

  “May I look now, Papa Bear?”

  He set me down. “You may.”

  I cracked open my eyes, and, while the bathroom had been completely redone, my eyes were glued to one thing—the tub. It was exactly like the tub at Animals. Exactly.

  “How?”

  “I have my ways.” He pointed to a hook beside the tub. It held a pink bathrobe and below it a pair of bunny slippers. I couldn’t help the giggle escaping me.

  “Want to try it out?”

  “More than anything, but unfortunately, they just finished today and they want it to sit for another twenty-four-ish hours. I have something else we can do in here, equally intimate.” He nibbled on my ear and walked around me to the sink, which had a lunch-sized paper bag sitting on it. He snatched it up and handed it to me. “Amuse me.”

  I took the bag and opened it up, expecting something for sexy times and instead finding not one, but four pregnancy tests, all different brands.

  “You think I’m pregnant?” The thought had crossed my mind a few times, sure. I had yet to feel any symptoms, though, so I figured it was just daydreaming.

  “My bear does.”

  That caught me off guard. I knew bears sensed these things first, I’d just always assumed it was the bear of the prego guy. And maybe that was my “daydreaming,” my bear trying to tell me. The darn thing had words. He needed to use them. I was not good at subtlety.

  “Since when?” And why wasn’t mine doing more than hinting? I was actively trying not to get my hopes up. But a baby. A sweet little mini-me of Bruin. Nothing in this world could make me happier.

  “Since the flight to Spain.” I gave him the you better keep talking finger swirl. “When security got weird, he was clawing at me to save our babe. I thought he meant you, but he keeps saying the word—babe.”

  I was pregnant. My bear’s mate would know, and if he was that adamant, there had to be a reason. Right? And then there were my random thoughts of being pregnant. I was having a baby. Bruin’s baby. Probably. Those tests called to me.

  “Will you be all right if you are? I mean, your career and all.” Oh, how he misinterpreted the expressions that must’ve accompanied my inner monologue.

  “I would be more than all right.” I threw my arms around him, peppering his face with kisses. “All I’ve ever wanted is a family who accepts me, and here you are making that possible.”

  His hands on my shoulders stopped my bouncing, and he waited until I met his eyes to begin speaking.

  “I don’t just accept you, Bunny. I love you with my whole heart. I am honored to know you, more to be a part of your life. I am proud of you—so very proud. And not gonna lie. Knotting you doesn’t suck either.”

  “Doesn’t suck, huh?” I pushed him playfully as I tried in vain to blink past my tears of joy.

  “Nope.” He accentuated the P with a pop.

  “Let’s do this thing.” I grabbed the bag and opened the boxes one by one. Within five minutes I had four positive pregnancy tests laid out on the counter.

  “We’re having a baby.” This time it was Bruin with the unshed tears. “A baby.”

  “I’m going to be a dad.” I placed hands on my belly.

  Run.

  “And my bear is being an ass. He wants out with his mate to celebrate.”

  “Then fur it is.” He took me by the hand and led me to the back door where we barely got our clothing off before our bears took over, enjoying their first run together and the excitement of our growing family.

  So much better than a bath.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Bruin

  How quickly things moved from Halloween night when I met my omega. I’d been bopping along, being single, working too hard, and focused on nothing else except occasional regrets about leaving my clan behind. Perhaps that contributed to the workaholic thing. And I’d worried about Bunny thinking it was odd, an alpha making the decision I did, to leave rather than fight. But when I told him, he only said, “I’m so glad you were where you were that night to meet me. It wouldn’t have happened if you’d chosen otherwise. Fated mates, Papa Bear. We had to be where we were when we were for everything to come together just as it needed to.”

  Fated mates. This was exactly what the phrase meant.

  Living above my business was great for now. For a mixed-use/mostly industrial neighborhood, it had a large shifter population, and when all the businesses closed, the people who actually inhabited the apartments and lofts came out and mingled. Lots of pot lucks and barbecues on Sundays right in the middle of the street waiting to be clogged with delivery trucks on Monday. Our home was being built outside of town, but it wouldn’t be ready until after the baby came, so we’d added a nursery nook to our bedroom.

  Hiring both the people Karma recommended and a few others as well had made it possible for me to travel only for a few days here and there to get jobs set up or help with difficult projects, and as my omega swelled with our child, I tried to make those trips few and far between.

  Our doctor and midhusband shared a practice and were the nicest, most caring people I’d ever had the pleasure to encounter in the medical field. They were also mated, and their toddler and his manny were often there when we visited.

  “Ready to go, Bunny?” I wanted to get to our ultrasound appointment a little early. “We need to hit the road soon.”

  Darius groaned from the bedroom. “I…can’t…button these jeans. Go without me.”

  I could feel my eyes roll. “Wear the daddy jeans we bought. They should fit fine.”

  “Not yet,” he w
ailed. “I don’t want to be so fat yet.”

  “Omega.” I waited a moment, but he didn’t respond. “Omega, if we’re late, they won’t be able to fit us in. You know how popular your doctor is. Put on the pregnancy pants. What are you saving them for?”

  He emerged a moment later, wearing the new pants. “You should have to get fat, too.”

  And he sailed past me to the stairs and descended out of sight. Omega bears almost always thickened when they were pregnant, not just in the belly but all over, and my mate was no different. But sometimes it bothered him, probably because he was unusually lean for our type and even his sleeves were tight. It was a transformation he might not have been ready for, and I made a mental note to get the older bear omega who came to all the BBQs and was steeped in wisdom to talk to him later.

  I grabbed a couple of water bottles and followed him down and out to the van. Darius was almost always easygoing, but pregnancy hormones had brought out a pensive, occasionally snappy side to him. Though I’d grown up around pregnant bears, I’d left the clan young enough I wasn’t really interacting with them, so this was on-the-job alpha training in the care and feeding of my mate.

  We arrived in plenty of time after a silent ride, and I went around and opened Darius’s door, closing it after he climbed down, ignoring my extended hand. I got it—he was “fat” because of me, and my reassurances I found him sexier than ever only seemed to upset him. When the office door was locked, the out to lunch, back soon sign still in place, he turned on me with an expression capable of melting my face off.

  I almost took a step back, but then my bear rumbled and reminded me of something important. As the alpha, it was my job to step in and take charge when my omega was emotionally on the rails. Bring things back on an even keel. Meet my omega’s needs whatever they were. And in trying not to set him off, I’d been contributing to his running amok. Not good for him. Not good for me. Not good for our cub.

  A bench sat under a shade tree a few feet away, and I took Darius by the scruff and guided him there, pushed him gently down to sit.

  He glowered at me, but did not stand up again.

  Not really progress.

  I loomed over him for a moment, prepared to growl and snarl and tell him to get his act together when I saw how wrong that would be. Behind the glare lay a whole other emotion. How would I feel if my body was suddenly changing? If I had not only the changes every pregnant omega went through but those faced only by ursine shifters? He’d lose the baby weight, but not the structural changes. He’d have bigger arms and legs, a thicker waist, and probably would be a little taller.

  Sinking to sit beside him, I took his hands in mine. “It sucks, doesn’t it?”

  He didn’t reply, but he did cock a brow, at least responding.

  “Everything must feel so out of control. And though we’re in this together, I get to parade you around and brag about our wonderful new family on the way, while still wearing the jeans I always have and being able to rely on my body to behave as it always has. I can’t imagine what it must feel like to change so dramatically, but I want to try.”

  He gave a slight nod. “I-I’m scared, Papa Bear.”

  My heart broke for him, but I couldn’t join him in the emotional depths. I had to bring him out of them by staying there. “What scares you the most, Bunny? Tell me so I can help.”

  “How can anyone help?” A tear trickled down his cheek. “What if something is going wrong? I feel like I can’t count on my body anymore. It’s all stretched out and swollen and nothing fits. Not even my shoes.” I followed his gaze down to see he was wearing slippers. How had I not noticed? “I’m not throwing up anymore, but I still feel nauseous about half the time, pee a thousand times a day…” Once the dam broke, there was no stopping it. Or the tears accompanying it. I wanted to hug him to me and pat his back, soothe him, but I didn’t. He needed to get it out.

  And thinking back, I had to take some blame for the bottled-up emotions spilling over. Every time he got upset, I cuddled him and told him to shush, it would all be fine soon. I hated him being anything but happy, so when he seemed down, I swooped in and petted him until he smiled. Then, when that stopped working, I backed off and tried not to do anything to make him more upset.

  I didn’t “alpha.”

  So this time, I listened. And didn’t try to stop his tears, just held his hands while he let it all out. And when he finally stopped, and took a deep breath, I said, “Okay, I hear you. Let me see if I understand your biggest concerns, all right.”

  “Okay.” But he looked doubtful.

  “You are worried about the changes you’re going through, whether they are normal for a pregnancy, and you feel unwell a lot of the time?”

  “Yes.”

  “But knowing you, and knowing how caring you are and loving, I think the thing you mentioned the least is the one occupying your mind most often. You want to be sure everything with the baby is going okay, that none of these symptoms you’re experiencing mean the cub is in any trouble.”

  He blinked, licked his lips. “Do you think something is wrong? What if I’m eating too much and it’s causing the baby to be sick? Or not develop right? What if I’m already a bad father?”

  “Oh, Bunny. You’re the best father. No baby could be more loved.”

  And now I cuddled him close, rubbed his back and spoke low in his ear a whole different variety of love words than ever before, but more meaningful. “Darius, you already eat healthy, and if you have the occasional treat, it’s fine. When we go in to see the doc, we’re going to ask a lot of questions to make sure we are both on track, and your body is, as I already believe, doing just what it should. I promise to be there for you whenever you need me, but to do that, I need a promise from you.”

  He sniffled against my shirt. “O-okay. What do you want me to promise?”

  “That you hold me to mine. If you ever feel like I’m not listening, not meeting your needs, you’ll call me on it. Though the physical changes are all on you, the rest needn’t be.”

  He leaned back, his face still woeful, but no longer resentful. “So you aren’t mad because I’ve been so grouchy?”

  “Mad?” I grabbed him again and gave him a big squeeze. “Not in a million years. And you aren’t mad because I’ve been missing all the cues I should have been catching?”

  “Yes.”

  I gaped.

  “Kidding. But if you feel guilty, you can buy me a sundae on the way home.”

  My grin stretched my cheeks, and weeks of tension left my shoulders. “What about eating healthy?”

  “I’ll get a banana split. Fruit.”

  Just then, a sedan pulled up, and the doctor and midhusband emerged.

  “Looks like time for our appointment.” Darius stood and bent to drop a kiss on my cheek. “Lucky we got here early, huh?”

  I rose and took his hand. “Yep. Let’s go get a look at our baby. Do you want to know the sex?” We’d gone back and forth on the topic, never reaching a conclusion.

  “No. Let’s make it a surprise.”

  I started toward the door held open by our midhusband, Andy. “Whatever works for you, Bunny. But I am curious.”

  “Hello, you two,” chirped Andy. “Sorry we’re late. I hope you weren’t waiting too long.”

  We smiled at each other then at him. “Just long enough,” Darius said. “So, how does this work?”

  Ten minutes later, my Bunny lay on the table, his shirt pulled up and his belly gleaming with the gel that would allow the device Andy called a “transducer” to move over his skin and capture the images soon to appear on the screen. I held my omega’s hand as Andy asked, “Are we going to find out the sex?”

  I parted my lips to say no, but Darius beat me to the reply. “Absolutely.”

  “All right, then.”

  I looked from the moving device to the screen and back again. Then, it stopped. “There he is.”

  If kissing an omega on the exam table was a problem, nei
ther Andy nor his alpha doctor mate who came in just then commented. In fact, they kissed, too.

  We were having a son. Now we had to think of names…

  Chapter Sixteen

  Darius

  “He should’ve had his shower two months ago like a normal person. Who has a shower on their freaking due date?” I huffed as I tried once again to get my socks on before Basil’s shower was over. I was on attempt four. I wasn’t growing a baby, I was growing a teenager—I swore it. “Are you going to help or what?” I gave up, throwing my sock at my alpha like an impudent child and instantly regretting it. “I suck. Can I have it back? I can do this.” I conceded.

  “Absolutely not, Bunny.” He knelt in front of me, or at least I assumed he did. I couldn’t see him over my huge belly, and I still had over a month to go. “This is my job. You grow the cub, and I do all the rest.”

  “Doesn’t sound fair to me.”

  He gave my foot a rub then slid on the sock. It felt amazing.

  “It isn’t fair, omega mine. But it’s the least I can do,”

  “That’s not— Never mind.” No sense going around the conversation again. He’d win. He always did. It was par for the course with the irrationality that set in during my pregnancy. At least I mostly saw it for what it was after it spouted from my mouth. I still hadn’t figured out how Bruin put up with it all.

  “Let’s get your shoes on and head to the shower.” He helped me up from. the bed, and we headed to the door where my slides lived. Shoes were a big no with my feet the size of the shoe boxes.

  “I hope they like the baby carrier.” The salesman said he could exchange it for another if it wasn’t comfortable, but I still wanted Basil to love it. It was adorned with octopuses, his favorite.

  “He is going to like whatever you got him because you got it with love.” My mate, a cheesy greeting card on legs. Goddess I was a lucky omega.

  We drove to Animals, and of course, I had to pee five minutes out. By the time he pulled up to the entrance, I was ready to jump out of the moving car to get to a bathroom.