Unexpected Mates

He jumped slightly as the plate crashed to the floor, breaking apart as it landed. “Shit,” he cursed. “No, don’t come closer, Parker. You don’t have shoes on. You could get cut. I’ll get it cleaned up.”

Ty picked up the bigger pieces before getting the broom and dustpan to sweep up the smaller shards. The whole time, his mind was going a hundred miles a minute. Was she trying to tell him something with that stuffed animal? It was even black, like his wolf. Or was it just a coincidence?

It had to be a coincidence. He’d been careful not to shift around her. She was also still here. If she’d seen him running around as a wolf, or if she really knew, she’d be long gone, right? How could a human, who knew nothing of the supernatural that walked among the population, not freak out over that?

He didn’t care how Ellie, Jake’s mate, had taken it the news. Maybe she wasn’t normal, or didn’t have reactions like most sane humans would. Cassie’s reaction had to be closer to true. And that scared the shit out of Ty. He wouldn’t be able to handle losing Parker, much less their pup.

They were everything to him. They were his life now.

Won’t lose them. Ever, his wolf growled, a snarling mass inside him at the thought of Parker leaving.

Ty waited hopefully for his wolf to say Parker was his mate, but the crazy fucker was quiet again. He was going to go mad if he didn’t know the truth soon.

“Are you okay? Do you not like it? We don’t have to use it, if you don’t want to.”

Parker’s soft voice, full of worry, cut through his thoughts. Ty stood and emptied the dustpan before putting the broom away, avoiding her eyes.

“No, it’s okay,” he said, finally looking her way. She was standing there, worry in her eyes, clutching the wolf to her chest. His heart clenched at the sight. “I was just making sure I got it all. I love the wolf. Go ahead and put it in the nursery. I just remembered something I have to do in the fields. I’ll be back in soon.”

He kissed her forehead and then walked out the back door quickly, not wanting to answer any more questions. He felt like a complete ass, but he just wasn’t sure he could handle any more inquiries. He sure as shit couldn’t tell her what was going through his mind right now.

He thought about calling Jared, but nixed the idea. Ty had talked to Jared more since Parker had shown up than he willingly had in years. Besides, he’d already talked to him about this, and he knew what he’d say. That Parker wasn’t Cassie and would have different reactions. Half of that was true. Parker was nothing like Cassie, and Ty thanked God for it every day. He’d loved Cassie, but it hadn’t been anything like this.

Parker wasn’t like anyone else he’d ever met. She soothed his wolf in a way even Cassie never had. He reacted different to Parker, thought different about her. She was his world, and he hadn’t felt like this for Cassie. He hadn’t thought he could love anyone more than he loved Cassie, but he had been dead wrong on that.

Cassie hadn’t been for him. She hadn’t even been for Jared. And she definitely hadn’t been meant for the supernatural world, was never cut out for it.

Although she wasn’t like Cassie in any way possible, Ty was very much worried that Parker wasn’t meant for his world, either. And he was man enough to admit that thought terrified him more than anything ever had.

Striding to the woods, Ty decided to go wolf for a while, try to get away from the gut churning emotion in his middle. He’d try to catch the new scent again, track the wolf shifter that was in his woods. For the unknown shifter’s sake, he almost hoped he didn’t find her. He was dangerously close to kill shit mode tonight.

Parker sighed as she played with the melted ice cream in her bowl. Her big idea with the stuffed animal had failed spectacularly. Not only that, it seemed to have run Ty off. He’d been gone for over an hour now, and she was trying to keep occupied as she waited on him. She’d had a piece of the chocolate cake she’d been craving and half a bowl of ice cream as she tried to watch her favorite show, Gilmore Girls. She couldn’t concentrate on it, though. All she could think about was Ty, and his reaction to the wolf.

What was so hard about telling her? Maybe it was because she’d known about it for so long, but she didn’t feel like him turning into a wolf was a big deal. Maybe it was, though. Maybe she was abnormal for thinking that it was so natural.

She thought back to when she’d first learned of it. She’d been shocked, but she’d never been terrified of him. Disbelieving at first, sure. Convinced she’d been imagining things, that she was going crazy. She looked down at the scrap of shirt laying on the couch beside her and smiled. It was a piece of the shirt Ty had been wearing when he’d turned into a wolf. She’d found it, tucked deep inside her suitcase, when she moved her

stuff to Ty’s room. She hadn’t even realized she had it with her.

She put her bowl down and picked up the scrap, rubbing it with her fingers as she thought back to that day. Okay, maybe she hadn’t reacted well when she’d first seen him, remembering the scrapes and bruises that had been on her hands and knees from her flight home through the woods. By the next morning, though, she’d been fine.

Maybe it was because she’d grown up as weird and on the odd side, but things that were different didn’t faze her. Ty was Ty, and it didn’t matter that he could turn into a massive wolf whenever he wanted to. The animal was just another aspect of him to love.

Parker’s fingers stilled as that thought washed over her. Love? She smiled as her chest warmed. The thought, the feeling, was so real, and so right. Yes, she loved him. This wasn’t the crush of her teenage years, or the infatuation she’d felt five months ago for grown up Ty. This was the love a woman had for a man. She’d do anything, including lay down her life, for him.

Her hand dropped to her belly when she felt a nudge, and she caressed the spot where her baby was making his presence known. She’d do anything for this little boy, too. Half her, half Ty, yet still uniquely himself.

She had everything she’d ever wanted, every dream and hope and yearning, right here on this farm. She just needed Ty to talk to her, tell her what he was, so they could get on with living their life together.

She looked up as Chase came in the room, still dirty and looking like he’d just come in from work. “Hey, Chase. There are leftovers in the fridge. We had tacos tonight.”

“Thanks,” he replied with an easy grin. “I’ll go wash up and then make a plate.” His eyes widened as they fell on the little wolf toy, sitting on the coffee table. His whiskey colored gaze shot to hers. “Did Ty give you that?”

Parker shook her head as she watched him closely. “I bought it at the store today. I thought it was perfect for the baby. Ty’s reaction to it was… intense,” she said carefully.

Chase cleared his throat and shifted uncomfortably, avoiding her eyes. “Oh, you know, maybe he was just having a bad day. Where is my big brother?”

Parker sighed, already feeling bad about trying to get any answers or reactions from Chase. This was Ty’s secret to tell. “He said he had to check on something in the fields. He’s been out for a while, so he’ll probably be back in soon.”