A Baby for the Bear (Wylde Brothers 1)

“I believe you, but, Charlie?” Licking her lips and smoothing her hands over the napkin, she knew she wanted to give them a chance. It wasn’t just about the baby, and she had a feeling Charlie wasn’t the kind of man to do something just because. “I do want to see where this goes between us.” His grin was wide, and he didn’t have to say anything to show that her words had meant the world to him.

This was good, and for the first time in her life, she actually felt like she was going down the right path.

That revelation scared the shit out of her.

13

After Charlie left Ary, but not before promising to see her later, he sat in his truck and let his thoughts consume him. All he could think about was the child who grew inside Ary, his child. There was no doubt in his mind she was telling the truth.

The scent of her was a mixture of everything whole and pure that made up his little ocelot shifter, but there was an underlying scent, his scent, that surrounded her.

He hadn’t really noticed it before, not when there had been a plethora of other aromas that invaded his senses since stepping into the café, but once out on the patio where the fresh air swirled around them and he could really concentrate, the smell was undeniable.

He didn’t need an ultrasound to know that their child would be a bear shifter, not when he could sense so much of himself around and inside her. Or maybe it was just his overactive imagination wanting to find something, anything that could further tie Ary to him.

His bear awakened at the thought of her, and he raked his claws, trying to escape and go to its mate. The possessiveness he felt for her was unlike anything he had ever encountered, and it only intensified since he now knew she carried his cub.

He needed to get his emotions under control and calm the fuck down. This was the biggest news that had come into his life, and he needed to share it with his brothers, the two people who had always been by his side, even when he was acting like a pompous asshole.

Giving them a quick call and finding out they were at Ford’s home, he made his way toward the cabin that was nestled deep in the Sweet Water Mountains. Out of the three of them, Ford preferred his privacy and solitude above all else. Charlie always attributed it to Mina, but he had never questioned Ford on the reason for his distance.

He took the winding road that ascended the mountain and turned off onto a narrower dirt path. He should have taken his Harley instead of his truck, because he was barely clearing the evergreens that lined each side of him. When he came into the clearing that housed Ford’s two-story cabin, he pulled the truck beside Bram’s pickup and cut the engine.

Climbing out of the vehicle and making his way into the cabin, Charlie couldn’t help but feel nervous. This was a new emotion for him, and one he didn’t know if he liked. Despite the unsure feelings swirling inside him, he couldn’t deny he was excited to tell his brothers they would be uncles.

Would they be more surprised that he was going to be a father, and that he was going to mate with an ocelot shifter, or that he was going against everything he ever said about how he wanted his life to go?

When he entered the cabin, he saw Bram and Ford sitting around the dining room table with a bottle of whiskey between them. Their laughter lowered when they noticed him. “Isn’t it a bit early for Crown, boys?”

Bram lifted his shot glass up in salute and downed it. “Hell no, not when we got some incredible news to celebrate.”

“Yeah?” He made his way to the table and sat beside Ford. “It can’t be as incredible as mine.” His brothers looked doubtful, but before he could tell them, Bram started talking.

“We just got word that the CEO of Piefer Industries wants to contract Wylde Construction for a large condominium job in Denver,” Bram said with a grin on his face.

“Yeah, they want us to leave next week to meet with the CEO, Allister Piefer, and go over the contract and blueprints for what they have in mind.” Ford threw back his shot and poured him and Bram another, as well as filling an empty glass for Charlie. “Charlie, man, we are talking about a multimillion-dollar deal, and they want us, a small construction company from Sweet Water, to do it for them.”

Charlie ran a hand over the back of his head. This was incredible news, but as he looked between his brothers, he knew his news still surpassed theirs. “That is great news.”