Bear My Baby (Shifter Squad Six 1) by Anya Nowlan Page B

personally taken a baseball bat and pummeled him until he stopped putting up a fight. Her shoulders drooped a little, seeing his discomfort and sadness, but her mouth kept going.
    “Five months! Right! And you know what that means? I’ll tell you. In five months, you get to experience the joy of pregnancy at twice the speed and three times the intensity! Morning sickness? Try twice as bad. Ballooning up suddenly? Oh hell, that’s nothing compared to what happens when you have a shifter baby inside of you! And they kick! They kick like hell. He’s going to be a soccer player, I’m damn sure of it, because otherwise he had no reason to be pummeling my bladder like that!”
    Her voice was barely over a whisper and her tone was neutral, trying to conceal all of it from Monroe. It only made it weirder for both her and Connor. And what was worst of all was that she didn’t even really want to be saying all of those things. They just poured out of her like some constant stream of thought she couldn’t stop or control.
    Cassie loved her baby. And as much as the whole thing at Jonah’s home and the roof and the armored vehicles made her queasy, she didn’t regret what she did with Connor that night. How could she? It had given her Monroe. But the words just kept coming.
    “And the kicker was, I didn’t even know my baby was a shifter, let alone what kind he was. Though I guess I got the hint when I popped him out when I was not due for another four months and he looked like he’d been breastfeeding for a month already. I didn’t know a goddamn thing. I had no idea how to raise him right. How to raise a werebear cub,” she said, her voice turning into sobs.
    Putting both hands over her eyes, she sunk into the recliner Connor had been sitting on before, a dry sob wracking her shoulders and chest. First one, then another, and before she knew it she was crying like never before. Every sob shook her body and it took a while for her to realize that Connor had gotten up and grabbed her, moving her on his lap and holding her tightly against his chest.
    “Shh, honey. It’ll be all right,” he said, whispering calming words in her ears that she wasn’t sure made it better or worse.
    His heartbeat was ringing in her ears, but the tears wouldn’t stop. She didn’t know how long she’d been sitting there when those soundless, gasping wheezes stopped and she slowly calmed down, feeling drained and empty. But she did know that Connor was still there, cradling her against him, pawing her hair with his big, calloused hand. It felt good being so close to him like that, to feel his warmth running through her, encouraging her to think that she wasn’t completely alone.
    But, of course, ultimately she was. And no wishful thinking could change that.
    He squeezed her tightly and it felt good, but she didn’t allow herself to depend on that. She couldn’t learn to expect that kind of companionship, that kind of support. If she did, it would drown her whole.
    “I’ll do whatever you think is best, Cass,” he said, his voice breaking.
    She was just about to say something—what she wasn’t sure—when a rapid knock sounded on her door and then a blonde flurry of activity barged in, talking loudly before she had even made it through the doorway.
    “Oh girl, you have got to tell me everything that happened last night! You just disap— Oh. Why, hello,” Adelaide said, stopping in the middle of the living room.
    A tiny groan gurgled up and Cassie barely swallowed it, though she was sure Connor heard it.
    “Hey,” he said lightly as Cassie slipped off his lap and stood up.
    She was still trembling a little, but seeing Adelaide there brought her conviction back.
    “I think you need to leave, Connor,” she said.
    He stood up as well and she realized once more how damn big he was. He loomed over her, his face twisted in pain. She was cradling her hands around her shoulders, trying to avoid his gaze, but it pulled her in like a