“Shopping!” they echoed.
Shay stopped at the door and turned with a grin, knowing she’d shocked them. “Yes. Kian’s allowed me to fix up his space, but he needs more stuff. I want to get it done before he changes his mind.”
All three women turned to look at the huge black wolf sitting quietly, watching them.
“Shopping,” Shannon mused.
Still staring at Kian, Kiesha said, “I’m down with that.”
Of course it wasn’t that simple.
The men were sprawled in various poses of relaxation, watching some type of sport on the big-screen. As soon as Shay appeared, Alex muted the sound. Kiesha crossed over to sit near her mate, and Shannon did the same with Nikolai. Shayla took her seat in Rory’s favorite armchair, and Caleb rose to take guard position near and slightly behind her right shoulder. Kian stretched out on the floor at her feet.
Inwardly rolling her eyes at her self-appointed bodyguards’ behavior, she said to Alex, “Well?”
“It would help if I knew what you were looking for,” Alex said in a tone of polite inquiry.
“Tell me what you found,” Shay insisted.
Frowning, he said, “Your pregnancy is progressing more like a shifter than a human, which I’m sure Carol already told you. Other than that, everything looks normal.”
“You’re certain?” Shay pushed, needing to be sure.
Eyes narrowed in concern, he reiterated, “Yes. Now what’s this about?”
“Hold up. What does that mean, progressing like a shifter?” Kiesha asked.
“It means shifter females have a shorter gestation period than human women. At the rate Shayla’s progressing, even though you conceived before her, you’ll be delivering around the same time,” Alex explained.
“Have you told Auntie Yona?” Kee asked.
Shay’s eyes widened. “Have you lost your mind?” she asked.
“Shay, you have to tell her,” Kee fussed.
“I will.” Eventually.
“What I want to know is why you didn’t call Laurie Bell to check you out. She’s the pack’s midwife,” Caleb stated.
When Shay glanced over her shoulder at him, she could tell he was displeased. Tough. “Alex is family.”
“Pack is family,” Caleb argued.
“I’d still like to know what this is about,” Alex stated.
“And I’ll be happy to tell you, after Rory arrives. Now, Shannon, Kiesha, and I are going shopping,” Shay told the men as she stood.
“Shopping?” Caleb asked. “Does Rory know about this?”
“Rory’s my mate, not my keeper. I don’t have to report my every movement to him,” Shay said, frowning.
“You’re right. Which store are we going to?” Caleb asked.
“We’re not going anywhere. I’m going with my two friends,” Shayla said.
Caleb was shaking his head before she finished. “You don’t have to report your every movement to him, but I do. Rory’s not here, which means I’m your shadow until he returns.”
She opened her mouth to argue, but the sight of Alex and Nikolai rising halted the words before they formed. “Where—”
“Where she goes, I go,” Alex answered, pointing at Kiesha.
Shay turned to Nikolai. When he merely smiled, she gave up. She glanced down at Kian. “I suppose you’re coming too?”
Kian shook his muzzle. Shay was getting used to having a wolf respond like a human.
“Fine! The one person that has a valid reason to ride doesn’t want to. All right, if we’re going, let’s go,” she ordered.
The trip to the nearby dollar store took less than a half an hour. When they returned, the men couldn’t simply let the women hang the pictures. No, they had to pull out measuring tapes and tap for studs. God forbid the females hurt themselves doing such dangerous activities. In retaliation the women hassled and teased the men. They were laughing and having fun when Shay heard Rory’s truck pull into the yard.
It was a measure of her distraction that Shay didn’t notice Kian disappear from the basement. He’d been doing so off and on the entire time everyone was present. Shay marked it down to Kian being a loner.
“Shayla!” Her name was roared loud enough to rattle the windows.
Realization hit. “Kian, you traitor! I told you not to say anything!”
Shay flew up the stairs and ran headlong into Rory at the door of the basement. He gripped her by the arms, snatched her off her feet, and gave her a shake. “Why the hell didn’t you call me?”
“Take your hands off her, you bastard! She’s pregnant. You can’t be shaking her,” Kiesha hollered, coming up the stairs behind her.
“Kee, this is mate business. Stay out of it.” Alex’s voice drifted up the stairwell.
“I’m fine,” she said to Kiesha. “We’re fine,” she told Rory in a softer voice, cupping his face gently.
Rory pulled her close into a bear hug. He literally shook in her arms. “She could have killed the babe, and it would have been my fault.”
“Shhh. She didn’t, so stop talking stupid.” Shay rubbed his back, nuzzled his cheek, and held him until he calmed. She understood his fear. She’d been frantic when she’d first found out, but now that Alex had verified everything was okay, she’d settled.
“We’re blocking the doorway,” she told him when the shaking stopped.
He backed farther into the kitchen, then slowly lowered her to the floor. His gaze staring calmly into hers, he said in a cold voice, “She’s dead.”
Knowing better than to argue with him when he was in alpha protective mode, Shay merely nodded. She’d talk to him about it later when he wasn’t as furious.
“He’s here now,” Shannon said from behind her. “Tell us why you called us all together.”
Shay motioned everyone into the living room. Caleb, in his role as the alphas’ protector, lagged after. “The food?” she asked him.
“Should be here in another thirty minutes or so. I estimated for Rory’s arrival,” Caleb said. In his eyes she saw a curiosity as great as the others.
Rory all but carried Shay into the living room. He plopped down in his recliner and pulled her sideways across his lap. Kiesha, Alex, and Caleb claimed the couch, Shannon and Nikolai the love seat, and Kian slunk in, ears and tail low, and stretched out on the floor.
“You are so busted, Mister,” she told the wolf.
He lowered his muzzle to the floor and placed one paw over his eyes. Shay bit back a smile at his antics.
“Leave my brother alone. At least one of you knew the right thing to do,” Rory drawled. “Are you sure the babe’s fine?” He placed a hand over her stomach and rubbed it in a circle.
Understanding his need for reassurance, Shay glanced at Alex and said, “Alex, you tell him.”
“She’s healthy. Her pregnancy is progressing at a nice, if accelerated rate,” Alex assured him. Then he pinned Shayla with a steely-eyed gaze and said, “Now that your mate is here, will you be so kind as to tell me what this is all about?”
“You didn’t tell him?” Rory asked.
Kiesha rolled her eyes. “She refused to tell anyone anything until you got here.”
“Well now, thank you for waiting,” Rory said, sounding mildly satisfied. “Go ahead and tell them.”
With Rory’s permission, Shay told the group about the tea she’d been drinking and what she’d discovered about the ingredients.
“Shay, I told you all that herbal stuff can be dangerous. It’s not regulated the way medicine is and while I know you’re extremely knowledgeable, some things you need to leave to the professionals,” Kee said.
Her cousin Kiesha was a traditional sort of gal. She preferred pharmaceuticals over natural remedies. She also preferred junk food to the healthy stuff, but that was another issue altogether.