“Where’s Lewis?”

I opened my eyes and looked around the bare and slightly cold room. I tried to sit up, but searing pain stabbed at my stomach and I cried out, grabbing hold of the bars on the bed.

“Whoa, sit down, lay back.”

Fredric rushed to my side, and as he did, the baby beside me started to cry and then everything came back. I’d been pregnant, only now it was over. It was gone, and the small child in the cot beside me must be mine.

I looked down at its small face, unsure what to do with it to stop the tears.

“Would you like to hold her?” Fredric asked.

“It’s a… a girl?”

He nodded and smiled, pushing the cot towards me, but I shook my head.

“Where’s Lewis first? Has he seen her?”

“He went to fight, Max.”

“Fight?”

He rocked the cot in a quick motion stopping her momentarily from crying.

“We came under attack earlier, and he saved you. Both he and Faye did.”

“Faye?”

He nodded.

“She came to warn us.”

“So, where is he?” I winced as I tried to push myself up on bed. “I need to see him.”

He looked at me seriously.

“Right now, we’re not exactly sure where either of them is. But the most important thing at this moment is to keep both you and this little treasure safe.”

“I can’t stay here while he’s out there. We have to do something!” I tried again to get up, but the sharp pain in my stomach stopped me from moving.

Fredric eased a cushion behind my back.

“Do you understand what happened to you?” he asked. A woman came in and picked up the baby, and I instantly felt a pang of jealousy in the pit of my stomach as she wheeled her to another room.

“Don’t worry,” he reassured me. “She’s going to change her. We’ll have her back beside you before you know it. So, explain what happened.”

I rested my head back and closed my eyes.

“All I know is that somehow, Lewis was able to… he managed to… I…” I couldn’t form the words needed, but he rested a hand on my arm.

“Take your time Max, you’ve been though a lot. It must have been traumatic to find out you’re having a baby and then go into spontaneous labor on the same day. You’re coping brilliantly.”

I felt a wave of emotion rush over me, but I breathed it away.

“How did it happen? I’ve been taking my hormone injections religiously. They’re meant to be failproof.”

Fredric lowered himself into the chair by my bed.

“Well, I haven’t been able to do much research just yet, but our bodies, mine and Lewis’—all of our kind—are made in such a way that when we come of age and mate with pure humans, we instantaneously breed. There hasn’t been much evidence to test, as it’s not something that has happened often.”

“I just don’t understand why I carried on a wolf’s gestation and not a human one…”

“I know. It could have everything to do with just how strong our genes are. There’s still a lot to figure out about this, but right now, she’s healthy and…”

The nurse walked back into the room with her.

“She…” I looked over at the small bundle in her arms. It was the first time I’d properly registered her as mine, and I felt my heart swell instantly.

She brought my baby over to me and arranged her so that I could see her small face.

“I think this little one’s hungry,” she said, raising her eyebrows with encouragement.

I held my arms out to receive her, holding her tightly in my embrace.

“She’s beautiful,” I said gently, looking into her sweet face.

“She is indeed, and she’s all yours.”

The nurse helped to free my right nipple and arranged the baby so that she was suckling gently.

“Perfect,” she said resting a hand on my shoulder.

I watched her drinking softly, her smooth soft hair with Lewis’s nose. Every part of her was beautiful. I’d never felt that kind of love before.

The nurse quietly excused herself from the room and left Fredric and me with the baby.

“So, she’ll be a wolf one day?” I asked, turning to him. “What’s going to happen to her? How will it happen?”

“Well, she’ll need further testing,” he said, watching my reaction. “Which is why I think she should stay here in Grayson until we know for sure what we’re up against.”

“We won’t be safe here. They just tried to attack us…”

“Listen, Max. If you take that baby into the city, the minute they draw blood from her, they’re going to see that she’s different. They’ll have government people swarming all over her, and she’s uncharted territory so not even I know what she’s capable of right now. We just…”

The door opened, and a naked Lewis stumbled in, bruised and slightly bloody. He collapsed onto the chair beside me.

“Max, you’re awake, you’re okay…” he croaked

I tried to wrap the blanket covering my legs over his shoulders with my free hand, but the pain in my stomach made me recoil.

“What happened out there?” Fredric asked, his face serious all of a sudden.

“We gave it everything. Most of the pack came out to help us. Even my parents joined us the minute they found out. The outsiders have gone now, but I don’t know how long for. We have to leave.”

“Then come to my hideaway,” Fredric said, looking at us both. “I need to do further tests on the baby.”

“The baby?” I watched the realization drop on his face, and suddenly he became aware of our daughter my arms.

“It’s a girl…” I said, my heart swelling with happiness again despite my shock at his injured state. She pulled away from my nipple, her eyes closed. “She has your nose.”

“Oh my God,” he whispered, getting up and leaning towards her. “She’s mine? Can I hold her?”

“Are you sure?” I asked, looking over his bruised body.

He nodded and picked the blanket up that I’d previously tried to hand to him, and he wrapped it around his waist, tying it into a knot.

I handed our baby to him, and Fredric stepped backwards.

“I’m going to give you men both some space. I’ll be outside if you need me, okay? I have to make a few arrangements.”

“Thanks, Uncle. Thank you for everything.”

“It’s my pleasure.”

He nodded and left the room closing the door behind him.

Lewis turned back to me and kissed my forehead.

“Well done. I can’t believe it. This is my little girl.” He laughed. “My little cub. I never thought I’d say that. How do you feel?”

I pointed to my stomach.

“I’ve been better, but I guess the shock has been a big painkiller.”

He rested against me on the bed with our baby, unable to take the smile off his face.

“I promise you I’m going to protect you both,” he said, nuzzling the side of my face. “That’s my job. That’s what I want to do for the rest of my life.”

“How can you protect us when we have to stay here in Grayson? They’re after us, and I’m sure they’re not going to stop until they have her.”

“I won’t allow it,” he said, his decision already made. “I want to spend every second of my time creating the safest environment for you and our daughter. Look at her, Max. She may be a cub, but she’s perfect, and she needs us to make sure her life is uninterrupted.”

There was a knock at the door and Lewis’ uncle poked his head round.

“Sorry to ruin the bonding, but the car has arrived outside. The sooner we go, the better, before they turn up and follow us.

“Just a moment,” he replied, turning back to me. “Okay, we need to go, but I just need you to know, you’re still all that matters to me, Max. This doesn’t change anything, and it never will.”

We kissed, and I pulled him and our baby girl close to me, stroked the back of his neck, and breathed in his scent.

Even though he harbored an animal side that was most definitely dangerous, I knew now more than ever that he was still the man I wanted to spend the rest of my life with.