Chapter Five
Claire didn't fight him as Roland carried her into the guesthouse. Her warmth in his arms, her scent in his nostrils, everything about her made him want to throw back his head and howl. He wanted to claim her in every way he could, wanted to show her that she was his and that no one else could ever touch her. His wolf was still strong inside him, demanding that he take his mate.
His mate.
He had resisted thinking of her in those terms until he had nearly lost her. If he had been two seconds later when the wolves attacked… It should never have gotten to that point. He should have kept the pack with him at all times. Brian had challenged him in the forest, and he had turned his back on the challenge, not wanting a fight. He had thought that they would both regret it in the morning.
It was a mistake that had nearly cost him everything. When the wolves scented Claire they had all run after her, Brian at their head.
If Roland hadn't turned his back, if he had taken on the challenge and put Brian back into his place at once, then they would never have gone after her. They would have scented the sweet smell of his pup inside her and cowered before her, the Alpha's mate. They wouldn’t have attacked, trying to kill.
Roland kicked the door shut behind them and carried Claire to the couch. She hadn't said a word since he had pulled her out of the car, though he could smell no injuries on her. Shock, then. Anxiety coursed through him as he settled her onto the couch.
"Are you hurt?" he asked, kneeling in front of her.
Adam could deal with the pack for now. Right now Roland was too tempted to beat them all senseless. But they could not be held accountable for their actions under the full moon's sway. They couldn't keep their minds when their wolves emerged.
Claire stared at him. "You're a werewolf."
Roland winced at her flat tone, but nodded. "I am."
"A werewolf," she repeated.
"Werewolf," he agreed. "I'm going to go dress and then we can talk, okay?"
Claire snorted, her eyes turning hard. "I don't think so. You're going to answer my questions right now or I'm leaving."
"In your car?" Roland raised an eyebrow at her. "Claire, you're in shock—"
"I get shot at on a regular basis. Some werewolves," she bit out the word, face twisting, "aren't going to faze me. So is that what happened to Melissa? Did she find out about your secret?"
Roland growled at the unspoken accusation, but clamped down on his rising anger as her eyes widened. He swallowed thickly. "Melissa was part of the pack. She was a werewolf, too."
"And you were sleeping with her."
"Yes."
Claire's eyes narrowed. "So she was like your mate?"
Roland almost laughed. It was a question that all new werewolves asked, whether having sex with somebody meant they were mated to them. He shook his head. "Mates are drawn to each other on a genetic level. Just because we had sex doesn't mean we were mates or even loved each other. It was…"
He sighed. Claire waited, her gaze not moving, but he was reluctant to tell her. Eventually he began talking, telling her about how he was a born werewolf, as was Adam, but the others had all been human. He told her about how that made their wolves too strong during the full moon to keep their wits about them, and why they needed him, their Alpha, to keep them from doing things they would regret in the morning. He could almost see her eyes turn green with envy when he explained that he and Melissa were trying to have children together for that very reason.
"You two were trying to have kids?"
"We didn't love each other," he hurriedly explained, as her hands clenched. Her jealousy surprised and thrilled him. "We knew what needed to be done and agreed to do it. That's all there was to it."
"There were drugs in her system that would cause abortion, though." Claire's brows knit in confusion.
A shock went through Roland. Why would she be taking abortion drugs? Her pain at every miscarriage had been so strong. She'd never have ended a pregnancy on purpose. He wet his lips. Did she think he'd be angry with her for not wanting to go through more miscarriages?
"We hadn't had sex in months. She always lost the babies during the full moon. If she was pregnant, it wasn't mine."
"She didn't have any signs of being pregnant recently."
Roland pulled back, forehead creased. "Why would she be taking the drugs, then?"
"Maybe she didn't know she was taking them. The other members of your pack, did any of them have designs on Melissa?"
He couldn't help but admire how quickly she slipped back into the role of detective, despite what she had seen. Hesitantly, he put his hand on hers, hoping she wouldn't pull away. He breathed a sigh of relief when she spread her fingers to twine with his. His wolf sighed in contentment, but Roland knew better than to get his hopes too high. She was human. Even if she was his mate, that didn't mean that she would see him as her mate, or that she would ever agree to be with him again.
"During the full moon, all the males were drawn to her," he said quickly, trying to pull his mind away from the fact that he might lose Claire. "But as soon as she made it clear she wasn't interested, all attentions ended. It wasn't my pack. None of them would have hurt Melissa. They knew how important she was."
Claire nodded slowly. "Does anybody else—"
"Claire, I know it's your job to solve that murder, but I have to tell you something." His heart hammered. She needed to know that she was carrying his pup. If he didn't tell her now, he might not have the courage to ever say it.
"We have to examine the possibility that Melissa was targeted because of your… um…"
"Lupine nature?" Roland couldn't help but smile. "Please, there is something more important."
Claire yanked her hand away from him, eyes narrowing. "More important than solving the murder of a woman?"
"I didn't mean it like that. I meant that it's more personally important. For you."
"Are you seriously trying to deflect me from doing my job? You do want—"
"You're pregnant."
All the color drained from Claire's face, leaving her looking almost like a corpse. Her eyes widened and, even with his deafened senses, Roland could hear her heart rate pick up. She swallowed several times. Roland hesitated. What did he say to her now?
"It's mine," he added uselessly.
"How do you even know that?"
"I could smell it. When the moon was up."
"You could smell it."
Claire's eyes widened and she clutched the arm of the couch. It struck Roland suddenly that he was still crouching naked before her, but he pushed the thought aside. He wanted desperately to comfort his mate, but what could he say? Telling her that she was his mate would only serve to terrify her further.
"Will it be a we- like you?"
Roland sighed and nodded. "I told you I was a born werewolf. Well, that's how it works with us. It seems that being a werewolf is a dominant gene. You only need one werewolf parent to become a werewolf yourself. And getting bitten injects the gene or mutates the DNA or something. I've got people researching it, but without actually being able to tell them… Anyway, yes. The baby will be a werewolf."
Claire swallowed hard.
"I'm sorry we don't have more information about this, but Adam and I are the only two to have been born since my father, and it's not like there's a lot of research about werewolf pregnancies.” He tried to smile, then shifted to sit on the couch beside her. "Claire, I…" What was he meant to say? I'm sorry, but I'm glad you're pregnant because we are meant to be together. Yeah, that would go over well. "There's something else you should know."
She nodded, the shell-shocked look on her face reminding him of everyone in his pack when they were first transformed. "I'm going to turn into a werewolf, too."
"What? No."
"I'm not?"
Roland shook his head.
"But you… bit me. While we…"
He laughed. Claire's expression lost that shell-shocked quality and she narrowed her eyes at him. He shook his head again, quickly sobering.
"It doesn't work that way. It would have to be the full moon. But speaking of the full moon, the baby is a werewolf. That means it transforms during the full moon. It's why Melissa could never carry to term. Why there are so few werewolves born. Chances are that you'll miscarry next full moon."
The words pained him, but he had to say them. He held his breath, waiting for Claire to respond. She turned her face away from him. His heart ached–it had hurt every time Melissa lost the babies. How much worse would it be if it was his mate who lost his child?
"You mean if I even decide to carry it to term, chances are I won't be able to."
If she even decided to carry. Roland closed his eyes. He shouldn't have just assumed she'd want the baby as much as he did. His throat felt thick. He wanted to beg her to try. But he could not tell her what to do with her own body, as much as he wanted this baby. He took in a deep breath. "What are you going to do?"
Claire was silent for a moment, then she pushed him away and stood. "I'm going to work and I'm going to find who killed Melissa Clarkson. Everything else… I'll have to let you know."