Mine, my beast growled as I took Nick's mouth for my own, unable and unwilling to hold him completely back. Mine. Protect. Yes. Nick was mine, as was the child within him. When I had scented the pregnancy, I'd feared the worst—that I'd lost my chance. But the knowledge that Nick actually bore my child had shifted something in me with an audible snap. For once, I felt at complete agreement with the beast. 

I finally broke the kiss and let Nick fall back on the couch. His cousin had crawled to the corner, her fingers poised over her phone in uncertainty, but I saw all that in my peripheral vision. My attention was completely on Nick. His eyes were glazed over, his lips kiss swollen. I knew that right now, I could command him to do nearly anything, and he would obey without a second thought. A shiver of appreciation rippled through the beast and me, soothing us both.

"Why didn't you call?"

Nick blinked a few times, a blush rising in his cheeks. I didn't hurry him. I let him gather himself. 

"I threw it away," he admitted. 

The beast roared in anger and frustration, but I pushed those emotions away. "Why?"

"The guy you were looking for never came back. I was obsessed with thinking about you. I stared at your card for hours every day. Thinking about calling you."

"You should have."

Nick leaned forward and hunched in on himself. "When I found out I was pregnant, it was too late. Your number was gone."

More tension unwound in my neck. Nick hadn't been purposefully keeping me from the knowledge of the child's existence, purposefully keeping me from the opportunity to care for them.

"You're not working at the bar anymore," I stated. I was grateful. If he were still working there in his condition, that would have prompted a discussion.

Nick shook his head. "I was too sick. And then Kit got in a big fight with her dad, and I gave her a place to stay, which wouldn't have sat well with him, so it all worked out in the end. We're planning on moving somewhere bigger. Somewhere with a room for each of us. Kit, me, and the baby." His hand fell protectively to his stomach. The sweatshirt concealed any shape. I wanted to lift it to see the swell of our child, but not now. That would be crossing a line. Nick was uncertain, anxious. I caressed the side of his head and he leaned into my touch. 

"Where are you moving to?" I asked gently. It didn't really matter, because I highly doubted my beast would approve, and in this one thing, I was content to give in to him.

"We haven't decided yet," Nick said with a look at his cousin. "Neither of us have jobs right now, so we need to get that taken care of, but my lease is up at the end of next month. We were planning on looking at some places this month."

"Come with me." It wasn't a request, though I had planned on framing it in a way that made it seem like it was.

The beta seemed to have retrieved some of her spunk and she crept closer to us. "We don't even know who you are."

I kept my eyes on Nick's. “My name is Dallas Corder, alpha, brown bear shifter. I'm a member of a small pack just outside of Columbia, Tennessee. I'm a bounty hunter. At the very least, you will be able to use my home as a way to get back on your feet. We're not close to much in the way of towns—Columbia is about thirty miles away—but we can help find you a job there or with the pack."

"Like what?" Kit asked, and I finally looked at her. "How do we know you're not going to use us as sex slaves or something?"

I grinned, letting my teeth show, knowing exactly how terrifying it was. I'd used it to great effectiveness while working. I could scent the acrid fear rising from Kit, but she still lifted her chin in defiance. 

"I promise you we are a normal pack. My Alpha, Asher is a wolf. He has a cougar mate and a young pup named Aspen. The other alphas are Ryan, Kurt and Simon."

"How is it your Alpha is a wolf?" Nick asked. "And I didn't think that bears normally lived in packs."

"That is a longer story. The short version is we are all outcasts, but we've found a home with each other." I knew words were cheap. I pulled out my phone and navigated to my photos, which were full of the shenanigans of decorating last week. "This is my pack." I handed the phone to Nick and Kit moved back to his side to view it with him.

"They're beautiful," Nick whispered, and the beast growled in pleasure. he might put up a token protest, but his interest was peaked.

"I'd love to introduce you to them. Both of you." Kit still seemed hesitant. "Come stay with us for a week. If you're not comfortable, I'll bring you back the very next day."

The cousins exchanged a silent, private conversation before Nick turned back to me with a hesitant smile. "We'd like that."

I stood "Excellent. It will take us an hour and a half to return, but you'll be able to sleep in the car."

"We can't go tonight," Kit squawked. "We have to pack!"

Nick leaned forward and placed his hand on my arm, chasing away my frown. "She's right. I'd rather wait until morning when I have time and energy to pack." As if to prove his point, his mouth opened in a wide yawn.

Their argument made sense. "I will stay here tonight, then. You already have pillows and blankets on the couch. That will be sufficient."

"Oh no, big boy," Kit protested. "The couch is mine. You can stick your big butt in Nick's bed."

Nick looked up shyly at me from under his lashes.

"I don't think that would be entirely appropriate—" I began, but Kit cut me off. "It's not like you're going to do anything worse to him than you have already."

Another blush bloomed on Nick's face, brighter than before. 

"I can sleep on the floor." It would be infinitely more comfortable if I trusted these floors could hold a full sized brown bear, but even as a human, I could sleep on a hard surface for one night without major negative side effects.

"No," Nick protested. "That's ridiculous. You'll sleep with me."

I sensed another silent discussion between the cousins. "Thank you. In the meantime, do you mind if I use your bathroom to shower?"

"By all means." Nick waved me through his room. I remembered where the bathroom was, thanks to my previous visit. Not that it would have taken me any time to find it once more. Part of my reasoning for the shower was to give the cousin's actual privacy so they could talk instead of pretending to not be talking while I loomed oddly about. The other part was I stank like a baboon, and if I was going to be sharing a bed with Nick all night, risky business or not, I wanted to at least smell clean.