I was at my desk again, working on the website. I was starting to get excited because I thought I had an investor lined up, but nothing had come through yet. I jumped when my phone rang and turned it over quickly to see who was calling. I was hoping that it was going to be the investor.

It wasn’t. It was my mother.

I sighed and tapped at the phone.

“Hi sweetie,” my mother's voice trilled before I could even answer.

“Hi Mom,” I said. “How's it going?”

“Oh, everything's great. Your father's fine. Your brothers are fine.” She had an edge to her voice.

“It's not time for new clothes yet. So what's up?”

“Why does something have to be up for me to call my son?”

“Just tell me why you called, Mom. I can hear it in your voice that you’ve got something you want to say to me.”

“I just wanted to call and invite you and Rudy to dinner tomorrow night.”

“Why? So you and Dad can have at him again, tell him he’s not worthy of your son? Reject him? I won't have him treated like that again. He's my mate. I've claimed him.” Anger pulsed through my voice. I was angrier than I realized at how my parents treated Rudy the first time they met him.

Mom sighed, deep and heavy. “I'm sorry about that,” she said. “I truly am. You know treating someone like that goes against everything we believe as shifters about hospitality and welcoming someone into our home.”

“Then why did you treat him like that?” I bit out.

“It was just such a shock. You're my oldest son and the first one to ever bring home a mate. And you know how your father can be. He’s all about protecting the Marks name and heritage. He's so stubborn. You boys get that from him. I really want to apologize to Rudy. And to you. So please come for dinner?”

“Can you promise me Dad will behave?”

“I'll try my best,” my mom said.

“Okay Mom. If I can talk Rudy into it, we’ll be there. But don’t be surprised if he says no.”

“Please try. I really want to welcome Rudy to the family.” Her voice was bright now.

I hung up and stared at the phone for a second. She knew. Somebody, probably Jasper, opened their big mouth and told Mom that Rudy was pregnant. You couldn't tell my brothers anything. There were no secrets in this family. Well, almost no secrets. I looked at the screen in front of me and studied my new website. Here was one secret I'd managed to keep.

I went into the living room and found Rudy lounging on the sofa reading a digital book. He was started to spend more and more time at my apartment. I wanted to ask him to move in soon. It was going to happen eventually, anyway. He couldn't stay in that tiny apartment of his with my baby. He rolled over when he heard me walk into the room and gave me a grin.

“What's going on,” he asked.

“My mom just called.”

“Oh,” he said, and rolled back over, picking up his book again.

“Don't be like that,” I said. “She called to invite us to dinner. She wants to apologize to you. She knows how she acted was uncalled for and wrong. She wants to welcome you to the family. I get the feeling she already knows about the baby. Probably because my brothers can't shut up.”

“I don't know, why should I put myself through that again. Even if your mom wants to apologize, what about your dad?”

“My mom can handle my dad. She's been doing it for almost thirty years. Please? Go for me, okay? Because I'm asking you to and because we'll have all my brothers there to back us up.”

He huffed at me and his chin jut out stubbornly before he finally agreed. “Fine, I'll go. But if I get the least bit uncomfortable, I'm out of there. “

“And I’ll be right behind you. All I’m asking is that you give them another chance.” I gave him a quick kiss on his forehead and left him to his reading as I headed back to my office to finish up the final details on my website. And to anxiously wait for a call from an investor.

We pulled up in front of my parents’ house and I could see Rudy eyeing the front porch, his lip pulled between his teeth as he gnawed nervously at the skin there.

“It's going to be fine,” I said. “I promise my brothers will behave, but I can’t make the same promise about my parents. At the first sign that they’re treating you badly, we're out of here. And we don't ever have to come back.” I laid my hand on his knee and squeezed. “So, are you ready?”

Rudy nodded and swallowed back his nervousness. I jumped out of the car and ran around to open his door. I helped him up the steps and my hand drifted across his belly, which was already starting to round just a bit. His sweater hid the little bump, but I knew it was there.

The door flew open, and my mom practically ran out and down the steps.

“I'm so glad to see you two,” she said. “How was your trip? Rudy, honey, are you feeling okay? Can I get you anything?” She definitely knew. I considered ripping out the tongue of the brother who told.

“Leave the boy alone.” My dad appeared at the top of the stairs, whiskey glass in his hand.

“Hush, Ben,” my mom said. She wrapped her arm through Rudy's and led him up the steps. It appeared that he’d pushed me out of my place as number one son in the family. At least in my mom's eyes. And all it took was getting knocked up.

My dad shrugged and waved me into the house. We headed to the dining room, where my brothers were already milling around the table, picking at the hors d'oeuvres my mom had set in the middle. My dad brought me a glass of whiskey and clapped me on the back.

“I understand we have something to celebrate,” he said.

I leaned over and looked at Jasper. “You need to learn how to keep your mouth shut,” I said to him.

“What?” he said. “It wasn't me.”

“Yes, it was,” said Slate.

Jasper aimed a crudité at his head.

“You boys behave,” my mom said, as she bustled through the door with a tray laden with freshly grilled steaks. She deposited the tray into the middle of the table and made us all take our seats.

We listened, because she was Mom and because she wouldn’t let us eat if we misbehaved at her table. We passed the trays around and dished out the food. When we were all ready to eat, Mom looked at me expectantly.

“Fine,” I said. “Even though you already know, I'll make the announcement. Rudy and I are having a baby. Not like you didn't know.” I shot daggers at Jasper. He grinned at me.

My mom squealed and clapped her hands. “I can't wait,” she said. “I have all sorts of ideas for decorating the nursery.”

“Um,” Rudy said, “I think I'll take care of that myself.”

“Oh, but you'll need help, dear. Now, eat up. I can’t have my grandpup born all sickly and small. Do you know, all these boys were over nine pounds? Even the twins!”

Rudy gave me a beseeching look that begged me to rescue him. I shrugged. “Welcome to the family,” I said. “We've put up with it for years. Now it’s time to share the joy.”

My brothers laughed, and my mom gave them a dirty look. “You boys keep it up and there's no dessert for you.”

Everyone settled down and tucked into their food, but I still heard the occasional snicker coming from Jasper.

Rudy was picking at his steak and carefully watching my mom and dad. I knew he was expecting the atmosphere to change, to charge and get prickly again, but my parents were genuinely happy for us. I gave his knee a little nudge under the table. He smiled at me and reached for my hand.

“Shit,” Jasper hissed from his spot next to Rudy at the table.

“Jasper, watch your language at dinner!” my mom exclaimed.

“Wait, he’s bleeding.” Rudy grabbed his dinner napkin from his lap and stood up.

I peered around Rudy and saw Jasper grabbing his hand. Blood was seeping from between his fingers.

“What did you do?” Mom cried.

“Knife slipped,” Jasper hissed again.

“Do you need stitches?” my dad asked.

“I don’t know, I’m not a damned doctor.”

“Here.” Rudy moved to Jasper and wrapped his napkin firmly around his hand. He pressed onto the wound, trying to slow the bleeding. Jasper sat and let Rudy tend to his wounded hand. Then, his face cleared and he looked at his hurt hand with confusion. Jasper carefully unwound the bloody napkin from around his hand and looked at the palm. He turned his hand over and studied it from both sides. He picked up his own napkin, dipped it into his water goblet, and cleaned away the blood.

There wasn’t a mark on him.

There was a sharp intake of breath. I looked at my mother. She slid my father a look before getting up and walking around the table to where Rudy stood next to Jasper.

“My, my,” she said. “Rudy, honey, where did you say you were from?”

“Just, um, just an orphanage in the backlands. Small town, nowhere special. What’s going on?” Rudy looked from me to my mother. “What just happened here?”

“My dear, you appear to be a healer.” My mother led Rudy back to his chair and helped him sit down. “It happens like this sometimes. Being claimed or pregnant sometimes brings out latent tendencies in shifters.”

“I don’t even know what that means.” Rudy sounded worried.

“It means you have a gift.” My mother smiled at Rudy, her voice reassuring.

“It’s okay.” I leaned over and took Rudy’s hands. “Some shifters have abilities, that’s all.”

“Do you have an ability?” Rudy asked me.

“Yeah, the ability to be a pain in the ass,” Slate piped up.

“That’s enough from you,” my dad snapped.

“It’s really okay?” Rudy asked anxiously.

“Yes, it’s really okay,” I answered with a smile.

“Well,” my mother said, “let’s finish our dinner.”

We headed to the game room after dinner, my brothers sprawling in the big leather club chairs that were arranged artfully around the room. My dad stood in front of the fireplace and flipped the switch that started the fire roaring. Rudy walked over to it and stretched out his hands toward the fire, basking in the warmth of the flames.

“This is great,” he said to my dad. “It's been a long time since I've seen a roaring fire. Reminds me of being back home.”

My dad gave him a smile and clapped him on the shoulder. “Enjoy it, son. Now I know you can't drink whiskey but is there anything else we can get you?”  

“No thank you, I'm fine.” I could see Rudy light up when my dad called him son. I was sure it was the first time someone fatherly had ever used that word with him.

My mother came over and grabbed Rudy and pulled him to a small sofa on one side of the fireplace. The next thing I knew, their heads were together, and I could tell that they were planning and scheming for the baby. I could see that she was loving the idea of a grandchild. I was probably going to lose my mate for the next few months. I was sure my mom would keep him busy shopping and decorating and whatever else it was people did to get ready for the arrival of a baby.

My phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out and looked at the screen. It was my investor. The pit of my stomach flipped. Now was when he called? I’d waited all day for him to call and he chose the time I was in my father’s house to call me. I hoped he was at least calling with good news.

“I need to take this,” I said to no one in particular. I walked quickly into to the hallway and shut the door behind me. I tapped my phone.

“Adam,” I said briskly. “How's it going? Give me some good news.”

“Uh huh,” I said. “Great. That's great, that's great. I'm so glad to hear that.” I took a minute to silently pump my fist into the air. “Yes, you too. Tomorrow. My office. I'm looking forward to seeing you. Nope, I'll have everything ready. Yes, thank you again, Adam.”

I shoved my phone back into my pocket and headed back into the game room. I hoped I could keep my face schooled into a normal expression.

Jasper and Slate had started a game of snooker with Rudy. They were teaching him the finer points of the game. Or they were cheating so that they could win.

Rudy looked up when he saw me. Because of the claiming, he could feel the excitement rolling off of me. He raised an eyebrow and gave me a questioning look. I shook my head quickly. This wasn't something I wanted to talk about right now, not with my dad around, and not with everyone in the good mood that they were in. I didn't want to ruin the night that we'd just had.

It'd been such a great night and my family had been so welcoming to Rudy. I could tell he was relaxed and he felt better about where our life was going now.

“What was that son?” my dad asked.

“Nothing,” I said. “Just a little something I'm working on. We'll talk about it another time.”

I walked over and joined Rudy and my brothers. “Don't let these guys take advantage of you,” I said. “They cheat.”

“Hey,” Jasper protested.

“You do cheat,” added Ollie.

“Why are you guys always ganging up on me?” Jasper said. “Rudy, do you see how it is in this family? Do you really want to be a part of this?”

Parker ran across the room and tackled Jasper to the ground, then Slate and Ollie piled on top. Rudy leaned into me and wrapped his arm around my waist.

“Yeah,” he said to the room, “I'm sure I do want to be a part of this.”

---

My parents drifted away to bed, leaving the rest of us in the game room. Jasper and Slate were arguing quietly over a game of digital chess in the corner.

“I can’t cheat,” Jasper hissed, “it’s digital.”

Parker was kicked back on the sofa, watching a basketball game on a tablet. Ollie was sprawled across two chairs, dozing by the fire.

“Hey,” I said softly to Rudy, “let’s go outside.”

He nodded and slipped his hand into mine and we eased out of the door, so we didn’t disturb the others. I led him through the kitchen and into the rear yard.

The moon was a golden disk high above us, its light picking out the tips of pine trees on the ridge behind my parents’ house.

“It’s beautiful out here,” Rudy said. “I’d never guess we’re as close to the city as we are.”

“Shuck out of those clothes and I’ll show you why my parents moved us out here.”

Rudy gave me a sultry grin and treated me to shimmying strip tease. I laughed and smacked his bare ass before pulling my own clothes off.

“Not that, brat,” I told him. “At least, not yet. My parents have acres and acres of land. And the property borders a state park, as well. What better place to be when you have five rambunctious and growing puppies?”

Rudy looked at me with a gleam in his eye. The moonlight silvered his skin and his tiny bump rounded out his lower belly. He’d never looked sexier to me.

“Let’s run,” I said to him.

Without another word, Rudy shifted. Suddenly, he was a sleek, light tan wolf with brown tips at his ears and tail. He turned, and moonlight made his fur golden. He howled and my body answered. It tightened, and I felt like I was turning inside out, and then the world changed around me. I was dimly aware that it was my wolf eyes that made the world sharp and my heightened senses that made every scent pure and pungent. There was pine sap and the fear of small animals sensing a predator, and above all, the scent of my mate, sharp and spicy.

I took off up the ridge and Rudy gave a sharp yip behind me before he followed. We ran hard and fast, dodging bushes and leaping over downed trees. We wove through branches and high grass and followed the scent of a fox through the underbrush. Finally, we came to spot that opened onto a lake. The stars above us sparkled off the still, clear waters. We padded to the edge and lapped thirstily at the cold water. Finally, we found a soft patch of grass and curled into each other.

The shift back happened quickly, and we were still curled into one another. Rudy laughed, his voice chiming across the lake and bouncing off the mountains.

“This may be the most beautiful place I’ve ever seen,” Rudy said. “It reminds a little of the backlands, but better.”

“Well, better is good, right?” I laughed at him. “You don’t talk very much about where you’re from.”

“I know,” he said. “There’s not much to tell, really. The woods were nice, but the town wasn’t. And the people, well… backlands people can be stubborn. And a little backwards.”

“I’m sure living in Stelline City is a big change.”

“Kind of. It’s a little overwhelming sometimes. There’s nowhere to shift except my apartment and I’m afraid to do it there, in case I somehow get out of the door and wind up outside. And then get hit by a car. This is the first time I’ve shifted since I’ve been here.”

“Really? I come up here regularly and shift. Now you can, too. Anytime you want to shift, let me know. If I can’t bring you, I’ll get one of our brothers to bring you.”

“You know what I’d really like?” he asked, as he plucked at the grass underneath us.

“What’s that?” It didn’t matter what it was. If it was within my power to give it to him, I would.

“A place like this. Private, secluded, but not far from the city. Room to roam, to give my puppies lots of room to play. But not so far out I can’t get a caramel mocha.” He grinned at me.

“That sounds perfect. If it’s what you want, it’s what you’ll get.”

“Really?” He sounded amazed. I didn’t think he realized just how important he was to me and how much I could give him. He was marked and claimed as mine and he still didn’t believe that we were going to last. I’d do everything I could to prove him wrong.

“Really. Every dream you’ve ever had, I’m going to make come true.”

He pulled me to him and bit at my neck. “Let me tell you about the dream I had last night then.”

We folded into the soft grass and I claimed Rudy again, over and over, and showed him that he was worth everything I could give him and more.