Chapter Thirteen
Goddess!
Mundo shuddered at the taste of Christie’s blood in his mouth.
Even as he gulped it down, revolted by its bitter tang, he was sniffing her throat, scenting her. Already she was starting to change, adapt to his bite. He could smell his claim on her—a claim bound by blood, saliva, and semen.
He shuddered with the glory of it.
She was his.
At last.
God, it had felt like a lifetime had passed since he’d first come to know her. Now she was his, forever. He knew two lifetimes could pass, and he would still feel this dazed wonder at having her in his world again.
A shudder wracked him, a final one, and he slumped over her, taking care to put his weight on the forearms he’d stacked either side of her head.
With every inhalation, he scented her and him, their united essences gathering within her.
No one, not even the weakest of Shifters, would be able to miss her scent, that of a claimed woman.
He pressed a gentle kiss to the side of her throat which was already starting to heal from his bite. That coppery tang of blood was still in the air, and so was his sweat from the control he’d had to maintain as he’d taken her, claimed her as his own.
How he’d done it, Mundo wasn’t sure. She’d taken an age to acclimate to his size. She’d been as tight as a virgin, and his cock had nearly expired from the pressure of her clutching, clinging walls. But she’d been so hot, so wet, that it would have been a joyous death.
He grinned weakly at the thought then nuzzled his forehead against hers.
He’d fucked her until she’d passed out.
Unsure if that was common when it came time to claim a mate, he decided it wasn’t and started to preen with pride.
He’d pleasured her so much that she had fainted.
His grin grew stronger, but then her scent changed again and his grin disappeared.
He gulped, lifted himself off her as carefully as he could—wincing when she moaned as he pulled his cock from her still clinging pussy. She wriggled a little on the covers but then settled down once she was comfortable. He was tempted to cover her with the duvet, wrap her up in the half she wasn’t lying on, but he needed to investigate the change in her scent and why it was so extreme.
It shouldn’t have altered the way it had so abruptly.
The Shifter books had it wrong. Shifters couldn’t scent when a woman was fertile but could just about scent when a woman was horny. What they could scent, without a doubt, was a pregnant woman.
And his mate, the woman he’d only made love to once, and only minutes before, was pregnant.
He gulped again, got onto his hands and knees, and started sniffing around her belly and pussy. If she woke up and saw him, she’d think he was a pervert or something, but he needed to know if his nose was wrong—if his senses were going haywire.
But no. As he shoved his nose in the slight indent at her belly just beneath her navel, he could scent another essence, a burgeoning one but powerful in itself.
He frowned and tried to think back to the last pregnant mate he’d known, but it had been so long ago, and he could barely remember the last time his mother had been pregnant.
She’d seemed to be carrying for an age, then suddenly, she’d miscarried. All he’d really known at that time was the relationship between his mother and father had deteriorated, their arguments becoming worse than ever as both struggled to cope with the loss of their child.
Because of the emotional misery of the time, he couldn’t even remember the scent his mother had exuded, and he wasn’t sure if the change in Christie’s scent truly meant she was pregnant. But, and it was a huge but, there was no way of mistaking this essence that was growing ever stronger beneath his very nose.
Not only was it gaining in power, it was so very different and yet, so very similar to that of his and Christie’s, that Mundo realized he was right—had been right all along.
Christie was carrying their babe.
He gulped again.
Was he ready to be a father? Or maybe the better question should be, would he ever be ready?
A grimace twisted his mouth at the thought. He highly doubted that any guy was ready to become a dad, but they still did it.
He’d expected years and years with his mate. Time alone that they could learn to know each other, come to be each other’s everything before they made the mutual decision to get pregnant.
Instead, he’d fucked up on their very first go.
He tried to comfort himself that there was nothing he could have done to have prevented this from happening. During the mating claim, they couldn’t wear condoms, and if the female was on a contraceptive, the power of the bond would decimate its power anyway.
Mundo had simply never heard of a couple getting pregnant the first time during their mating bond.
He sucked in a breath, wondering how the fuck he was going to tell Christie she was going to be a mom when she’d only just come to terms with being a mate to a bear Shifter.
Fuck. When it rained, it poured.
And as that gloomy thought crossed his mind, a huge grin widened his jaw.
Fuck it.
They weren’t ready, but he didn’t care.
James ‘Mundo’ Aston was going to be a father.
***
“She’s been out of it for three hours now, man. Are you sure that’s normal?”
Mundo jiggled his feet as nervous agitation filled him. The sound of the buckles on his boots clinking was an irritating distraction that he ignored as he cracked his knuckles.
Major let out a long-suffering sigh. As their healer, he was the go-to guy, but Mundo had yet to let him in the bedroom.
“I’d check her over if you’d just let me in there,” he groused. “I thought you were supposed to be less possessive once the claim was staked.”
Mundo snarled. Well, it was his bear doing the snarling—an agitated and riled up bear that was soon to have a cub with his very new mate.
Major’s brows rose but he lifted his hands in surrender. Mirroring Mundo’s posture, he sank to the floor, put his back to the wall, raised his knees and rested his hands on them. Unlike Mundo, he was still, whereas the newly mated male was fidgeting like a puppy.
“What’s going on, man?” Major asked carefully, sensing as well as smelling how close Mundo’s bear was to the surface.
Hell, the animal’s presence was why he was fidgeting like crazy. His skin felt too small. The need to shift pressed at him, but the beast was also desperate to stay close to his mate.
The contradictory needs made him want to pull his hair out.
“She’s not woken up yet, Major, not since I claimed her. I was kind of proud of myself. Figured it was a big deal, ya know? But now she’s not waking up. What if she never wakes up?”
Mundo frowned. “I think everyone’s different. Annette passed out, but we can’t take her into consideration because no sooner was she claimed than she got shot.” He grimaced at the memory. “I think she’s just healing, Mundo. Whatever’s going on is happening for a reason. You know that. The Goddesses wouldn’t have gifted her to you if they were going to take her away.”
Mundo bit his lip. “You know they can be bitter and twisted,” he whispered the treacherous words on a low hiss.
“They can be cruel,” Major concurred. “But only if you do them wrong. Have you done them wrong?”
Mundo ran a hand over his head. “I don’t think so, but I don’t know, do I? I might have offended them, and they’re taking that offense out on Christie.” A keening cry escaped him. “I can’t... I won’t be able to cope if they take her from me, Major.”
Having never seen his brother so distraught, Major was at a loss, and then Mars appeared, a slash of concern puckering his brow. “What’s going on?”
“Mundo claimed Christie and she passed out after, but she’s still not woken up.”
Mars slouched down beside Mundo and said, “Don’t worry about it. She’ll be fine. Her body’s just adjusting that’s all.”
Mundo gulped. “I think she’s pregnant.” At the other men’s surprise, he cleared his throat. “That’s bullshit. I know she’s pregnant.”
Silence was his only reply until Major whispered, “How do you know?”
Mars sniffed. “Isn’t it fucking obvious? He scented the change. Christ, Major.”
The other man scowled. “We’re all allowed to ask dumbass questions in situations like this, Prez. Fuck, I’m in shock. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a female getting pregnant during the claiming.”
Mundo blanched and Mars hissed. “Way to go, Major.”
“Sorry.”
Mundo waved a hand. “It’s okay. He’s only saying what I’m thinking.”
“If she’s pregnant though, there’s even less reason to wonder about why she’s still asleep, bro,” Mars comforted. “Her body’s changing not only because of your DNA but from the baby’s too.” He pursed his lips a second. “I wonder what talent she’ll get. Be interesting to see if the baby enhances it.”
“I don’t give a shit if she gets a useless talent. I just want her to be okay.”
“And she will be, Mundo,” Mars reassured. “But don’t you think you should be in there with her, not out here with us? She’ll want to see you when she wakes up.”
“It was driving me crazy sitting in there, watching her, wondering if she was going to wake up...if she was ever going to wake up. Nightmare.” He swallowed back his misery. Closing his eyes a second, he tried to think of something other than his mate but failed. Instead of the obvious, he focused on Pinkie’s mission. It felt like a lifetime had passed since his brother had gone off on a reconnaissance mission, but it was only a handful of hours. “Has Pinkie come back?”
Mars shook his head. “No. But he called in. He’s on his way back. We were right. One of the Tigers who recently got busted is in one of the jails on Christie’s circuit. The guy Pinkie set on squealed like a pig. Apparently, this guy is one of the lieutenants.” Mars shrugged. “They wanted to get a message to him like we thought.”
Mundo cleared his throat. “Any idea of the message?”
“The name of the informant who ratted them out. He’s on the inside with this lieutenant. They had a knife they wanted Christie to pass on to the lieutenant too.”
He shuddered. “Fuck. This couldn’t be worse, could it?”
Mars snorted. “Of course it could. Your mate could be in that barrio waiting for news on why she’d been abducted. Instead, she’s claimed, in your bed, and carrying your cub.”
“You’re right,” he whispered. “I need to stop being so gloomy.”
“Only natural,” Mars murmured. “Learning you’re a dad after the first claiming is bound to be a shock, bro. I mean, foot-in-mouth Major isn’t wrong—I didn’t think it was even possible either.”
“Me too.” He shivered again and said, “She can’t go back to work for the DOJ, can she?”
Mars grimaced. “To be honest, I’m surprised something like this hasn’t happened before.”
“Yeah, me too.” Mundo sucked in a breath. “I wonder how hard it will be to convince her she’s in danger.”
“She was pretty passionate about her work earlier,” Major added, unhelpfully. “She was proud of the fact she was helping people pro bono, but maybe the baby will help convince her private practice is the way to go. It’s not like she has to stop being a dentist, period. She just can’t work with inmates anymore.”
“Everything happens for a reason,” Mars murmured sagely. “She was there to meet you, Mundo. Her work put her in the right place at the right time.
“No, your meeting has been achieved and your mating has already borne fruit. The usefulness of her work in the prisons has come to an end. She might fight it, but she’ll understand why you’re making the suggestion. She’s not a fool, and she was quick enough to judge you, so she’ll be annoyed but understanding when you do the same with her work.”
Mundo looked unconvinced but nodded. Clambering to his feet, he murmured, “You think we’ve heard the last of the Tigers?”
Mars shook his head. “I doubt it, but not where Christie’s concerned. Once she quits, her usefulness comes to an end.”
“Fuck, we have to stop pissing off these Latino gangs.”
Major’s half-wail had both of them snickering. “He’s right,” he commented to Mars.
“I know he is, but what the fuck can we do?” He jerked a shoulder then stood up too. Clapping Mundo on the back, he said, “We’ll worry about that shit another day. We have the biggest patch of turf in Channelview and over into downtown Houston. We’re still an MC to be reckoned with. But, if more of us finds our mates, it might be wise to start fortifying this place. Three mates on this property is enough to bring me out in a cold sweat at night.”
“Bulletproof glass?” Mundo asked, thinking of how a stray, ricocheting bullet had struck Annette and almost killed her.
Mars shuddered. “Without a doubt, but also reinforced walls, stronger gates, hell, even a siege fucking tower. If I have to go medieval on these fuckers’s asses to keep our mates safe, then I will.”
“Three mates?” Major questioned then frowned when Mundo and Mars cocked their brows at him. “You said three mates,” he clarified. “But only you and Mundo have found yours.”
“Shit, I was supposed to keep my mouth shut.” Mars grimaced. “Kiko’s found a mate among the women.”
“From the cartel shipment?” Mundo asked, mouth agape.
“Yeah, but don’t call them that. They’re more than fucking chattel.”
He grunted. “Yeah, sorry, man. I was just...”
Mars shrugged. “Don’t worry about it. Just make sure you don’t say it in front of Kiko.”
“I thought he was more irate than usual,” Major murmured, looking pensive.
“Yeah, well, he can’t speak to her, can he? Doesn’t speak Ukrainian. Plus, they’re all shit scared of men, which doesn’t help, especially when you consider Kiko’s goddamn size.”
Kiko was a monster. He was fucking huge. And when he shifted? Jesus wept, and even Mundo backed away—and he was a Grizzly.
“She’s still here, though, so she must feel the connection, right?”
Mars shrugged. “Annette’s been keeping an eye out. Says there’s a connection but that the woman doesn’t understand it, and who could blame her? She doesn’t know we’re Shifters, does she?”
“Speaking of,” Major inserted, a way grimace on his chops. “When are we going to be able to Shift?”
Mars scraped a hand over his head. “I know, I’m feeling the pull as well.”
“Christie hasn’t even met my bear yet,” Mundo groused. “Not that I’m sure she should now. Maybe when the cub is born. I’d probably scare the shit out of her.”
Mars snorted. “Don’t be a pussy.”
“When your mate has been abducted, claimed, and impregnated on the same day, you can bitch at me. Until then, keep your fucking mouth shut.”
There was a twinkle in Mars’s eye, so Mundo kept it at that, but any more and he’d have started a brawl. Mundo’s nerves were on their last bit of strength. He needed nothing else to tip him over the goddamn edge.
“I’ll get Annette to take them out on a trip or something. They must want to go buy shit in the city, right?”
“I think even Ukrainian women love shopping,” Major asserted with a chuckle.
“Good. Well, if that’s a feasible excuse, I’ll get her to take them tomorrow so we can all shift. They’ll need an entourage for back up, especially after today’s foray with the Tigers, so I’ll have to arrange for another trip so the ladies’ guards can shift too. Annette will have to figure out what they want though.” He grimaced. “I’ve got enough on my goddamn plate than figuring out what a dozen Eastern European women like doing in their spare time!”
Mundo’s lips twitched. For the first time since Christie had passed out and he’d learned she was pregnant, he felt amusement. It flickered inside him, bringing with it a warmth he very much needed.
“I’ll go as guard next time. I want to show Christie my bear tomorrow.”
Mars needed. “You didn’t even need to tell me that. Your bear must be clawing at your skin to meet her.”
Mundo grunted. Talk about a fucking understatement.