Chapter Thirteen
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THEY’D JUST FINISHED up lunch when the doorbell rang.
Carter opened it to reveal his beta, James, and James’ mate, Anna. They both stood on the porch, James with his arm around Anna’s waist, and Anna holding a tin of what smelled like homemade shortcake. Carter had been fielding away members of his pack for the past few days, but he couldn’t hide Piper from his beta.
“Hey,” James crowed in a sing-song voice. “Hope we’re not imposing, but we heard there might be something to celebrate.”
Anna stepped forward and pushed the tin into Carter’s arms. “I figured these would be more appropriate than bringing alcohol, considering the most important person won’t be drinking.” Her gazed darted around. “So, where are you hiding her?”
Carter backed up, allowing them both fully into the house. There was no point in trying to fight it. One person’s business was the entire pack’s business, and even more so when it came to the alpha and potentially the next alpha in line, too.
He glanced over to see Piper lurking in the doorway to the kitchen. He motioned her out.
“This is Piper,” he introduced. “Piper, this is my beta, James, and his mate, Anna.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” she said, smiling at them both.
Despite the lie, Carter’s heart swelled with pride. She looked stunning, the cotton t-shirt and pants she wore showing off her bump perfectly. The moment he’d known she was staying, he’d gotten one of the other female wolves to go out and purchase a whole new wardrobe for Piper. He loved seeing her embracing her shape, showing off the ample curves of her stomach and breasts. He knew it wasn’t his baby housed within her swollen stomach, but she still looked sexy to him. Ever since he’d first tried to kiss her, their relationship had remained platonic, but that didn’t mean he wanted things to stay that way. If they got involved romantically, however, and he managed to mess things up, just as he normally did, it would make life difficult.
If only the baby inside her was actually his, and Piper was truly his mate, then his life would be perfect.
“I baked those for you to say congrats and welcome.” Anna motioned to the tin Carter was now holding. “I figured you’d appreciate them more than champagne right now.”
Piper laughed. “Yes, thank you.”
“They won’t be as good as mine,” Carter said, throwing her a wink.
“Is he trying to fatten you up?” Anna teased.
Piper’s smile widened. “Well, he does love to cook.”
“And what more could you ask in a man?” Carter slipped his arm around her waist and leaned in to kiss her cheek, wanting James and Anna to believe in the relationship as much as the baby.
She gazed up at him. “Nothing more.”
And his heart tightened.
“So, how did you guys meet?” asked Anna, the tone of her voice implying that she wanted all the juicy details.
“It’s crazy, really. Just out at a bar. One thing led to another ...” He gestured at Piper’s belly and they all laughed.
“I think we can guess what happened next,” James said.
“Yep.”
Piper blushed.
James clapped a hand to Carter’s shoulder. “Then congratulations are in order. I have to admit, we were all starting to get a little worried that you didn’t have it in you.”
“Gee, thanks.” He looked over to Piper, hoping she didn’t suspect anything. A couple of lines had appeared between her brows, so he rolled his eyes and jerked his head toward his second in command as though to say, ‘what can you do?’
“Well, it’s good to know you’ve got an heir now,” James continued. “Things start to get messy when we have to think about changing the alpha families. We could do without that sort of unrest, though I’m sure Liam and a couple of others will be disappointed to miss their opportunity.”
Carter could feel Piper’s gaze on him, the questions in her eyes. He gave an awkward laugh. “Nah, it wouldn’t have come to that. I just needed to meet the right girl, that’s all.”
“Your mate,” James said.
Carter looked over at Piper again. “Yes, my mate.”
A small smile tweaked her lips, and he hoped he’d done enough. He didn’t understand why he didn’t want Piper to know about his need to provide an heir, and that he had failed so far. Hell, yes, he did. He didn’t want her to see him how he really was—a man who used women to get what he wanted. Things had been different with Piper—he’d been different with Piper—and he knew that if she discovered who he really was, and that part of his reason for pretending the baby was his wasn’t all about helping her, then she’d see him differently. He’d had his own agenda, and after hearing the story about how her parents had used her in order to elevate their place in their pack, he didn’t want her to think he was doing exactly the same thing.
“I’ll put some coffee on to go with the cookies,” Piper said, turning away from the men to go back into the kitchen.
Anna followed. “I’ll give you a hand.”
Carter was relieved to have the moment broken.
James pulled him to one side. “I don’t remember you ever mentioning a Piper before.”
“It was a fling,” he said, dismissively. “I didn’t know it would come to anything—neither of us did.”
“Feel free to punch me in the face if I’m speaking out of turn, but everyone in town knows you’ve had... issues... when it’s come to...” He mimed the shape of Piper’s belly onto his own. “Are you even sure the kid’s yours?”
Carter growled in anger. “Yeah, I will punch you in the face if you start spreading those kinds of rumors. Piper’s not like that. Have you seen her? She’s as sweet as sugar, and anyway, the dates match up.”
He lifted both hands. “Hey, no worries. I didn’t mean to imply anything. I’m only looking out for you.”
“I know that, but you know what the pack is like. Start making those kinds of comments and it’ll be all over town before you can take a breath.”
“I bet Kimberly is gonna be pissed about you cheating on her.”
Damn. He hadn’t thought of that. The dates would have been when he’d first started seeing Kimberly. Even though it was a fabrication, she didn’t know that. He was right when he said she wouldn’t be happy, and rightly so. They might be broken up now, but she’d still be hurt at the news.
There wasn’t anything he could do about that now.
He shrugged. “Kimberly knew what she was getting into. She knew my history.”
“And what about Piper?” he asked, nodding over to where she stood. “Does she know your history?”
“Not exactly, but she’s met Kimberly, so that might give her a good idea.”
He chuckled. “Right.”
“Coffee’s ready,” Piper called from the kitchen, though he knew she’d have made herself a hot tea.
Not liking the line of questioning James had taken, he was glad for the distraction.
He could only hope the rest of the pack wasn’t having the same ideas.