Pregnant.

Liam repeated the word to himself again. Pregnant.

And Gunnar was on his way. Liam had to tell Gunnar about the baby, but if he did, it could ruin everything.

If he didn't, it might ruin everything too.

Liam couldn't doubt that Gunnar cared. He was dropping everything to drive two hours through the Cascades just because Liam had had a moment of irrational terror. It was embarrassing, but it also made Liam feel warm.

Cared for. Loved, even.

No, it was too soon to talk about love, even in his own mind.

Eventually, Liam stood and tossed the pregnancy test in the bathroom trashcan. Then he dumped the bathroom trash into the plastic bag had gotten from the pharmacy and tied it off so it wouldn't be immediately visible.

Home pregnancy tests weren’t one hundred percent reliable. It would be better to go to the doctor and get a full blood test. Then he could tell Gunnar.

Liam knew he was putting off the inevitable, but it was still the best plan he had.

For now.

Liam glanced at the clock and his phone. Gunnar had called forty-five minutes ago. He still had some time, and Gunnar would need to find parking. Liam quickly called down to the hotel front desk to tell them to let Gunnar Justice up to join him in the room. Just in case there was any problem.

Shower. The least he could do was be clean when Gunnar arrived.

Liam stripped and let the shower water run for long enough so that it got hot before stepping underneath. He ran his palm over is still flat stomach as the water ran over him. How long would it take for him to show? Five months maybe.

Odd how he knew so much about animal gestation, but when it came to his own body, he was so strangely ignorant.

How would Gunnar react to the news?

Gunnar had his own family. While Liam knew the alpha wouldn't abandon their child, it didn't mean he'd want to upend his entire life to have Liam and his menagerie move into Gunnar's happy home. They’d only been dating a little over a month. He'd only just learned the man's birthday.

This was a disaster. Why hadn't Liam known about the alpha -sized condoms? He was a doctor, how could he have been so stupid and ignorant?

Liam heard the creak of the bathroom door opening.

Gunnar must have driven like the wind.

“Come join me,” Liam called out.

Over the water’s spray came the squeak-scuff of footsteps, three steps across the tile, and then a hand, three fingers grasping the inside of the shower curtain.

In that split moment, Liam knew something was wrong. The hand was the wrong shape, and the scent was wrong too.

Damon.

Liam grabbed for something, anything, to use as a weapon, but it was too late.

Damon shoved the shower curtain aside. "I've been looking for you everywhere."

Liam's scream strangled in his throat as Damon moved, stabbing him in the shoulder with something sharp. A needle.

Liam tried to throw a punch at Damon’s face, but whatever Damon had put in the syringe was making the world fuzzy and strange. Liam’s bare foot slipped, and he started to fall.

Damon grabbed him, wrapping his arms around Liam’s waist. Liam’s eyes felt heavy.

"That's right, my sweet, just fall asleep. Everything is going to be perfect now."