Claiming their Mate

Chapter 7

“So?” Clara bristled with anticipation. Kate had taken far longer than she’d expected with the pregnancy test, leaving Clata pacing outside the bathroom door.

  “So…So, it was positive! I’m pregnant.” Kate squealed, jumping up and down, grinning wildly.

  Clara matched her decibel, wrapping her arms around her sister, overcome with joy. “God, I thought you were never coming out of there. It’s bad enough you made me wait a whole week for the verdict.”

  “I know. Jason and Will have been at me to go ahead and take the pregnancy test, but I was so afraid.”

  “Afraid of what?” Clara would have taken a test the instant she suspected a pregnancy.

  “I don’t know. I guess I’ve been so happy, with you here and my men. And now that we’re finally getting joined. I’ve been afraid something would go wrong, and I guess I wanted to hold on to the idea that my life really could be this perfect for as long as possible.”

  Clara laughed and shook her head. “You always were a little nutty. Seriously, though, I understand why you felt that way. What finally made you decide to go ahead and do it?”

  Shrugging, Kate sat on the bed and looked up at Clara. “I figured it was time to stop holding my breath, so to speak, and just live. With all the talk about war, you just never know what might happen.”

  Joining her sister on the bed, Clara leaned over to wipe a tear from her cheek. Despite how upset and confused she’d felt over the last few days, her heart was full at the sight of Kate crying tears of joy.

  “I want you to be as happy as I am,” Katr said through her tears.

  “Let’s not talk about that. It’ll just bring you down.”

  “Are you kidding me? That’s not even possible. I feel too high right now. Besides, my happiness won’t be complete until you’re joined with your men, too.”

  “I doubt that’s going to happen.” She let out a rueful chuckle. “Adam barely talks to me, and when he does, he’s super polite, as if he doesn’t even know me. And Xavier won’t stop apologizing for him. But I can’t even get Xavier to change his mind about me staying. Nikki says not to worry, that most shifters can’t stand to be separated from their mates, but what if they’re not like most shifters?” Clara couldn’t sit still and popped up to resume her pacing. “I feel like I finally decided I wanted them, and then, bam! They’re slamming on the brakes. What if it’s not really my safety that made them change their minds? What if it’s really because I can’t give them babies?”

“Adam and Xavier are two of the most honest men I have ever known. If they say it doesn’t matter, it does not matter to them. They’re just being overprotective. Sending you back home is one way to keep you safe, but it’s not the only way. From what I’ve been told, women and pups are so protected during battles that what they’re doing is overkill.”

  “Jason and Will are just as protective of you. Why aren’t they trying to ship you off somewhere?”

  Kate sighed. “Well, it’s different for me. I’m one of them now. I wouldn’t necessarily be safe away from here. Ulric and his pack could come after me for leverage, or worse, some wolf out there could try to mate with me if I was on my own.”

  “Really? That happens?” Clara was surprised. With so much talk of fate and destined mates, she’d figured that was the only way wolves got together.

  “Well, yeah. Some people don’t hold out for their fated, and others have lost mates. We can join with anyone we choose. It’s just that the fated have an incredibly strong instinctual bond, and most shifters want that.”