Shifter women didn’t have the same biology as humans. Pregnancy occurred during our heat cycle, and only in rare cases did it happen outside of that. “It’s meant to be,” I said. “The little one couldn’t wait to be born and already knew who her parents would be.”
She smiled and her green eyes settled on mine as she sat up. “A girl? I told the Relic I didn’t want to know. You know how every Shifter wants their firstborn to be male because they might be an alpha. It’s driving Jericho mad. What makes you think it’s a girl?”
I shrugged. “Just a feeling. I suppose there’s a fifty-fifty chance I’m right.”
Izzy snorted and rubbed her thumb across the scars on her left wrist. She sometimes did it without thinking. Whatever cruelty her ex-lover had inflicted upon her was something only Jericho knew about, and no one ever brought it up around him. Everyone has a story, but sometimes it doesn’t need telling.
“We’re going to have a large family. Of that much I’m certain.” She winked, and we both turned our heads when Denver’s yellow truck rumbled up the driveway.
It skidded to a stop behind Austin’s black Challenger, and the hinges on his door squeaked when he got out. Denver strolled up, still wearing his sleeveless work shirt with the logo for Howlers on the left pec. He was the only blond in the Cole family and seemed comfortable in those shoes, even though it made him stand out. He yawned audibly and stopped at the foot of the steps, gazing up at us.
“You’re late,” Izzy said.
He rubbed his eye sleepily. “Yeah, well, Frank was supposed to relieve me at five and he called in. I’m going to be conked out by the time we head out to lunch. By the way, Rosie wants you to come up and see her sometime. She says you ditched her and now she knows how you really feel.”
Her expression fell. “She didn’t say it like that, did she?”
Izzy had briefly worked as a waitress at Howlers, but after finding out she was pregnant, she resigned. Jake, her boss, offered to keep her position open if she changed her mind. But Izzy decided it was time for her to find a job that didn’t involve serving horny men burgers and beer. Lexi offered her a position once the new bakery opened, and that sounded like her scene. Instead of a candy shop, they planned to serve coffee and delectable pastries for those who wanted to dine in or take out. Izzy said it sounded like a swell place to hang out, and they might drum up a lot of business since they didn’t have any competition in the Breed community.
Denver trudged up the steps and patted her on the head. “Why don’t you and the little bean go up there tonight and pay Rosie a visit?”
“Stop calling it a little bean,” she said, swatting his hand.
Denver chuckled and kicked off his sneakers before going inside.
“What’s wrong?” Izzy asked.
I glanced over my right shoulder at her. “What makes you think something is wrong?”
A smile brightened her face. “Because I know you, Ivy. When something’s wrong, you do that rocking thing.”
I stood up and shivered. “It’s my wolf. She’s restless.”
“So let her out.”
A gust of wind rattled the leaves, and I leaned against the banister. “I don’t like letting my wolf run on a full moon.”
Her eyebrows arched. “That’s just superstition.” Izzy rose to her feet and placed her hand over the curve of her belly. “Nobody believes in that.”
“There’s always an increase in violence during the full moon—even among humans. It alters people, and who are we to say that there aren’t mystical spirits at play? Science can’t explain the magic behind Shifters, Chitahs, Vampires, and the like. My wolf will just have to wait.”
Izzy led us inside and we took off our light jackets. “Well, your wolf is going to be a pissy little thing if you don’t let her run. Mine has gone into hibernation during the pregnancy, so it’s kind of nice.”
Women didn’t shift during pregnancy. They could in the first trimester, but since the fetus would remain in human form, it’s not something they did unless it was a medical emergency and the mother needed to shift to heal. The animal within the Shifter will become docile and allow the pregnancy to go to full term without demanding to shift. Wolves would do whatever was necessary to protect the new life within them.
“I need everyone downstairs,” Austin bellowed from the living room. “Maizy, go up and change clothes. We’re going out to lunch soon, and you have dirt on your pants.”
Maizy twisted her mouth and stomped up the stairs as the men ran down. He wasn’t her father, but he had taken on a fatherly role as Packmasters did with all children.
Denver dragged himself back downstairs, his blond hair disheveled and his blue eyes half-closed. “This better be good,” he murmured, sitting down on the staircase.
“I bet you hear that a lot,” Trevor said with a chuckle.