She leans forward with purpose. Her intense stare makes me straighten. "So tell me about how you feel about Brady."
I give him a quick glance. He wasn't joking. "Um… well, I was drawn to him even before I got here. He was in my dreams." Brady reaches over and places a hand on mine, and I let inner strength take over. "The moment I first met him, I knew I’d never want to leave. And after last night, I--" I swallow down my embarrassment. "After we mated, I felt a connection so strong I'm not sure I could live without him."
Donna relaxes a little, and her voice is warmer now. "Nice. And your body, is it changing?"
"I think so. I know I can see muscles where they weren't before."
"Excellent. Now what about here?" She taps her forehead, and I frown.
"I'm not sure what you’re asking."
Donna answers, "Hmm, that's okay, dear. It will probably come with time."
Before I have a chance to ask what that means, she turns to Annie. "You're training her to control the shifting, right?"
Brady jumps in. "She's already learning. Last night she was frustrated and about to shift. But I watched her tamp it down." He smiles at me. "She's pretty amazing."
Annie says, "We'll work on it. I'm going to take her out in the woods today."
"Oh, good." Donna asks me, "Have you had shifter sex yet?"
My face has to be the shade of a tomato, and I shove a mouthful of eggs in so I don't have to answer. A tiny voice in my head says, "I'm on it." I look over at Brady. Did he just whisper that?
He says, "Yes, Mother."
She asks, "Unprotected?"
I'm dying here.
Brady's small voice in my head answers. "I know. She's almost done." He replies to Donna. "Yes."
“I can hear you in my head!”
Brady's voice says, "Welcome to the world of mating. Don't say anything yet and let my mother squirm a bit."
I almost snort and choke on my coffee instead.
Donna says, "Heavens! Are you all right, dear?"
I hold up my hand and nod.
Donna sets her silverware down on her plate and pushes it away. "We have a serious matter to discuss.” She takes a moment to wipe her mouth with her napkin as if to brace us all for what she’s about to say. “The Veilleux Clan is acting up, and I'm afraid they're getting ready to make a serious play for power."
Brady bristles, and his voice seems to get deeper when he says, "Right, I've got Laurent and his men patrolling the perimeter, and perhaps we should call a meeting of the council to reinforce our peaceful relationships." My sexy bear becomes a dangerous one when he growls, and I suspect yesterday the noise would have made me cower in fear. “Maybe we can head them off by answering their requests."
Donna says, "Maybe. But it will be just a bandage for the real problem. That Victor is a power-hungry bastard. I think he's caught wind of our plan for children. It's only a matter of time before his father dies and he takes over." She snarls in a way that would terrify the meanest of human men. “I wouldn’t be surprised if Victor makes that happen sooner. And when he does, we can expect all hell to break loose."
She looks at me. "Carly, Annie tells me you know about the curse and how we called shifter descendants to come mate."
I nod.
"We have a serious weakness without men and women under the age of twenty-five. We need to keep that gap as small as possible."
I nod again, understanding she's telling me to get pregnant. I'm tempted to make a joke about more sex to Brady in my head, but given the severity of the situation, I refrain.
Donna continues. "As the alpha's mate, you're going to have to get involved in the politics and do what's best for the clan. Are you prepared for that?"
"I'm not sure how prepared I am, but I do understand acting in the best interest of the clan, and I'll do my best."
"The first order of business is to have a wedding. The kingdom needs to know their new prime has a prima."
I must have a look of shock on my face because Donna says, "Don't you worry about a thing, Carly. Annie and I will take care of the details. For now your focus is to get pregnant and give me some grandchildren."
I smile with relief because planning a party is not in my arsenal. The sharp odor of bear I’m beginning to associate with high emotions has faded, and I think it's okay to send Brady a message now. “Your mother thinks we should have more sex. Busy later?” I wink at her and say, "I'll see what I can do about that."
Brady's hand moves up my thigh, dangerously close to my crotch, and his voice in my head says, “She'll be gone in a half hour, meet me upstairs.”
26
Chapter 13
Carly
Exercise has never been my thing. I don't mind a long walk on the beach, but anything that requires a raised heart rate and sweating is not my idea of fun. Well, except for sex with Brady. I squirm a bit, thinking about what we did in that big bed of his after breakfast.