Total pages in book: 47
Estimated words: 44191 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 221(@200wpm)___ 177(@250wpm)___ 147(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 44191 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 221(@200wpm)___ 177(@250wpm)___ 147(@300wpm)
“I’m feeling great,” Poppy said. “But watch this.” She called him over as they made their way toward the bees.
Usually, Poppy made him go straight ahead so they knew not to sting her, however, fear gripped him as she stood amongst the bees, and there was not a sting at all. They treated her as if she were a bear.
“How cool is that?” Poppy asked.
She stepped away. “I don’t like to get too close, just in case they change their mind.” She let out a giggle. “I figure they’ve come to realize I’m not going to hurt them. What do you think?”
His child was stopping them from hurting her.
His child was a bear.
He had to be cursed to finally find love, and now, it was going to be stripped away.
“Wilder, are you okay?” Poppy asked. “I thought you would love this because it means I can help you out a lot more.” She moved to step in front of him.
“I’ve got to head into town,” he said. “There are a few supplies we need.” He looked at her, and then closed the distance, gripping the back of her neck, pulling her in for a kiss. His son or daughter was growing, and they were a bear. His baby was going to kill his only love.
He reluctantly pulled away, and made his way toward his truck, which he only ever took out for special occasions. Climbing into the truck, he took off, getting onto the main road, and then drove all the way toward the main grocery store, only he didn’t stop there. He kept driving.
For over an hour he drove before finally pulling up in the middle of nowhere. There were no passing cars or trucks, or pedestrians. He’d come to this place many times, as it was on the verge, where you could see the forest far and wide. From this angle, it didn’t look scary. It looked ... peaceful. No one knew of the dangers lurking beneath when you were standing on the outskirts looking in.
Wilder lived for this, he relished it. This was his life. This was who he was. There was no shame in it. And yet, he felt so fucking angry. Finally, he found a woman that was all his, and he had no way of knowing if she was going to survive the pregnancy. How could he love a child that killed its mother?
Wilder did something he hadn’t done since he was a lot younger and lost his mother. Tears gathered in his eyes, blurring his vision. He couldn’t tell Poppy the truth. It would scare her, and she needed to be afraid, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. Not to her. It wasn’t right. Nor was it fair. He loved her more than anything in the world, and she was going to be taken from him.
Life was so fucking cruel.
****
Poppy was not an idiot, nor a fool. The way Wilder reacted with the bees told her all she needed to know. The bees’ newfound liking to her was not because she was kind to them. The baby inside her was changing her.
She had the morning sickness, the aching body, the sore breasts, and the cravings. Wow, the cravings were something strange. She wanted peanut butter spread over a steak with lots of whipped cream. There was even a hint of chocolate sauce as well. This would make total sense if it was to go with ice cream. She didn’t want the ice cream. Her only interest was the steak. It made no sense to her, yet that was exactly what she wanted. They were just some of the mild cravings she got. Never mind the honey. Now she understood Wilder’s infatuation with it.
Then she’d noticed her yearning for the forest. She didn’t want to go running, because she never wanted to run in her life. What she craved was to feel it beneath her feet. Sink her toes into the world and just bask. Some nights she would dream of running, of feeling the cold air across her furred back, and she felt like this was her child. She didn’t know if she was pregnant with a son or daughter. It didn’t matter.
The other strangest feeling—she was pretty sure she heard either her child’s bear, or Wilder’s. Sometimes the word “mine” whispered in her mind.
She sensed more than she actually heard. Was it Wilder? Was it her child? She didn’t know, she only knew she wasn’t afraid. There was no harm to her.
She put her hand on her swollen stomach and stepped onto the porch, to look out toward the setting sun. It was cold, and usually she would grab a blanket to keep warm, but just recently, she hadn’t needed it. She wasn’t getting as cold as she used to.
Wilder was getting more and more withdrawn as the days went forward. He’d stopped making love to her, even though she knew he woke with an arousal, and some mornings, it was like he would forget. He’d put his hand on her hip, kiss her neck, thrust his aroused cock against her ass, and then his hand would shift, he’d touch her swollen stomach, and it seemed to instantly repel him. She didn’t know how to get through to him, to make him understand that everything was going to be fine. She knew it deep in her heart.