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 can’t argue with you. Sometimes I’m ashamed to be a human myself.”
He turned and looked at her, his head tilted in curiosity.
“I was going to kill you. And the little half-breed growing inside you.”
She immediately hugged her stomach. There was nothing she’d be able to do to protect herself and her unborn baby from Alder. It didn’t stop her motherly instincts from firing off. She took a couple steps backward.
“Relax, I said was. Past tense.”
“So, I’m supposed to believe you had an epiphany and suddenly love humans?”
“Hell, no. I still hate them. Things just took a detour of sorts and I started researching,” he said.
“Researching what, exactly?”
“Wilder put the idea in my head. He was worried about your mixed mating. Wanted some kind of reassurance that the baby inside you wouldn’t hurt you.”
That’s why he was acting so strangely the past few months. He didn’t hate the baby, he was just worried about her safety. She wished Wilder was home so she could hold him and tell him how much she loved him.
“And?” she asked.
He shrugged. “I found evidence of a couple other such unions in other forests. Seems it is possible for our species to procreate,” he said. “But not guaranteed safe. The fertility rates are low, and the risk to the mother is great in the last trimester. If the baby shifts before it’s born, it could inadvertently kill the mother.”
She began to panic. Poppy wanted to raise her child and start a family, not die in childbirth.
“Well, how do I stop that from happening?”
“I’ve found some ways,” he said.
She wasn’t sure why he was suddenly on their team, but she was suspicious. Why did he even want any of this information if he hated humans?
“Are you going to tell me?”
“First I need some information from you.” He sat down on the arm of the sofa.
“From me?”
“A few weeks ago, my bear was caught in a trap. I couldn’t get out, and trust me, I tried. After days I was weak from dehydration. I thought it was the end of me, which seemed fitting to be taken out by a human trap after everything they’d already done to me. Then she came by.”
“Who?” Poppy asked.
“A hiker, I guess. I’m not sure. She wasn’t afraid of a grizzly bear, only concerned with getting the bear trap off my foot. Any other human would be terrified or want to turn me into a carpet. Not her. She tended the wounds and brought me berries and water from the creek. Once the trap was off, I was able to heal quickly. I got my strength back, but instead of ripping her to bloody shreds, I walked away.”
“Great story.” She tried not to roll her eyes. This guy was no Prince Charming by a long shot.
“Don’t you get it? I didn’t want to hurt her,” he said.
“Alder, what’s your point? I’m not following.”
He ran a hand through his hair, nearly growling with frustration. “I’m just saying I could see the temptation Wilder faced. It made me curious about the mixed mating thing, so I did some research.”
“Okay, I get it. You judged Wilder and every other shifter with eyes for a human, but once you fell for one, the rules changed. Very noble of you.”
“I haven’t fallen for a fucking human, I could just see there might be a little good in some of them. It’s not something I ever considered before.”
All Poppy wanted was the information he supposedly possessed about keeping her child from ripping her apart before being born. She couldn’t care less about his hard-on for a human hiker.
“Okay, so can you tell me what you found out?”
“First, you tell me what human females want in a male.”
“I thought you didn’t like her,” she said.
He smashed a fist on the coffee table. “It’s for research!”
“Okay, whatever. Human females like flowers and romance. They also like good manners and self-control.”
He grunted at the last comment, appearing like he was getting ready to leave.
“And what about my pregnancy?”
“It’s complicated. There are a lot of forest plants involved. You wouldn’t understand. I’ll have to talk with Wilder.”
“Well, as a matter of fact, I’ve studied almost every plant in the forest.” Her random knowledge of herbs and plants was really starting to pay off, living off the grid. Now, it may even save her life.
“Well, this recipe must be made two weeks before the baby is ready. You take it every evening. It will sedate it enough that it will not be able to shift. But it won’t harm it.”
Her heart leapt with joy knowing there may be a way to ensure a positive outcome. Should she trust him, though? Maybe this was all an elaborate plan to kill her half-breed baby. To keep his race pure.
****
Wilder had all the supplies in the back of the truck. He’d even stopped by a local artisan on the highway and bought a wooden baby cradle. Everything was a mix of emotions within him, excitement and fear, love and hate, hope and despair.