“How about that cup of coffee Anna Claireoffered you the last time you came by?” Gunnar noticed how his mateenjoyed talking to the healer, and he would try to keep hisparanoia to himself when he was visiting for her checkups.
But if the male did anything to harm hismate or anyone on their lands, the healer wouldn’t be alive longenough to give himself aide.
Anna Claire sat up straighter when the doorto their quarters opened to reveal her mate and the panther’shealer. Harold smiled warmly as he entered, setting his black bagon the table by the door.
“How are you feeling, Anna Claire?”
“Much better,” she promised, pointing to therecliner to her left. “Have a seat, healer. May I get youanything?”
“Your mate has offered me a cup of coffee,”he announced with a smile. Gunnar was at the small kitchenette,pouring water into the coffee pot. When she cut her gaze toward thehealer, the male just shrugged and pulled a stethoscope out of thepocket of his white coat. “Are you ready for your checkup? We canchat over coffee after we check on your cub.”
“Sure,” she beamed.
“Are you still nauseous?” he asked.
“No,” she replied. She felt heat on hercheeks as she remembered Gunnar hand feeding her crackers thatfirst week. “My mate is a very good cook, and he’s kept me wellfed.”
“That’s good.” Harold nodded as he madenotes on a small spiral book he’d produced from his other pocket.“I’d like to listen to your cub’s heartbeat.”
“We can do that in the bedroom,” she offeredand stood. So far, the visits were all the same. He’d ask herquestions and listen to the heartbeat while she lay on the bed.After he measured her growing belly, he would excuse himself andleave with a promise to come by in a month.
Gunnar followed them and stood protectivelyon the other side of the bed as she raised her shirt, tucking theends in the elastic of her bra. The healer handed over a rag tocover her leggings. “This gel might be a little cool. I’msorry.”
“It’s not that bad,” she laughed as hesqueezed the tube, making a spot of goo about the size of ahalf-dollar beside her belly button. The little hand-held wandtouched her skin, and he moved it around until the whooshing soundof their cub’s heart came from the speaker on a box he held in hisother hand.
The healer did a few more measurements andtucked away his belongings in his worn medical bag. “Everythingsounds great. I would like to schedule a time for you to come bythe pride to do an ultrasound in about a month.”
A rumble built in Gunnar’s throat, and AnnaClaire narrowed her eyes on him. “I think that would be fine. Youcan put us down on your books for the twenty-fifth at ten in themorning.”
“Sounds great,” Harold replied, ignoring theglare from her mate.
“How about that cup of coffee?” she asked asshe righted her clothes and came to her feet.
Harold looked a little weary with Gunnarfollowing them quietly, but Anna Claire liked the panther. He wasone of the kindest, most gentle males she’d ever met. Despite theMorgans’ adversity to anyone not in their inner circle, she knew hewouldn’t bring harm to the clan.
“How do you take your coffee?” she asked asshe poured three cups.
“Black is fine,” Harold said with a shake ofhis head. Gunnar finally relaxed as he took a seat on the couch.She handed over his coffee and set the healer’s down on the sidetable for the male to pick up on his own since he’d alreadydiscarded the gloves he’d used when working with mated females.
Gunnar’s eyes were the brown of his humanside, and she breathed a sigh of relief when there was no presenceof his beast. “How are you and your mate?”
“We have been quite busy, but I have anintern now. He’s going to assist me and take some of the weight offmy back.” Harold paused to take a sip of coffee. “I guess you’veheard the Guardians are working with the human government?”
“What?” Gunnar asked, his eyes narrowingagain. “We haven’t heard anything.”
“The FBI has hired the Guardians to helppolice the species.” He frowned. “There are rogue shifters beingcontrolled by some really bad alphas, and they’ve taken toterrorizing the humans.”
“Oh, my gods,” Anna Claire gasped, coveringher mouth from the news. “We have been in hibernation for the pastfew months.”
“They are staying up in the Memphis area,”he confirmed. “So far, they’ve captured several wolf shifters andsent them to a pride in Colorado to be reformed, I guess you couldsay. It’s nothing for your species to worry about, though. With thegrizzly’s differences, you have nothing to worry about.”
Anna Claire’s kind didn’t need an alpha, butother species did. Hearing there were rogue alphas out there sent achill of fear up her spine. She wasn’t worried about herself…shewas worried for them.
“I wish there was something we could do,”she replied, sadness coating her words.
“We have it covered, but there is a war outthere that we must fight to keep the humans and our pride safe.These rogues are turning females to fight against our Guardians.The alphas know we won’t harm a female of any species, and it’staken a toll on our males.”
“I’ve heard your pride allows females toprotect you,” Anna Claire blurted. It was the perfect time to askhim about the rumors. “Is that true?”
“Yes,” he nodded, but the smile he gave herwas one full of pride. “They have trained with the Guardians, andwe have three females who are on rotation to help round up therogue females. They have done well in finding them, too.”
“That’s just one more thing we need to worryabout,” Gunnar mumbled from his post beside her. He’d been mostlyquiet, but the news of danger close to home had him sitting forwardand, from the mating scent coming from his skin, she knew he wasthinking about her safety.
“One more thing?” Harold questioned.
Gunnar quieted, and she could tell he wasweighing his words, unsure if he should tell the healer what wasgoing on with their clan.
“We’ve had problems of our own,” Gunnarfinally replied.
He launched into the information they hadwith
