No, nobody had seen anything.
Undisturbed woodlands. Squirrels, foxes, a stream loaded with fish. But not so much as a scrap of cloth to indicate a kidnapping victim might have been dragged through. So…
“Do you think Virginia made a mistake?” I murmured to Samson. “Because this isn’t looking good.”
“Who knows?” He shrugged. “She was really drugged, a situation that could confuse anyone. But we had to try.”
“Yes, we did.”
At his order, we all shifted and ran toward home. With no better ideas than we’d had before Virginia got back.
Chapter Twenty-One
I flipped through my calendar, putting down due dates for assignments. With the pack business and searches and school, this calendar was my lifeline. It tracked everything.
Damn it, I hadn’t made time to see my friend Dean in so long with everything going on in the pack. I needed to remedy that.
But wait…
So, when I saw a red dot on it from a few weeks ago, my knees went weak, and I nearly fell down right here in the kitchen.
“What is it?” Tris came in from the living room. “Your heart stopped.”
“Do you know what this is?” I pointed to the red dot on the calendar.
“No. What is it?” He hugged me from behind, and, in my fear, I nearly pushed him away. This was what had gotten us into this in the first place.
“That’s when I was supposed to start my cycle.”
“Well, that was three weeks ago….oh…” He let go of me and stepped back. “Do you think you are…? I mean, what do we do?”
“We don’t do anything. I need to go get a pregnancy test.”
“I can go,” Tris offered. “This is a thing mates do, right? I want to do it.”
I mentally chastised myself the entire time he was gone. I should’ve been more careful. No, it wasn’t the worst thing in the world, but also, it wasn’t planned, and I was in school, not to mention the chaos with the pack. It simply wasn’t a good time.
And I couldn’t help but think this would all be more welcome if Samson had been in the picture. Without us mated, there would be no question as to who the baby belonged to, and inevitably cause some strife between my mates. But if Samson and I had been mated as well, there would be no knowing who the baby belonged to, especially since Samson and Tris were nearly identical.
I paced the room and cursed the calendar until Tris returned. He’d bought ten different kinds. “I didn’t know which one to get, so I got one of each.”
“Okay.” I picked out the one advertising the most rapid results and brought it to the bathroom. After peeing on the stick, I went into the kitchen to talk to a very pale Tris. “What are you thinking?” I laid my head on his shoulder.
“I’m torn, to be honest. On the one hand, there is nothing more I want in the world than to start a family with you. But, on the other, I think it could be a better time. Is that horrible? Am I selfish?”
“Tris, it’s not selfish. You’re right, and I feel the same way. Everything feels so unbalanced right now. When we have children, and we will, I want our home and our lives to be stable. Don’t you think?”
He nodded. “But what if you are pregnant right now?”
I blew out a breath but had no answer for him. I held back some tears, and Tris pulled me into his arms. “Hey, if you are, it’s going to be okay. I rock at changing diapers, and maybe Gigi can babysit while you’re at school. I can change my work schedule. We will make it work. I swear everything will be fine, Christie.”
I searched his face for anything other than what he’d expressed and finding nothing else. Just love and a little concern. “I love you, Tris. Some days, I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
He smiled, the kind that lit up his eyes. “I love you more than anything. I can’t wait to have a sassy little Christie running around here. Whatever happens, whatever the results are, we will be okay.”
The timer on my phone went off, interrupting our sweetness.
“Hold that thought.” I rushed to the bathroom and picked up the stick.
One blue line. Not pregnant.
While I was over-the-top relieved it was negative, I had to admit, I had been a little excited to start our family. But again, it simply didn’t seem right without Samson.
“Well?” Tris leaned against the frame of the door, his arms crossed over his chest.
“It’s negative.”
“But you’re late,” he countered.
“It must just be the stress and stuff. That can throw off my cycle. It certainly has before.”
He blew out a long breath, and I paused to take this moment in. It was important. My mate wore nothing but a pair of low-slung shorts and no shirt. He had never looked more enticing to me.
“When you look at me like that, it makes my wolf howl inside me. Can you hear it?”
I shook my head.
“How about we do something about this stress level of yours?”
“What do you suggest?” My mind immediately went to sex. That always worked.
“A long, hot bath with your mate. And yeah, we can make love, too.”
I scoffed and tossed the pregnancy test into the trash can. “How do you know I want to have sex with you?”
He picked me up and kissed me deeply. “Because I can scent you, female. You smell so damned sweet when you’re horny.”
I
