Christmas Moon by Loribelle Hunt Page B

you then.”
    There was a long pause while he thought it over. He really didn’t want to wake her up. They’d worn her to exhaustion the previous afternoon and then kept her up half the night. Then there were the babies to consider. Giving into temptation, he laid his palm over her stomach. He’d have to talk to Dad, find out if it was possible to be certain of pregnancy so early. He felt his wolf rise, a long satisfied stretch, and inhaled deeply. No. He was right. Her scent continued to alter, to grow sweeter, more alluring. If this was normal, he’d have to make sure she stayed pregnant.
    “It worked,” he said, sharing the news with his brother in images, feelings. He heard Abel take a ragged breath, felt his heart race.
    “She needs her rest then.”
    “She does.” But he couldn’t keep himself from leaning over her, nibbling her neck. She moaned in her sleep and rolled to her side, turning into his touch. He backed off, reluctant to rouse her.
    “Go get Aidan. Lock the house, and let her sleep.”
    Cain’s wolf growled, reluctant to leave its mate unguarded.
    “The roads are clear, Cain. It shouldn’t take more than thirty minutes to get him. She knows not to leave house without us, and I’ll feel it if she needs me. I can be there in less than two minutes if I change. Hell, she’ll probably still be in bed when you get back.”
    Cain hated the idea but knew there was no good reason not to follow it. The house was only half a mile from the Alpha’s home. Everyone knew it and knew who the woman who lived in it belonged to. There was the rogue, but whoever he was, he’d never attacked during the day, and never a mate. He always went after werewolves. Cain wasn’t concerned for his safety or Abel’s and knew Delilah would be safe. So why did he feel uneasy about leaving her? Was it simply the fear she’d wake up and try to leave? Or something more?
    “All right. But I’d feel a lot better if you were here, or just went and picked him up yourself.”
    He had a vision of Abel gnashing his teeth, heard a door shut in the background and silence as Abel moved into a room by himself.
    “Look, Cain. I know how you feel, but you know as well as I do that at some point we’re going to have to give her some freedom. A little bit of space. We can’t be with her 24/7.”
    Like hell he couldn’t.
    “And if you could, you’d drive her crazy. She’s not gonna put up with total control, and if you’re honest, you’ll admit you don’t want that anyway. She has to be here of her own free will.”
    Just like that, Abel got to the root of his worry. Cain sighed, already getting dressed. His brother was right. He wanted—needed—Delilah to stay because she wanted to be with them, not because the bond forced it.
    “Shit,” he muttered. In his ear, Abel laughed, but it was a distracted sound. He’d already moved on to pack business, assured Cain would take care of family matters. He closed the phone without saying goodbye, bent to drop a brief light kiss on her lips, and left the room.
    Downstairs, he locked all the windows and doors with a sense of unreality riding him hard. He’d grown up in the house but couldn’t remember a time the doors had ever been locked. The unease he’d felt earlier came back when he walked outside. He stared at the house a few minutes before shaking it off and going to the truck. Aidan better appreciate this and keep his wiseass comments to himself.

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter Seven
     
    Delilah sat on the porch, cradling a cup of hot chocolate between her hands, and laughed at the birds’ antics. She didn’t know what they were. Hawks, eagles, some kind of birds of prey at least. The were big and majestic and putting on an aerial show for her, chasing each other, swooping high in the air and low enough to the ground to drag the edge of one wing through the snow. It had begun a game with them to see which could fling the most amount of the wet white stuff in