Gray Back Alpha Bear (3 page)

It was late as balls, but this couldn’t wait. Creed paced in front of Matt and Willa’s dark trailer. Gia’s smell lingered around here most, and he’d bet his work boots she was sleeping in their tiny second bedroom on a lumpy futon.

He’d had to wait to sober up to drive the two hours back to the trailer park from Saratoga, and now it was just a few hours until he had to be at work on the landing.

He couldn’t sleep tonight if he didn’t apologize for being an insensitive prick, though. Gia would probably never forgive his reaction but damn it all, he had to try.

He knocked softly on the side entrance door. Matt would hear it. Willa, too, with her new enhanced shifter hearing.

A minute later, Willa was at the door, bright red hair ruffled, sleepy eyes narrowed to slits, and an angry grimace twisting her lips. “No.”

She moved to shut the door, but Creed jammed his foot in front of it. “I have to see her. I messed up.”

“There’s the understatement of the century.”

“Willa, I have to talk to her. Don’t make me lay down an order.”

Willa threw open the door and gestured grandly. “Come on in then,
alpha
. And good luck waking Gia up. She’s a monster in the mornings. And that’s just what I learned from slumber parties growing up. Pregnant lady Gia will probably eat you alive and pick her teeth with your bones.” She patted his shoulder and muttered, “Good luck,” then sauntered off in her tiny tank top and pair of pink polka-dotted panties, no pajama pants.

Creed scrubbed his hands over his face and let off a little growl. Today had sucked.

But when he opened the door to Gia’s room and saw her sleeping soundly on the futon, all tucked up in a pile of mismatched comforters, he felt even worse. Kong had said pregnancy was uncomfortable, and Creed was about to wake her up just to satisfy his own guilt. Dick move.

He kicked out of his dusty work boots and slid in under the blankets behind her. She let off a sexy, sleepy moan and snuggled back against his chest. Yep, there it was—hello, boner.

Gritting his teeth, he eased his knees up until he was curled around her warm body, and carefully, he palmed her tight belly. He couldn’t feel the baby move. Hell, maybe it was too early in the process. He didn’t know anything about baby-growing. But when he closed his eyes, he could hear Gia’s slow, steady heartbeat, and then a faster, smaller one.
Bum-bum, bum-bum
, just like Kong had said.

Creed sighed and rubbed the swell of her stomach gently. There was no doubt in his mind he would suck at this, but that little heartbeat had sealed his fate. This child was his. Not just biologically, but his to protect.

As long as there was breath in his body, Creed was going to make sure his little make-shift family was taken care of.

****

Gia arched her back and stretched. Her hips were sore from the futon, but it was surprisingly warm in Willa’s trailer. When she lifted the covers to get out of bed, she saw the giant hand on her stomach and shrieked.

Creed hunched in on himself and yelled out, “What? What happened?” He was out of the bed in a flash, balanced on the balls of his feet, planted between her and the door with his hand stretched back toward her, close enough for her to swat away if she wanted.

Peanut Butter attacked. Okay, really, Peanut Butter barked once and stared at Creed while his little doggy tongue hung out the side of his mouth. Terrible guard dog.

Creed eased between her and the vicious fluffy-haired Cujo. “What the hell is that?”

Fury blasted through her. Oh, now he was protective? Madness seizing her, she grabbed his hand and bit down as hard as she could.

“Ow!” he yelled, yanking his hand out of her mouth.

Peanut Butter yipped again.

It had hurt when Creed yanked away from her, so she checked to see if her teeth were still in her mouth. “You hurt me!”

Creed stood tall, and now his eyes were glowing silver. “Well, I’m sorry you hurt your teeth while you were
biting me
.
I
didn’t hurt you, though. You hurt you.”

“I’m not talking about my teeth, Creed! You freaked out and left me here yesterday. And why are you sleeping in my bed, snuggling with me without my permission? You don’t get to touch my belly until I say you can. You haven’t earned it yet.”

Creed ran his hands through his dark hair. His eyes, as black as onyx, pooled with remorse. He wasn’t wearing a shirt or shoes—just low-slung jeans. Creed was cut, his smooth skin delving over defined muscles. His six-pack flexed with every breath, and a light dusting of hair trailed from his belly button into his jeans, dragging her helpless gaze along with it. Holy shit, he’d somehow gotten hotter since she’d seen him last. Her eyes stopped on the huge bulge between his legs. “Do you have a boner?”

Creed looked down and flung his hands out of his hair. “Yes, Gia. That is a boner. I have them when I wake up in the morning.” His eyes had gone wide and irritated.

Oh. Morning wood, then. Disappointment shredded her insides, but she kept her face perfectly free of emotion. At the rate she was putting on the pregnancy pounds, she’d probably never give Creed a boner again.

“How long did you sleep beside me?”

“I don’t know. I got in at four or so. Shit, what time is it?” He dug around a small pile of clothes and yanked his cell phone out of it. “Mmm,” he growled, then flapped the wrinkles from his shirt. “I have to go.”

“Seriously?” Gia crossed her arms and glared.

“Yes, but we need to talk, and I don’t want to be away from you right now, so you’re coming, too.” Creed jogged past her to the living room and threw the door open. After he’d given two sharp whistles, he came back in, pulling a white T-shirt over his head.

Gia offered him a nonplussed look. “Is that you demanding I come, or asking?”

“Gia, please, woman. I want a chance at making this right with you.”

“And you can’t take a day off work? This is all a little chaotic.”

“I know, I know.” Creed sighed and held his hands out in a calming gesture. “I’m in charge up on the landing, and I can’t just leave my crew without a manager up there right now. Things are complicated with them. Can you be ready in five minutes? I’m going to go pack lunches for both of us.” He stared into space, looking slightly panicked. “Do you have those…shit, what are they called? Where you want certain foods.”

“Cravings?”

“Yes,” he said, snapping and pointing as if she’d won some big contest. “That’s the word. Do you have cravings? Or anything you can’t eat? For the baby? Anything that will hurt the baby. My baby. Our baby. Jesus.” Creed inhaled deeply and hooked his hands on his hips, lips pursed. “What would you like for lunch?” he asked in a calmer tone.

“A bacon and egg sandwich would be nice. I can’t have lunch meat.”

“Yes. I can do that.” The panic was back in his eyes.

“Why are you acting weird?” she asked, biting back an amused smile.

“Because you make me nervous.” He winced. “Really nervous. I can’t stop talking. I’m going to go.” In his attempt to escape, he stumbled over a comforter and caught himself much more gracefully than she could’ve ever managed. He huffed a breath and leveled her with those dark, uncertain eyes. “Bacon and egg sandwich.”

Then he turned and strode out of the trailer, leaving Gia staring after him. What the heck had just happened? She padded across the cold floorboards to the window, pulled the green curtain aside, and watched Creed jog away, shaking his head.

Her stomach fluttered, and she rested her hand over it. Butterflies. She hadn’t had butterflies in a long time. A smile stretched her lips as Creed disappeared around the corner of the trailer. She let the curtain fall back over the window. He wanted her up on the landing with him today. And he’d snuggled behind her for the past couple of hours, his hand on her stomach. Even if she hadn’t invited him to touch her so intimately, it pulled at her heartstrings that he’d taken it upon himself to bond with their baby while she was sleeping.

She brushed her teeth and readied for the day in a rush. Her long hair had dried wavy overnight, so she put it up in a high ponytail and took a curling iron to it. Then she slathered on more make-up than she’d felt confident enough to wear in a while and grabbed her heavy jacket in case it was colder up in the mountains than it was here in the valley. She checked herself in the mirror, turning to the side. Usually, she hid her pregnancy, but what was the point of that here? Everyone was going to find out anyway, and besides, she was proud of the little bump she was growing. On second thought, she peeled off her baggy sweater, dug around in her suitcase, and instead opted for a navy, skintight thermal sweater with little white flowers on it.

Feeling prettier than she had in months, she jogged out of the room just as Willa and Matt waved from the kitchen. Willa had an apple hanging out of her mouth, and Matt was cooking something delicious-smelling over the stove.

Gia skidded to a halt when she saw Matt’s bare back. It was crisscrossed with hundreds of deep scars that ranged from pink to silver. She hadn’t seen them before when they’d all gone swimming at Bear Trap Falls, but perhaps that was because her eyes had been glued to Creed who’d been sitting on the bank, refusing to swim with the rest of them.

“What happened to you?” she asked before she could stop herself.

Matt slid her a glance over his shoulder and turned back to the stove. “I made you breakfast to go. I heard Creed ask you to come to the landing, but it’ll be a while before lunch. Willa read on the Internet that pregnant women barf if they don’t eat enough.”

Gia dragged her gaze away from Matt’s scars to Willa, who was crunching away on a bite of her apple.

“Matt cut himself shaving,” Willa said through a grin.

Gia snorted, then slapped her hands over her mouth. “Oh, God, I’m sorry. It’s not funny at all.”

Matt lifted his hand and high-fived Willa. “Good one, Nerd.”

Gia pursed her lips to stop the laughter that bubbled up her throat. This was Willa’s fault for always being so damned inappropriate in serious moments.

“All right, breakfast is on. Fill up your tortilla and take it to go, or Creed will shit a brick. We’re behind on timber numbers.”

“Right. Because you’re lumberjacks.” Gia made a couple of breakfast burritos and wrapped them in the foil Willa had helpfully ripped off the roll for her.

“I’m off to play with my worms,” Willa said cheerfully. “Come on Peanut Butter. Have fun at the landing today. Don’t get squished under a lumber avalanche.”

“Worms?” Gia asked.

“My mate has the biggest worm farm in this part of the country,” Matt said. It was really strange hearing a big old scarred-up grizzly shifter infuse such pride into that odd combination of words.

Willa had a giant worm farm. Why was Gia not surprised? “Let me guess. You’ve named it Willa’s Worms?”

Willa tapped her nose and pointed at Gia with a wink as she walked out the front door, Peanut Butter following behind and looking like a legless, hairy mop.

“Wait, were you serious about me getting squished?” Gia called.

Willa poked her head back in through the door. “Do me a favor?”

“Sure,” Gia said, still concerned about the whole lumber avalanche remark.

“Give Easton a wide berth.”

“Easton, the one who dragged his trailer off in the woods with his bare hands?”

Matt grabbed his heavy, mud-splattered tan jacket off a coat rack, breakfast burritos in his other hand. “Don’t worry. Creed will probably keep you safe.”

Probably
keep her safe? She swallowed down a wave of nausea and followed Matt out the door.

What the hell had she gotten herself into?

By the time Gia made her way to the front of the trailer park, Creed was lifting a large red cooler into the back of his pickup. The truck shone a dark silver in the early morning light and matched the charcoal-colored thermal sweater Creed was wearing over his holey work jeans. The shirt had gone threadbare in places and clung to his brawny physique. The sloping curves of his muscles made her wish she’d been more sober the night they’d been together so she could remember what his body felt like under her hands.

Heat flushed her cheeks at the dirty thought.

He shut his tailgate and turned, and when he did, he gave her a genuine smile that just about devastated her knees’ ability to hold her upright. Straight white teeth and two dimples she could barely make out because of the day-old scruff on his jaw. No time to shave this morning apparently, and thank God for tiny blessings because Gia wanted to rub her face down the side of his like a territorial cat.
Meow, mine, mine, mine.

Shit, no. He wasn’t hers. He was just her baby daddy. Whom she had a crush on.

Now her cheeks were on fire.

The smile dipped from his face and his dark, animated brows drew down. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing!” God, that was loud. Clearing her throat, she smiled shakily. “Nothing. I’m good.”

Creed snuck a look to his crew who were gathering near a bricked-in fire pit in the middle of the park. No one was watching them. Their attention was on a man limping toward them from the tree line.

Leaning forward, Creed gripped her waist and pulled her to him. “You look fucking hot in them holey jeans, woman.”

Gia laughed and looked down at the only remaining pair of pants that fit her burgeoning belly. She’d bought them as lounge-around-the-house jeans, but apparently Creed was into the tattered look. “You want to see something kind of embarrassing?”

Creed eased back against his truck and lifted his chin. “Show me.”

She snuck a glance to the guys who were now talking low to the man from the woods, then she lifted the hem of her sweater and squeaked out an embarrassed sound. She’d never shared this part of her pregnancy with anyone.

“Is that a rubber band?”

Gia pushed her pelvis forward so he could see it better. “I can’t button my pants anymore so this is all I can do if I don’t want to walk around with them completely undone.”

Creed brushed his finger across the loop of her hair band that connected her button to the button hole, then across the thin strip of skin she’d exposed by lifting her shirt. “I have a weird request.”

“What is it?”

“You can say no.”

“Creed, tell me!”

He rubbed his hand over his hair. Was he blushing? “Can I see your stomach?”

“You’ve seen it before.”

“Yeah, well, it didn’t have my kid in it then. I haven’t been around a pregnant woman.”

“Ever?”

“Ever.”

She inhaled deeply as another wave of nerves made her skin tingle. “I’m a little self-conscious about that part.”

“Why?”

Gia shrugged a shoulder up miserably. “I’m losing my figure. I keep gaining all this weight because I’m so hungry, and I didn’t get morning sickness like other women so I’ve just been eating everything in sight. I’ve gained twenty pounds already, and I’m only halfway through this pregnancy. Even my doctor told me I need to lay off the snacks.”

“Wait, your doctor said that?”

“Yeah. He said I’ll never get my figure back if I keep going like this.”

“Your doctor is an asshole, and that can’t be true. And besides, I think you look way better now than you did. I mean, shit. I thought you were hot before, but now you look…healthy.” He screwed his face up.

“Healthy?” She was trying not to smile, but good lordy that was a strange compliment.

“Sorry, I’m not awesome with words. I mean, when you were walking out here in your little skintight sweater and those holey jeans, I thought, ‘Damn, I had that,’ and I felt lucky because a girl who looks like you wouldn’t usually pay a lick of attention to a good ol’ boy like me. And there you were, walking my way with your eyes on my body.” He grabbed her hand and pressed it against the hard roll of his erection, then released her. “Yeah, healthy.”

Warmth flooded into her as she let her hand drop to her side. The butterflies went to flapping so hard, she couldn’t breathe, and now she couldn’t keep the smile from her face if she tried. “Be nice,” she whispered, then lifted her shirt over the swell of her belly.

Creed grinned and pulled her behind his truck, shielding her from the others. A look of awe took his face as he rubbed his hands over her smooth skin. “Have you felt him move yet?”

“Yes, mostly at night or after I drink orange juice. And why did you call it a him? Are you hoping for a boy?”

“No.” Creed frowned. “I don’t know. I haven’t thought about it. It just didn’t feel right calling him ‘it.’”

“But yesterday, you called him a ‘thing.’”

Creed stroked her belly with his thumbs, then pulled her shirt back down and smoothed it into place. Easing her against him and resting his chin on top of her head, he murmured, “Gia, I fucked up so bad yesterday. I freaked out. I’m so sorry.”

Tears stung her eyes again. Dang, these hormones were wrecking her emotions. “Why did you say you can’t have a baby? Because I took, like, ten pregnancy tests that say you definitely can.”

“It wasn’t that I can’t have them. It was that I shouldn’t. I’m not exactly equipped for this.”

“I’m not either, Creed. I mean, look at me. I’m living in my friend’s trailer with no plan for the future.”

“But, you’re keeping the baby, right?” A tinge of worry tainted his words.

“Of course. I gave up my relationship with my parents so I could. Even if you weren’t being nice, and even if you wanted nothing to do with me or the baby, I’d find a way to take care of us.” She eased out of his embrace and dug in her pocket. “I have something for you.”

She handed him a tiny ultrasound picture. “I asked for an extra copy for you when I had it done. You can have this one. I have the same one, too.”

Creed stared at it, turned it this way and that. “It’s the baby?”

“Here, let me show you. See that black space? That’s the sack he’s living in. And that,” she said, pointing to the light gray center, “that’s our baby. He’s the size of a banana now, but when I had the ultrasound, he was only this big.” She put her finger and thumb an inch apart. “The size of a grape.”

Creed looked up at her with shock in his eyes, then back at the picture. “Is that his face?”

Gia laughed thickly and nodded, then pointed to the little paddles on his torso. “Those are his hands.”

“Oh my God,” he whispered, shaking his head. “That’s a baby.”

Gia nodded, unable to take her eyes off the wonder in Creed’s face.

“That’s going to be a little person.”

She nodded again and said, “I hope he looks like you.” She hadn’t meant to say her secret wish out loud, but it was out there now, hanging in the air between them. She hoped he was a brawny little baby, strong and able to handle the little bear that was inside of him. She wanted him to be dark-headed like Creed, because deep down, that night with him had changed her from the inside out. She’d slept with him to escape the shit-storm that was going on at home, but because of her shifter obsession and because of her stupid plan with the bombshells to sleep with a shifter after graduation, she’d lost a little piece of her heart to a stranger. To Creed.

“We goin’ or what?” Matt called from where the crew was gathered.

“Yeah, in a minute,” Creed answered as he tucked the ultrasound image carefully into his pocket. “Come on, you should meet the crew.” He grabbed her hand and pulled her toward them, his gait smooth and confident, the muscles in his back and shoulders flexing through the thin material of his dark sweater as he moved.

She’d already met some of the Gray Backs when she’d been in Saratoga the first time, but the one from the tree line she didn’t recognize at all.

“Bombshell!” Jason called, his dark eyes dancing as he held up a sack lunch.

She still hated that name. “Hey, Jason.”

“And you probably remember Clinton,” Creed said, gesturing to the blond man with an entire breakfast sandwich hanging out of his mouth as he pulled a canvas backpack over his shoulders. “Gooseyougin,” he slurred around the food.

She talked food-speak though, so she grinned and said, “Good to see you, too.”

“Matt is Matt, and this here is Easton.” Creed turned her shoulders toward the tall man with chestnut-colored hair and striking green eyes. Eyes so inhuman looking, it was hard to hold his gaze. He didn’t say anything, but dragged his unsettling gaze down her torso to her stomach. The corners of his eyes tightened, and a soft, feral rumble rattled from his chest.

“What the fuck did you do to her?” Easton looked at Creed, accusation and fury in his glare.

“Easton,” Creed warned, angling his head. “This ain’t a bad thing.”

Creed pulled Gia behind him, so she had to stand on her tiptoes to see Easton over his broad shoulder.

Easton’s dark eyebrows winged up. “Not a bad thing? You fucking killed her.”

Something electric was in the air now, just above her senses, jolting all the fine hairs on her body.

“Come on, man,” Clinton murmured to Easton, squeezing his shoulder. “This isn’t like with you. Gia’s going to be okay.”

“She’s human,” Easton growled. “She’s fragile, and you got her with a baby, anyway.”

“Shit,” Creed ground out just as Easton hunched into himself.

In the next second, an enormous silver grizzly exploded from Easton’s skin.

Gia screamed in terror as Creed shoved her backward. She stumbled, but caught herself just as a monstrous black grizzly ripped through Creed’s skin. He slammed down on all fours, shaking the ground beneath her feet.

Easton charged. Too close! She was too close, and they were going to barrel right into her.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Jason muttered from right beside her. Where had he come from? He was just over there. “Come on, Bombshell, before they kill you trying to protect you.”

“Kill me?” she gasped out as he pulled her backward.

The two titan bears clashed. Roaring and snarling, they clawed and bit with such furious violence, she locked her legs in awe. “They’re going to kill each other.”

“Willa!” Matt called out as he pulled her shirt off.

Was everyone going to Change? She’d done her research, and nothing in all the hours she’d spent reading about bear shifter crews had prepared her for this. Changing was supposed to happen every once in a while, not over something silly—like Easton’s apparent hatred of pregnancy.

The battle raged closer, and she wasn’t retreating fast enough.

“Move your legs, Bombshell,” Jason yelled. His voice had lost its laid-back humor now.

Jason pulled off his sweater and stripped out of his jeans, then Changed into a brown bear almost as big as Easton. Matt Changed and now his scarred-up red bear was in the fight. Crimson was staining the white gravel road under the battle.

Jason was backing up beside her, nudging her away from the fight. Gia couldn’t take her eyes off the raw violence before her. A moment ago everything was fine, and now the Gray Backs looked like they were trying to rip each other’s throats out.

A blond bear was in it now, too, and this was just fantastic. Even Clinton had Changed. One little angry remark, and the entirety of the Gray Back Crew was at war, bleeding each other. Wait. Gia refused to be herded by Jason another step and looked around his hind end. Another bear was charging the battle. This one was smaller than the others, but it was breathtakingly fast. Its honey-colored fur waved in the wind with every powerful step it bolted forward. There was another Gray Back.

Chills rippled across Gia’s skin as the new bear blasted into Easton’s side, bowling him over completely. The others backed off, shaking their heads, clawing the dirt, just on the outer edge of the new battle between the silver bear and the smaller one. The new bear was important.

Easton hit the ground hard and stayed there, fighting with less and less ferocity as the smaller brawler slashed at him with its six-inch black-as-pitch claws. He bit her leg and got a few swipes in, but the fire was dying from his eyes by the second.

Creed shrank back into his human skin and, naked and bleeding, he barked out, “Easton, Change back. Now!”

The smaller bear pushed off Easton’s exposed chest and shrank back into a very familiar form.

“What the hell?” Gia huffed on a baffled breath. “Willa?”

Willa held her bleeding arm and stomped her foot. “Son of a mother-fluffer, you pickle-dick weasel-chode! Fuck, Beaston. You broke my arm!”

Easton was human again and scrabbling up from the ground. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’ll fix it,” he rushed out.

The scarred-up red bear was pacing a protective tight circle around Willa.

Willa shoved him back with her good arm. “Matt, if you aren’t going to Change back, someone has to set the bone.” She arched her glare to Easton. “You owe me another knife!”