Liam's Bride: BBW Werebear Romance (Clan Conroy Brides Book 1) (11 page)

CHAPTER

11

She hopped off the bus five blocks from her apartment to pick up a few items at the local drugstore. She knew she needed toilet paper, and Liam enjoyed popcorn so she would buy a jar of the old fashioned kind and look up recipes to make him something special. Maybe parmesan and cayenne for savory and a cinnamon brown sugar for sweet. She wasn’t rich, but she tried to make up for it with little things.

Walking down the feminine products aisle, a bright pink box caught her eye. Rows and rows of pregnancy tests next to sanitary napkins. Mentally going through the contents of her drawers, she realized she hadn’t touched the new pack she’d bought a little over a week ago to prepare for her clockwork cycle.

Meredith stopped, staring at the pads, eyes traveling from the plastic wrapped packages to the rectangular boxes. Her heartbeat jackknifed. She pulled her cell out to double-check dates. Remembered that she'd meant to schedule an appointment with the local clinic to renew her birth control prescription. She'd let it lapse over a year ago when it was obvious she'd lost interest in dating. There wasn't much to choose from in a town this size, especially when a good chunk of the eligible men were Bears, and until now she'd never imagined getting together with one of them.

Rapidly reading the claims on different boxes, she chose one that said it could detect a positive almost a week before a cycle was due. She was overdue- but maybe stress, or her crummy diet had affected things. Or maybe her dates were wrong. After that first initial encounter, they'd used protection. It took more than one time, didn’t it?

Were Bears and humans even reproductively compatible?

She bought a buy one get one free pack just in case and hurried home, sipping a water bottle on the way. Meredith knew she'd have to pee on the stick. She knew that much, at least. Entering her apartment, she dropped her purse, not stopping to even catch her breath as she went to the bathroom. Tearing open the box, she sat on the side of the tub as she read through the instructions. It seemed cut and dry. It said results were more accurate first thing in the morning... but there was no way she could wait.

Meredith saturated the stick, wanting to laugh at herself over how carefully she approached the process of peeing on the bit of plastic. Wanted to laugh, but didn’t. She places the test on the empty box and washed her hands then sat down to wait, swiping through junk mail on her cell to pass the longest few minutes of her life. When she couldn’t take it anymore, she reached for the stick, flipping the box over at the same time to use the picture for comparison.

Stared at the picture. Stared at the box. Slid the test back into its white plastic covering and went to the kitchen to find a baggy to put it in. She'd need proof when she told Liam she was pregnant.

Pregnant.

Worry, fear, and love blended; a tangle of weeds and wildflowers. Meredith couldn’t separate one from the other. A baby. Could she even afford a baby, knowing how stressful it was to be a single mother? Mother and Tamar would offer support. It wasn’t as if she were alone in the world, just… poor. Proper planning might alleviate strapped; extra hours at the diner, more students, writing that book she’d always wanted to write- even getting insurance through the state.

But through the positive self-talk her stomach curdled. Liam’s baby. Liam’s… cub. Would the baby be a Bear? Would it shift? The best action would be to talk to him right away… but she just couldn’t, needing time to think, to digest, to come to some decisions on her own so she came to him with an idea of what she wanted already.

Meredith drove to Tamar’s bar. She would be there since she worked the mid shift this day of the week, and Meredith could take a seat like usual and hang out with her when it was slow or she had a break.

It wasn’t one of the busier days. The music was muted, only a quarter of the pool tables occupied. Meredith slid onto a stool at the bar, setting her purse on the counter.

Alphonso was working the bar. He approached from the far side, his long hair pulled back in a tail.

"Meredith. Did you want a drink or are you here to distract Tamar?"

She snorted. Charming, as usual. She hadn't noticed before because he was just Tamar’s surly boss who made great cocktails, but now that she knew he was friends with Liam she paid more attention to him.

"I'll have a Sprite and wait till she's on break."

"A Sprite? That's not what you usually drink." He stopped talking. Leaned forward and.... sniffed her.

"Hey!" she exclaimed. "What is with all of you Bears today? Every Bear I've seen today has acted like I stink or something."

His expression didn't shift, and he didn’t pull away. "Who else sniffed you?"

She frowned at him. "Liam, and his sister."

"Norelle. Did either of them... say anything?"

"What is going on? What exactly would they-" Meredith froze. Bears. Sniffing her. Liam, who could smell her father's scent in her apartment hours after he'd left, and tell it was laced with her own.

"Oh," she breathed. "Oh. My." She would bet her coffee money for a week that they had, somehow smelled maybe- a change in hormones?- something that indicated she was pregnant. Why else would Liam want her to talk to his mother all of a sudden? She swallowed.

"Can Bears smell... changes... in people? Physical changes?"

He pulled away finally. "I think you should go talk to Liam."

"Where's Tamar?"

He stared at her, expression stony, then jerked his head. "Doing side work. I'll get her."

That was a first. Her being pregnant must be a shock if Alphonso was fetching Tamar for her. It wasn’t in character.

"Hey, girl. Al said you're looking for me. What’s up?"

Meredith turned on her stool just in time to see the look Tamar gave Alphonso while his back was turned, walking around the counter again.

"Can you talk for a minute?"

Tamar glanced at her boss. "Yeah. He said to, actually. Weirdest thing. Come on, the stockroom is pretty quiet."

There were trays of tiny plastic salt and pepper shakers in the shape of Bears lining several trays, a big box each of salt and pepper and a funnel.

"This
is
Al's idea of a break," Tamar said, sitting down. "Here."

"I haven’t done this since junior college," Meredith said. Glad to have something her fingers could do.

"How's it going with Liam?"

"Funny you should ask." She poured pepper into a tiny bear. Paused, leaned forward and inhaled. "Oh my God, that smells so good." She inhaled the black pepper again, careful not to get any in her nose. It was the most fragrant smell ever, and she had a sudden craving for French fries coated in black pepper.

Tamar stared at her, looked at the black pepper. "You're pregnant."

Meredith blinked, straightening up. "How-"

"Are you kidding me? You're sniffing black pepper like it's chocolate brownies. I've never even seen you put it on food."

Meredith brow furrowed. "Huh. That's... weird."

"It's Liam's?"

She didn’t know if she should feel insulted. She glared at Tamar. "Of course the baby is Liam's. What do you take me for?"

"Chill. Mixed species couples are rare."

Television movies did a wonderful job glamorizing strong Alpha Bear males and spinning fantastical tales of love with human women.

“I’m sure it’s happened before,” she said, hedging. Her worry spiked a notch, hand moving to her stomach. “Are there even OBGYN’s for mixed species pregnancies?”

“I wonder how big the babies get? Mine was nine pounds and 22 inches.”

“Yeah, but she’s a human baby, so it doesn’t count.”

Tamar continued to fill shakers, eyes on her work. “Hmm. When are you going to tell him?” She looked up. “You’re keeping the baby, right?”

Meredith didn’t say anything, brows furrowed.

“Meredith!”

“Yes, I’m keeping the baby, I just- what if he doesn’t want to co-parent?”

“Then you do it on your own. Your mom will help. And Andra will have a playmate near her age.”

Tears pricked. “I’m going to go see him now. I have to get it over with so I can move on with whatever I need to do.”

Tamar nodded approvingly, reaching out a hand to squeeze Meredith’s hand. “That’s right. And then take a vitamin, buy a book to read and get some rest. Trust me- everything will normalize soon.”

Meredith saw several missed calls and a text from Liam. She texted him back, letting him know she was waiting for him at his place and to take his time. He replied a few minutes later.

:Norelle just took off. Stuck here. Key under mat. Squeeze some orange juice.:

The instruction warmed her. She was nearly convinced now that Liam already knew she was pregnant. Him wanting to take care of her health- even if it was just for the baby- was a good sign he was planning on sticking around.

She couldn't quite let herself in his house, though, even though the cat was kinda out of the bag. Instead, she sat on the porch, killing time by scrolling through Amazon for books on pregnancy, downloading a few frees and one or two paids that had good reviews. Because reviews were everything, which was why she always tried to leave an honest review if she liked a book because she knew it helped the author.

The sound of a car door slamming caught her attention. She looked up, surprised to see Norelle fast walking up the sidewalk, expression tight. Meredith stood, setting her cell down.

“Norelle? Is everything okay?” She didn’t know the woman, but she was Liam’s sister so that was enough for Meredith to feel some genuine concern. Plus, she would be the baby’s aunt as well.

Dark eyes, so like Liam’s, gleamed with fury. Clenched fists and swelling shoulders clued Meredith in a second before the woman spoke. She took a step away from Norelle, then stopped, bracing herself, a suspicion in her stomach that her…  omission…  was about to come out into the light.

CHAPTER

12

"You lying bitch."

Meredith reacted instinctively as the blur of a human hand morphing into a paw sheathed in glossy dark fur swung towards her in an arc she barely saw. She flung her arms up in front of her face just in time to absorb the sudden impact of the fall as she hurtled backward. Her head banged against the porch and she thought, distantly, that she would have matching bruises on her head and forearm.

Anger surged. "I didn’t lie. I tried to tell him, but he didn't want to listen."

"You didn’t try hard enough." Norelle's shoulders seemed to swell, shirt tightening around her curvy form. "He's in love with you- in love with the daughter of the man who killed our father."

Meredith closed her eyes, squeezing the lids against tears. What could she say? Norelle wasn't saying anything unfair. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "It was my fault." She opened her eyes, jaw clenching. “But if you swing on me again- I’ll take you out.” She wouldn’t allow anyone to hit her- not for any reason.

Norelle’s scorn seared. "No, that wasn’t your fault. But breaking my brother’s heart
is.
And I'll be damned if I let you do it."

"Norelle."

An older female voice lashed out, halting the continued threat of the angry young woman.

"Mother-"

"Go to the cabin and stay there until I come for you."

There was no going against the steel in that voice. Meredith would rather be hit again than face the person behind the whiplash. She rose to her feet, forcing herself to face more werebear music. Meredith looked into the face of an older Norelle. A female Liam.

Oh, shiii-oot. "You're his Mother?"

Eyes a shade between Liam’s coal and Boden’s deep umber regarded her. "His mother, Gwenafar, and head of the Mother's Council."

Meredith heard the capitalization of the name. "What is that?"

"Come, Liam wanted you to drink a glass of juice. We’re the ones who told the Alpha’s to find human brides."

"Wait- what?"

Meredith stopped, heels digging into the wood as the woman bent and took the key from under the mat. "Liam was told to find a human woman to... marry?"

"Yes, and he's an obedient son, even if he didn't like the idea at first."

Her stomach churned. He was courting her because he
had
to? Because his mother said so?

"Don't get any ideas," Gwenafar said. "He's courting you because he wants to, not because I told him to. And no, I’m not reading your mind. Your face is very expressive."

Meredith lifted a hand to the back of her head, absently. It throbbed, pain increasing now that she was paying attention to it. Her fingers came away sticky. She stared at her hand.

"Oh."

Gwenafar sighed. "I don't smell much blood, but I have first aid supplies in my truck. You learn to carry them with children like mine. Go sit in the kitchen and I’ll be right back."

She didn't have much of a choice. The woman's dominance wrapped around her, insidious in a way even Liam couldn't manage. Gwenafar’s presence reminded Meredith of her mother, her Grandmother, her Sunday school teacher and every other female figure of authority and comfort she'd ever know rolled into one. It confused her, put her off balance. All she knew was she wanted to please this woman with obedience.

Gwenafar glanced at her when she came back in the house, setting a clear plastic box on the island. "You feel the matrilineal bond, don't you? I imagine it's uncomfortable since you’re not used to it." She paused. "But then, my daughter hates it, too."

"I- you mean I'm picking up on some kind of werebear thingy? How is that possible?"

"I would guess because you and Liam have become... close."

Meredith blushed, staring straight ahead. She never imagined she'd be having a conversation about her and Liam’s sex life with his
mother
.

"He hasn't mated you- we would all know. And there are formalities to observe because he is our Alpha. But it isn’t from lack of pressure from his Bear."

"I think we should get to know each other better before we make any long term decisions," Meredith replied quietly.

"Hmm. Wise. But he can only hold off the Bear for so long. The longer you are in each other's presence, the tighter the ropes that bind. That he's held off this long is admirable. I always did think it better to delay a mating as long as possible to give the human halves time to come to terms."

Mating? Bonds? Oh, Liam was in so much trouble. If he had the nerve to be angry at her for keeping secrets….

"I'll get that scrape cleaned as best I can. Your hair is in the way so no bandages, but I think- ah. Yes, not too bad. It's already beginning to heal." Gwenafar sounded pleased. "This is going to be a very strong mating. It's what we need for our Alpha, and the Den."

It stung a little, her ministrations, though Meredith could tell the woman was trying to be as gentle as possible. "Why was Liam asked to marry a human woman?"

Gwenafar sighed. "It's purely practical. Our communities are too small and most of the young couples are related in some way or another. We need new genes in the pool or we'll die out."

Meredith blinked. "Uh- genes? You mean you want human women to..."

"Have cubs? Yes. As many as possible. Female preferably." Gwenafar leveled her with a stern look. "You're playing a very important role to my people, Meredith. You should admire Liam for making what could have been a serious sacrifice in a different situation."

"I do admire him." That was the problem. In the last few weeks he'd shown himself to be kind, humorous, fierce. Protective. Stubborn and growly and autocratic, but she supposed he couldn’t help it.

"I let myself think we were going to have a future," Meredith said to herself.

"You
are
going to have a future."

Meredith into kind, but implacable, eyes. "You know who I am."

"Yes, I do. And it doesn’t matter." Gwenafar paused. "Or rather, it shouldn’t matter. Your father's actions are not your own."

And she finally accepted that. Meredith didn’t know at what point she'd come to understand she wasn't to blame for Harvey. Maybe the time spent with Liam, ironically. Who was open and understanding. Gentle, reining in the frequent flashes of temper she knew he unleased with impunity on his staff.

"I don’t want to tell him." Meredith laughed. "It's ironic. I kept trying to tell him, and he didn't want to listen. And now I don’t want to tell him, but I’m sure Norelle is going to, so I have to beat her to it."

"Norelle will keep her mouth shut. If you want to tell him- go ahead. If you don’t, then don’t. My son isn’t stupid and although this is a painful secret, I’m much more interested in my future grandchildren than I am in his issues with forgiveness. I forgave Harvey a long time ago, Meredith. I had to, in order to move on. Liam needs to let go as well."

Meredith just hoped the process didn't destroy their chance for a family.