Safety by Viola Rivard Read Free Book Online Page A

Taylor as she headed for her cabin. “Wait!”
    Taylor kept walking. “What?”
    “I found this, uh, great place. For mushrooms. In the forest. Are you hungry? We could go get some.”
    “You know I’m not supposed to go into the woods on my own,” Taylor said, stepping onto the porch. “Alder would have a conniption, especially now that…”
    She trailed off, becoming pensive. She had almost forgotten that there was a good chance that she could be pregnant now. The idea wasn’t as scary as she’d thought it would be, and she wondered how long before she knew for sure. Her knowledge of pregnancy didn’t extend past what she’d learned during a ten-minute slideshow of a developing fetus in grade school, and that had been a human baby.
    Taylor leaned against her front door. “Pups.”
    “Pups,” Lark repeated, shifting her weight from one foot to the other.
    “Everyone keeps calling them ‘pups’. Am I going to be giving birth to a…a puppy?”
    Lark chuckled. “No, no. Shifters are always born in their human forms. We don’t usually shift until at least a month. Some think it has to do with the cycle of the moon, but I’ve seen babies shift at all different times.”
    “Does it hurt them to shift? How long until they shift back?”
    Lark joined her in leaning against the door. “Shifting hurts a little and every shifter is different. Some babies spend a lot of time in their animal forms. Others are almost always in their human forms. It just depends on their personality.”
    Taylor nodded thoughtfully. “Well, I guess I shouldn’t worry about it now. It’ll probably be weeks before I even know if I’m pregnant.”
    “Only a few days, at the most,” Lark said. “We can usually smell it a week after the thrall is over, and you were gone an extra-long time.”
    “How long were we gone?”
    “Nine-and-a-half days. We were about to send Fenix out to look for the three of you.”
    Well, that explained why it was so cold out. They had to be well into September already.
    “How long does the thrall usually last?”
    Lark shrugged. “I don’t know much about it, but the wolves in the pack said five days, a week at the most.”
    “Wow.”
    She could hardly believe they’d been gone so long. The whole thing had felt like a blur. A blur of lust and passion.
    A big grin spread over Lark’s face. “Laurel says that when mates are gone for that long, it usually means there will be more than one pup. Can you imagine having twin boys? One for Alder and one for Hale?”
    The possibility of having twins had made Taylor feel sick to her stomach, but the mention of Hale was like a punch in the gut. As Lark rattled off a list of potential baby names, Taylor closed her eyes and willed herself to keep it together.
    Putting Hale behind her would be difficult, but she’d get over him. Besides, she still had Alder, and he was more wonderful than many women could ever hope for.
    Interrupting her friend, she said, “Hey, Lark, I’ve really got to get some rest. You’re welcome to join me, but I’m too tired to hang out right now.”
    Lark didn’t budge from the door. “About that. Wouldn’t you rather I take you up to the den? I’m sure you and Alder could really use some bonding time.”
    “No, I want to sleep in my own—”
    Taylor was cut off by a clattering sound from within her cabin. Her eyes widened, and then narrowed in suspicion.
    “Lark. Who’s in there?”
    Lark laughed nervously. “Eh-heh. It’s not so much who , as what … That is, um—”
    The furs that had been draped over Taylor dropped to the floor as she put her hands on her hips. “ What is in my house?”
    Lark clasped her hands together in a mimicry of a prayer. Her next words tumbled from her lips in a rapid flurry.
    “Please, please don’t be mad. I tried to hide them in the cavern, but it was wet and cold and they were scared and Holly said that if I brought them back to the den and she caught them, she’d skin them and