The Cub Club (3 page)

Smiling, Eva picked up his hand and laced their fingers together before closing her eyes on a sigh. A feeling of love and contentment flowed through him, and Adam knew that it was from his mate.

He knew their lives would change now that they’d entered parenthood, and he was excited to dive into this new adventure in their lives. They could do anything as long as they were together.

* * * *

Two weeks later…

Adam heard the faint rustling coming from the nursery and knew his little princess was getting ready to cry out at any moment.

A glance to his side showed Eva sleeping soundly, something that hadn’t happened much since bringing Adalynn home. Eva was a good mother, always alert to their daughter’s every whimper and whine. That attentiveness had her utterly exhausted, yet she refused to give in to her body’s demands for rest.

Determined to have her sleep as long as possible, Adam slipped out of bed and quietly made his way out of their room, closing the door behind him. With his heightened senses, he didn’t have to pass the threshold to know what had awoken Adalynn. His girl needed a diaper change.

He crossed the room to find her squirming with a disgusted look on her little, scrunched-up face. Her dark copper curls stuck out every which way, and her silvery-blue eyes were wide as they peered up at him.

“Yup, that smell’s coming from you, cupcake,” Adam laughed.

With her nose every bit as sharp as his, Adam knew she wasn’t a happy camper. Though she wouldn’t shift for several years yet, their little wolf would still be a handful as she grew up. All werewolf children were. They tended to be an adventurous, rough-and-tumble bunch, so he and Eva would no doubt be running after her more often than not.

“Come on, sweetheart,” Adam cooed as he slowly and carefully picked her up. After all, he really wanted to keep the “situation” contained for as long as possible. Once they made it to the changing table, he arranged all of his supplies then began the dreaded removal.

Dear God! All she drinks is breast milk. How in the world could
that
evolve into this?
he thought, trying his best to hold his breath.

With the dirty diaper contained and in the trash bin, he slid the clean one beneath her tiny bottom and was just dusting some powder on her when
it
happened. The initial poot sent a puff of white into the air. Of course Adalynn just kicked her chubby little legs and smiled. “I’ll bet you feel better now, don’t you princess?” Another little puff of air and a gummy grin was her only response, but he’d take it.

After the clean-up, they made their way into the kitchen where Adam grabbed a bottle from the fridge and started the warmer.

With his daughter cradled in his arms, Adam took a moment to gaze out the window at the moonlit winter wonderland bathed. He couldn’t wait for Adalynn to be able to build snowmen and have snowball fights with him. Just the idea of her playing up in the tree house he and Eva had built left him with a warm feeling.

In fact, she would need a sibling to play with, but he’d wait a while before bringing that up.

Ow, ow, ow, ow!

Adalynn was apparently tired of waiting for her dinner, because she’d turned her little head and latched onto Adam’s nipple before sucking with all her might.

From now on, he’d wear a shirt at all times.

“Okay now, I need you to turn that loose. There’s nothing in there for you.” Luckily, he was alone for this, otherwise his brothers—or worse, Stephanie—would never let him live it down.

Bottle in hand, he settled into the rocker with Adalynn and watched while his baby girl’s eyes drooped as her belly filled. It was a heady feeling, knowing he was responsible for another life. That the choices he made could mean comfort or pain, happiness or upset…life or death.

Parenthood was scary.

He’d spoken to his father about his worries and fears, and all the man had said was, “Welcome to the cub club.” Whatever the hell that meant.

The bottle now empty, Adam raised his sleepy girl to his shoulder and gently patted her back until she let out a dainty little belch. Not ready to give up his cuddle time just yet, he reclined his chair and settled Adalynn on his chest, her head resting over his heart.

With her fresh lavender scent filling his nose, Adam relaxed and allowed himself to drift.

* * * *

The sensation of fingers combing through his hair woke Adam. The light streaming through the windows told him he’d done more than doze, but then again so had Adalynn.

“Why didn’t you wake me up?” Eva whispered. “I would have—”

Adam cut her off. “You needed the rest, Eva. She just had a dirty butt and an empty belly. We took care of both, and she fell right back asleep,” he explained as he handed Adalynn over to her. “I could have put her back to bed within the hour, but…” He shrugged. “I just wanted to snuggle a little longer. She smells good…well, usually. She didn’t smell that sweet when she woke up last night.”

Eva chuckled. “So she left you a present, huh?”

“Yeah.”

Eva’s sudden burst of laughter startled little Adalynn into a wail, and his mate didn’t miss a beat. She shushed their daughter while parting her robe enough to give access to her breast. With Adalynn happily suckling away, Adam winced and rubbed his own nipple.

“Doesn’t that hurt?” he asked. Usually, it barely registered through their bond, but it sure as hell had been less than pleasant for him last night.

“It did at first, but when she’s looking up at you and you get to make that connection, it just fades to the background. She needs to nurse as long as she can to get the extra antibodies my milk provides.”

“You’ve been reading more of those parenting books, huh?”

“Hey, we’re new at this,” she countered. “I’ll take any advice that I can find.”

Adam stood and kissed Eva’s soft lips. He never tired of the sweet taste of his mate. Just four more weeks and he could savor her properly.

* * * *

Lunchtime arrived and so did his mother and Stephanie. It surprised him that the two had braved the trip over, since the roads were beginning to become treacherous in the icy weather. The women were a tremendous help when it came to easing Eva’s nervous mind. Stephanie assured her Adalynn was perfectly healthy, while Angela gave her some motherly advice.

They had just sat down to enjoy their meal when Stephanie’s cell began to chirp in her purse. Figuring that it was Abraham checking on her, they all went about fixing their plates until they heard her tense response to the caller.

“Erik, slow down,” Stephanie replied. “I need you to tell me exactly what happened.”

It looked like lunch was on hold.

Chapter Three

Erik

There she is
, Erik thought.
My crazy, beautiful mate.

Sarah was radiant in her pregnancy, with her face practically glowing and her nesting instinct at full tilt. The woman just wouldn’t stop! She’d insisted the nursery had to be done last month so she could get everything set up and ready to go before the twins arrived.

And here she was, once again attempting to rearrange the cribs and changing tables into yet another position in the room.

“What was wrong with where they were?” Erik asked. “I thought you said it was perfect the last time.”

“It was…until I noticed the sun might be on this crib during the day. I can’t lay them down with the sun shining on them and expect them to get a good nap in,” Sarah explained as she straightened and rubbed her lower back.

The twins were putting a strain on her, no doubt. Her belly was stretched to its limits, and at any given moment, Erik could usually feel one, if not both, of his babies moving about if he placed his hands there.

“Why don’t you just tell me where you want the beds moved, and I’ll do it? You really shouldn’t be doing stuff like this Sarah,” he scolded. “I know you want everything to be perfect for when they arrive, but you heard what Stephanie said.”

“Yeah, yeah. I feel fine, though. She’s worried I’ll strain myself and go into preterm labor like some human mothers do, but us werewolves are a little more hearty than those other females.”

Hell, he couldn’t argue with that. Sarah was tough as nails, and she would be an amazing mother to their kids. With werewolf children being a bit more rough-and-tumble than human children, they still found themselves in trouble from time to time. However, with their mother being who she was, he pitied any fool who messed with their children, whether they were adults or kids. There wouldn’t be anywhere to hide that she wouldn’t find them and tear them to shreds.

Pregnancy had done
nothing
to curb her temper.

“So, where would you like me to put Piper’s crib? How about against the wall next to the window? I don’t think the sun will shine on it there.”

She tipped her head in consideration, her long blonde hair falling over her shoulder. Her warm amber eyes darted around the room, considering his suggestion and no doubt analyzing the trajectory of the sunlight during the day, before coming back to him. “I think that will be our best option. I’ll get Peyton’s moved to the other side of the wind—”

“No,” Erik cut in, moving to her side and hugging her to him to lessen his harsh response. “You go and relax in the garden tub for a bit. That should help relieve your achy back. I’ll move everything, and if you decide you don’t like it, I’ll move it again…and again and again.” He punctuated each word with a kiss to her temple and smiled when Sarah giggled. “Okay?”

She looked up at him before going up to her toes and placing a gentle kiss on his cheek. “How did I end up lucky enough to have you as my mate?” she asked.

“Honey, I ask myself the same thing every day about you. You’re my miracle, Sarah. Now, we have two more tiny miracles who need their mommy to rest and take it easy for just a little while longer.”

“So bossy, but I’ll let you slide,” Sarah teased. “Actually, a long soak sounds really good.”

“Well, you go and grab what you need clothes-wise, and I’ll get the tub ready for you.”

Erik moved across the hall to their master bath and started the water. He made sure to include the vanilla bath salts she liked so much before pulling out a big, fluffy towel for her, too.

Just when he was about to go and look for her, she came grumbling into the room, her latest book in hand.

“I don’t know which one is doing it, but one of the two has decided to use my bladder as a trampoline.”

Unable to contain his chuckle, Erik was quick to apologize when Sarah glared. “I’m sorry, honey. It’s just that you say the funniest things sometimes.”

Shaking her head, Sarah smiled back. “So happy that I could amuse you.”

Erik kissed her forehead. “You know I love you. Now, you relax while I move the furniture in the nursery then you can let me know if you like where it’s at.”

“You drive such a hard bargain.”

Once she was settled and reading in the bath, he returned to the twins’ room. His home had more than enough space for the babies to have their own rooms, but both he and Sarah felt better about having them near their room. Once the kids became more mobile, he and Sarah would see about setting up a room for each child.

It only took him a few minutes to get everything in place then he moved on to the kitchen to begin fixing lunch. Just that morning, Sarah had mentioned wanting some tomato soup and a grilled cheese with pickles. Though the thought of those sour little discs hiding in all that gooey cheese made him shudder, Erik would gladly prepare whatever his mate craved.

It was a damn good thing Sarah wasn’t in the kitchen too, because he soon had the counter buried. There were soup cans, crackers, bread, cheese, pickles—
shudder
—and butter along with the skillet and pot. There was a reason he wasn’t allowed in the kitchen very often.

Sarah was a neat freak.

Erik figured it had something to do with her years on the run. She’d been forced to keep only the possessions she could carry on her back, therefore she was used to keeping things neat, tidy and in their place.

He was just putting the soup on the burner when a sharp pain pierced his side. “What the hell…”

A split second later, he felt a wave of worry and dread right before Sarah’s gasped, “Oh, God!”

And then there was…nothing.

He sprinted down the hall. When he entered the bathroom, his heart nearly stopped at the sight of the pink-tinged water and his mate’s slumped form.

“Sarah?” With no response, Erik did his best to lift her from the water and drape the robe over her, before carefully carrying her to the bed. “Come on, sweetheart. I need you to talk to me.” He watched as her chest rose and fell with her breaths and was relieved she was alive. Still, he had no clue what was wrong or why he scented blood in her bath water.

In full-blown panic, Erik grabbed the phone from the nightstand and quickly dialed Stephanie’s cell. He prayed to whatever god governed his kind that his mate was all right as he waited for what seemed an eternity for the phone to be answered.

“Hello?”

“Stephanie, I need you to come over right now! Something is wrong with Sarah, and she won’t wake up.
Please!
” Erik wasn’t above begging and knew his desperation was a sign of weakness alphas strove to never show, but this was his mate.

“Erik, slow down. I need you to tell me exactly what happened.”

Erik heard voices in the background and knew she wasn’t at home.

“Listen, Abraham is gone on a security assignment, and I just barely got to Adam’s house in all this snow. Now, explain everything to me so I can—”

“I’m not sure what happened. She was trying to move stuff around in the nursery again, but I made her stop and sent her to take a bath and relax. I was fixing lunch when I felt a really sharp pain then I got a feeling of fear and dread from Sarah before everything disappeared. Why can’t I feel her?” He’d always been able to feel Sarah. Even when she was asleep and dreaming, he could tell if it was a good one or a nightmare, but now, there was just…nothing.