A Girl and Her Wolf (Howl, #7) Read online

He wondered if Luke would be proud of him now . . . if he would have thought that Colby was turning out to be a good Godfather. Even though Davenport didn’t seem to be too enthusiastic about him so far, he hoped that one day they would be close. In many ways, it felt like Daven was one of the only pieces he had left of Luke—the piece of him that Colby would be able to cherish forever.

  In his mind, and down the hallway, Colby could hear Emma wailing. Panicked, he pushed the box away from him and headed towards her, nervous that something had happened to her, too.

  When he reached the family room, he poked his head inside. Emma had set up an easel and canvas, but she wasn’t actually painting yet.

  “What’s wrong?” Colby asked her.

  She turned around to face him, the tears streaming down her face. “Your thoughts are so sad. I miss Luke, too.”

  “Aw, Emma. I didn’t want to make you sad,” he replied, feeling guilty for causing her the same pain he felt. Sometimes it sucked that his mate could feel his emotions.

  “How can I not be sad when you’re so sad? It wouldn’t be right,” she replied, shaking her head.

  “Don’t be sad, Em.” Thinking of the only thing that could possibly cheer her up at a time like this—a reference to her favorite’s actor’s leading lady, Kate Winslet—Colby pointed his chin at the easel and then said, quoting the movie, “Draw me like one of your French boys. Wearing this.” He pointed at the puka shell necklace he was still wearing.

  Emma rolled her eyes at him. “We’re not on the Titanic, Colby.”

  “No, we’re not, but I’m already here and nobody’s home, so I want you to draw me. You’re really a very good artist,” he said with a grin. “Where do you want me to pose?” he asked as he began to strip his clothes off.

  “Um, on the couch, I guess. I’ll be right back, though,” Emma said. “I have to go get my sketchbook.”

  Surprised that she was actually willing to draw him, Colby flopped down on the couch, getting into the same position as Kate Winslet in the movie. He noticed that there was a sketchbook lying on the floor already, but he assumed that Emma had gone to get another one.

  He tried to listen in on whatever his mate was thinking (he couldn’t help but wonder if the idea of drawing him was turning her on), but he heard something that he definitely hadn’t been expecting, instead.

  God, being a werewolf really sucks sometimes. Will I ever stop growing hair like crazy? How many times am I going to need to shave my legs today? Let’s hope the third time’s the charm.

  Say what? Colby didn’t know that Emma had problems with excessive hair growth lately. And if he had known about it before now, he would have told her that it was a reason to be concerned. It was a common myth that werewolves grow hair quicker than humans did. He was pretty sure that excessive hair growth was something that only affected Yetis.

  When Emma came back into the living room a moment later, Colby quickly pulled on his clothes. “You can draw me later if you want to still, but right now, I think we need to get you to a doctor, Em. Something is wrong with you.”

  “What’s wrong with me?” Emma asked nervously, her face turning pale. “How do you know that?”

  “I sort of overheard your thoughts about your hair growth problem,” he explained. “That definitely isn’t normal. It might be caused by some sort of hormonal imbalance or maybe something else, but it’s better to be safe than sorry. You go get ready, and I’ll give Dr. Mink a call to see if he can squeeze you in right away.”

  “Okay,” Emma agreed. It was obvious, from the look in her eyes, though, that she was nervous as hell.

  Chapter 5: Emma

  Dr. Mink’s office was unlike any other doctor’s office Emma had ever been to. It was in an old Victorian house, and the rooms were all dark and dreary-looking. The atmosphere made her feel even more nervous about being there, if that was even possible.

  She made sure that Colby had been blocked out from being able to hear her thoughts for about the fifth time since she’d followed the nurse into the room. Of course Colby had wanted to go in the room with her, but Emma had convinced him to stay in the waiting room with Daven during her appointment. He’d agreed to it, even though he hadn’t liked it. Colby always liked to be involved in everything, so it probably drove him even more nuts when Emma had blocked him out from even hearing what was going on. She couldn’t help it, though.

  The truth was, she’d started to wonder if something was wrong with her—something that she hadn’t even expected could happen—but what if it was what was happening? What if she no longer had just her and Colby to worry about because there were actually three of them now?

  On the way to her appointment, she had remembered that when Samara was pregnant, she’d mentioned that she needed to shave her legs more often than usual. It was a common hormonal change that werewolves went through, the doctor had said.

  Colby and Emma hadn’t been trying to get pregnant, but what if it had happened on accident? Samara and Luke hadn’t tried to get pregnant, either. As it turned out, though, werewolves were extremely fertile, since they needed to be able to reproduce whenever it was necessary for their packs to expand their membership. For that reason, human condoms weren’t ever effective. Werewolves needed to use condoms that were designed specifically for them, since they were the only ones that were strong enough to protect against powerful wolf sperm.

  No one had ever thought to mention how fertile wolves were to Samara, though, until after she found out she was pregnant. It might not have made a difference anyway, though. And even though they were the only thing that could potentially prevent pregnancy, Emma knew that even werewolf condoms weren’t always one-hundred percent effective, either.

  What if one of the condoms she’d used with Colby hadn’t done the job? It seemed like there was a good chance that she very well could be pregnant.

  Was she ready for a baby yet, though? She wasn’t sure.

  Davenport was the cutest little wolf pup she’d ever seen, and there were times when she told Samara that she was going to kidnap him. She really enjoyed babysitting him, but . . . she always thought that she and Colby would be able to explore more of the world before they considered having babies.

  Emma knew that if she was pregnant, though, there was nothing that she could do about it now. She would be having that baby whether she liked it or not, and she knew that, deep down, she would come to embrace the idea.

  More than anything, though, it would have sucked not to be able to tell her mother about the news. Even though her mom had come to terms with her being a werewolf, she hadn’t been able to forgive Samara for changing Emma’s stepdad into a werewolf. It wasn’t just the fact that she’d changed him into an immortal being, though. When he’d changed into a wolf, he had completely abandoned Emma’s mom. Even though Emma wasn’t the one who had bitten her stepdad, her mom still blamed her for it—and for the demise of their marriage.

  A knock at the door interrupted Emma’s thoughts, and a few seconds later, it was opened by a guy wearing a white doctor’s coat. “Emma Jackson?”

  “That’s me,” she replied after a moment’s hesitation. It had already been over a year since she and Colby had gotten married, but she still hadn’t gotten entirely used to be calling by her new name.

  “I’m Dr. Mink,” the man said, extending a hand. “Colby tells me that you’re here today due to an excessive hair growth problem?”

  Emma nodded, feeling a slight blush rise to her cheeks. “Yeah, my armpits and legs have been growing hair like crazy,” she explained bashfully.

  “There’s no reason to be embarrassed, dear. I’ve heard far stranger problems in all my years of doctoring. Now, how many times a week would you say you need to shave?” Dr. Mink asked. “Is it a lot more than where you first made the transformation into a werewolf?”

  She nodded. “It is a lot more. When I first changed into a werewolf, I only had to shave once every week or so, just like when I was a human,” she replied. “La
tely, though, I’ve had to shave two to three times a day.” It was embarrassing—and it was a secret she’d been trying to keep from Colby up until now. She hadn’t meant for him to overhear her thoughts, but she knew that him wanting to draw her naked would probably lead to something more. How could she do that, though, when her legs were as hairy as a rug?

  “Very interesting,” Dr. Mink said with a nod. “Why don’t you let me take your vitals, just to see if something else might be going on?”

  “Okay,” she replied.

  Once the doctor had taken her blood pressure, checked her temperature, and had shined a bright light in each one of her eyes, he sighed. “Hmm . . . it appears that everything else seems to be normal. Of course, I wouldn’t have expected anything less for a young wolf like yourself.” He paused for a moment, seeming to consider what else could be causing the problem. “Have you done anything differently with your diet? Are you eating enough meat?”

  “I’m eating the same amount of meat as I have ever since I became a werewolf,” Emma replied with a shrug. She hesitated for a moment, when she realized that she had been feeling a lot hungrier than usual lately. “Doctor, do you think it’s possible that I could be pregnant?” she asked as quietly as possible, knowing that Colby was probably trying to listen in on their conversation from the waiting room. God damn supersonic werewolf hearing!

  “Do you remember the date of your last period?” Dr. Mink asked.

  “Well, no . . . I’m not sure, actually,” she replied, trying to recall when it had been. She couldn’t seem to remember her last one, though.

  “I would say that it very well is possible. I’m sure that you’re aware werewolves are highly fertile, and it would be the most logical explanation for this sudden change,” the doctor replied. “I think it’s best that we run a pregnancy test so we can find out for sure. I’ll run a few other tests while I’m at it. I’m willing to bet you are pregnant, though.”

  A pregnancy test? Oh, no. This all made the risk seem so much more possible than she’d thought it was.

  As the doctor grabbed a vial and needle to draw her blood, he explained, “The unfortunate thing about all of this is that werewolf pregnancy tests can take a little bit longer for us to run than human pregnancy tests.”

  “How much longer?” Emma asked with wide eyes. So, not only was it possible that she was pregnant, but she wasn’t even going to find out if she was right away? The whole idea was beginning to make her feel a little nauseous.

  “Yes, the typical human test results usually come back within a few days at the very most. Werewolf pregnancy test results typically take about two weeks, though,” Dr. Mink replied, dabbing some rubbing alcohol onto Emma’s arm.

  She cringed as he plunged the needle into her skin. She might have been a werewolf, but she still didn’t like the sight of blood—especially her own.

  “The reason is because there’s only one werewolf lab in the world,” the doctor went on. “So this lab deals with all of the werewolf patients in the world and, as far as pregnancy tests go, the wait isn’t exactly short, considering how many pregnant werewolves there are waiting for test results at any given time.”

  Emma gulped. “There isn’t any other way for us to find out before then? No over-the-counter tests I can take at home?” she asked, half-joking. She already knew the answer; there weren’t.

  The doctor shook his head. “No, I’m afraid not. And a human pregnancy test won’t work, because those test for a hormone that werewolves lack.” He closed the blood vial and handed her a cotton ball to hold over the area he’d drawn blood from. She wasn’t sure why, though, since werewolves had speedy healing times, so it really wasn’t necessary.

  “In the meantime, however, I want you to eat a little more protein than usual,” Dr. Mink continued. “Werewolf babies thrive on it. Even if you aren’t pregnant, consuming more meat won’t hurt you. It’s only just a precaution. And try to keep your stress levels under control. Stress is never good for the baby or the mother.”

  “Okay,” Emma mumbled, rising to her feet and making a mental check-list of the things that she needed to do until she found out for sure: 1). Eat more protein, 2). Try not to stress; and, most importantly, 3). Keep this all a secret from Colby so he didn’t stress out and, therefore, cause her to stress over it, too.

  Chapter 6: Colby

  “So, what did the doctor have to say?” Colby asked once he and Emma were at the grocery store. She carried Davenport as he piled their cart high with groceries.

  Emma hadn’t said anything about her appointment with Dr. Mink while they were in the car. Colby had been hoping to overhear what the doctor had to say from the waiting room, but Davenport had broken into tears shortly after Emma had handed him over. What was worse was that she’d blocked Colby from being able to listen to her thoughts even before she’d gone into the room for her appointment, and she hadn’t unblocked them yet. She normally didn’t block him out lately, so it worried him.

  “He just thinks that I might have some sort of hormonal problem, like you said,” she replied, biting down on her lip nervously. “He drew a blood sample and sent it out for testing, so I guess we’ll see what they figure out is wrong with me.” She darted her eyes away from him.

  Colby decided that she was probably just nervous about finding out the results. “Well, I’m sure it’s not going to be anything too major,” he said, trying to reassure her. Knowing that might not be true, though, he added, “But even if it is something serious, Dr. Mink is a great doctor. He’s treated my family members for thousands of years, and we’ve all had perfect health.”

  Emma gave him a small smile, but it was easy to see that it was forced. As they approached the meat aisle, she said, “The doctor did say that I should eat some extra protein, though, so maybe we should buy more meat than we usually do.”

  “Okay,” Colby replied. “Did he tell you why he wants you to eat more meat than usual, though?”

  She seemed to hesitate for a moment. “Well, he did mention that having a protein deficiency could be one of the causes of excessive hair growth,” she replied. “I guess it can throw off your hormones or something. In any case, it’s worth a try. I’d do anything to get this hair growth to slow down.”

  “You don’t look hairy to me,” Colby observed.

  “That’s because my hair is blonde and because I shave it three times a day or more,” she replied, her cheeks reddening a little bit with her confession.

  Colby nodded. “Makes sense,” he said as he grabbed a few packages of chicken, some beef, and an extra pack of hot dogs.

  Once they fell into the checkout line, Colby began to pile the items from their cart onto the conveyer belt. His back was turned when he heard Daven sneeze quietly behind him.

  “Colby? Did you see that?” Emma asked, horrified.

  He glanced over his shoulder at her. “Did I see what?”

  “I could have sworn that Davenport just coughed out a little smoke,” Emma replied in a hushed whisper. “What does that mean?”

  Colby raised his eyebrows at her. “You’re probably just seeing things. My back was turned, but come on, Em. Our Godson isn’t a fire-breathing dragon or something.” Lowering his voice, he added, “He’s just a werewolf.”

  Even though it was possible for the werewolf gene to skip a generation, they knew, for certain, that Davenport was going to make the transition into werewolf once he was sixteen. He’d been born in his pup form. They’d all gotten to see that he had the same white, silky fur as Samara and her ancestors.

  “I know, but I swear I saw it,” Emma insisted.

  “Relax, Em. I’m sure it was probably nothing. Maybe his body temperature is just a little high. It’s common with us.”

  “Maybe,” Emma replied, but she didn’t seem too convinced.

  *

  Once they were in the parking lot, Emma situated Davenport in his car seat and then helped Colby unload the groceries from the cart. After everything had been packed
and they were sitting in the car themselves, she glanced over at him and cleared her throat nervously. “Colby? There’s something I sort of want to talk to you about,” she said quietly.

  “What is it?” he asked as he turned the key in the ignition and slowly pulled out of the parking lot. He couldn’t help it; any time he was in the car with Daven, he always drove at a snail’s pace. It was more out of habit now than it was out of fear of harming the baby in a collision.

  “Well, it’s just . . . I’ve been thinking about how cute Davenport is lately,” Emma explained. “And I was just wondering what you would think about maybe having a Pup of our own in the near future.”

  When Colby glanced over at her, he noticed that her eyes were lowered to the floor. “You want to have a baby?” he squeaked.

  “Well . . . maybe,” Emma replied quickly. “Would it really be such a bad thing? It would be sort of nice to watch our child grow up with Davenport. If we had one soon, they would be pretty close in age.”

  “I don’t know, Em,” Colby replied, keeping his eyes trained on the road as he tried to consider what she was saying. “I love Davenport—I really do—and I love kids in general, but . . . a baby?” He took a deep breath. “We’re just so young.”

  “I know,” Emma whispered, staring at the road ahead of them.

  Colby grabbed her hand in his. “I think I understand what’s going on, though. You’ve been spending so much time with little Davie, so it’s just making you feel motherly all of a sudden. I get that you want us to maybe have a baby of our own soon, too, but . . . it’s been nice having our own privacy lately. I still feel like we’re newlyweds. And you want to do some traveling first, remember? There are so many things on your bucket list that we have yet to do. I think it would just be better for us to wait until the timing is perfect.”

  Emma didn’t glance over at him. “Yeah.”

  Colby still wasn’t able to listen in on Emma’s thoughts, but somehow, he was able to sense that she was annoyed at him. He wasn’t even sure what he’d done wrong, though.