The Baby Shift- Alaska Read online

  The Baby Shift: Alaska

  Shifter Babies Of America 42

  Becca Fanning

  Copyright © 2019 by Becca Fanning

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Created with Vellum

  Contents

  1. Natalie

  2. Wesley

  3. Natalie

  4. Wesley

  5. Natalie

  6. Wesley

  7. Natalie

  8. Wesley

  9. Natalie

  10. Wesley

  Also by Becca Fanning

  Natalie

  Cold, but Natalie Jones was expecting that. In the Alaskan wilderness, things were generally cold. Even in September, her boss told her that she could expect 40 degrees at night.

  “Bundle up the baby,” her boss said.

  Natalie smiled down at Jonathan, who was squinting up at her suspiciously. She couldn’t blame him for being suspicious of this brave new world. He was still a baby, after all.

  It hadn’t been planned, but many great things weren’t. Natalie had seen the handsome stranger in the bar after a long day in the lab. She’d undone her hair quickly in the bathroom and unbuttoned the first few clasps of her blouse. When she came out, he was waiting for her.

  His husky voice. Golden eyes, there was a maddening trace of arrogance about him. A true sign of a Shifter. “Hello there.”

  It was a one-night-stand. A fun romp in bed. He’d been a perfect gentleman where it mattered and an absolute adventure in bed. She’d never felt pleasure like that. They’d stayed at a hotel he was using. He was in town for only a few days. She breathed in his mountain smell and didn’t even ask what type of Shifter he was. Was she that cold and rude?

  She must’ve taken her birth control wrong that month, or he must’ve had miracle sperm. Whatever it was, she was pregnant and alone. The alone part hadn’t actually bothered her as much as she thought.

  Yet, she had been ready in many ways. The absence of a man in her life wasn’t going to stop her from taking the job from Devon Conservation Group. She’d be conducting water testing and treatments on the local area with much of the work being done inside her own cottage, which had a laboratory built into the side of the building. Thankfully, she’d found a local woman in the small village who lived nearby and would watch Jonathan for a few hours each day. During those hours, she’d be able to get her water collection samples into the machine.

  “Be careful of the wolves nearby.”

  A chill went through her hearing her boss’ parting words. He was, of course, talking about the Shifter clan nearby. Only a few miles from her cottage, at that. The villagers had nervously glanced at her when she’d arrived in her SUV with Jonathan. Are you sure you want to live up there alone?

  It wasn’t that far from the village. Besides, she thought these rural folks were a bit superstitious. Shifters were still part human. The last person who left her post left detailed notes, mentioning that the Shifters kept to themselves. They were called the Storm Clan, apparently named for the gray wolves they turned into. Well, if the last scientist’s notes were to be believed.

  Natalie had made herself at home in the best way that she could. Bringing Jonathan meant reduced room for her own belongings, which were shipped through a company so that she could bring the nursery furnishings. She’d left behind some belongings at her parents’ home in North Carolina.

  She floated back to the present as Jonathan squirmed in his sleep. Tiptoeing out of his small room, she made her way to the kitchen. As quietly as she could, she began to brew her coffee for the day. If she was quiet enough, the baby wouldn’t wake...

  KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK.

  Jonathan awoke with wails of complaint from the other room, and she groaned. In her rage, she spun on the door to glare at the newcomer whom she could see only the shape of through the thick plastic window. Who was barging into her new home like this?

  “Can I help you?” she asked as she wrenched the door open. It let in a sudden gust of fresh cold air. It smelled of mountains. Of mystery. Of danger.

  A handsome towering man looked down on her. It wasn’t his handsomeness that caused a quiet strangled gasp to escape between her lips (undoubtedly loud enough for him to hear). It wasn’t his eyes (piercing and gold) or his lean frame that showed taught muscles beneath his fitted long-sleeve shirt (stunning).

  It was him. The Shifter. Her Shifter. A million memories came back to her. She could practically see herself strapped into that tiny black dress, cruising for some relaxation after a terrible online date. She remembered that she ordered a Cosmo at the bar. She remembered that the bartender had told her it was already paid for when she tried to pay. He’d pointed down at the end of the bar. At him.

  The man from the bar. That devilishly handsome body. That husky voice inside of it.

  The one-night stand that had caused her bundle of joy who was currently screaming his lungs out in his nursery.

  And from the look on his face, he’d recognized her too.

  Wesley

  Long legs and longer hair of a perfect cinnamon red. She even smelled the same: a toasted spice bread with a side of rum. Cinnamon. He could never forget a beauty like that. Or that she was an animal in bed. His shock melted away as his face cracked into a crooked grin.

  “I remember you, Red.” He made his voice husky as he leaned against the doorway. Suddenly, a sound broke through his chaotic haze of lustful and surprising thoughts. A baby’s wail.

  She looked over her shoulder with a flustered look. “Give me a second,” she muttered and hurried into the other room. He heard her cooing sweet reassurances to the baby. He crossed his arms. This place smelled of a house, but there was a distinctive odor—an artificial scent of sterilization. His Chief had mentioned this was a lab, but it seemed hard to believe from the outside.

  He shifted towards the hallway that she’d disappeared down. He could hear the bewitching redhead soothing her baby. He’d never gotten her name. There was a new smell underneath the vanilla perfume of the home and the bleach of the lab. A familiar one. One that he could nearly place if he were only closer...

  He took a step forward. A scent of home. His home. No, more than that. A whiff of himself. His eyes widened, and he marched into her home like a brute. With a quick movement, he was hovering in the doorway of what was the nursery. She was cradling the baby. She looked up with a start when his foot hit a creaky board.

  “That baby,” he breathed. “He smells like me.”

  She froze and then placed a protective hand over the back of the baby’s head, who had quieted down.

  “I can explain.” Her tone was even, but icy. He took a step back, realizing that it was unwise to approach a mother with her baby like this. Not wise among wolves or human women.

  “I’m in your territory,” he said apologetically and lifted his hands. “I was surprised.”

  He heard her breath catch in her throat as she scanned him, hesitant, debating. There was an internal debate going on in that busy head. She placed the baby back in his crib and gestured for him to move from the door. Quietly, he backed into the kitchen and tried not to hit anything.

  He waited patiently in the kitchen near the door, his hands folded like a schoolboy. She slowly crept out of the door and then gestured to outside where there was a small patio with a table and chairs.

  “Do you want a drink?” she asked. “I have water and juice.”

  “Any liquor?” he asked.

  She snorted. “
I wish, but I’m taking care of a baby, remember?”

  He nodded. “Water will be fine. I’ll wait outside.”

  And he did wait, sitting in the worn-out chair underneath an even more worn-out awning that smelled slightly of mold.

  “What brings you here?” she asked, arriving with a pitcher of water and two glasses.

  “Hell, I could ask you the same.” He scratched the back of his neck. “I was traveling when I met you. Visiting other Shifter clans in North America. The Storm Clan is my home.” He jerked his thumb towards the nearest mountain. “Technically, you’re in my neck of the woods.”

  “I didn’t know,” she said, and he could tell that she was being honest. She shook her head and put her forehead in her hands. “This is madness. I never thought I’d see you again. I never—” She snapped her mouth shut.

  “Never hoped that you would?” he asked, teasingly. “You don’t have to be gentle with my feelings.”

  “I never wanted to contact you.” Even though he’d told her that she could be honest, he did feel a slight sting as she said those words. As if an arrow had struck him. He brushed a hand against his chest and pretended to scratch it.

  “Well, I’m here now. I guess I can’t change that. But I can’t say that I expected you to have a baby from that night.”

  “Well, neither did I.” She smirked darkly, and he found it alarming how much he liked to see that devious expression on her face. If he squinted, he could see the barest collection of freckles along her face. Faded from the summer, but still there. “I was on the pill, but maybe I took it wrong, or I got to be one of the lucky 1% of women who still get pregnant. But it happened…” She sipped her water. “Why are you here anyways?”

  “Visiting the new scientist, which is what I imagine you’re here for.”

  “You’re right about that. I took a job with the Devon Conservation Group. I’ll be conducting water and air testing around here for research. It’s part of a government contract, so I can’t say more than that, but it’s nothing nefarious.”

  “Oh, I’m aware,” he said with a grin. “There’s a new one of you every year. Last year, I missed out on showing up to scare the shit out of the last one of you.”

  She arched her eyebrows. “You were coming to frighten me?”

  “Not frighten per se,” he said and laughed. Suddenly, it felt as his charisma had vanished in one fell swoop. “Just show our faces to make sure the scientist doesn’t wander into clan territory. But…I’m glad that I have now. I know it’s a shock.”

  “I’ll be keeping myself busy and away from your Clan, I assure you,” she said. Funny how you could be with someone for a night, naked and panting, and then suddenly things were awkward. Gods, he could go for whiskey right about now. “Look.” She pressed a hand against her forehead. “I never thought I was going to see you again. This is so weird. Absolutely bizarre. I never wanted to get you involved.”

  “And now?” he asked. “What do you want to do?”

  “I want to live in peace with Jonathan,” she said and bit her lip. “But I wasn’t expecting this…”

  “Yeah. Life has surprises for all of us, I guess.” He scratched the stubble of his face and glanced down at a scrap piece of paper with a pen lying next to it, sitting next to an old landline. “Let me leave you my number if you need anything. I won’t bother you unless you call. I’ll tell everyone else to stay away from you.”

  “Oh,” she said, and her shoulders relaxed. “Thank you.”

  He grabbed the pen and jotted down his number and glanced up at her and met those fiery eyes, tried to hold them with as much kindness as he could muster. So, she could trust him.

  “Call me if you need me,” he said. “There may be things you’d like to know about a half-Shifter child in the future.”

  Natalie

  “Call me if you need me. There may be things you’d like to know about a half-Shifter child in the future…”

  Ominous, she thought, over her morning coffee. Extra strong because Jonathan gave her no rest last night. As soon as Wesley (handsome Wesley), as she’d learned, left! Jonathan had let out a wail. Could he sense that his birth father had been in the house? Now, she was coming up with conspiracy theories! She sighed and glared down at her bundle of joy, happily sleeping.

  Must be nice. At least, he was getting some sleep for the two of them. What exactly could be hiding in her precious son’s DNA? She held her coffee cup under her nose and prayed the strong smell would jolt her awake.

  Granted, the doctor had told her that she should eventually seek out a Shifter community to learn more about the culture and potential possibilities. She’d been too embarrassed admitting to herself that she didn’t even know what type of Shifter Wesley had been…

  But now she knew.

  A wolf. She dragged herself away from the crib, praying that her anxieties would quiet themselves as she marched into the kitchen. The sitter would be here soon to help look after Jonathan. She’d take a nap. Her machines were already prepped and being tested. She’d read over the data tonight and make her notes over dinner.

  The sitter was nice. An older woman named Diane who lived in the local town. “Let me know if you need anything,” she said as she left Natalie.

  Natalie padded into her bedroom with her work laptop. She rested against the fluffy pillows on her bed and opened the laptop up. There was one report that she could finish up, but…She opened up her internet browser and plugged in a search query: wolf shiftr. It auto-corrected the entry for her nervous fingers. Over a million results popped up.

  Top 10 Ways to Snag a Shifter Lover

  Shifter Groups Fight for Their Rights in Historic Lawsuit

  Best Books for Shifter Families

  She clicked on the third link, and a professional-looking website with blue and white colors popped up. The headline of the website read: Dr. Jenny Jones, Expert in Family Counseling. Natalie raised an eyebrow at Dr. Jones’ megawatt smile in her headshot. Still, she clicked around on the website and learned a few things:

  Human and Shifter relationships, especially procreating, were occurring at higher and higher rates. This was probably due to Shifter communities slowly relaxing their boundaries with human society.

  Some human couples having issues getting pregnant often sought a Shifter sperm-donor for the potential added physical attributes of a half-Shifter child.

  Those attributes could be as simple as slightly enhanced strength with golden eyes, but it came with the caveat that a Shifter child might very well Shift one day into an animal with human parents who had no idea what to do!

  She bit her lip and glanced at the scrap of paper on her bedside table. Her little Jon could turn into a WOLF? She didn’t think that was possible with half-Shifter kids. “Potentially, he could Shift,” she muttered to soothe herself. But…still. She went for a glass of juice in the kitchen and checked on her machines in the lab. Her head spun. She took a lap around the house, admiring the leftover flowers that the leftover scientist had left.

  On the outskirts of her dusty gravel road, which she drove her small SUV up and down for trips into town, she could see the sign marking the Storm Clan’s territory up the mountain. It came with some strict warnings: Do not trespass on Shifter property. We have fangs.

  She snorted when she first saw the signs, but a thread of doubt tugged at the back of her head. Jonathan was one of them. She sucked in a breath of cool air. Perhaps she’d been stupidly naïve before. The number on her bedside table seemed to call for her when she came back into the house.

  Did Shifters text? She paced her bedroom with the paper in her hand, holding her cellphone to her chest. She should call. Not because she’d like to hear that husky voice again, but because she was worried. Very worried.

  She dialed the numbers and clicked “call” before she could decide against it. It rang twice, and her stomach turned. She nearly ended the call before, on the third ring, a familiar deep voice picked up: “Wesley. Storm Clan.�
��

  Where was he? Sitting somewhere in what she imagined to be tall log cabins in the mountains? Or was he chopping wood and setting traps for their dinners? An exciting thrill came to her heart.

  “Natalie. Human neighbor.” She let out an awkward laugh. “So, I’ve been doing some research about half-Shifter children…”

  “You scared?” She could hear the teasing smirk in his voice. A shudder ran through her.

  “Concerned,” she fired back.

  “Same thing,” he said with a dark chuckle. “Look, Red, I think you’re right to be concerned. In fact, I had a discussion with my Chief about this, and well, I’d like to come by if it’s okay. Maybe I can make you dinner. I’ll bring the whiskey.”

  She chewed her lip now, fretting with her hair. “That could work. Do you have like a manual on Shifter children that you could bring?”

  “Not exactly,” he said. There was a chuckle buried in his voice. It was as if he was constantly teasing her. She smirked to herself. And somehow, she didn’t mind it. “When is a good time.”

  “Tonight works after seven or tomorrow.”

  “Tonight, it is,” he said. His powerful voice made her body come to attention, and she hated him for it. She felt like they were back at the hotel on that fateful night. “I’ll see you at seven.”

  “Thank you.” She hung up the phone and held it to her chest, wondering why her heart was beating a million times a minute against her chest.

  Wesley

  Wesley didn’t have to make dinner. He didn’t have to offer to bring whiskey. He could’ve politely invited Natalie to a discrete Shifter meeting to the Clan, where nobody would see her, and the Chief could explain the honor code that Wesley was now going to explain over dinner.