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continued staring at him like that was an actual possibility. His mate. Use him for sexual pleasure? It
made no sense.  What do you mean just sex?
 Hey, women are not the only ones who are used for sex. What if Cassie didn t want a mate?
Have you considered that?
Of course not. That was crazy.  Everyone wants a mate.
 Not on Earth. Not everyone. We re raised differently there. And if you ve had bad
experiences with the opposite sex, sometimes you prefer to keep it on the sex level and not get
emotionally attached.
 This is crazy talk, he grumbled and stood.  I m going to get my mate. She s coming home
with me.
Bella shook her head.  Good luck, Talen. You re going to need it.
EIGHTEEN
Cassie heard her phone ring at the same time she exited her car to head into her doctor s
office. She hadn t made an appointment but they were usually really good about seeing her last
minute.
She d been fighting fatigue for the past two weeks. Ivy had called and annoyed her enough
times about going to the doctor that she d given in and left Gerri s early in order to make the doctor s
office before they closed.
Since they d been back from Aurora, Gerri had gone off to visit a sick friend for the past few
weeks, so she d been working at Gerri s on her own.
She glanced at the screen. Massimo. She d been chatting with him online randomly. Though he
still flirted with her, he didn t try to push the issue. She felt a little guilty since her main desire to
speak to him was to find out more about shifters. She was thirsty for knowledge and couldn t stop
thinking about Talen.
 Hi, Massimo. How are you?
 Cassie, I m good. I understand you are still not well?
She heard concern in his voice and smiled. He really was a nice guy. Too bad she had zero
desire to go out with him.
 I m fine. It s just overwork and stress. How are you?
 Good, good. Ivan was supposed to come into town with me, but he s being held up at his
office down south so I will be there in a few hours and wonder if you d like to meet up for dinner?
She bit her lip. She should reject the idea but he was nice and he could be her friend. Heck, he
was Ivy s friend and they had nothing going.  Sure.
 Great. Shall I come by your place to get you?
 No. Meet me at my job, she said and gave him the building address.  I have to go through
the mail after my doctor s appointment so it s easier to meet up there.
 Okay. I will see you soon then. Take care.
She hung up and entered the building, her gaze scanning the usually empty office. It was
packed. What the hell were they doing; giving free exams?
The receptionist gave her an apologetic look.  Hi, Cassie. She glanced at her computer
screen and frowned.  I don t have you in for an appointment today.
Cassie leaned forward to speak over the open glass window into her reception desk so others
wouldn t hear.  I haven t been feeling very well and I went through the medical self-diagnosis sites
online and I either have lupus, mono, some Brazilian bug or anemia. I prefer to think it s the latter.
Though anxiety was in the list too.
The receptionist, who happened to be her doctor s wife grinned through the visible exhaustion
on her face.  How many times do I have to tell you to stop looking on those websites and self-
diagnosing?
Cassie grinned.  It s not my fault. The commercials are always saying to ask my doctor about
different types of meds. How am I supposed to know which meds I need to ask about if I don t know
what s wrong with me?
 That s what we re here for, Cassandra. We ll figure it out. She chuckled and wrote on a
pad.  Have a seat, she whispered.  I ll squeeze you in but don t say anything. I swear it s a full
moon tonight with all the craziness happening here.
 Thank you, Myra. She grabbed the only empty seat and pulled out her cell phone to text Ivy.
She didn t want her cousin worrying about her any longer so she let her know she was being checked
out.
Forty-five minutes later, she sat on an examination table, waiting for a nurse to come in.
 Hey, Cassie, said Tessa, one of the nurses.  Myra filled Dr. Levi in on what you told her.
She took Cassie s blood pressure and temperature.  You seem to be running a bit of a fever.
Dr. Levi walked in.  Hello, Cassandra. We are packed so let s do some blood work and& 
he stopped and frowned at the chart.  Let s do a pregnancy test, too.
Cassie frowned.  Why? I m on the pill.
Dr. Levi gave her the look.  Because we never know what could be the cause of exhaustion
and pregnancy has those symptoms you ve been talking about.
 But I haven t&  She stopped. Her face heated with embarrassment. She d been on the pill
since her youth to regulate her cycle, but other than abstinence nothing was one hundred percent
effective.
Dr. Levi gave her a warm smile.  I m guessing you re rethinking that thought? Listen, let s do
it anyway. Precaution and all that. I don t want to give you any medication without being sure nothing
would harm you if you happen to be pregnant.
She stayed quiet, her mind counting back the days since her last period and trying to figure out
if there was a chance at all of pregnancy. Her trip had been about a month ago so she had no idea if
that was a possibility. Her period wasn t due yet for a few days but she definitely felt cranky and
bloated so that had to be a sign it was on its way. Dammit!
NINETEEN
Talen returned to his cabin in a blind rage. How could the one woman who finally belonged
with him leave? And Bella s reasons made no sense. A booty call.
He slammed the door of his office opened. A few of the gathered clan members eyed him with
surprise. Though he was never the happiest of bears, he never growled openly without reason. He had
a reason, they just didn t know it.
Men worked on putting the offices back together and fixing the broken walls and shattered
glass and furniture.
Dylan appeared from the glass exit that led to the forest, a deep frown creasing his brow.  We
have a problem.
 Yeah, but what problem are you referring to?
Dylan cocked his head. He motioned for Talen to follow him outside. The two slipped past the
working employees into the forest. There, a crowd of people had gathered.
 My son, one of the elder clan members, Jensen, started,  is dead. I need to know why.
A second clan member, Merita, had tears streaming down her face when she spoke.  You
killed my cub. He was so young. Why would you do that?
Someone broke through the crowd and glared at Talen.  I know why.
 Lydorn, you don t know shit, Dylan snarled.  Your son tried to kill me. The last thing I want
to hear is that you are upset. Any of you. He folded his arms over his chest.  You know the rules of
our clan. Your kids attacked. With no reason.
Merita and Jensen glanced at each other then at Lydorn. Merita took a step forward.  Your
brother is the cause of this.
 Why? Talen roared so loud the trees around them shook.
 He s been telling our boys they need to stand up to you. To push you out of the way and that
when he leads they can have all the females they want.
 And you let them believe this? Talen barked at the group. He scowled at them individually
until they each glanced away from shame.  You know the pride I take in this clan. You knew I would
try to live up to my father s expectations and you let your children believe going against me was going
to work?
 We didn t think they were serious, Jensen replied. He curled an arm around a still crying [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]