Marrying Her: The Keeping Her Christmas Wedding (The Keeping Her Series Book 5) by Kelly Lucille

could call you.”
    The gasp on the line was
sudden and violent.  “Yes!  You’re the one having the secret baby?”  She was
all of a sudden very excited.
    “I am, I was just
wondering if you could tell me a little about what to expect from a human, wolf
pairing.”
    “When are you due?”
    “End of July, you?”
    “February.”  Clytie heard
her blow out a breath.  “What do you want to know?”
    “I can look up pregnancy
information pretty much anywhere, but what I would like to know is if there is
anything that differs from the norm when dealing with shifters.  When did you
start showing?  Do you have any weird meat cravings?”  Clytie heard Eli snort
from where he was supposedly giving her privacy for this call, which meant they
were parked out in the middle of nowhere and he was standing outside the
vehicle as sentry.  Clytie glared at his back through the window and ignored
him. 
    “No weird cravings for
raw meat,” Rebecca said with a little laugh.  “And I expected it, believe me. 
Instead, I wanted pineapple constantly, but that was probably just me.”  She
laughed again.  “Lately, it’s green peppers, so who knows.  I’m not what anyone
would call skinny, so I didn’t show until about ten weeks.  Though my mates
tell me differently, and they were the ones looking for it with enthusiasm
daily.”  Her voice held fond memories and then she was back to business.  “Believe
me, we all inhaled pregnancy books by the shipload.  It’s all been pretty
standard.  What they do not warn you about, what they cannot know, because it
is a shifter’s or their mate’s only curse . . .,”  Clytie held her breath
waiting for the next warning words with a heart that was racing, “is the daddies.” 
    She blinked and looked at
the phone in her hand.  “Excuse me?”
    Someone else must have
been in the room with her because Rebecca said a muffled, “Quiet you.”  Then
she was back to her usual volume, only with a great deal more passion.  “They
don’t warn you about the overprotective, in your face every moment, shifters
that watch you like a hawk, take away anything that might be remotely
dangerous, like I kid you not , an electric toothbrush!”  By the last
words, she was loud enough for Eli to hear her outside the car and turn and
raise a brow at Clytie.  She waved him off.
    “Why would they take away
your toothbrush?”  Eli finally turned around with a laugh.
    “ I know, right ?!” 
Clytie could hear the glare in Rebecca’s voice when she went on with a great
deal of passion and, it must be said, numerous grievances.  “Apparently,
somebody somewhere mentioned the choking dangers inherent in electric
toothbrushes should they suddenly go berserk and break in your mouth.  And then
there is the danger of sharks that hardly ever bite you when you are wading to the knees.”  The sarcasm was getting thicker with each word. “Sand
crabs, wild animals at night, on a shape-shifter island , and let’s not
forget walking without a big strong alpha to hold you upright!”
    Clytie cleared her throat
and spoke calmly to diffuse the situation before Rebecca could go on, which she
was clearly gearing up for.  “So, the worst thing about being pregnant is the
overprotective shape-shifter fathers?”
    She heard the other woman
take a breath, trying valiantly to match Clytie’s calm.  “Yes,” her voice had
returned to reasonable lines, then she sighed.  “Though that could be just me. 
It’s also the best thing, besides the actual baby, when they are rubbing your
back and swollen feet, or making sure you have hard to find foods you want. 
And they cuddle really well.  One cannot argue the power of the cuddle when you
ache all over and feel frumpy and waddle everywhere.”  There was a softness to
her words that conveyed a great deal and made Clytie happy for the woman.  It
also made Clytie add mood swings to the mental list she had started.  Then she
kept talking,