"She was content. In a way she had never been before. I don't know what that means."
"Had she met someone?" Roman had to do everything within his power to keep the growl out of his voice. If she was dating someone or God forbid married to him, he would want to rip the male’s throat out.
"She said no. She insisted that she was single. And that's how she wanted it. We never detected any signs of a male on her. Definitely no one was with her. We never smelled another shifter. That went on for the next four years, once a year she would come visit. She would only stay for a few days. And she always seemed really eager to get back. Our parents just got really worried. So, two weeks ago I decided to pay a trip to Juneau."
"You went to visit her?" The visit hadn't gone well from Sutton’s expression. His face was red and his mouth formed a twisted glower.
"Yes, I went to visit her and guess what I found?"
Oh God. Was she mated? "Was she mated with a human?" That was the only thing he could think of that would make Sutton so absolutely furious
"No, she wasn't mated. She had a cub. She has a little cub and no mate!"
"A cub?" Bile rose up in his throat. His heart clenched. The thought of her with another male touching her, fucking her – he couldn't stand it. She let someone else inside her body. Her body had been his.
Until you fucked it all up,his wolf reminded him.
"Can you believe she fucking hid a baby from us? For five years we haven't been a part of that cub’s life. She betrayed us. She hid it from us. That's my niece and I didn't even know it."
"That is pretty shocking." He never heard of a shifter willingly raising a child on his or her own. The pack or the clan was central to all of their lives.
"Who is the father? Was it a human?" He wanted to know who his competition was. Another man had gotten his mate pregnant, and Roman had to take action.
"I have no idea. She refused to speak to me about it. She said she wouldn't speak to me until I calmed down."
Roman had to change the subject. He couldn't stop thinking about some inferior human male fucking his mate and seeing her naked. "How did your parents take it?"
"They don't know yet. I'm going to have to tell them. I know if they find out that I knew and I didn't say anything, they'll be livid. They're going to be devastated enough to find out that they have a grandchild that they have never met. It will break their hearts."
Sutton continued to rant and rave. Roman half listened. He had to get her out of his mind. But it was impossible. She plagued his every thought during waking hours, and she plagued his dreams too. He woke up with the scent of her in his head and he couldn't shake it all day long.
He had to see her for himself. He had to know if there was a connection between them or if it was all just a memory he had overblown. He was pretty sure he knew the answer, but he had to be certain.
He would have to tell Sutton that he was making a trip to Juneau. He and his friend already had a rocky relationship, ever since they’d fought over Everleigh five years ago, and they had done their best to mend it. He didn't want to screw it up again.
"Hmm," Roman said. "Coincidentally, we have a pack member going to college in Juneau. I am planning a trip to visit him, and I just wanted you to know that I'll be near your sister, in case you hear about it." That was a lie. Well, it wasn’t a total lie. They did have a pack member in Juneau. He was going to college. But Roman wasn’t planning to visit him. He was only going to see Everleigh.
"You're going to Juneau?" Sutton asked.
"Yes. I'm leaving tomorrow." His excuse was a thin one. Anyone who was thinking straight would've seen right through it. There was no way that Sutton could believe that he suddenly had to make a trip to the place where Everleigh was living.
"Would you look in on her for me? Just from a distance?" Sutton asked.
"You want me to spy on her?"
"Yes. I want to know who the baby's father is. I want to know if it's a true cub or if it's half human. I want to know what she's doing and where she lives. I want to know if she needs help."
"I'll do it, if you promise that you won't make her life harder. I want you to focus on the part where you want to know if she needs help." That was non-negotiable. He wasn’t going to let Sutton harass his sister.
Sutton exploded from his seat. "Of course, I want to help her! I hate to think of her over there all alone with no support. I want to understand though, before I make any type of offer. You know how she gets."
"You know Everleigh well enough to know she won't take kindly to being told what to do. The more overbearing you are the worse it's going to be," Roman said.
"Yes, I am well aware of that," Sutton said with more petulance than was necessary.
As for Roman, going to see her was no longer a choice. It was now compulsion.