Harland wanted to take his time, to let Dresden get to know his creature, but he had to go save Markey. He just hoped the toddler wouldn't be too terrified of him.

"Maybe you should take a seat," Bryson said to Dresden. "You look a little dizzy."

"Dizzy, right." Dresden nodded as he inhaled deeply and then blew the air out so hard that he turned red.

"Easy," Clayton said. "You're trying to take deep breaths to relax, not blow out a hundred birthday candles."

Knowing Dresden was in good hands, Harland turned and headed toward the back of the station. Hopefully, Stork would just think that a bear had wandered down from the vast mountains that surrounded Bear County. It'd happened before. There had been many sightings of bears over the years. Townsfolk just steered clear of the magnificent creatures and the park rangers made sure no one was hurt until the lost bear returned to its natural habitat.

No one suspected that some of those sightings had been Harland and his friends. Not that they had tried to get caught on purpose. But shit happened.

Harland reared his head up to look inside the station. He could see movement to his right. It looked like Stork was keeping a careful eye on the front of the shop, but not the back.

What a moron.

Shifting, Harland bit his lower lip as he soundlessly worked the back door open. Once it clicked, he shifted back into his bear form and then snuffled at the ground, pretending to be on the hunt for food.

"What the hell?" Stork spun, his eyes wide as he stared at Harland. "How'd you get in here?"

Like Harland would or could answer him. He gazed over at Markey and saw the toddler was unharmed. Markey was sitting on the grease-stained floor, peering up at him. Harland made a snorting sound before giving his attention back to Stork.

"Get!" Stork tried to wave his hand at Harland. When Harland didn't move, Stork picked up a long, heavy wrench. The asswipe didn't even have a weapon on him.

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Jed and Bryson easing their way in to the front of the station through the door on the side of the bay. Harland gave a low growl, keeping Stork's attention on him.

"Bear!" Markey exclaimed. There wasn't an ounce of fear in the kid's voice. Harland was proud of the tyke. "Bear!"

When Markey tried to stand, Stork held out a hand, stopping the toddler from coming any closer. Markey crossed his arms over his chest, pouting. "I wanna bear."

Harland inwardly chuckled at the miffed expression on Markey's face.

"Stay back," Stork warned Harland. "I know who you are."

Harland froze. There was no way that Stork knew who he was. The four men who owned the Triple-B were very careful when they shifted. When they went for runs, they pulled their vehicles deep into the woods before letting the transformation take over.

Stork pointed his wrench toward the front of the shop. "I just saw what you did, Harland. What do you think the townsfolk will say when they find out your secret?"

"I wanna bear," Markey repeated, his green eyes beseeching as he gazed at Harland. "Wanna pay wif bear."

Harland didn't react to Stork's accusation. His attention was split between Stork and Harland's friends.

"They would say you were insane," Jed answered Stork.

The human spun, grabbing Markey and holding the toddler close to his chest. "Come any closer and I swear I'll hurt him."

"You didn't think this plan through, did you?" Bryson asked. "Because if you did, you wouldn't have brought the kid here and you'd have a weapon."

Oh yeah, give the asswipe pointers. Way to go, Bryson.

Bryson smirked at Stork. "Just sayin'."

"You think you know it all," Stork spat at Bryson. "You four men live on your expensive ranch thinking you're better than everyone else."

"No," Jed disagreed. "We work hard for what we have and we don't snort our earnings up our noses."

Harland eased closer. Stork looked like he was about to blow a gasket and Harland didn't want Markey hurt in the fallout. In the short amount of time that he'd known the toddler, Harland had become attached to the little fella. Markey was starting to mean a hell of a lot to him, along with the toddler's dad.

Markey gazed closely at Harland as he hung from Stork's arms. If he didn't know any better, Harland would swear that Markey knew who he was. There was a knowledge in the young boy's eyes that was older than the toddler's two years.

"Who are you to judge me?" Stork asked. "You have no idea what kind of life I've lived."

"And we don't care," Bryson said. "All we care about is getting that little boy back."

"Why?" Stork asked. "You just met Dresden and his son. Why the fuck do you care what happens to them?"

"First of all," Bryson said as he set his cowboy hat a little further back on his head and then rested his hands on his hips. "Stop cursing in front of those young ears."

"Second," Jed chimed in. "You'd have to be a heartless son of a bit-mother not to care about either of them."

Harland was getting tired of pussyfooting around. He wanted Markey back and he wanted Stork to pay for taking the kid in the first place.

Rearing back, Harland roared at Stork as he stood on his hind legs. He felt like shit when Markey started to cry, but Harland didn't see any other choice. Stork's back hit the wall as he dropped the toddler. Markey fell, but appeared to be okay. He got right up and hurried over to Jed.

Harland raced forward and pinned Stork to the wall.

"Call him off!" Stork shouted as he tried his damnedest to shove Harland away.

"I should let that bear eat you." Bryson damn near growled the words. His grey eyes drilled holes in Stork. "If you come near our family again, you won't be walking away."

Harland really, really wanted to maul the bastard. But Markey was in the room and there was no way Harland was going to let the little boy see something like that.

Harland backed away until he was outside and then he shifted. He hurried around to the front and then dressed as Jed and Bryson came out of the station.

"Markey!" Dresden shouted as he raced to his son. All Harland could do was smile as he watched Dresden rain a thousand kisses over his son's face.

"Dad," Markey said, and then repeated the word until he was secure in Harland's truck.

"I'll meet you back at the ranch," Harland said to his friends before climbing into his vehicle. He laced his fingers with Dresden's and gave them a light squeeze. "No one messes with one of mine."

Dresden leaned over the console and gave Harland the sweetest of kisses. "Thank you."

Harland waved the man's appreciation away. Dresden was making him blush. "You can thank me later." Harland winked at the man.

"With pleasure," Dresden said with a mischievous smile.

"Bear," Markey shouted from the backseat.

"You can play with the bear tomorrow, buddy," Harland promised as he pulled from the station and headed home.

It had been two weeks since the incident with Stork and there was no denying his predicament any longer. Dresden turned sideways in front of the full-length mirror and examined his distended belly. So far, he'd managed to hide it from Harland. That wasn't an easy feat considering Harland was very hands-on in the bedroom. Luckily, over the past several days, Harland hadn't complained about Dresden insisting on being on all fours.

It was a great way to hide the growing baby bump.

But there was no hiding this any longer.

Besides, all of his clothes were getting a bit uncomfortable. He was going to have to say something or eventually wear a damn sheet around the house. Dresden still couldn't believe what was happening to his body. The fact that there was another life form inside of him was messing with his mind.

Big-time.

Maybe it was all the good food he'd been preparing and eating.

Keep telling yourself that. Live blissfully in denial.

As much as the thought appealed to him, Dresden knew he couldn't fool himself into thinking he was merely gaining weight from overeating.

And that wouldn't explain the bouts of nausea he was battling through.

He dropped his shirt when Harland walked into the bedroom. When Dresden turned, he could see the man had something on his mind. He was starting to learn the cowboy. Whenever Harland was trying to put his thoughts together, his brows wrinkled in this cute little way and his eyes bounced everywhere except at Dresden.

"Listen," Harland began as he rubbed the back of his neck. That was another thing he did when he was having a hard time putting his thoughts into words. "I know we're not mates and all-" Harland paused, placed his hands on his hips, and kicked the toe of his boot into the carpet. "But just because we're not mates doesn't mean we can't be together. I know I want to be with you. I also know I would love to help you raise Markey. He's a great kid and you're a great guy. But I-"

"What makes you think we're not mates?" Dresden asked as he moved across the room to stand directly in front of Harland.

The cowboy's eyes dropped to Dresden's stomach. "Because you've been here a month and you're not"-he waved at hand at Dresden's abdomen-"not pregnant."

"Is that the only way you'll know if we are mates?" Dresden asked. "If I'm knocked up?"

Harland nodded. "I can't get anyone but my mate pregnant."

"So if I'm not your mate, then you'll never have a family?" Dresden asked. "And you want to stay with me even if we can't have children together?" The sacrifice Harland was willing to make blew Dresden's mind. He felt a strong connection to Harland. There was no denying the fact that in the past four weeks, Dresden had experienced something...astounding with this man.

Harland slid his hand over Dresden's as he nodded. "I've never in my life felt something this deep with anyone. Markey will be enough, Dresden. He's a great kid and I love spending time with him. Lots of couples only have one child."

"Lots of couples only have one child that they've created together, Harland. I know how much you want a family. I've heard you talking with your mother and I see the way you watch me and Markey spend time together. How can you not want a child of your own?"

"So, what?" Harland asked. "You want me to go find my mate, to just kick you and Markey aside?"

Anger and jealousy reared their ugly heads inside Dresden when he thought about Harland with someone else. Dresden's nostrils flared as he shoved a finger in Harland's handsome face. "I'll cut your balls off if you even think about sleeping with anyone else!"

Harland chuckled. "See, you don't want me to be with another man any more than I want to find someone else to be with."

Dresden sucked in a breath when Harland pulled him into his strong arms. "Besides, we can practice as many times as we want." The cowboy's voice dropped to a husky pitch as he began to nibble at Dresden's neck. "Just think of how expert we'll be by the time we're old and grey."

The thought made Dresden shiver. If there was one thing he'd discovered about his lover, Harland loved variety when it came to sex. Not the different-bed-partners kind of variety. The man liked to tie Dresden up sometimes. Other times he was sweet and slow, making Dresden feel like he was the only man in the world for Harland. There were even times when they just gave each other hand jobs in the shower.

It seemed there was no particular way to have sex with this guy. Whatever the mood called for, Harland was game. When Harland pulled back, Dresden gazed up into the man's dreamy blue eyes and felt his throat growing tight. "I'm pregnant."

Harland stood there for a moment, not saying a word. Dresden began to worry that Harland didn't want a family after all. It was a foolish thing to think, but the silence seemed to stretch on, and that provided room for Dresden's imagination to torture him.

Finally, Harland's eyes dropped to Dresden's belly. "Are you sure?"

"Either you knocked me up or I need to lay off the damn Ben & Jerry's." Oh crap. Now Dresden wanted ice cream. He also had a taste for peanut butter and spinach, which totally grossed him out and made him hungry at the same time.

A smile as bright as the sun slid across Harland's face. His hand glided across Dresden's belly. "You're my mate."

"I am." Dresden nodded. "Now can we go get some ice cream?"

Harland laughed as he drew Dresden close, hugging him so tightly that Dresden felt like his eyeballs were going to pop. "Can't. Breathe."

Pulling back, Harland grabbed Dresden's hand. "Come on, we have to tell my ma and then have the shifter doctor examine you."

"There's a shifter doctor?" Dresden didn't know one would exist, but it should have been a no-brainer. Wouldn't shifters need a physician, just like humans did?

"Yep." Harland paused at the top of the steps and reached for Dresden.

Dresden took a step back. "If you even think of carrying me down those steps, I'll twist your damn nipples."

Harland bounced his eyebrows. "That's not a threat, sweetheart."

Dresden rolled his eyes. "Figures. You are just too damn kinky."

"Ma!" Harland shouted as he forwent carrying Dresden down and settled for holding his hand instead. "Guess what Dresden just told me."

Before Dresden could say a word, he could hear Markey downstairs.

"Dad," his son said as he aimlessly searched for Dresden. "Dad."

Harland chuckled. "There he goes again. I swear, that kid is smart as a whip and highly entertaining. He showed Clayton how to do the robot dance."

Dresden palmed his face as he imagined Markey and Clayton together. "That's the only dance he knows how to do," Dresden said. "He saw it on one of his favorite cartoons."

When Harland started imitating Markey's dance, Dresden's jaw dropped and then he began to laugh. Harland didn't look right, but Dresden wasn't going to burst the man's happy bubble.

Harland's mother came out of the kitchen, a tea towel over one shoulder. Even though Dresden was supposed to do the cooking, it was harder than hell to get that woman out of the kitchen. Most of the time, Dresden just sat at the table and watched as she worked her magic. Lately, though, Harland and the other men had been teaching him the inner workings of ranch life.

To his amazement, Dresden liked working with horses. He hadn't been around one a day in his life until he'd come here. Markey was in love with the creatures, but not as much as he was in love with Harland's brown bear.

Every time Harland shifted for Markey, his son would grunt and roll around on the grass, trying his best to become a bear as well. It was comical to watch.

"What's all the ruckus?" Harland's mom asked. Oddly enough, Dresden still didn't know her first name. Everyone just called her Ma.

Harland moved in behind Dresden and then wrapped his beefy arms around Dresden's body before settling his hands over Dresden's slightly distended stomach. "Dresden is my mate."

Her eyes dropped to where Harland's hands were and Dresden could see hope blossoming in her pretty blue-green eyes. "Is he?"

"Yep," Harland announced too damn proudly. "He's knocked up."