Read Online The Alpha's Curse (Wolf Shifter Pregnancy Romance) by Scarlett Grove - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Scarlett Grove
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with her parents had gone over the last several years, that had been a good one. She counted it as a victory, no matter how much she’d had to lie to make it into one.
The day after the market, she sat in the sonogram chair with her shirt lifted up over her rounding belly. The technician squirted cold, slippery fluid over her stomach and rubbed the little sonogram wand into her side. Instantly, Avery could hear the rapid beat of her baby’s heart filling the air.
Avery rose her hands to her face as she felt tears threaten to spill from her eyes. She covered her mouth and squeezed her eyes closed, listening.
“See right here, that’s the heart,” the technician said. “It’s quite robust. Your baby looks great. Better than great. I can tell he’s a strong one.”
“It’s a boy?” she said, lowering her hands from her mouth. A boy. Like Lucien.
“Yes, it’s a boy. Congratulations,” the technician said.
Now she knew how to prepare the nursery. She couldn’t wait to go shopping. She headed over to the baby store right after her doctor’s appointment. Pulling out the credit card she used only in case of emergencies, Avery bought everything she needed for a fully stocked, fully functioning nursery. A crib. A changing table. A glider with a gliding stool. A fluffy rug and decorations for the walls. She also bought clothes. Onesies. Fuzzy footed pajamas. A tiny skull cap. Mittens for its tiny hands. And toys. Rattles, teething rings, plushies.
As she was shopping, she felt like a normal expectant mom, like all the girls on the Internet forums. She wasn’t some crazy girl who’d been impregnated by a phantom. She wasn’t alone and single. She wasn’t living in a cursed house on land bought with money cursed by her family. She was just a normal pregnant lady buying things for her baby’s nursery.
When the clerk brought it all out to her car for her and she climbed behind the wheel, her heart was singing, looking forward to the future. It felt beyond good to turn the key in the ignition and head home with her haul.
The next day, after all the farm chores were done, Avery put together the nursery. Standing in the finished room, looking at her handiwork, she felt more confident than she had before. There was something about preparing for the baby that made her feel like she could handle it, no matter what.
Over the coming months, Lucien visited during the full moon. They made love and slept together, tangled in each other’s arms. As often as Avery would ask him questions about where he went or when he was returning, he would avoid them with vagaries or by changing the subject. He assured her, again and again, that he would be there for her after the baby was born.
Every morning after he left, she would awaken to find another part of her barn had been repaired. By the time her belly was fully rounded and she had a hard time seeing her toes, the barn was completely repaired and fresh straw was strewn across the ground. She could keep livestock in here or store equipment for her farm. The magical barn added so much to her land’s value and utility, she stopped questioning how it was done.
All she could think was that someday, Lucien would return and then finally they would be together forever.
11
T he months wore on and Avery sent out fake wedding invitations to her family as the pumpkins were ripening with orange luster under the late summer sunlight. Part of her got a sick little thrill out of messing with them. But she also realized that if her faith in Lucien was misplaced, she would look even more flaky in their eyes.
One night, as the autumn rains filled the creek almost to overflowing, Avery stood in her window, hoping her chickens were all right. They’d been laying well all summer and had become her prized possessions. It was dark outside and the light of the full moon was hidden behind the storm clouds. Avery knew she should get her sleep, as hard as that was at nine months pregnant.
The
The day after the market, she sat in the sonogram chair with her shirt lifted up over her rounding belly. The technician squirted cold, slippery fluid over her stomach and rubbed the little sonogram wand into her side. Instantly, Avery could hear the rapid beat of her baby’s heart filling the air.
Avery rose her hands to her face as she felt tears threaten to spill from her eyes. She covered her mouth and squeezed her eyes closed, listening.
“See right here, that’s the heart,” the technician said. “It’s quite robust. Your baby looks great. Better than great. I can tell he’s a strong one.”
“It’s a boy?” she said, lowering her hands from her mouth. A boy. Like Lucien.
“Yes, it’s a boy. Congratulations,” the technician said.
Now she knew how to prepare the nursery. She couldn’t wait to go shopping. She headed over to the baby store right after her doctor’s appointment. Pulling out the credit card she used only in case of emergencies, Avery bought everything she needed for a fully stocked, fully functioning nursery. A crib. A changing table. A glider with a gliding stool. A fluffy rug and decorations for the walls. She also bought clothes. Onesies. Fuzzy footed pajamas. A tiny skull cap. Mittens for its tiny hands. And toys. Rattles, teething rings, plushies.
As she was shopping, she felt like a normal expectant mom, like all the girls on the Internet forums. She wasn’t some crazy girl who’d been impregnated by a phantom. She wasn’t alone and single. She wasn’t living in a cursed house on land bought with money cursed by her family. She was just a normal pregnant lady buying things for her baby’s nursery.
When the clerk brought it all out to her car for her and she climbed behind the wheel, her heart was singing, looking forward to the future. It felt beyond good to turn the key in the ignition and head home with her haul.
The next day, after all the farm chores were done, Avery put together the nursery. Standing in the finished room, looking at her handiwork, she felt more confident than she had before. There was something about preparing for the baby that made her feel like she could handle it, no matter what.
Over the coming months, Lucien visited during the full moon. They made love and slept together, tangled in each other’s arms. As often as Avery would ask him questions about where he went or when he was returning, he would avoid them with vagaries or by changing the subject. He assured her, again and again, that he would be there for her after the baby was born.
Every morning after he left, she would awaken to find another part of her barn had been repaired. By the time her belly was fully rounded and she had a hard time seeing her toes, the barn was completely repaired and fresh straw was strewn across the ground. She could keep livestock in here or store equipment for her farm. The magical barn added so much to her land’s value and utility, she stopped questioning how it was done.
All she could think was that someday, Lucien would return and then finally they would be together forever.
11
T he months wore on and Avery sent out fake wedding invitations to her family as the pumpkins were ripening with orange luster under the late summer sunlight. Part of her got a sick little thrill out of messing with them. But she also realized that if her faith in Lucien was misplaced, she would look even more flaky in their eyes.
One night, as the autumn rains filled the creek almost to overflowing, Avery stood in her window, hoping her chickens were all right. They’d been laying well all summer and had become her prized possessions. It was dark outside and the light of the full moon was hidden behind the storm clouds. Avery knew she should get her sleep, as hard as that was at nine months pregnant.
The
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