Free Bear My Baby (Shifter Squad Six 1) by Anya Nowlan Page A

Connor out of the house before he saw Monroe or heard Amanda talking. Right then, Amanda stopped her babbling and looked up, her big green eyes going wide as saucers and her mouth falling open a bit, staring at something behind Cassie.
    “What is it, Amanda?” Cassie asked, but the familiar feeling of heat on the back of her neck hit her with full force.
    She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath.
    “Who’s this little guy?” Connor asked, Monroe letting go of her earring immediately and staring up at the tall hulk of a man with surprise.
    Of course he was standing right behind her. Of course.
    Shit.
     

CHAPTER ELEVEN
    Connor
     
    Connor yawned heavily, rolling off his back and kicking his feet over the side of the bed. His bare toes touched the cool wooden floor and he sprung up, rolling his shoulders back and trying to get blood circulating again. They’d been asleep for maybe an hour, if that. He was still mostly clothed and he wasn’t even sure if he felt bad about it.
    What he’d figured would be a night of guiltless fucking had turned into hours and hours of conversation that neither one of them wanted to put a stop to. She was probably the first woman who’d ever done that to him—made him want to talk to her as badly as he wanted to fuck her.
    He stretched as he padded out the bedroom door, hearing a happy, sing-songy voice chattering on about something at the front door. Connor was making a beeline for the bathroom when something caught his nose, making him stop dead in his tracks. He whiffed it in, letting it ruminate for a second. A deep frown cut his forehead and he spun on his heel, heading down the corridor.
    Is that a…
    Yup. In her arms—while Cassie was busy trying to make a blonde leave who looked an awful lot like the friend she’d been out with the night before—was a baby boy with the most familiar blue eyes. The same eyes that looked at him every morning in the mirror. Clear, blue, pale and full of something more than simple human curiosity. The eyes of a werebear. The eyes of a McLaughlin werebear.
    He thought he’d stay standing in place, stunned, but his feet carried him forward. Before he knew it, he was smiling at the little boy and he was smiling back, reaching out his chubby hands for him. Connor plucked him out of Cassie’s hands easily, and without paying any heed to the blonde, took the boy and moved toward a side room that turned out to be the living room. He caught sight of Cassie staring at him blankly, a twist of worry making her lips curl in unease.
    “Hey there, little man,” Connor said, grinning like a fool.
    The moment he touched the baby, his heart swelled to twice its size, or so it felt like. A tingle ran through him and then retreated back, as if it was a wave that started and ended with the child in his arms. He had the same facial features as Connor did, there was no doubt of that. Same high cheekbones, same straight nose and same determined chin, even if it was hidden under the plushy cheeks of a healthy, happy baby boy at the moment.
    And he was strong . Monroe grabbed Connor’s finger and there was real grip there, far more than a human baby would have. Not only that, but Connor could smell it on him. The whiff of primal energy, a hint of the animal still dormant within him. Without managing to take his eyes off the boy, Connor sunk into a wide-backed chair, settling Monroe on his knees.
    “Thank you again, Amanda. Let me know if I can do anything for you,” he heard Cassie say.
    “Jesus, Ellie! He’s hot . I mean, GQ hot. Like, hubba hubba Mr. Lifeguard hot!” Amanda squealed, not bothering to hide her excitement.
    Connor was pretty sure he heard Amanda hugging Cassie, which he bet she didn’t appreciate one bit.
    “He sure is. Bye now!” Cassie said, pushing the door closed and waving to Amanda.
    A second later, she practically ran into the room, her face pale as hell. She looked from Connor to Monroe and then back again and he could see how