Free The Lion's Pride (BBW Paranormal Lion Shifter Romance) (The True Date Agency) by Terra Wolf, Olivia Arran

things.”
    What was he talking about? And did I really want to know? My blood cooled as dread crept in. “Like what?”
    He took a deep breath, closing his eyes briefly. “There’s a lot of things you don’t know about me, things I don’t go around telling people.”
    “Like what?” I was starting to sound like a parrot, but he needed to get a move on. All this standing around was killing my back.
    “Things that explain why I’m not the easiest person to talk to—”
    “I think you’re fine! We have great talks,” I protested, already not liking whoever it was who had upset him like this. Because he was upset, I could see his distress in the line of his lips. I had learned a lot about Zane in the last few months, had learned to read his face and body for the emotion he masked.
    “But I’m not great about showing emotion.”
    I pursed my lips, starting to get pissed off. “You’re enthusiastic about the baby. I know you’re going to love him. I can tell.”
    “I’m not talking about the baby. I need to be able to express myself to my mate, to let her know how I really feel, to tell her I love her, have fallen in love with her as I have grown to know her—”
    Oh, God! I really didn’t need to be hearing this. That Zane was in love with his mate, that he’d found her—? “Zane, can we just—” The dull ache in my back roared to life, my whole stomach tightening as pain stabbed and stabbed and stabbed and—
    “What’s wrong? Lara, talk to me!”
    “The baby,” I gasped out around the pain. “It’s coming!”
    His face drained of color, his lips parting in shock. “Now?” he eventually whispered.
    “Yes. Now!” I snapped out. The aches, the tightening, it all made sense now. Idiot! Apparently I’d been in slow labor all day, which meant— A strange twinge, then a tugging between my legs, and water drenched the floor.
    “What—? Please don’t tell me that was your waters.” Panic was now the overriding emotion on Zane’s face. Pure panic.
    I glared at him while sucking in deep breaths. Grabbing the wall, I braced as another wave of pain hit me. Gnashing my teeth, I begged him with my eyes.
    Visibly shaking himself off, he grabbed the phone out of my hand and flipped it open while wrapping an arm around me. “Sarah? It’s Zane. She’s in labor. Uh huh. Yes. Her water broke. Right, we’re on our way.” He snapped it shut. “We’re having a baby.” He still had that stunned expression on his face, but his lips were curving up in a shit-eating grin.
    “You won’t be alive to see it if you don’t get me to the infirmary, now!” I said, the words coming out in a low growl. Fucking hell, it hurt! Why did no one tell me how much it hurts? I grabbed my belly, my legs trembling and threatening to give way. I was having a baby!
    Zane scooped me up into his arms, cradling me against his chest.
    I sucked in deep, soothing breaths, my fingers curling into his shirt as the contraction eased off.
    “On my way,” he murmured, striding toward the door.
    “Wait! The baby bag!” We had packed it weeks ago, arguing over which outfit the baby should wear for his first photo. I had won, of course.
    Snagging it, he slung it over his shoulder and off we went.

11
    Zane
    I wasn’t crying .
    I stared at the little bundle nestled in Lara’s arms, blinking away what had to be dust. Swaddled within an inch of his life and topped off with a little blue hat, Xander was the cutest thing I’d ever seen. His mother was cat napping, completely worn out from bringing our child into the world, though we had been informed by the doctor it had been a relatively easy delivery. Yeah, I bet he was regretting saying that after Lara had threatened to castrate him, just to give him a taste of the pain.
    He had my eyes—big and green—and he had blinked at me, right before opening his little mouth and screaming at the top of his lungs. I’d told Lara he had her voice, then had promptly shielded my groin from