“Then find someplace,” Shay said. “We need to have a little girl talk.”

“That rules you out,” Bree said. “Too many muscles.”

“That’s discrimination. You know I love babies.” He frowned and patted Anna’s arm again, then walked to the door. Anna wished she could go with him. She had a good idea what the girl talk would be about. She’d been avoiding Bree and Shay since Bree’s shocking revelation for just that reason. They would want to help. The men were easier, for the most part. They just looked awkward and scurried away. Except for nosy Brodie.

“And don’t listen,” Bree called as he left. “I know you’ve been avoiding me, Anna, and I don’t blame you. But we have to talk about it.”

“I’ve been avoiding everyone,” Anna said. “Not just you. I needed time to think.”

“I’m so sorry for blurting it out like that,” Bree said. “I don’t know what I was thinking. I wasn’t thinking.”

“It’s OK. Well, telling me in private would have been preferable, but you didn’t mean any harm.” She frowned. “But are you sure? It’s just been a few days.”

“As sure as I can be. That’s how I knew I was pregnant.”

Anna let out a heavy sigh.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Shay asked.

No. Yes. “I don’t know what to think, much less what to say. I don’t want a baby.”

“What about…” Bree glanced at Shay. “The father?”

“I think Tavis is as shocked as I am,” Anna said.

“It’s Tavis’s?” Bree’s face lit.

“I figured everyone knew,” Anna said.

“Anyone can see how things are between you, but Tavis told Faelan what happened in the dungeon with the other prisoner. How do you know who’s the father?”

“They took me to him, but he didn’t do anything.” Anna kept her face blank. She’d promised not to say anything. She didn’t go back on her promises.

“Then why did they take you to him?” Bree asked. “I thought it was a breeding program.”

“I guess he didn’t feel like playing stud.” Anna felt her face warm from the lie.

“I don’t mean to pry,” Shay said, “but what exactly happened with Tavis? I don’t mean…that, but the other stuff.”

Anna hadn’t talked to anyone about it. She saw the sympathy on their faces, and something inside her crumbled. Her eyes misted, and she started doing the whole girly thing that she hated. She spilled it all, everything except about the hybrid.

“Tavis didn’t have a choice,” Anna said. “The guard would have done it himself. And it wouldn’t have been pleasant.”

“So it was pleasant?” Bree asked.

“Not pleasant, but…not as bad as if the guard had done it. He would have killed me. And Tavis.”

“Tavis saved you,” Shay said.

“I’m surprised he could even perform,” Bree said.

“He was too,” Anna said. “That’s what bothers him, that he enjoyed it.”

“I can see why it would,” Shay said.

“He couldn’t help it,” Anna said. “He’d been locked in that time vault and hadn’t had sex in a long time.”

Bree and Shay shared a smile.

“What?”

“You’re defending him.”

“I’m not. It’s just the truth.”

“How do you feel about him?” Shay asked.

“I don’t know what I feel. We were close in the dungeon. We thought we would die. He was so hurt. If you could have seen what they did to him…”

“Do you love him?” Shay asked.

“How could I love him?”

“He’s gorgeous. You connected in the dungeon. That kind of intense atmosphere can tell you more about a person in two days than you could learn about them in two months.”

“I don’t want to marry and have a family.”

“You don’t have to marry him,” Bree said. “Though it’s best for the child if the mother and father are together.”

“Tavis and I haven’t even had a chance to talk about it. He’s upset. He saw me riding bareback and thought I was trying to lose the baby.”

“Were you?” Shay asked.

“No.” Anna’s hands clenched. What if she had been subconsciously? “I thought I saw someone in the woods, and I was in a hurry to check it out.”

“He knows you weren’t trying to hurt the baby now?” Shay asked.

“Yes, but he found out it’s his baby. He was stunned. He thought I’d been with the hybrid too. He rode off, and I haven’t seen him since.”

“You need to talk to him,” Bree said. “I know all this is hard, given the trouble you’ve had with men.”

“Which apparently Ronan told everyone about.”

“He was just concerned,” Shay said.

“Speaking of Ronan, is there anything you want to tell us?” Bree asked.

“No,” Anna said.

Bree sighed. “That’s the same thing he said. I’m curious about this hybrid. What was he like?”

Anna looked down at her hands and kept her voice steady. Bree had uncanny abilities, and she didn’t want her picking up on something Anna had sworn not to tell. “It was dark. It was hard to tell. He was strong.”

“A vampire?” Shay asked. “Or part vampire?”

“I’m not sure.” That much was true. She knew part of what he was, but not all.

“Why would he help you escape if he’s part vampire?” Bree asked.

“If he was a prisoner,” Shay said, “then he wasn’t there by choice, no matter what he was. You’re lucky he was there.”

“We were.” But he wasn’t. “Can we forget about my unpleasant past and uncertain future and talk about this wedding?”

* * *

Tavis knocked on Anna’s door until she opened it. She wore a frown and some kind of little garment that exposed her long, smooth legs. He knew just how smooth they felt against his own legs. “What are you wearing?”

She tugged at the legs. “Sleeping shorts.”

“I like them. Can I come in?”

“Why?”

“We need to talk. That’s my bairn you’re carrying. I have a right to know what your plans are.”

Anna opened the door. “Come in.” She glanced at the bed. “Have a seat.”

He started to sit on the settee, but they might need something with a little more breathing room. They were like fire and dry kindling together, but right now they needed to settle things, not kiss. Maybe afterward, if things went well. So he sat on the chair, and they stared at each other. “What are we going to do?”

“I need some space, so I’m going to leave for a while.”

“No.”

“Did you just tell me no?”

Tavis cleared his throat. “I did. That’s my bairn.”

“It’s in my uterus. If it’s really there.”

“You think it might not be? Someone told me Bree’s never wrong about these things.”

“There’s always a first time. But it’s my body.”

“And my bairn. It’s mine as much as it’s yours. I’m sorry for the circumstances, but I won’t lose another child. I’ve already lost one.”

Anna’s eyes were wide, her lips parted. “I understand how you feel, but I have to get away so I can think.”

“You’re not going.”

“Tavis, you can’t control me.”

“No, but I…bloody hell, you’re carrying my bairn, and I love you—”

“What?”

“I love you.” What the hell was he doing? He jumped up and rubbed his sweaty palms on his jeans. He was sick of jeans. He wanted to wear a damned kilt. “I need some space myself.” He hurried to the door and walked out. His forehead was sweating, and his battle marks were burning. In love. He couldn’t be in love.

He went to his room, stripped off his clothes, and headed for the shower. He passed the mirror and caught sight of his naked body. His battle marks had changed.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

TAVIS LEANED CLOSER and studied his chest. His marks started near his collarbone and came down at an angle over his chest. Now there was a line intertwined through one of them. He tried to swallow, but his mouth felt like it was stuffed with straw. He grabbed up his jeans and put them on as he ran to the door. He stepped out and hurried to Faelan’s room. He tapped softly, and a moment later Faelan answered.

“I need to talk to you.”

“All right. Come in. Bree’s in the kitchen.”

When he stepped inside, Tavis opened his shirt. “What’s this?”

Faelan studied Tavis’s battle marks. “I’ve never seen anything like it. When did this happen?”

“I noticed them a while ago. I was about to take a shower.”

“I don’t know what to make of it.”

“It’s his mate mark,” Bree said, stepping into the room.

“How do you know that?” Faelan asked.

She walked over to Tavis and touched his chest.

Faelan frowned at her. “I don’t like you touching his chest.”

She ignored him and ran her fingers over Tavis’s marks. “His brother’s keeper will find his heart, and together they will put the past to rest.”

“That’s what his marks say?” Faelan asked.

Tavis touched his chest. “No one can read battle marks.”

“Bree’s not normal.”

“You have a way of making that sound like an insult.”

“Special, you’re very special. And not normal. If you’d just stop being so reckless.”

“We’re not here to discuss my recklessness. Tavis needs our help.”

“I don’t want a bloody mate mark.”

“You don’t want Anna?” Faelan asked.

Tavis ran a hand through his hair. “I didn’t say that.”

“You don’t want your child?” Bree asked.

“Aye, I want my child. Damnation. I don’t know what I want.”

“Sleep.” Bree pulled his shirt together and patted his chest. “Everything makes more sense with a good night’s sleep.

He didn’t go to sleep. He walked to Ronan’s door and knocked.

Ronan opened the door, his eyes groggy.

“Anna’s not going to Montana.”