Long Shadows: The Lycanthropy Files, Book 2 Read Online Free PDF Page A

that, whereas before she’d had trouble filling out a B-cup, her chest had become rounder and more voluptuous as well. I counted backwards—we hadn’t hunted together for a few weeks.
    She grinned. “I was going to call you soon, anyway. As you’ve probably guessed, I’m pregnant.”
    “Leo’s?” I asked, and then mentally smacked myself. “Of course it’s his.”
    “Yep. Apparently coming off a long period of celibacy is good for fertility. Or having one’s primitive impulses geared up regularly. We’re still studying it.”
    I couldn’t help it, I had to hug her. “Congratulations!” Anger and jealousy fought with the new overwhelming urge to protect her.
    She hugged back fiercely. “Won’t you come in? I had an appointment, but I can change it.”
    “Is it an obstetrician appointment? I don’t want to keep you from those. They’re important.”
    She shook her head. “Haircut.” She fingered her dark curls, which had grown past shoulder-length. Another change—she’d always kept it short. “But I’m on the fence about it, so this will give me an excuse to waffle some more.”
    I followed her through the white marble foyer—now cool from the door having been open—and into the living room.
    “Have a seat, and I’ll call the salon about the appointment. Would you like anything to drink?
    “Water would be great.”
    She fetched a glass of water for me from the kitchen and went in another room to make her phone call. I looked around. I hadn’t been in the house before, but I guessed she had redecorated because there was nothing I could see that reminded me of Peter. He and his brother Leo had always been like night and day. I had imagined Peter’s place decorated in antiques, or at least reproductions his toddler wouldn’t destroy. The house had an interesting mix of modern pieces, bold colors, and a few details that made me smile, like the wine barrel end table. A large bank of floor-to-ceiling windows led to a back patio on the ground floor. The view was of the forest, the trees a lacework of naked limbs with hints of dark greens where the pines peeked through.
    “It looks like your grandfather’s place,” I said when she returned with a cobalt-blue mug, a string and tag hanging over its side. The floor plan was open and spacious, but she’d added touches like a sea chest, the original of which had burned with Wolfsbane Manor.
    “Yes, I’ve been collecting things that remind me of him. Leo and I have talked about it, and we want the new Manor to be a mix of us and him—a place where the whole pack will feel comfortable. When it’s finished and we move back up there, we’ll take this stuff and keep the original furniture in storage or offer it as an option when we sell or rent this place.”
    She waved me to a brown microfiber sofa. I saw Leo in its clean lines and her in the autumn-colored throw pillows.  
    “You’re doing a great job. I can see you and him and your grandfather all here in the furniture. You’re adorable, by the way.” I gestured to her little poof of a tummy, and the questions all females have to ask came tripping off my tongue in spite of my wanting to clear the air before getting into the details of our lives. “How far along are you? What’s the due date? Do you know the gender?”
    She just shook her head. “It’s funny how the instincts take over, isn’t it? You get to answer my questions first since you just showed up out of nowhere.” She blinked at the tears that threatened her. “Sorry, pregnancy hormones.”
    “That’s all right.” I smiled. “All I can say is I’m sorry for my harsh words. I should have kept my tongue and feelings in check. It’s not your fault I got changed, and you lost so much more.”
    “There’s no point in arguing over who lost more or didn’t,” she said. “It’s a useless conversation. And you were going through a lot physically and emotionally.”
    “I still shouldn’t have been such a bitch to you,”