Entangled

Chapter 25

Sasha's spent enough time in Seth's house that she knows it almost as well as she knows her own. Becky's tweaked a few things during her pregnancy to make things easier for herself, but otherwise Sasha could probably walk around the place blindfolded. Now that she, Becky, and Seth are about to welcome four of their closest friends and co-workers and reveal their secret, however, Seth's home isn't feeling like quite the haven it usually does. "Maybe we should go out instead," she suggests as she braids Becky's hair. "Like for a picnic or something. The fresh air would be good for the baby and then we could find a safe spot to shift and show everyone...."

"Are you going to find me a bunch of spots to pee too?" Becky asks, squirming in her chair. The baby's gained a little more weight now and apparently his favourite pillow—or alternately, punching bag—is Becky's bladder. She was already spending most of her time at Seth's, but now even getting her to her doctor's appointments without having to make a few bathroom stops along the way is rare.

"Stop worrying, Sasha. Everything will be fine." Seth may sound confident, but Sasha can feel the stiffness in his muscles when he leans down to kiss her. "I've got the gaming room downstairs all cleared out, so I won't break anything when I shift—"

"But what if you freak out?" Sasha sets Becky's half-finished braid down before turning to meet Seth's gaze. "What if one of them freaks out? You'll feel penned in and—" She starts to take a deep breath just as Seth kisses her again, and between that and Becky's hand squeezing hers, Sasha feels some of her tension ease. "I know we need to show them. Otherwise it'll all sound like a big prank or something. But I'm just worried that something's going to go wrong, and...."

Becky presses her forehead to Sasha's hand, and it makes Sasha miss Becky's wolf form that much more. "And you're worried because obviously I'm in no condition to help," Becky adds, twisting around enough in her seat to show her bulging bump, "which means you're the only other wolf left able to shift, right?"

Sasha nods. "I know I could shift instead, but then that just puts those worries on Seth. Plus he's better at the quick wolf-and-back shifts than I am." They all possess the ability to shift at will and then return to human form quickly, but it's exceptionally draining and they don't want to leave Becky unprotected in case any of their friends react badly.

"Only out of necessity." Seth grimaces. "You don't want to know how many times I had to shift back in a hurry so no one saw me." Then he goes over to Becky and sits beside her. "It's your call. If you want to change things or scrap the whole idea, we can."

Becky shakes her head. "No. You can't put it all on me. It affects all of us. If it was just about the pregnancy, maybe, but you two are just as much a part of the pack as I am. I'm fine with telling them. I want to tell them—"

Tears fill Sasha's eyes as Becky trails off. She knows it's a bittersweet moment for her friend because of Charlotte, but none of them want to dwell on that. "Then we'll tell them," Sasha says firmly, taking a deep breath and wiping her eyes before grabbing Becky's braid again. "And Seth will shift in the house and we'll all do our best to keep things on track."

Seth laughs at that. "Is there a track for this sort of thing? Maybe we should have been looking for How to Tell Your Friends You're a Werewolf instead of a bunch of baby name books."

"Hey!" When Becky tries to turn and face him, Sasha holds tight to her braid. "Sorry, sorry. But baby name books are fun. If I ever change wrestling names, now I have lots of resources for picking out a new name."

Sasha chuckles softly to herself as she weaves Becky's hair into a braid. There's another obvious reason: Becky will, at some point, want more children. It won't be any time soon: this baby, as deeply loved as he already is, wasn't planned and Becky will definitely be more careful in the future. It may not be with Seth, or even another werewolf. But Sasha knows how important family is to Becky—both the family she has and the one she wants to create. "You mean you aren't going to dust off Quin Chulainn?" Then Sasha wrinkles her nose. "Don't tell me how bad I mangled that."