Scorch: M/M Gay Shifter Mpreg Romance (Dragon's Destiny: Fated Mates Book 2) by Wolf Specter, Angel Knots Page A

best two weeks of my life. I knew I was inexperienced when it came to men, but my feelings for Maks felt so real—no matter how many times I reminded myself that I barely knew the man. Hearing Ty say that we were “meant to be” resonated with the unwarranted conviction inside me that it was true.
    Maks felt like my destiny, even though that wasn’t an idea I’d ever believed in before… and even if I didn’t see how it could be, given my promises to Sarah.
    “I do feel it,” I admitted, pushing my glasses higher on my nose with a nervous laugh. I didn’t know Ty at all, but it felt good to say it out loud to someone. “But it’s not that simple. And—” I forced the last words out past a painful lump in my throat. “—I don’t expect someone like Maks to wait around while I figure it out.”
    “I don’t think you need to worry about that,” Ty said, his lip quirking up in a little half-smile. “Trust me. You don’t ever need to doubt him.”
    “How can you be so sure?” I asked, desperately wanting it to be true. Ty seemed to know a lot about Maks, and I wasn’t above pumping him for information. Even if it did make me feel a bit like an infatuated teenager. “Does he, um, talk about me?”
    Ty laughed again, sitting back down on the couch and pulling a tired Elise onto his lap. The little girl settled comfortably against him and rested a sleepy head against his shoulder, playing with the zipper on his jacket as her eyes started to drift closed. “Dude, believe me. You have no idea. That man is all about you. But seriously, Dev, what’s the deal with Sarah?”
    “He married me so Holly and I would have health insurance,” she said, rubbing a hand across her baby bump as she walked back into the room. “Along with a place to live.”
    “Sarah!”
    “Calm down, Dev,” she said, sitting across from Ty on the loveseat. “I don’t think he’s going to run and tell the health insurance police. And besides, Ty is on my side, right?” She directed the last part toward the man in question, cocking an eyebrow at him.
    “What’s your side?” Ty asked her cautiously.
    “I want Dev to be happy, and Maks seems to make him happy,” Sarah said, smiling. “He’s my best friend, Ty. It was always the three of us—me, Dev, and Luke. Luke and I were together…” she swallowed, letting her voice trail off.
    I hated seeing her upset, and a part of me wanted to stop her from telling this stranger her personal business, but of course it was her choice. Her story to tell. I missed Luke too, though, and when I sat next to her on the loveseat, reaching for her hand was a comfort to both of us.
    She gave me a grateful squeeze, then went on. “Luke was Holly’s father, and the father of this one, too.” She patted her belly. She was about four months pregnant—sweetly rounded, but not huge yet. She was due at the end of August. “I was still in high school when I had Holly, and neither one of our families were happy with our choice to keep her. Luke and I ended up getting a place together because, well, staying at home wasn’t an option for either of us at that point. He was working three different jobs to try to make it work, but it felt like we were always getting behind. And then when I got pregnant again…” she paused, frowning.
    I knew that neither pregnancy had been planned, and even though both Luke and Sarah loved Holly and had been genuinely excited about the new baby, too, having the sudden responsibilities of parenthood and adult life thrust upon them at such a young age had been hard on them. Neither of their families had helped, and even though the three of us had been close friends, Luke hadn’t wanted to accept anything from me, either, even though I could easily afford to give it.
    “Luke heard about this job,” Sarah continued telling Ty. “It was up in Alaska, on a fishing boat. It was crazy money. Like, really good pay, and no experience required. But it meant he’d be gone