Three weeks later Regal helped Harper packed up a selection of books to sell at the convention. Christmas dinner with his parents had been uneventful other than his mother giving them some of his baby clothes.
"Does your mom know something I don't?" Harper asked Regal, and he shrugged.
"She has always pinpointed the next baby to be born into our group. I am sure she is just being hopeful," he'd told her. A week later they found out Harper was expecting their first cub.
"Regal!" Harper called from their bathroom. It was early in the morning, and he wondered what she needed him for. Getting out of bed he tossed on a pair of pajama bottoms and scratched his chest as he walked into the bathroom. He paused when he caught sight of Harper holding a stick in her hand and tears in her eyes.
"What's wrong?" he asked rushing to her side.
"I'm pregnant," she announced and he stared at her in shock. They'd only been together a month and already he was to become a father.
"That is amazing!" He crushed her to his body and kissed her hard on the mouth.
"Thank you for being the mother of our child," he told her once he let her go.
"I didn't think we'd be expecting a baby so quickly," she replied.
"Me either, but I'm not surprised," he answered and kissed her forehead. She leaned into his body and he scooped her up to make love to her in their bed.
Now he was packing away some of the rare books she had duplicates of from George and her grandfather's collections.
"Did you pack the first editions?" Harper asked marching into the back room of her store.
"I am doing that now. Baby please sit down," he begged, wanting her to conserve her strength. She laughed and said,
"I am having a baby. I'm not dying." Bending over, she lifted a box of books and took them out onto the floor. He winced but wisely kept his mouth shut, she was only a month along. After speaking with his mom, he knew they needed to wait until she was at least eight weeks before they could see the doctor and get any testing done. He hoped that by that point they had taken care of Joseph King and his threat to her bookstore.
"Harper," he called and her head popped in the backroom, her blond hair swinging over one shoulder.
"Yeah?" she asked.
"You and Julie finished cataloging your books, right?"
"Yes, why?"
"Did you find anything more rare than the book Poems of the Forest by Gerard Berlin 1st edition?"
"No. I was thinking I should donate the book, anyway. I don't like having it locked away in our home. It makes me feel like I have a forbidden treasure," she replied.
"Do you know how to go about donating the book?" he asked standing and lifting a heavy box full of books.
"Yes. I will look into it after we get back. Is that the last of the books?"
"We need to load up the truck and then we can head out. Who is driving the truck?"
"Julie is going in the truck with Michael her shifter she is hoping will turn into more than a friend. He owns a moving company and was happy to let us use his truck for a low price," she explained. He smiled and took in her petite body, she wore jeans and a flowy top of light blue which brought out her blue eyes. He loved her and couldn't get enough of her.
"Is he staying down there with us for the long weekend?" He needed to know everyone who would handle the books with him. Who knew which men worked for Joseph King and could get to Harper.
"Yes. Don't worry I had a background check done on him," she replied, and he gave her a surprised look.
"I know what you are thinking Regal. You don't trust anyone who comes near the shop. I asked Anders to run a background check on him. He came back clean," she answered. He laughed and pulled her close.
"Of course you would know what I am thinking. Don't overwork yourself please, I know the first trimester is where miscarriages are most likely to occur," he said, kissing her cheek.
"I promise, but I won't stop running my bookshop," she replied.
"All I ask is you ask for help if you are too tired."
"I will." She kissed his lips gently and slipped out of his arms to walk back to the front of the shop. He'd been surprised with the amount of business her shop did, all day he saw people coming in and out of the shop and almost always leaving with a purchase. He was proud of her, she stayed behind the counter and Julie walked around helping people find the books they needed. If Julie couldn't find it she would send them over to Harper and she would look the book up in their system. Regal noticed she seemed more comfortable talking to the women who came in. Julie stepped in when the customer was male. They two had a good system for caring for their customers and he could tell everyone left feeling like they had been heard.
"Regal, are you done with the boxes?" Julie asked, poking her head in the backroom. He smiled, Harper had just been checking on him.
"Just about. I am going to bring the boxes out to the truck. Can you send Michael in and he can help get the boxes in the truck?" he asked.
"Sure thing," she replied and disappeared. A minute later Michael walked in, he had dark brown skin and deep brown eyes. He kept his hair cut close to his scalp and his arms were bulging with muscles.
"Hi I am Regal," he said holding out a hand.
"Michael," he replied.
"Nice to meet you. Can you help get these boxes onto the truck? We also need to put the booth materials in too," Regal explained.
"I think it would be best to put in the booth things and then the books," Michael suggested and Regal nodded.
"You would know best with your moving company," Regal conceded, and Michael gave him a small smile. Regal had been right to compliment his choice. Regal could feel Michael wasn't comfortable around him, he suspected it had to do with him being an alpha. Alphas had a certain authoritative aura around them that made other shifters cautious about offending them. Michael lifted a portion of the booth wall and Regal grabbed the tables. He was impressed with the man's strength, if he had to guess Michael was a bear shifter. The two men worked in silence as they packed the truck, it took them about an hour. The entire time he could feel Harper and Julie watching the two of them and then whispering between each other. He suspected it was about Michael and how Julie could get passed the friend zone.
"Alright ladies we are done," he announced.
"Great," Harper said, and she took one more look around the store before heading out the door. He turned to look at Richard and gave him a warning look. Richard nodded his understanding, he was in charge of the shop and if anything went wrong, it would be his head.
"Julie and Michael are off," Harper said waving to the moving truck as it pulled out of the parking lot.
"Well, let's get going then," he said taking her hand and walking her over to their car.
"Are you sure you can afford to take so much time off?" Harper asked him as they settled in the car.
"I brought my computer with me. I can work from our hotel room. We are flying down and getting a rental car and I have all my programs on my computer," he replied and she nodded. They'd decided to fly down and meet Julie and Michael tomorrow morning to unload the truck at the expo center in Orlando. He hoped they'd be able to stop at a theme park while down there, he loved roller coasters, although with Harper pregnant she couldn't get on any roller coaster. Tapping his fingers on the steering wheel, he drove them to the airport thinking about what they could do during their downtime.
"How long is the convention?" he asked her parking their car in the long-term parking lot.
"It goes from eight in the morning until five in the evening. It starts Friday and ends Sunday. We are allowed to set up tomorrow and can take everything down on Monday," she explained, getting out of the car and grabbing her suitcase.
"We don't fly out until Tuesday morning, that gives us all day Monday to explore Orlando. Did you want to do anything specific?" he asked, taking her hand and walking into the airport.
"I'd like to go to Magic Kingdom," she replied, and he smiled.
"Then we will go on Monday after we've packed the truck and sent Julie and Michael back home," he replied.
"Yes!" She hugged him tightly, and he laughed, placing a kiss on her lips. They made it through check in and to their terminal in record time. He had them sitting in first class, which meant they would board first. Sitting in the uncomfortable airport seats Regal took a look around. So far he hadn't sensed any danger, but he'd been on edge since they left the shop.
"Who comes to the conventions?" he asked to keep himself distracted from a sense of impending doom.
"Many rare book collectors and sellers from around the U.S. This is where I make connections with collectors."
"Meet anyone odd?" he asked. She gave him an unamused look but answered.
"Yes. They are book collectors, so a lot of them spend the majority of their time searching the internet or used bookstores for rare books. The oddest person I think I met was Joseph King, because he wasn't a typical book collector. He wore a three piece suit and is a business tycoon. A lot of the collectors are professors," she explained.
"What books does Joseph King have you look for?" he asked looking around and spotting a mafia goon. Standing behind the man was Joseph King marching over to where they were seated.
"He likes poetry actually," she replied and looked up to see the man they were just talking about take a seat across from them. He was dressed in a black suit, stark white shirt and blood red tie.
"Hello Ms. Talbot," Jospeh said and Regal felt her stiffen up.
"Hello Mr. King," Regal answered for her. He knew she wouldn't be able to speak to him with her shyness.
"I was speaking to Harper," Joseph corrected him and Regal had to fight back a growl.
"And I am her fiancé. Are you on the flight with us to the convention?" he asked, keeping a bored tone to his voice.
"Yes, I am. I am in search of a very rare book," Joseph explained.
"What book? Maybe Harper and I can help," he offered.
"It is called Poems of the Forest by Gerard Berlin. I am told there are only two first editions in the entire world. I would like to add it to my collection and I know one of them is in a museum in Great Britain," he explained. Regal felt Harper gasp next to him, he took her hand and squeezed. He didn't want her to give away that they had the book.
"That is very rare indeed. Shouldn't something that rare be placed in a museum?" he asked, and Joseph's face darkened.
"One is already in a museum, why should both of them be?" he countered.
"Because it is in such a delicate condition that the museums would be the best place to keep them safe," Regal replied.
"Such a waste. I want to be able to read the poems of Gerard Berlin. He was one of the best poets from the nineteen twenties. I heard George Hartford owned a copy. Jace Wolfbane informed me that Harper here was given George's entire collection of books. I want the book Harper and I hope you understand that I am willing to keep things civil, or I can ruin your business and life if I don't get the book. You have the weekend to think over my offer. I am willing to pay a handsome amount for the book and what is inside," Jospeh said and stood, his goons following. Regal waited until they were out of earshot and said,
"Now we know who went after your car and apartment."
"Why does he want the book so badly?" she asked and he gave her a shrug.
"Probably bragging rights. Have you read the book?" he asked. She shook her head.
"No. I've been too afraid of touching it. When we get home, I'll take a look at it. Maybe there is something more to the book than we know. He seemed pretty desperate to get his hands on a book that is so old. If he wanted to read it, he could go to the museum website and read the poems. There must be something special about the physical book," she answered.
"Are there any rumors about the book?" he asked thinking maybe there was a tale that went along with the book.
"I don't know, but I know Agatha May would know. She is going to be at the convention and I can ask her," she said.
"Good idea."
"Now boarding first class," a flight attendant announced, and he stood taking her hand with his.
"Come on, let's get on the plane and away from Joseph King and his goons."
A longer chapter for you to enjoy. I go back to work on Monday, so updates are going to be less frequent. Don't forget to vote and leave me comments!