“I’m sure. Thanks, Greg.”
He nodded, and she turned to go find the first two winners of the night. He probably thought she was crazy for not keeping a take. But she didn’t need the money, especially after they found her uncle’s stash, so she saw no need to keep a cut like Jerry had. Besides, the fighters were the ones who truly earned it.
Walking back to the Rocky River fighters with Seth and Jax’s earnings, she tripped over a beer bottle and dropped the bag. Muttering, she leaned down to pick it up, pausing when the noise from the barn died down as more people left and she could hear what the fighters were talking about. She never intended to eavesdrop, but she couldn’t seem get her feet to move.
“You were in beast mode tonight,” Ian said.
“I did okay,” Seth replied humbly.
“You did fucking amazing,” Cammie insisted. “I heard what that dickhead was saying, and you didn’t let it get into your head. You kept your cool, and controlled your animal. I don’t know if he was taunting you during this fight, but I know he had to want to end Zane for talking about your mate like that. But you didn’t let the urge overpower you. You were so precise, so focused. I’m so damn proud of you, Seth.”
Seth cleared his throat, and just from that sound, she could tell he was uncomfortable with the praise. “I only did what any of you would have done. I couldn’t shift and tear him apart in front of humans, but I’ll admit, it was hard not to. My animal still wants to.”
Amelia was frozen, unable to move even a muscle as a dull roar in her ears drowned out anything else that was said. So it was true. Her uncle hadn’t been delirious. The Rocky River fighters really did have animals inside them. This was unbelievable, and the moment felt surreal. Testing it, she reached a hand up and pinched her arm hard, wincing at the resulting pain. Okay, so this was real. But despite almost expecting to learn eventually that it was true, it was still hard to take in.
She waited for her scientific mind to burst with questions, but it didn’t happen. All she could think about was how Seth could turn into an animal. The man she had so many strong feelings for wasn’t human. The man she thought she was falling in love with—
Falling in love with? Shit. Uncomfortable with the direction her thoughts were going in, and hating that she’d eavesdropped, Amelia shuffled her feet loudly in the dirt, and though Greg already left, she raised her voice and said, “Thanks, Greg. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
The fighters went silent and, forcing a smile, she walked into view like she didn’t have a care in the world. “Hey guys! Seth and Jax, I have your winnings.”
Opening the bag, she reached in and withdrew each fighter’s cut, handed it over. Thanking her, Jax headed back to his stall to change, Ian following to do the same.
“We’d better get going,” Alex said, watching as Cammie stifled a yawn. “Cammie gets tired easily these days.”
Cammie began to protest, but a huge yawn broke free, stopping her. “I hate to admit it, but he’s right. We’ll see you guys later. Congratulations again, Seth. I really am proud of you,” she said, leaning up to kiss Seth on the cheek.
They watched in silence as Alex and Cammie left, Alex’s arm around her as she rested her head on his shoulder.
“Is Cammie sick or something?” Amelia asked in concern.
“She’ll be just fine in about seven months, give or take,” he replied, turning to face her. He took in the confusion on her face and smiled as he closed the distance between them, taking her hands in his. “She’s pregnant.”
“Ohhhhh,” she drawled. “I haven’t been around any pregnant women before, so I don’t recognize the signs. Wait, she was in the bar the other night. Should pregnant women be in bars?”
Reeling her in with a chuckle, he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tight to his chest. “She wasn’t drinking, and smoking isn’t allowed in Cocky Pete’s anymore. It was no different than being at someone’s house while they had a few drinks.”
“Ahhh, I got it,” she replied, snuggling deeper into his arms.
They stood like that for a long moment, finally pulling apart when Ian and Jax approached, though Seth didn’t let go of her completely.
“We’re heading out now. You coming or staying?” Ian asked.
Seth looked at her, hesitating, so she said, “I can take you home later, if you’d like to stay with me. I have leftover lasagna, and we never did get to those cookies.”
“I ate earlier, but there’s no way I can pass up those cookies another night,” Seth replied with a twinkle in his eye. The fighters said their goodbyes, and Seth hesitated. “There’s something I need to do, but I shouldn’t take long. Why don’t you head to the house? I’ll join you soon.”
“Okay,” she said softly. “Be careful. I wouldn’t put it past Zane to jump you when you’re not looking,” she said jokingly, but really, from the look in Zane’s eyes after the fight, she wouldn’t be surprised if he did it.
“I’ll keep an eye out,” he assured her, leaning down to give her a long kiss before pulling back.
“See you soon,” she said breathlessly, smiling when he winked at her.
Turning, she made her way out of the barn, her smile slowly fading, the guilt from eavesdropping swamping her and warring with her shock over finding out the truth. She felt confused and jumbled up inside, especially since learning that he was a shifter didn’t inspire what she thought it would. She decided last night that she was going to let her research go, even if they never slept together. The scientist in her had still longed to know, but the woman in her said this was wrong, all wrong.
And now that part of her, the scientist she’d spent so long cultivating, was shockingly quiet, leaving just the woman in her to react. But she didn’t know how. She was a scientist first and foremost, and a human with emotions second. A very distant second. But the emotional side of her became stronger with every passing moment since meeting Seth, and with it, came the awareness that by trying to get close to him just so she could learn their secrets, she was doing something very wrong.