Chapter 25 Oops
OOPS
The front door was open when Titan reached the cabin. Hamilton stood aside as Titan shrugged off the blanket around his shoulders.
“I called as soon as it happened,” Hamilton said with a frown.
“Thanks,” Titan said gratefully. He followed the sounds of retching to the bathroom, where Mathlin was hunched over the toilet. “Sweetheart?”
“Maybe I ate something wrong,” Mathlin said. “But Hamilton opened a pack of apple gummies and the smell was just terrible.”
Titan glanced at Hamilton, who shrugged.
“Smelled fine to me,” Hamilton said.
Titan crouched next to Mathlin, nuzzling his shoulder. “Are you going to yell at me if I rub your back?”
“Leave your arm alone!” Mathlin growled, his voice deepening by a notch.
Smaller cats weren’t supposed to do that. Titan eyed his omega, angling himself so he could stroke Mathlin with his left hand. He buried his nose in Mathlin’s neck and inhaled deeply.
Past Mathlin’s linen scent, past the scents of sweat and puke, there lingered the same sweetness he had found earlier.
“You don’t smell ill,” Titan said, confused.
Mathlin retched again. Titan’s chest ached. His omega seemed so uncomfortable.
After a while, Mathlin flushed the toilet and stood. Titan grabbed the water glass off the counter and filled it, ignoring the stab of pain through his arm.
“Titan!” Mathlin scowled. “You need to let your arm rest.”
“I want to be a good alpha,” Titan growled back. “And that means not standing around, watching you do everything on your own.”
“Alphas,” Ottis said drily in the next room. Titan could almost hear him rolling his eyes.
“You can do more when your arm is healed,” Mathlin grumbled.
“But that’s next week, when you’re done healing the broken bones.
” After that, it was only a matter of time before Mathlin finished healing Titan’s bicep.
What would happen after that? Would Mathlin leave?
They had briefly talked about Mathlin sticking around after the contract was up, but Mathlin hadn’t officially agreed to it.
His stomach tightened. How do I convince him to stay?
Then it struck him: the courtship. If it worked, then maybe Mathlin would have a reason to stick around. Titan swallowed nervously.
Mathlin rinsed out his mouth. When he turned to dry off his face, he scowled at Titan again.
“Math, tell me what I’m allowed to do,” Titan pleaded.
“Or—I have an idea. Let me use my right arm a little. My bicep is already fucked, anyway, and you’re planning to reopen the wound to make it heal right.
” When Mathlin continued to scowl, Titan added, more softly, “I just want to make things better for you. It’s really hard to do that without any arms.”
“Fine,” Mathlin said, sighing. He looked less grumpy, though.
“Thank you.” Titan leaned in, pressing a kiss to his forehead. Then he ducked his head lower, stealing a kiss off Mathlin’s lips.
Mathlin turned bright red. “Wh-what was that for? I still smell like puke!”
“For putting up with me,” Titan said, kissing him again. “Let me take you to a doctor.”
Mathlin scowled. “You’re cheating.”
“But it’s working?” Titan said hopefully.
Mathlin didn’t reply, but that was just as telling.
Ottis eyed them speculatively when they stepped out of the bathroom. “So... puking, huh?”
“He doesn’t smell sick,” Titan said.
Ottis raised his eyebrows. He came over and sniffed Mathlin, too. Then he coughed awkwardly.
Like he knew something.
“What?” Titan said uneasily.
“You know... I don’t think Mathlin is sick,” Ottis said slowly.
They stared at him.
“But I just threw up,” Mathlin said.
Hamilton’s eyes grew round. “Ohhh.”
“What is it?” Titan growled.
Ottis looked at Mathlin. “You’re probably pregnant.”
The cabin grew so quiet, all they heard was Jannie’s babbling.
“I what?” Mathlin squeaked.
“He what?” Titan yelped.
Ottis sighed. “Math, you’ve been pregnant before. Does it feel familiar?”
Mathlin spluttered. “But... we used a condom.”
Ottis grimaced. “I don’t want to hear the details of your heat. I’m outta here.”
Titan was barely aware of his brother leaving. Ottis’ words were swirling around in his head, refusing to land.
You’re probably pregnant.
When he looked, he found Mathlin’s belly still flat. He ignored the sharp pain in his bicep and tugged up Mathlin’s shirt, pressing his hand to that lightly-fuzzed skin. It felt the same as it had last week.
“Are you really...?” Titan couldn’t bring himself to finish that sentence.
Mathlin glanced at Titan. Then he looked down at his belly, rubbing it. Their fingers brushed. “I don’t know,” Mathlin said. “Pregnancies can be very different from each other. With Jannie, I kept burping sparks. No sparks with this one.”
“Just a craving for bloody meat,” Titan murmured. “And your skin grew fuzzy.”
Suddenly, things began to make a lot more sense. He stared at Mathlin’s belly again.
Was there really a pup in there? Titan’s pup?
“But we used a condom,” Mathlin said.
Titan rummaged through his hazy memories. “The condom was still full when I took it off,” he said slowly. “But... It didn’t contain three vials of cum.”
How had he not noticed it? With him going into rut so violently, and with Mathlin’s ass clenching tight around him, Titan had come nonstop into his omega. He had to have put four, maybe five, vials’ worth of cum in Mathlin’s body.
But the condom had contained maybe two vials of fluid, if that.
They stared at each other.
“Did my claws prick holes in it?” Mathlin asked, looking horrified. “I kept breaking them when you made me come. I gripped them too tightly. It was hard to control my hands when my eyes were rolling back.”
A satisfied rumble escaped Titan’s chest. “You were writhing on my cock. A lot.”
He wanted to revisit those memories again; Mathlin panting and begging for more, Mathlin moaning and coming on his cock. Except the news was more pressing—more horrifying.
Titan hadn’t even proven to himself that he could support an omega long-term, much less a family.
And now they had a pup on the way?
He panicked a little. “I need to—”
“Titan.” Mathlin grasped Titan’s arms, peering into his eyes. “You don’t have to do anything right this moment.”
“What? But the pup...” Titan glanced at Mathlin’s belly. If Ottis was right, if Mathlin really was pregnant... Then Titan had to start preparing. He had to take responsibility. He had to prove himself—
“You need to take it easy,” Mathlin growled. “I know I agreed to let you use your other arm, but please don’t overdo it. Don’t pop your stitches.”
Titan’s wolf growled. They needed to make everything perfect for their mate; why didn’t Mathlin understand that?
But Mathlin was also the one who had to fix Titan’s injuries when he made them worse. Titan held back his wolf and nodded. “Just let me build you a simple nest. I already have the pillows and blankets.”
Mathlin wavered, chewing his lip. But interest flickered in his eyes; Titan’s instincts rumbled in response.
“Fine,” Mathlin said. “Be careful.”
Titan cheered up. He gave Mathlin a quick nuzzle and slipped out of the bathroom.
The cart was rolling back and forth by the front door, squeaking its wheels noisily. Hamilton was holding it in place.
“It wanted to race in after you,” the shapeshifter said with a grin. “I stopped it and made it wipe its wheels. Figured you didn’t need an audience for all that.”
“Thanks,” Titan said gratefully.
“You brought a cart home?” Mathlin asked.
“I found it stuck on a tree root. It said yes when I offered it a place in my cabin.” For a moment, Titan worried that Mathlin might not agree; Mathlin was living here too, and he had a baby.
But Mathlin’s gaze turned soft, and he came over to pet the cart’s cargo basket.
“Do you have a name?” he asked the cart. The cart gave a wobbly shake, as though it was saying no.
“I hadn’t thought that far,” Titan admitted. “I was out searching for a stroller and—Would you accept this cart as a stroller for Jannie? I know it’s not quite what you were asking, but—”
Mathlin beamed and threw his arms around Titan. “Yes! Thank you.”
“I’m glad.” Titan’s wolf rumbled in his chest. He nudged the cart with his knee. “Thanks, buddy. I appreciate your help.”
The cart flipped its wheels and squeaked.
“What would you like to name it?” Titan asked.
“Wildcart,” Mathlin said. “Like a wildcard, but better!”
Titan laughed. “How about that, Wildcart? You like that name?”
The cart nudged them both and squeaked; Mathlin grinned.
“Welcome to my cabin,” Titan said. “Now, please stay here while I work on Mathlin’s nest.”
Mathlin eyed the pile of pillows in the cart. “I can help.”
“Alphas prove their worth by building nests for their omegas,” Titan said, and froze.
He hadn’t even asked if Mathlin wanted to be his omega.
“Uh. I’ll get back to you about that.” Titan carefully grabbed some pillows with his right arm, then bit into the corner of another pillow and lifted that too. He hurried into his bedroom, dropping his cargo on the far side of the room.
His bedroom wasn’t huge by any means, but he wanted Mathlin’s nest to be inside his cabin and easily defensible. A nest in this corner would allow Titan to be the first thing an intruder came across, even if they were asleep in the middle of the night.
Titan kicked off his shoes and nudged the pillows around with his feet.
He made two more trips to grab the rest of the pillows and blankets, then carefully arranged them so the nest had a soft, fluffy base, with a ring of pillows surrounding the comfy hollow in the middle.
A few blankets went over the pillow wall, holding them down so they wouldn’t move around too much.
This was the simplest nest; it didn’t have anything fancy like toys or entertainment, or even snacks.