Chapter 45
“Igot you something.” I approached Madison with a wrapped package.
We were a couple of weeks out from Tyler trying to win the award for worst human on the planet—for a second fucking time.
Things had settled down since, and we’d kept things as restful as we could, establishing a rhythm with each other again.
She looked up from her laptop, smiling at me. “What kind of something? Also, you didn’t have to buy me anything.”
“Listen, I’m nothing if not impulsive, and I couldn’t help myself when I saw it.” I slid the package toward her, impatiently watching her open it.
Her burst of giggles told me I’d hit the mark. She immediately stripped off her shirt and tugged the tank top on. I lifted my shirt to reveal the matching one. Hers read Pack Princess with our names emblazoned beneath in alphabetical order. Mine read Pack Prince, also with everyone’s names beneath.
“I got them for everyone.”
Madison laughed again. “Of course you did.”
“I thought it would be perfect to wear to class together.”
“You’re so right.” She glanced down at her laptop. “Is it time to go already?”
“You bet. We’re doing fire dancing today. Hopefully they have aloe on standby.”
Madison worked on the drive over, making sure all of the final details for the opening of the OHI building were checked off the list. That made my task of ensuring she relaxed and had some fun during this process all the more important.
It was wild to think how quickly she had become my whole world. Well, that wasn’t completely accurate. The pack had become my world, but Madison was our center.
I lifted her hand when we parked, kissing the back of it. “Guess what.”
“What?” She blinked at me, tilting her head so her ponytail swished over her shoulder.
“I love you.”
Her mouth dropped open, prompting me to lean in for a kiss.
“You don’t have to say it back.”
No sooner had the words left my mouth did she clutch my cheeks in both hands. “I love you, too.”
“In perfect agreement, then. Good.” I kissed her again. “Let’s go kick ass and not get burned.”
I sprinted around the vehicle and opened her door, scooping her into my arms. She tipped back to grab our bags, holding them on her lap while she giggled the whole way inside.
Scarlett, Farrah, and our classmates were scattered around the stage.
Farrah approached Madison with a scrunchie. “Hair up today for safety.”
“Good plan. I’m rather attached to my hair length.” Maddie twisted her hair into a bun and secured it.
They had several fire extinguishers set out.
We’d practiced all the moves last week, but today we got to actually feel the heat.
Madison’s excitement was visible to anyone who looked as Scarlett led us through more practice with the fire baton.
When our instructor asked for a volunteer, Madison’s hand shot up.
I thought about it myself, but half my enjoyment of these classes was seeing Madison have the time of her life. We never did anything especially complex, but she thrived getting to try new things.
Her eyes gleamed when Scarlett lit each end of the baton after Madison had successfully done her spins without them. If we were bonded already, I would be able to feel every ounce of her elation. Sadly, I would have to settle for watching instead.
She was so fucking cute. My omega flowed through the movements, her cheeks bright pink as she focused, twirling the fire baton with the biggest smile on her face.
If we weren’t in public, I’d have been tempted to take her right there on the stage, but alas, I was pretty sure our classmates wouldn’t appreciate that sort of display. Or maybe they would, who was to say?
I had a whole list of classes in mind, dozens of opportunities for Madison to explore everything she might enjoy.
She should be able to get back into her riding lessons soon, too, with the new hires at Night of Knights settling in.
They were having a harness apparatus installed, too.
Leo was at the arena right now overseeing the set up that would help with training and anyone in lessons afraid of falling.
That had seemed to be the main concern when we looked up if it was safe for her to keep riding.
Leo’s horse was bombproof, but it was better safe than sorry.
The whole class clapped when Madison surrendered the flaming baton and Farrah extinguished each end. Madison skipped over to me, jumping into my arms.
“I did it!”
“You sure fucking did. Looked ridiculously hot doing it, too.”
She laughed, pressing her face to my chest. “I feel all floaty.”
Whether that was from her excitement or a pregnancy symptom finally making itself known, I chose to gather her onto my lap on the mats where we could watch the rest of our classmates give fire spinning a go.
Farrah grabbed us a bottle of water when she noticed us tucked to the side. “Doing okay?”
“A little dizzy,” Madison confessed, “but not too bad.”
“Razi always has dizzy spells at the beginning with her babies. Make sure you rest.”
“I will. Nathan is very good at dragging me away from work.” She leaned deeper into my arms, slowly sipping the water.
Farrah and Scarlett had to stay focused on the class, but once everyone had had their turn and got to play with the fire fans, the two omegas homed in on us as everyone departed to the changing rooms.
The two kneeled in front of us. Farrah spoke. “How are you doing?”
“Better. Thank goodness, because I still have a lot of work left today.”
“What do you do for work?” Scarlett asked.
“She’s the best nest designer in Vegas,” I answered for her, beaming with pride.
“I don’t know about best…”
“I do.”
“Can I see?” Scarlett asked.
I tipped back, my fingers reaching the strap on Madison’s bag sitting at the edge of the stage and pulling it forward. She retrieved her phone and opened the folder containing her portfolio.
Scarlett snatched it. “Holy shit! These are gorgeous. What do I have to do to get you to design my nest?”
“Oh, nothing, I can totally do that.”
“She’s still working on her website and sorting out pricing,” I added.
“I’ve been saving up.” Scarlett nodded, eyes still wide with admiration of Madison’s work. “Since every date has been a dud, I’m not getting a pack anytime soon to make me a nest. Might as well go all out for myself.”
Farrah was peering over her shoulder, flipping through the images. “Girl, do mine, too. I would kill to have something this beautiful.”
Scarlett spotted someone and yelled out, “Get over here and look at this.”
A handful of omegas in comfortable athleisure emerged from stage right, coming to crowd around where we sat. I assumed they were coworkers, since no other classes had been listed here that I could find. They gushed over Madison’s photos.
“Do you think you could do something for us here?” Farrah asked. “The omega break room is in need of a serious refresher. I could ask the big boss what we have for a budget and you could go to town.”
Madison was practically vibrating in my arms. “That would be amazing!”
She collected Farrah and Scarlett’s contact information and made a plan to meet up later to discuss once Farrah had gotten approval from the boss.
When we left there, Madison had a bounce in her step, even if she did cling hard to my arm. She glanced curiously at me when I didn’t take the turn to go home. “Where are we going?”
“Omega clinic to make sure your dizziness is nothing to worry about. I already let the others know.”
“Oh, okay. Yeah, that’s fair.”
She let me take her hand while we drove, and I carried her into the clinic. They took her back almost immediately, where a lovely doctor checked her over and chatted about the pregnancy. The doctor didn’t seem concerned, which let me be chill enough to support Madison.
“Since this is your first appointment after a positive pregnancy test, we can do some quick bloodwork to confirm, and if that’s positive as well, we can take you to the back for an ultrasound if you’d like.”
“You mean we could see the baby today?” Madison grabbed onto my arm. “Nathan, we could see the baby!”
“Indeed we could, but let’s make sure the pack is here for that, too.
” I kissed her, then helped her off the exam table so we could follow the doctor to where a nurse took a blood sample.
Since it would be an hour until the results, I took my omega across the street for a smoothie while we waited.
I kept the others informed while she snuggled on my lap.
Jude was the first to arrive, diving in to kiss Madison, then me, settling at my side and sliding her onto his own lap.
The beta and omega bond wasn’t quite as debilitating in the early days as it was with alphas, which was a relief to everyone. Having each other close was still a necessity, but they could manage an hour or two apart without extraordinary steps being taken.
“You guys really don’t have to worry,” Madison insisted. “I feel better already.”
Leo and Alve stumbled through the doors within a few minutes of Jude, everyone doting on our omega. She thrived under the attention. Her cheeks glowed as she sipped her smoothie and did her best to snuggle into all four of us at once.
The buzz of her phone had all of us on high alert.
“Hello?” She nodded, offering a murmured sound of agreement. “Okay, we’ll be there in a minute. Thank you.”
“Doctor’s office?” Leo asked.
“Yep. Test results are in.”
Alve helped her to her feet, draping his arms around her shoulders. “It’s okay to be nervous, treasure, but we’re all here for you.”
The five of us crossed the street to the clinic, one of the nurses leading us through the rabbit warren of hallways to an empty secondary waiting room. Madison disappeared into a room with the doctor, leaving us in the quiet alcove, lined up on chairs in anticipation of her return.
Nerves rippled through the pack. Even without the bond, I could tell that much. Alve looked like he was on the verge of a panic attack, so I pulled him directly onto my lap, getting my purr going until his shoulders dropped down from his ears.
“Deep breaths for me.”
Alve complied, letting his cheek rest on my head, his grip on my arm slowly easing.
An omega in scrubs peeked out the door. “You can all come in now.”
Relief poured through me. I nudged Alve to his feet, and kept my hand in his as we joined Madison.
She lay on an exam table, dressed in a medical gown, a mile-wide smile on her face.
“Baby confirmed. And the doctor said the dizziness was most likely just low blood sugar based on the test, so I have to snack more often, stay hydrated, and not skip any meals.”
I bent to kiss her, indulging in the sweetness of her mouth, before relinquishing her for the rest of the pack to get in there.
After a moment, the lights were turned low and the ultrasound tech reached below the blanket draped over Madison’s legs.
I unfortunately knew what was under there from my pregnancy research.
Whoever had designed the transvaginal ultrasound wand had to be a bit of a sadist.
Our omega squirmed uncomfortably, but the pinch of her brow was replaced by a look of awe when the heartbeat echoed over the speakers.
Holy shit.
I stared at the screen, seeing the little bean shape that would eventually become a whole person we’d raise into adulthood. Elation and surreality clapped together in a sonic boom that shook my foundations.
“Looks like you’re about six weeks along, maybe closer to seven since we got an audible heartbeat,” the tech told us. “Did you want me to print some of the screenshots?”
“Please.” The word was past my lips before I’d even thought it. I needed to start one of those photo frame collections like kids had for every year of school pictures, but with more to include the ultrasounds and all the birthdays leading up to school. Was it too early to order one?
Fuck it. Never too early to plan for the future. I was going to order one as soon as we got out of here.