Chapter 65
Chapter Sixty-Five
Welcome to the Family Circus
Mal
“You can’t carry me everywhere,” I tease Todd as he carries me into the kitchen.
He snorts. “And why the hell not?”
“Because it’d look weird walking through the grocery store like this. Besides, who’d push the cart?”
He nuzzles my nose with his before carefully setting me on my feet. “Let me have this, okay?” But he’s smiling, so I know I didn’t hurt his feelings. “No, I won’t carry you everywhere, but right now I want to spoil you rotten.”
“You cooking steaks for me will spoil me rotten, you know.” I’m absolutely starving.
I’m hungrier now than I’ve ever felt in my entire life.
I know part of it’s due to missing lunch—and the reason I missed lunch—and I don’t know if the rest of it is from being pregnant or not, but I hope this evens out quickly or I’ll be plowing my way through an entire cow all by myself every week.
After we finish dinner, Todd sends me to the bedroom to relax and won’t let me help with the dishes, but he says he also has some work phone calls to make.
I drop all my clothes on the floor and climb under the sheets, deeply inhaling his scent.
My mate.
My baby daddy.
I turn on the TV and pull one of his pillows into my arms and curl up around that. Next thing I know, I feel a stabbing pain in my stomach. When I roll onto my back, my abdomen is distended and it looks like there’s something inside me trying to…well, get out.
Pain rakes through me. I can see what looks like something poking from inside, sliding back and forth, and as my flesh bursts open, a small pair of antlers—
“Mal, wake up!”
I sit up, my screams dying in my throat. The room’s dark. Todd sits up next to me and pulls me into his arms.
“Shh, it’s okay, baby. It was only a nightmare.”
Even as I cling to him with one arm, my other hand snakes between us, and I run it all over my stomach.
Nope, still flat.
And not, you know, sliced open.
I sob, relieved, and let him hold me as I get it out of my system.
His chin rubs the top of my head. “It’s okay, baby. Doc said nightmares are normal. Especially considering what we’re going through. She also warned me there might be some after-effects from what Shawn dosed you with.”
I look up into his face, finally realizing the room is dark except for a dim sliver of light visible through the bedroom doorway from somewhere down the hall.
“When did you talk to her?”
“I called her after dinner. I saw you were asleep and didn’t want to wake you up. I had a few more questions for her.”
“Like what?”
“Well, you’ll be happy to know she agrees I can’t just carry you around everywhere.”
I burst out laughing at his playful smirk. “No, seriously, what did you ask her?”
“The same thing I’m sure most first-time fathers ask.
I wanted to make sure I didn’t mishear, or flat-out miss, anything she told us earlier.
She also cautioned me you may show sooner than a regular human, or a female shifter.
Omega fathers tend to have somewhat shorter terms, especially if the other father is a full shifter. ”
“What’s it mean, though?”
He lays his hand over mine on my stomach.
“You might deliver as early as six or seven months, and the baby will be perfectly fine. She said it’s too soon to tell.
Once she can start tracking the baby’s development with scans, she’ll start measuring and give us an idea.
” He smirks again. “Not like there’s any doubt about the date of conception. ”
I lean against him and close my eyes. “What time is it?”
“After midnight. I came to bed a while ago and didn’t want to wake you.” He kisses the top of my head. “I’ve already told everyone I’m taking the next four days off and giving them double overtime pay for working extra.”
“You don’t have to do that. I’ll be okay.”
He gently tips my chin back so I’m looking him in the eyes. “But I won’t. Be okay, I mean. I want at least one damned ‘normal’ thing for us. Humor me, huh? Besides, I’m moving all your stuff in here in the morning, and then you and I are going shopping.”
“I told you, I don’t want to buy baby stuff—”
“Groceries.” He arches an eyebrow at me. “And wedding rings. And we need a marriage certificate.”
I bite back the overwhelming rage filling me.
Not at Todd—at my father.
“We can’t,” I remind him. “If my name pops up anywhere official, they’ll be able to track me. There’s already enough going on here. We don’t need my father’s men showing up here, too.”
Although if he really is behind all the other bullshit, bringing him to us to take care of could solve everything in one swoop.
But I hate the disappointment in his eyes. “Ah. True.” He sighs. “Still, wedding rings. And groceries. Looots of groceries.”
“Aren’t we pretty well stocked up?”
“Well, one of the other calls I made was to Mom. She and Caleb are coming over tomorrow for a late lunch.”
The bottom drops out of my stomach. “Your parents?” I whisper.
He snorts. “That’s what fills you with terror? Meeting my parents?”
“I-I mean… I just…” I swallow hard. “I’ve never met someone’s parents before,” I quietly admit. “I never had a relationship before. Nothing…permanent.” I didn’t count Lana Chastain’s parents because a) I’d already known them, and b) it was a fake relationship.
He smiles. “I didn’t tell her what’s going on, but she is my mom, and she immediately started playing twenty questions with me despite not answering her. I have a feeling you’ll be heavily ‘mommed’ tomorrow as soon as she walks in the door and meets you.”
“If she likes me.”
“Hey!” He grabs me. “I’m not fond of laying down relationship rules beyond no lying or cheating, but this is a rule, okay?
Stop putting yourself down. Easier said than done, I know, but your father’s an asshole.
Mom and Caleb—Dad—will love you, as will my brothers.
They’re working and can’t come over until dinner tomorrow night—oh, yeah, we’re having them over for dinner tomorrow night, too—but you just gained a family.
I don’t mean only my family, but the pack.
And stop with the ‘but I’m not initiated’ BS, because Jax himself told you not to worry about it.
You aren’t the first person to have their initiation process delayed or changed around for some reason.
The important thing is you’re safe, you’re pack—”
He pulls me in and kisses me, “And you’re mine,” he growls.
I…
Well, I melt. And if it wasn’t for the prohibition against sex I’d be riding him like a rented pony.
“Why not just have them all come together?” I ask when he finally stops kissing me.
“Because I know you’ll be overwhelmed as it is, and I wanted to ease you in one step at a time.
Besides, my brothers are working. There’s a good chance Mom will stay behind when Dad leaves, because he’s supposed to be helping someone with a roof repair later this afternoon.
Either I or one of my brothers can run her home after dinner.
Fair warning, she’ll probably have your baby shower all planned before Dad even leaves. ”
He stretches out again and tucks me against his side. “Let’s go back to sleep, baby. We don’t have to get up with an alarm in the morning.”
At least I didn’t have another nightmare. Maybe we didn’t have to get up with an alarm, but out of habit Todd and I both awaken not long after dawn, and neither of us can go back to sleep.
And since I’m not supposed to have sex—and he’s being overly cautious and won’t even let me give him a blowjob—we get up and shower together and cook breakfast. While we eat he’s making a shopping list on his phone.
“You don’t think your mom suspects anything?” I ask.
“Oh, she absolutely expects something already. And be prepared for her to crow she knew something good had happened.”
I bite back a sad thought, but not before Todd spots whatever look I have on my face that gives it away.
“Tell me,” he gently says.
I force myself to blink back tears. “I wish my mom was here. Mom and I didn’t have trouble when it was just the two of us and Dad and my asshole brothers weren’t around. She laughed and smiled and we had fun.” I sniffle. “Did I tell you what she did the last time I was dragged back?”
He shakes his head.
“She made me grilled cheese sandwiches. My favorite. And had three bottles of Tullamore D.E.W. waiting for me. Also my favorite. I know that doesn’t sound like a lot, but it meant a lot to me because it meant she was bucking my dad the only way she could to take care of me without making him mad.
“And even though she knew it was a risk, she drove me back to go get my bike, because the fucker didn’t get it when he grabbed me.”
I sniffle again, because damn, I miss Mom.
“She knew I was leaving even though I told her I was going ‘camping.’ I was afraid to tell her the truth. Not because I worried she’d rat me out, but because I wanted her to be able to tell the truth about what I said, just in case, you know?
Then she handed me $5k in cash, and I wonder if it was from a secret stash of her own escape money. ”
He reaches out and lays his hand on mine, gently squeezing. “I’ll talk to Jax, okay? Maybe once all this other stuff is dealt with, we can try to rescue your mom.”
“I think she’d be too scared to leave him. I just hope to hell he doesn’t win the fucking election.”
He squeezes again. “Well, again, depending on what happens, maybe her freedom won’t be because she leaves him. Maybe she’ll be burying him.”
I snort. “I am never that lucky.”
Todd
Yeah, but going by my life so far, I think I might have enough luck for both of us.
My first planned stop of the morning is a jewelry store run by a packmate, Thekla. Mal chokes when he sees some of the prices of the wedding bands I really like. I finally open my banking app on my phone, log in, and show him my current balance just in my “personal” account.