Chapter 34
TANNER
Not quite right
I was home for a few days and I loved it. It meant that I got to spend quality time with my mate without having to worry about my sleep schedule or making it for my next flight. I both loved and hated my work schedule for years and at this moment, I loved it.
My brothers both had to work today, but I was home and Candrin was still on leave. I had a fun day planned out that began at his favorite coffee shop and ended with a bit of afternoon delight before dinner. There was not much better than that.
Only my mate pulled the covers over his head when Hudson’s alarm went off in the next room and put a pillow over his head when Oberon’s notification decided to join the fun.
I took it as a sign that he needed some extra sleep.
He’d been exhausted lately. I had a feeling everything that had happened finally caught up to him.
I climbed back into bed with him and he snuggled up close, never waking fully. His body knew his mates. I wrapped my arm over his side and held him close as he slept.
It was nearing noon when he finally started to stir.
“Morning.” I kissed his shoulder. “Sleep well?”
He didn’t answer me, instead bolting out of the bed and straight into the bathroom. Every part of me wanted to run to him, to make sure he was okay. But our mate was human and as such, he tended to want more privacy than I was used to.
“Sorry. I thought I was going to be sick.” He padded back over to the bed and climbed in. “Is it time to get up?”
“You’re on leave and I have the day off. It’s time to do whatever we decide.”
“I want to do something fun. Perhaps the air will do me well.” He stretched with a yawn. “Maybe we could try the new food truck alley they opened up for lunch. I bet they have some tasty treats.”
“Weren’t you just feeling unwell?”
“Huh? Yeah I was but now I’m starving.” He shrugged. “Want to shower with me real quick?”
Like I could turn that down, only it was far from “real quick”.
It was nearly an hour later we were finally on our way.
We drove to the community parking lot and walked the short distance to the food trucks.
The town shut down a few of the streets once a week so that stores could have sidewalk sales and local crafters, farmers and bakers could set up a sort of street market.
It was always fun to walk through and was conveniently adjacent to the food.
“What were you thinking of getting?” We walked past each truck, hand in hand, looking at their sandwich boards.
It boggled my mind how much they could accomplish in such a tiny kitchen.
There was everything from pizza to sushi to a truck devoted to grilled cheese.
Each and every truck’s offerings sounded better than the last.
“I don’t know.” He leaned into my side. “I was super hungry and wanting a burger but now that we are here, nothing sounds too good.”
“We can walk around first and check out the other vendors?” I offered. “Maybe there are just too many scents here.” I knew humans didn’t have the same sensitivity to them that we did, but it was pretty intense, especially with the smoker from the BBQ truck going full steam.
“Yeah, maybe.”
We turned around and went over to the market where we wandered from booth to booth and store to store. There were some fun crafters and we ended up buying some bath bombs and a cute phone stand shaped like the three bears in the fairy tale. Candrin thought it was hilarious. Part of me did too.
“I think I just want noodle soup and a nap.” Candrin pointed to a small cafe. “We can do the food trucks another time?”
“Of course, love. I didn’t realize you were still not feeling well. I’d have taken you home long ago.”
“No. I’m not sick. I’m just weird. Like food smells not quite right and I go from starving to not even being peckish.” He sighed. “But noodle soup and a nap really sounds great.”
“Then that’s what we shall do.”
The small cafe was perfect. They had three different kinds of noodle soup, baguettes, and adorable sugar cookies in the shapes of different trees. We ordered far more than we could eat and went home where he asked to go straight upstairs instead of the kitchen or the dining room.
The food was delicious and we climbed into bed and put on a movie we’d both seen already and snuggled in close. I wasn’t sure who fell asleep first, Candrin or me, but I woke up to the sound of the bedroom door closing and Huston standing with Oberon.
“We got home at the same time and thought we’d surprise you, but you surprised us… already in bed?” Oberon winked. “Room for two more?”
“Shh, Candrin is exhausted.” I didn’t want him to wake up before he was ready. “I don’t think he’s feeling well.”
That stole Oberon’s smile from his face. “I’ll fetch a doctor? They do house calls like in the movies, right?”
I wasn’t sure that was true.
“You watch too many movies.” Huston came over and pressed his hand against our mate’s forehead. “He’s not hot.”
“I am too.” Candrin cracked his eyes open, “And you three are loud.”
“We just worry.” Oberon shoved his hands in his front pockets. “We can go and you can sleep some more.”
“I’m up. Let’s do something fun tonight. The three of us.” He sat up and went right back to his pillow. “Or maybe I shouldn’t sit up so fast and make myself dizzy.”
His movements had been normal and not what I’d consider fast. “And I vote we bring you to the doctor now.”
My brothers nodded and after much convincing Candrin agreed. We ended up at an urgent care an hour later as his doctor had gone for the night and didn’t make house calls. That was odd considering Candrin was rich.
The place was crowded and we offered to go with him when they called his name, but the nurse was stern, saying it could only be one of us and Huston went in with our mate.
“This waiting sucks.” Oberon tapped on his phone and then turned it to me. “This is all the things that it could be.”
The list he showed was filled with every scary illness and condition I’d ever heard of beginning with brain cancer.
“And showing me that or even yourself was helpful how?” It was too late, I already had Candrin needing brain surgery running around in my head.
“I have to do something. Why didn’t you bring him in earlier?” My brother just threw it back at me as if I was the one who made our mate unwell.
“When was the last time you were able to convince Candrin to do something he didn’t want to do?” The answer was never. “And he wasn’t sick… he was just different.” Even his scent was not quite his.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean… it’s hard having him in there with doctors getting who knows what done to him.”
“Huston is by his side.” And that gave me a lot of comfort.
It felt like decades before they finally came out with a paper bag in Huston’s hand.
“Outside.” Was all he said and we both followed the two of them to the car, my nerves on edge. What was so bad that they couldn’t talk about it in front of the other patients?
“What did the doctor say?” Oberon asked.
“They said I should expect to be nauseous and tired for a while, but that I need to take those supplements to help with the dizziness. I guess I’m anemic.” He took the bag from Huston and pulled out a bottle. “They say this should help.”
He handed it to me and I read it four times before it registered. “Prenatals?”
Candrin nodded.
“You’re having a baby?” Oberon took the bottle from me and Huston mouthed, “Yes.”
“I am. The doctor said it’s still really early, but I’m for sure pregnant. Are you mad?” He looked at all three of us as he asked.
“How could we be angry?” I said. “This is the most amazing news I’ve ever heard.”
“We’re going to be dads.” Huston hugged our mate.
“We’re going to be dads.” Oberon joined the hug.
“We’re going to be dads.” I wrapped my arms around the three of them.
The joy of his news flooded through my veins. First we found our mate, then we saved him from the cruelty that life had thrown at him, and now… now we were going to start our family. What could be better than that?