Chapter 15 #2
“Just because he is having pregnancy sickness, that doesn’t mean he’s going to have a difficult pregnancy. I’ll have to share the books that Charlie and I picked up. You and Duncan could probably benefit from them.” Silver gestured to his truck. “Get in.”
I climbed up into his truck, and in moments, we were on our way toward the zoo. “Thanks for taking me,” I told him.
Sliver glanced at me. “Anytime. You would do the same for me, and we both know it. If you leave your keys with me, we’ll make sure your truck gets dropped off at your place later.”
“Thanks again. I didn’t even think about that either. I’m just so worried about Duncan.”
Silver smiled over at me. “That tends to happen when we meet and fall in love with our mates.”
I stared at Silver for several moments before absently nodding.
Love. We’d not shared those words with one another.
I knew that most likely, that was what I felt for Duncan.
I had even told him I was going to fall hard and fast. Well, I had.
He was my mate, and despite him believing he didn’t bring much to the relationship, I disagreed with him.
He was amazing, and I knew it. How could I not fall for him?
He was so sweet and caring. He was always worried about being too much, but he didn’t quite understand just how ready for him I was.
How much I’d prepared to have a mate and family.
“You’ve gone quiet.”
I smiled over at Silver. “I’m thinking about everything. If Duncan is pregnant, it’s possible he could have the baby by the end of the year. Early next year is more likely, but just the thought of a tiny version of my mate brings happiness.”
“What if the baby is a mini-you?”
I scowled. “I want a mini-Duncan.”
Silver chuckled. “You don’t get to choose that, you know.”
I shrugged. I didn’t care exactly, but I really wanted a mini version of my mate.
He or she would be so adorable. And the thought of having a tiny little red panda around made my gorilla very happy.
He wanted to carry the baby around and protect both the panda that we loved and the one we created together.
“You’re doing it again.”
“I can’t help it. The thought of Duncan being pregnant changes things. We knew it was a possibility since we didn’t try to prevent it. When he showed no signs at all, I had assumed that he didn’t catch and wasn’t pregnant.”
“I think it’s probably safe to say that if one of our mates is an omega and has a heat and we don’t wear a condom or he isn’t on something to prevent pregnancy, we’re going to end up with a new addition to our family.”
“I’d say that’s probably safe. You said Charlie never even had a heat.”
Silver shook his head. “If he did, it wasn’t anything that was overly noticeable. But we’re fairly active in the bedroom. Even now. Not that I’m going to share more than that.”
I shook my head. “I don’t need to know your bedroom life. It’s obvious that you and Charlie have a strong bond. We all know that’s maintained by being connected. Both mentally as well as physically.” Our bond was there but would suffer if we didn’t work to stay connected to our mates.
“You need to have a talk with Flint,” I said. “I’m not sure if Megan is actually his mate or not. He said he’s incredibly attracted to her, but his gorilla didn’t say anything to him about her.”
Silver sent me a quick look that I felt completely. “Please tell me he’s not acting like that over a woman he only sees as a friend-with-benefits type of attraction.”
“I’m not sure,” I said. “I know that as soon as Duncan got close enough to me, my gorilla was ready to throw him over our shoulder and carry him home.”
“You had an advantage over me with that. I was in the restaurant and surrounded by so many others. I didn’t get a good scent of just Charlie until after our meal.
I knew then for certain that he was mine.
I had a pretty good idea before then, but it wasn’t until we were walking outside that I knew without a doubt. ”
I sighed. “Well, either Flint didn’t get a good scent of Megan, or she simply isn’t his mate. That’s why he was such an ass yesterday. He reached out to her, and apparently, she turned him down.”
“I knew that much,” Silver said. “Did he really say he wasn’t sure about her being his mate or not?”
I sighed. “Yeah. I don’t know what to make of it. I’m more worried about getting to Duncan right now. I love Flint, but my main priority is my mate.”
“Understood,” Silver said. “I’ll make sure he’s talked to once I get back to the office.
” Silver pulled into the zoo’s drive and followed the road that led to the gate.
Once there, he pulled over to the far left and waited in line at the booth.
When it was our turn, he pulled down a card from his visor. They scanned it before handing it back.
“Have a good day,” she said.
“Thanks.”
Silver pulled away from the booth and started the drive into the zoo. When everyone else went right to go into the massive parking lot, Silver went left down another road. The second gate wasn’t far, and there he held out the card again.
“I didn’t think Charlie was here today,” the guy said.
“He’s not,” Silver told him. “But my brother here found his mate with one of the employees here, and he needs to come pick him up because he’s sick. I volunteered to drive him.”
“Understood,” the guy said. “Take care, both of you.”
“We will.” Silver took the card back and slid it into his visor again as he slowly drove forward. It didn’t take long to spot Duncan’s SUV, which was part of the point. That and his favorite color was blue.
“Sweetie? Did you make it out to the SUV?”
“Yes. Are you here?”
“Almost.”
I looked at Silver. “He’s actually in the SUV,” I said as I pointed in the direction where I’d spotted it.
“Really?”
“Yeah. He needed away from the scent of the aquarium.”
“That really doesn’t bode well for him if the scent of his workplace makes him sick.” Silver stopped in front of the SUV, and sure enough, Duncan was sitting in the passenger seat.
“Yeah, well, maybe it means he’ll come work at the office. Or even better, he’ll relax and finally enjoy life a little and just stay home.”
“If you think that’ll make him happy, I’m all for it.”
I looked at Silver before getting out of the truck. “Do you not want the same for Charlie?”
Silver sighed. “I would love for him to stay home, and he’s agreed to do so while the twins are young, but I don’t think he’ll stay home permanently like Ma did.”
I glanced at Duncan before looking back at my brother. “I don’t want Duncan to do anything that makes him unhappy. But it would be nice if he would just enjoy life a little more and stop stressing and worrying about everything for a bit. He’s not had an easy life.”
“Maybe this will help you convince him.”
“Possibly,” I said. “Thanks for the ride.”
“Anytime. I’ll see you later. Just let me know how things are going with your mate.”
“Of course.” I smiled at Silver before I got out of his truck, then went to the driver’s side of the SUV and climbed in. Duncan had it running, and the AC was blasting. I leaned in for a kiss, but he turned his head away.
“I’ve puked three times. You do not want to kiss me. Trust me.”
I smiled but sat back up. “I always want to kiss you,” I told him. “I love you, no matter what. Even when you’ve been puking.”
Duncan’s eyes rounded. “You love me?”
I smiled at my mate as I reached over and placed a hand on his cheek.
“Of course I love you. You’re an amazing person.
I could easily fall in love with you, even if you weren’t my mate.
But you are, and you are such an incredible person.
I’m sorry I haven’t told you those words yet.
I’ll make sure you hear them often from now on. ”
Duncan reached up and placed his hand on mine and tried to smile. “I’m crazy about you, and I think it’s love, but I don’t know what love is. Sorry. I’ve never experienced it before. Anywhere.”
I smiled and rubbed my thumb across his cheek. “It’s all right. You’ll know when you do. And that’s perfectly fine.” I brought Duncan’s hand over to me and kissed the back of it. “Shall we get you home? Silver is going to bring a pregnancy test by later when he drops off my truck.”
Duncan looked like he was about to burst into tears.
“He doesn’t have to. I already peed on two here.
The vet said they’re the same that I would get at the pharmacy.
” Duncan reached into the bag and pulled out a stick.
Right there, bright as possible, were two pink lines.
I stared at it for a moment and then looked up at my mate. He was pregnant. “Ready to be a daddy?”
I reached over and pulled him close. “With you? Absolutely.”