Chapter 24
Jackson’s brothers got a look at their new home as the caravan drove through the security gate at Steel’s compound. One by one, each brother parked his vehicle and got out, looks of amazement and wonder on their faces as they saw the size of their new home.
Smirking, Jackson understood completely, remembering how he’d felt when Steel first brought him here for their claiming. While Steel was giving his brothers a quick overview of his land, Jackson suddenly bent over, clutching his belly and throwing up his breakfast while moaning in pain.
Steel was at his side instantly, along with Colton. As his mate started to fall, Steel lifted Jackson up in his arms, rushing inside. Placing him on a sofa, Steel knelt down next to his mate and, holding his hand, asked, “Mo chroí, what’s the matter? Are you in pain?”
Colton put his hand on Steel’s shoulder. “Steel, let me see him.”
Steel felt Colton trying to move him from his mate, but he wasn’t going anywhere. Finally, Cody, Carson, and Dakota managed to shove Steel to the end of the sofa where he could continue to touch Jackson.
Colton knelt down, putting his hand on his brother’s belly and pushing in on different spots.
“Logan, grab my medical bag out of my car for me. Dakota, bring Jackson a glass of water and a cool wet towel.” By this time, Oracle had joined the group and Colton turned to her.
“How long is a Dire Wolf pregnancy? I tried to research it but found nothing.”
She leaned over the back of the sofa, put her hand on Jackson’s belly and answered, “It runs about six months—faster than a human pregnancy because the fetus grows more rapidly. Jackson is about a month into his pregnancy, and…” she said, continuing to examine him, “everything feels as it should.”
“That’s my conclusion,” Colton said, turning to Steel, “has Jackson experienced any morning sickness yet?”
“I don’t know, I don’t think so,” answered Steel.
“Colton,” rasped Jackson. “I can answer your questions.”
Dakota came back into the room with a glass of water and a wet towel at the same time Colton’s medical bag arrived with Logan.
Colton grabbed a thermometer from his bag, sticking it into Jackson’s mouth.
“Don’t talk,” he ordered, taking the water and towel from Dakota.
Removing the thermometer from Jackson’s mouth, he looked at the reading, pronouncing, “Your temperature is normal,” and pushed Jackson down when he tried to sit up.
“First, I need some answers, bro, before I let you get up,” he said.
“Have you vomited since you got pregnant?”
“No, but my stomach felt queasy at breakfast this morning,” answered Jackson.
“Babe, why didn’t you tell me?” Steel asked.
Jackson heard the hurt in his voice. “Because it passed and I didn’t want to worry you about it.”
“But I need to know everything you feel during your pregnancy so I can be prepared, mo chroí, that’s my job,” said Steel.
Jackson knew his mate was right, but damn, it would be hard since he was so used to handling everything by himself.
“I promise from this point on, you’ll know everything, even the unpleasant stuff,” Jackson said, lifting his mate’s hand to his lips and kissing it.
Then he looked at his brother. “So, what’s your diagnosis? ”
Colton smiled. “I think you’ve had what is commonly known as morning sickness but it can happen at any time during the day. Oracle and I agree your pup is fine and all you need to do is take it easy for the rest of the day.”
Steel pushed Jackson down when he started to sit up. Growling, “‘Rest today,’ is what your brother ordered and I will handle everything else. I only want to see you on your feet when you need to use the bathroom and then only with me by your side. Got it?”
Jackson loved it when his mate went all dominant on him in the bedroom but now it seemed he liked it at other times as well. “Got it. Do nothing and bathroom breaks only if you accompany me,” he said, smiling.
“Okay then, good to know you can follow instructions,” smirked Steel.
He stood up and looked at everyone else.
“I’ve assigned all of you bedrooms. After you see them and want to switch with anyone, go ahead.
If there’s a problem with a particular room, let me know.
We’re all in the North Wing on the second floor.
I saved the South Wing for the enforcers,” he said, handing out room assignments.
“Mom and Dad, I gave you a downstairs guest suite with its own sitting room so I hope that’s okay. ”
The brothers studied the map Steel had drawn for finding their bedroom assignments.
“Well, go find your rooms,” commanded Steel.
Watching his brothers excitedly tease each other about who was next to whom, Jackson laughed as a mass of bodies rushed by them in a mad dash to see who got to their bedroom first. Steel’s parents followed more slowly.
Chuckling at the antics of his brothers as they raced to be first to claim their room, he said to Steel, “My brothers will never change when it comes to competitiveness—I think it’s ingrained in their DNA somehow. ”
Steel sat down on the coffee table, giving his mate a sip of water, then cleaned his face with the wet cloth.
His hand reached out to hold Jackson’s while his eyes focused with love on his mate.
“I was scared, mo chroí, when you threw up and were in pain—so scared that something was wrong with you and our pup.”
“I’m sorry,” said Jackson. “I should have told you I was feeling sick at breakfast, but then it went away and I really didn’t want to worry you on a day when you had so many other worries.”
“I understand, but I’m going to insist from now on you let me be the judge of what I want to worry about.”
“Promise,” vowed Jackson.
~/~/~/~/~
It had been a couple of days since Jackson vomited and he soon learned that his morning sickness came like clockwork at lunchtime every day.
Steel had taken to stuffing him with food at dinner, hoping he’d have enough to last him until the next evening.
Other than that, and an over-abundance of concern by his mate about every move he made, Jackson was feeling better except for being tired, probably the aftermath of the move and making a decision about what to do about the Silver Point Pack’s actions.
Today the moving van would arrive and Jackson was looking forward to having his things once more in place around him.
Steel made him promise not to unpack anything; all he had to do was to tell Steel where to put the items in the boxes.
He could certainly get used to this pampering being heaped on him.
Rolling over, he studied his mate while he was sleeping and could not resist licking the side of his beautiful jaw.
Steel stirred, opened one eye, blurrily saw his mate and bestowed on Jackson the most beautiful just-awake smile Jackson had ever seen.
Licking his mate’s lips and pushing in a little, Jackson was trying to make Steel open his mouth so he could thrust his tongue in to scoop up his essence.
Steel rolled over onto his back, dragging Jackson on top of him.
Opening his mouth, he sucked Jackson’s tongue inside his mouth, and ran his hands over his mate’s body, touching every special spot he knew would cause arousal in his mate.
Jackson was moaning as his excitement grew, humping Steel’s cock.
Steel, in turn, reached down between their bodies for Jackson’s cock, stroking it while giving occasional twists below the tip.
Steel could feel the need and passion grow in his mate as he sped up, sucking Jackson’s tongue and matching it to the speed of his hand.
Reaching down between Jackson’s cheeks, he ran his fingertip over the puckered skin of his mate’s hole before pushing in to find his special gland.
Then, Jackson’s body stiffened, yelling Steel’s name as his cock exploded, cum gushing over Steel’s hand and onto his stomach.
Steel gently rolled Jackson on his back, grabbing his t-shirt from the floor to clean them off.
Then, lying next to Jackson, Steel’s hand gravitated to his mate’s belly, covering it as to protect the growing pup from harm.
“You know, I think your belly has a slight rise to it,” murmured Steel, rubbing it gently.
“You think?” Jackson asked, his hand moving down to rest on Steel’s.
“Yup, and I can’t wait to see your belly big and round with our pup,” whispered Steel.
“Yeah, well, I remember how often my mother’s back ached during the last months of her pregnancies, so I’m not sure I’m eager for that,” grumbled Jackson.
“Ahh, mo chroí, I promise to give you a backrub anytime—in addition to something else to make you smile,” crooned Steel, nuzzling Jackson’s neck.
“Oh, and what would that something be?” asked Jackson, coyly.
“You’ll just have to wait and see. Something for you to look forward to,” his mate chuckled. Just then they heard someone knocking on their bedroom door. “Yeah, who is it?” yelled Steel.
“Logan. The moving truck has arrived. Are you coming down or do you want me to handle it?”
Steel looked at Jackson who nodded and then yelled back, “We’ll be down in a few minutes, but go ahead and start, Logan.”
They heard Logan walk down the hall and Steel broke up laughing. “I’ll bet he was unanimously elected to come up here to deliver the news about the truck.”
“Why would you say that?”
“Well, honey, I’m sure they all heard you come and I sure as hell wouldn’t want to be the one disturbing the good time some guys were having,” chuckled Steel.
Jackson’s cheeks heated; he was so out of it when he came, he never even grasped that his brothers and—oh shit—that Steel’s parents also heard him.
Turning and burying his head in Steel’s neck, he mumbled he was never going to show his face downstairs again.
Steel laughed, pulling Jackson into a hug before getting out of bed.
“Come on, get up or I’ll send your brothers up here with your boxes and you can explain why you’re still in bed. ”
“That’s just downright mean,” Jackson pouted, getting out of bed and heading to the bathroom.
Steel called after him, “Well, a person’s just got to do what a person’s got to do.”
Turning, Jackson stuck out his tongue, before scurrying into the bathroom.
Chuckling and following his mate, Steel said, “If you need something to do with that tongue, I know just the thing.”
~/~/~/~/~
The Silver Point Alpha picked up his phone after checking his caller ID, snarling, “You better have good news for me. I got the High Council breathing down my neck.”
“What do they want?” asked Rudy.
“I’m not sure, but I’ve been ducking their calls for over a week. And if it’s anything to do with Fox River, I don’t want to talk to them until after you’ve taken care of the problem. So, what’s the news? Have you found them?”
“Not yet. I’ve checked all the towns south, east, and west of North Ridge and turned up nothing. Me and the boys are heading north next. I’ll find them, boss, because it’s the only place left to search.”
“Make sure you do,” barked Josiah, slamming the receiver down.
He had a fairly good idea why the High Council was calling.
His stupid nephew finally found his cojones and made a complaint.
Well, fuck him! He’d be damned if Jackson was going to keep what rightfully would have been Josiah’s if his brother, Striker, had done the right thing and made him the Alpha after their father died.
But no, his asshole brother had the audacity to tell him he’d forfeited his rights once their father won Josiah’s challenge.
One more week was all he could give Rudy before he had to return the High Council’s call.
~/~/~/~/~
Everything had been unpacked and put away in their bedroom and Jackson was exhausted.
He now thought it was due to his pregnancy but wasn’t sure, which was worrying him.
Turning to his mate who was organizing their clothes in the dresser, he said, “I think we should sit down with your mother and Colton to find out what to expect with this pregnancy.”
Steel stopped, looking at him with a worried expression. “Why, is something wrong?”
“No babe, I’ve wanted to do this for some time and since everyone is settled, I think it’s time.
I know Colton has quite a few questions and while he’s been researching for answers, he told me yesterday he hasn’t had much luck,” replied Jackson.
“He may be the only one here at the time of the birth so he should have all the knowledge he can so I have a healthy pup.”
Steel nodded his assent. “Okay, I also want to ask my mother about a doctor who can be on call for the birth, so how about tomorrow morning, before your morning sickness hits?”
Nodding, Jackson lay down on the bed, falling asleep immediately. Steel looked over at his mate with a frown on his face, worried about how tired Jackson had been lately. Tomorrow, he was going to ask Colton to help him set up a mini hospital in the house just in case his mate needed it.