21. Bea
THREE MONTHS LATER
Cameron hadn't shown his face in months, but we were still on high alert. It would be this way until he was caught, but life didn't stop. I’d given him enough power over me for years, I couldn’t do it anymore.
I had a life here. One I loved. Phoenix was thriving at school and summer break was almost upon us. There was too much going on to let him get in the way.
"Hey, little momma, why don't you let me do that?" Corvin asked from behind me.
"I'm just making an egg, but if you want to make it into a burrito, I wouldn't say no," I smiled at him as I stepped aside, relinquishing the spatula.
"Anything for you and the bean," he said, placing his hand on my baby bump. They were obsessed with it now, touching it as much as they did me.
"Are you excited for the anatomy scan?" I questioned as he took over the cooking.
"I am, but I think we need to let Phoenix come with us. I'm not normally one that would like for a kid to miss school, but she's gonna be a big sister," he said as the others joined us.
"Are you trying to guilt me into letting her go?" I questioned him. "Is that why you took over breakfast?"
"I can't do something nice?" Corvin countered, trying to look innocent and failing. He was saved by the others walking in.
My alpha was usually stoic and a little grumpy, Phoenix and our baby both had him wrapped around their fingers already.
“Go get comfortable,” he ordered. Phoenix and I hid a smile and moved to the table to wait for breakfast.
“He’s bossy in the mornings,” she teased as she pulled her legs up and got comfortable.
"Do you want to go with us to the scan today?" I asked her.
"Yes and no," she admitted. "I do, but I don't want to be in the way, either."
"Oh sweet girl, we might be a little crowded in there, but what's one more person? I didn't want you to miss school but I also want you to be involved if you want to be," I reassured her. She studied me, as if sizing up if I was telling the truth.
"I can go to school after the appointment?" she offered, perking up now.
"I’ll take that deal," I agreed easily. "I think that's a great compromise."
“Don’t worry about the space, either,” Corvin pointed out. “Some packs are huge, they are meant to accommodate all sorts of packs.”
Ezra and Apollo joined us, bringing the both of us orange juice and a kiss for me.
"Did you talk her into it?" Ezra asked as he slid her drink over to her.
"I did," she smirked. The beta gave her a high five. Those two were trouble together.
Apollo just watched the exchange.
"Are you okay down there, big guy?" I asked. It wasn’t normal for him to be so quiet.
"Yes, Goddess, just trying to wrap my head around the fact that we get to see our little miracle today," he admitted, fidgeting with his napkin.
It was strange to see him so quiet and I didn't like it.
I started to get up to go to him when Corvin sat a plate in front of me.
"Eat first. He’s fine,” he said as he kissed the top of my head before moving to his friend.
Corvin placed his hand on his shoulder and Apollo patted it.
"Here I am bringing the room down. Don't get me wrong I'm excited, but this will really make it real," Apollo explained.
I took a bite of my food before pushing the plate toward him. He looked up but scooted back as I rounded the table and dropped into his lap. He cradled me and my growing belly.
"This is life. It’s always changing and it's normal to be nervous," I said, wrapping my arms around him and pulling him closer to me. "Never be ashamed to share your feelings with me."
Apollo didn't say anything as he held me closer. We didn't break apart until my stomach growled.
He shifted me again before pulling my plate closer. "Eat...and drink your water, too."
"You don't have to tell me twice," I said as I took another bite. Lately it felt like I was always starving. Mornings were the worst.
"What time is the appointment?" Phoenix asked. Corvin set her plate of eggs and toast in front of her before answering.
"Nine, we need to leave in about fifteen minutes to get there on time,” he said.
She started to shovel her food in, finishing the whole plate in record time before rushing to her room to get ready.
"I guess she thought my eggs were good?" Corvin joked as he finally sat at the table.
"Nope, she hated them," Ezra teased.
"Water, water, water," Apollo chanted at me. To satisfy him I downed the glass and he refilled it.
I finished the burrito and drank the water before asking, "How much more? This is two glasses already.”
"That should be enough, just remember that you can't go to the bathroom until the tech tells you to," Apollo reminded me. I swear they remembered the doctor’s orders more than I did.
"You three remember this moment when our little angel is crying at two a.m. I expect you to get up with them. If you don't I'll remind you of this torture," I joked as I took another gulp of water.
"As you should, siren," Corvin stated as he picked up our plates and took them to the sink. Ezra was already there waiting to rinse them and place them in the dishwasher. Even after these months together, I was still surprised how easily they fell into routine.
"Everyone, ready?" Phoenix asked when she reappeared with her backpack over one shoulder. She was dressed now and sliding on her shoes.
The smile on her face told me it was the right choice to bring her along. I wanted her to know she was a part of this, that this baby wasn’t going to replace her. Our family was simply growing.
"I am," I said as Ezra helped me up.
"We all are, the anticipation is killing me," he said. "I'm ready to know if Bea is right and it's a girl or not."
"Are we finding out?" Corvin asked as he led the way to their newly acquired SUV.
"Are you crazy?" Apollo countered, opening the passenger door for me. "How will we prepare for the baby if we don't know?"
"I vote that Phoenix is the secret keeper and we do a cute little reveal with our friends," I said, considering it. I wanted to know but this was huge, and I wanted my friends involved somehow.
"We aren't doing anything over the top are we?" Corvin questioned.
"Nah, just cupcakes or something simple. Unless you want just us to find out first. I thought it would be fun to share it with them," I explained once everyone was in the car.
"Whatever makes you happy, Goddess," Apollo said.
They were so good to me, but this was our baby and I wanted us to decide together.
"As sweet as that is, maybe we vote? I want us to figure it out together," I told everyone.
"I vote whatever Bea wants," Ezra said easily.
I couldn't contain the eye roll, but if that’s what they wanted, then who was I to argue?
"I agree," Corvin said. “If that’s okay with you, Phoenix?”
“Are you kidding? Of course!” she squealed, making me laugh. I loved how excited she was about this baby. Though, at times she seemed to close herself off. I think the shadow of her mom was hanging over her still.
"Okay, I'll tell the girls, and Phoenix, you can tell Holt since he'll want to make the cupcakes," I said as we headed towards the hospital.
We were almost there when we saw a firetruck going the other way. All three of my mates tensed, but no one said a word.
I knew that we were all thinking the same thing… was it Cameron?
The ultrasound went well, even if it took a few hours with the appointment I had after. When we finally left, Phoenix was clutching the white envelope like she had the golden ticket.
"Can I open this and call Uncle Holt now?" she asked, her smile wide.
"We just walked out of the doctor's office," Apollo laughed.
"I can't take it, the anticipation is killing me," she pleaded. “Plus, I have school soon. I’ll never make it all day.”
"Let's grab some lunch and take it home. You can go upstairs and call Holt before you go to school," I tried to compromise.
"Fine, but if I die before we get home, that's on you," she teased.
"I mean, I guess you can go to school first..." I joked.
"What? No! I take it back," she pleaded. "Where are we going for lunch?"
"Smooth, real smooth," Apollo laughed.
"Baby says burger and fries with a chocolate shake," I said as I rubbed my belly. We ate before we came, but the scan took a while and I was starving again.
"That we can do," Corvin said, pulling out his phone to order from the app. "Load up and we can head to the diner to grab it before heading back."
"Can we eat in the SUV?" Phoenix asked us, as Ezra helped me into the passenger seat.
"No, I don't want to start that bad habit, if we can help it," I said. “This town is small, it won't be long.”
"Sorry, kiddo, you're out of luck," Ezra said as she slid into the third row.
"It was worth a shot," she commented with a sigh.
"Nice try. If I didn't know better I'd say you're mine," Apollo said as he got in behind Corvin.
"Well, she is now," I reminded him gently.
"I...that's not what I meant," he backpedaled quickly, looking horrified. He’d never say anything to hurt her feelings.
I watched in the rearview mirror as Phoenix placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'm proud that you are one of my fathers."
Apollo beamed at that and my heart was happy that we were starting to act like a real family. Not the scared one we started as, with everything happening so fast.
We were in and out of the diner in minutes, and I was happily drinking my milkshake as we rolled back into Willow Lake.
"Are we there yet?" Phoenix asked for the millionth time.
I was trying not to get irritated but she was about to push me over the edge when the house came into view.
"Yes, we’re here," I said. Of course, she was already unbuckling, earning protests from Corvin.
She barely waited for him to stop before she was pushing the door open.
"Why don't you go call Uncle Holt now? I don't think you'll survive through lunch," I told her once her feet were on the ground.
"You're the best!" she shrieked and ran off ahead of us.
Apollo held out a hand for me as the other two carried in the food. "That was sweet of you, I thought you were going to torture her longer."
"I thought about it but the excitement on her face wore me down. I hope she doesn't forget that once the baby is here and crying," I explained.
"She will, but it'll pass and she'll be annoyed about something new," he said as he guided me through the threshold and there was a scream from Phoenix's room. “She’s a teenager.”
"I think she's happy with what the baby is," Ezra said as they started to unpack lunch and pulled out plates.
"That's what I'm going with," Apollo said as he separated out the food.
"Sit and we’ll serve you," Corvin offered with a smile.
"Spoil me too much and you might regret it," I sang out, but secretly I loved how sweet they were to me.
"Never," the three of them said at the same time. They meant it, too.