Chapter 32
Oh Sh!t, You’re Pregnant!
Devyn
“What time did Duke say he was going to be here?” Heston continued to tear the lettuce leaves for the salad we were making, not looking up at me.
We’d put my mate’s fainting episode down to stress. He’d been so worried about his father’s health, money, the deal with his step-father, finding out I was a shifter and working two jobs. Added to that was what Roy had done, and it was a wonder Heston was still standing.
But we had to deal with Duke and what his involvement was—if any—in Roy’s scheme.
When I first told Heston that Duke had called, he’d been visibly nervous.
I didn’t blame him. After what Roy had pulled, I’d be shocked if he trusted anyone in my family.
Shit, I didn’t really trust them and they were my relatives.
But when I explained that Duke had said he wanted to apologize, that he just heard about what Roy had done, Heston agreed to hear my brother out.
I wasn’t sure that I believed Duke was completely clueless about the situation, but my gut said he wasn’t the villain that Roy was. He’d always followed Roy around like a little puppy. There was no reason to suspect that this was any different.
“He said that he was on his way, so probably about ten minutes or so?” I’d asked him to call when he was leaving because the original time we had set was “after my meeting” which was ambiguous at best.
It had been Heston’s idea to invite him to lunch. He said being here and not someplace public would make the conversation flow better, allow all of us to be more honest, not just about what happened, but also about our feelings. He was right. I mated well.
We hadn’t moved into the new apartment yet but were living in Heston’s place.
Our new temporary or maybe permanent home that Father had given us was on the top floor of a tall building and had a huge terrace with a view of the city.
It was a big step-up from Heston’s old place and also from my tiny apartment.
We hadn’t decided if we’d stay there long-term, but I couldn’t imagine living anywhere else and couldn’t wait to move in.
But if Heston didn’t want to stay there permanently, we wouldn’t. And if his dad hated it, we’d leave.
Maybe I didn’t really want to know how much Duke knew about what Roy was doing. I’d never been close to either of them so did it matter if both were no longer in my life? But Heston said we had to find out his part—if any—in the scheme and we’d go on from there.
Roy had given the impression Duke was involved but that was his MO, always trying to besmirch someone. We’d find out soon enough.
Duke had always wanted to fit in, especially with Roy.
And I got it. I really did. Being the rejected child and sibling sucked.
When Roy and Duke were born, I was already less-than in my father’s eyes.
They both grew up knowing that—witnessing first hand that love from a parent could be conditional.
“We don’t have to do this.” I’d call Duke right now if my mate asked me to.
“No,” he insisted, “I think this is better. At least we’re not, you know, near Roy and your father. It will just be us.”
“Okay, but if you change your mind—whatever you need comes first.”
“I won’t and the same for you. We can walk away from this conversation.” His words said the right thing, but his face was almost green.
I’d already asked Heston a couple times since we woke up if he felt unwell. He swore he was fine. I had no reason not to believe him and that left his visible discomfort having to do with my half-brother. At least it would be over soon enough.
Roy had nearly cost Heston his father. It would be perfectly reasonable for him not to want anything to do with my family. But he was more gracious than I’d have been, that was for sure.
I finished cutting up the roast chicken and added it to the salad. “Do you want me to put this in the fridge and offer it to my brother only if he’s being nice?” I was teasing… mostly.
“No, he’s more likely to talk if he has food,” which was probably true.
Heston went from the lettuce to cutting up the baguette that we’d picked up from the bakery that morning. By the time he was done slicing it and putting it in the bread basket, Duke was at the door. As I swung it open, my heart sank. Duke didn’t look like Duke. He looked dreadful.
“You look so tired.” The bags under his eyes were dark, and tired was the nicest way I could put his appearance. The man looked like shit. “Do you… are you… okay?”
“Yeah, I’m just... I didn’t know… I didn’t know.” His voice cracked as he mumbled that he didn’t know repeatedly.
“I believe you.”
I hesitated before pulling my half-brother in for a hug.
We’d never hugged or exhibited any affection for one another but my heart constricted at his obvious discomfort.
He was a jerk or had been. But I suspected Roy had terrorized him when they were kids.
Perhaps as adults as well. He’d always been weak when it came to Roy, always wanted to be loved by him, always looking up to him even when Roy treated him badly.
“I believe you.” My gut told me he was telling the truth.
“Come inside.” This was a new start for us… all of us. I couldn’t forgive him immediately for how he treated me in the past but I’d get there.
Heston was amazing, accepting my brother’s apology without hesitation. Even so, the conversation was stilted when we first started eating, but as lunch progressed we chatted about inconsequential things. We’d have probably talked for hours longer, but Duke had another meeting to get to.
When he made to leave, Heston and I walked him to the door, only halfway there, my mate bolted into the bathroom.
“Heston’s not feeling well. I’m going to check on him.”
I was only two steps away when my brother said, “Oh, I misread that. I misread that a lot.”
I turned around to face him. “What do you mean you misread it?”
“I mean, I thought he was pregnant and you two hadn’t told me yet because… well things were rough. I didn’t think he was sick. I’m sorry… I wouldn’t have stayed so long.”
My brain was still stuck on the word pregnant.
“What are you talking about?” How would Duke know if my mate was pregnant?
“His scent. I can smell it.” He gave a half wave. “Call if you need anything, Devyn.”
“Yeah. Yeah.” But my mind was focused on the word pregnant. Could Heston be? Would he be happy if he was? I knew I would.
I jogged to the bathroom, the door cracking open as I got there.
“I want to...” Heston opened the door the rest of the way.
“Pregnant.” I blurted out. So much for me playing anything cool.
“What?”
“Duke… he said he thought you might be pregnant.”
My mate’s hands fell to his belly. “Well, that would explain things.”
“So you think you might be, too?” I tried not to get my hopes up.
“It’s not like we haven’t been doing the thing that gets one pregnant…
often, and I’ve been exhausted, and my stomach’s been pretty crappy…
and I passed out that day. I chalked a lot of that up to the stress of my dad’s surgery and finding out what happened with your brother.
” A smile bloomed on his face. “Pregnancy fits too.”
“Honestly, it’s a lot happier.” I hugged him close. “So you think you are?”
“I hope so, but we have to test to be sure.”
I never grabbed my keys so fast. “I’ll be right back.” I raced to the pharmacy and bought one of each test I could find. I didn’t want to take the time to read all of the boxes to figure out which was best. The cashier looked at me like I’d lost my mind.
When I got home, Heston grabbed the bag and looked inside. “You want me to take all of these?”
“Yes. No. I don’t know. I bought them all. It was faster.”
“All it is.” He bolted back to the bathroom, this time not for his stomach. I waited outside the door, but really wanted to watch the tests as they changed from blank to announcing his pregnancy. With every second that passed, I got more and more excited about the possibility of becoming a father.
When Heston came out, he told me that he had set a timer to let us know when they were ready.
“How long do we have to wait out here?”
“Three minutes from when I set it.” Three minutes, might as well have been three years. I wanted to see them now.
“We can’t just go and look at them?”
“Nope.” He wrapped his arms around me and pressed his cheek on my chest. “This is good, right? If these are positive, that’s good, right?”
“If they are positive, I’ll be the happiest alpha there is. And if you’re not, then there are other months.”
The timer went off and we walked inside the cramped little space. One glance at the row of tests and there was no mistake. Heston was pregnant.
“You’re pregnant!”
“I am! I love you, Devyn.”
“I love you, Heston.”
The chirping of an alarm went off, this time it was mine. “We were gonna go look at the condo and see if we need any more furniture. You still up for it?”
“Yeah. And maybe on the way back we can stop and talk to my dad, tell him the good news?”
“He’s going to be the best grandfather ever.”
“And because of you, he’ll live to meet our little one.”