Chapter 43 A Good Alpha
A Good Alpha
Acadia
Kol kneels in front of me, buzzing with excitement and happiness, but he’s a good boy, so he’s waiting to see how I feel.
I’ve wanted to be a mom ever since I was young enough to understand I could have my own children one day. I have wanted a baby, seriously, for years. I can’t imagine my future without one. Or many.
So, tell me why I am totally numb?
Is it because I didn’t think it would actually ever happen?
This is huge. This is big. I’m now on a path that I cannot walk away from.
A baby
Holy fuck, a baby.
I want this. I want it too much. My face breaks, my lips tremble, and Kol wraps his arms around me.
“Oh, no, no, don’t cry. It’s going to be ok.”
He doesn’t let me hide my face. He tips my chin up and gingerly licks the tears from my cheeks, I didn’t know had fallen. “Hush now. You have me. You have Oscar, Locke, and Mads. You have the little omega, too. Everyone is here for you.”
“I’m really happy,” I admit with a laugh.
He returns my laugh and then kisses me, holding our bodies so close. He’s going to be a great dad.
“I’m happy too. I want this with you so much. I can’t believe it’s you and me. Our child is going to be so great.”
I hold him, too. Like we are squeezing the strength out of each other.
“It happened so fast!” I know this happens like this. An omega’s heat will cool off if she gets pregnant. An alpha can smell the change in her. I know this, and yet, experiencing it is insane. I’m barely pregnant!
Beta women have to wait four to six weeks before knowing, though alphas can usually tell within days. They are just polite and don’t announce it. Oscar is a doctor, so women can ask him for a scent test.
There are jokes about alphas standing up to give up seats on a train to women who they know are pregnant, but don’t know themselves, so if an alpha offers you his seat, go get a test done.
Everyone is going to know the Soto Pack has a pregnant omega. Me, that’s me. The pregnant woman.
I look over at Mads and Ro, who are so fucking cute together it’s unreal. She looks up at the same time.
“I’m sorry,” she says quickly.
“For what?” I laugh. What could she possibly be sorry for?
“My heat triggered yours, and then you got pregnant immediately. If you didn’t want that…”
“I told Kol to stop taking birth control, Ro. This is the best fucking outcome.”
“Thank god!” She crumbles with relief, and Mads laughs, trying to hold her limp body up. But he loses that battle.
Mads takes her down with him, and they roll into the nest.
“You’re going to be a mom!” she declares.
I am. I’m going to be a mom! Oh my god!!
“Congratulations, mi amor,” Oscar says so sweetly.
“I’m so happy for you. For us,” Locke says.
“You’re going to be an amazing mom, Cadi,” Mads tells me.
Kol whispers in my ear, “The best.”
Locke strides to the cabinet and pulls out a brush, comb, and spray bottle.
Mads sees what he’s doing and takes one of Ro’s messy braids, asks if he can undo it, and she nods.
It’s so cute, they are going to groom her.
Mads finishes one braid, and Locke reaches for the second.
He lets the plait run through his fingers.
“Oscar braided my hair in the car,” she says.
“Really? I didn’t know he could do that,” I say, looking at the man, removing his clothes to join us.
“He said he’d need to practice on your hair while you’re not in heat.”
I raise my eyebrows at the alpha, and he confirms she’s speaking the truth. He wants to braid my hair.
I’m slightly aware of my crazy hair. I couldn’t even begin to care.
Kol and Oscar tend to me. Kissing and massaging me. Oscar brings over some wet wipes to wash my face and hands.
Mads and Locke tend to Ro. She has long, beautiful hair.
I let myself admire it. She’s mine, right?
My own omega? I spent so long thinking that if I were to be in a pack with a woman, it would be someone like Bianca Whitehorse—older, taller, and an alpha.
This is different. She’s young, cute as hell, with thighs so thick, I could get lost in them. She’s an omega, just like me.
“Cadi?” Ro asks while I’m admiring her.
“Hm?” I answer while continuing to look her over in the morning light. Her breasts are the perfect size and shape. Her dark nipples beg me to run the pad of my thumb over them.
“Thank you for letting me use your nest,” Ro says.
I hold on to Kol’s forearms and pull them in front of me, commanding him to hug me.
“It was my pleasure. I was worried you wouldn’t accept.”
The men move us closer together so our backs are against a wall of pillows. Kol and Mads share some words and hug very dramatically. I have to say, watching Mads and Kol fall in love is my life’s joy. Kol is deep in his feelings, and Mads knows it.
“Omegas are territorial,” Ro answers. “Selfish. Possessive. It was more like I was surprised you’d offer.”
A smile creases across my face, and I settle next to her, turning to face her. Her fingers glide over my arms, the dip where my stomach slopes, and over my hips.
“It’s because of those reasons I couldn’t let you have a heat anywhere else, Ro.”
She doesn’t quite understand my words at first, and when she does, she says, “Oh.”
Her stomach rumbles, and Locke curses, then rolls out of the nest. “I’m getting food, Babygirl.”
His voice trails off as he leaves, shutting the door behind him. Babygirl.
Oscar sighs and makes himself comfortable on the other side of the nest. He looks exhausted as he lies down, completely flat. I crawl over to the alpha. I put my hands on either side of his head and look down at him.
“Oscar, you’re back.”
He takes a deep breath.
“I’m back. You’re pregnant. But I brought you the omega. Does that make you happy?”
“Yes, thank you. What do you need?”
He gives me a tired smile and runs his hands up my arms.
“Can I sleep here?” Oscar yawns, and his hands drop away. I lean over for a blanket and pull it over him.
“Of course. You rest. You deserve it. You take such good care of us.” I tuck him in and kiss his cheek.
He turns to his side, facing away from us.
I know he needs his space when he sleeps, so I run my fingers through his hair and then crawl to Kol’s awaiting arms. Oscar’s soft snores are already starting.
“He came here instead of going to the apartment. He came here even though he knew there were no beds for him,” I say.
“He wanted to make sure you were alright. He wanted to make sure both of you were alright,” Kol says.
He’s a good alpha. He’s mine. He’s mine, and he’s good. My heart fills with love for that man.
I got a good one.
Locke comes in quietly and passes out paper bowls with oatmeal. The oatmeal has dried cherries and almonds in it. Kol and Mads wait until Ro and I are done before eating. It was smart because Ro eats Mads’s bowl as well. We wash it down with water, and Locke cleans it up.
Ro passes out in Mads’s arms, and the rest of us lie down. I love that we only have one bed. What a grand excuse to lie naked near all my men and the new girl.
Kol curls around me and places his warm palm on my stomach. He’s a good alpha, just like Oscar. I fall asleep despite all my thoughts and feelings. Something I can only thank the nest full of my pack mates for.