28. Odell
TWENTY-EIGHT
ODELL
Hunter hustled me inside, telling everyone to eat and have fun. Judging by the noise, they were doing exactly that.
Pregnant? I just got used to being mated. “You dad might be mistaken.” But Hunter had said Rudy had guessed when Tony was pregnant with Lottie, and he and Tony did the same to Matt before he knew he was carrying Storm.
“ There’s one way to be certain.”
I nodded. “Get tests from the pharmacy and lots of them in case I pee and miss.”
“Can we leave pee out of the conversation?” Despite not being bothered by nudity and having a beast inside him who tore animals to shreds, my mate was kinda squeamish when talking about bodily functions.
I giggled. “That reminds me of when I needed to pee in the panic room and you sang and tap-danced.”
“I’ll never forget that.” He leaped up and tapped over floor, but the carpet was a party pooper and his feet made swishy sounds.
“But back to the pregnancy test.”
“I have one. A very unique one.”
I stared at him. “Is this a shifter test?” He shook his head. “No blood, please.”
“I’ve not tested the theory, but some shifter wolves can detect pregnancy.”
“Okay.” I flung off my linen jacket and yanked up my shirt. “Have at it.”
“I can shift here, but my wolf has been begging to take his fur and hunt.” He gasped. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have mentioned that. Blood, guts, and gore when your tummy is upset isn’t a great combination. What’s wrong with me?”
“Do I have to answer that?” I giggled.
“Sorry, I’m being selfish. I can shift tomorrow. There’ll be no hunting this evening. It’s our wedding night.”
“I’m feeling better.” I glanced toward the window where everyone was dancing and Uncle Arnie was twirling Louisa around.
“Just behind the house. No need for bodyguards.”
“Okay.” Throwing up on my wedding day and then traipsing out to the forest so my mate could get naked and shift? Why not?
Hunter flung a towel over my shoulder and put wet wipes in his pocket in case I was sick again, and we snuck out the back door, though his family would have scented us leaving. We didn’t want the kids to ask if they could come. And Louisa might wonder what we were doing, so we had to avoid her. This was a moment for me and my mate, with the help of his wolf.
Hunter opened the small gate that led to the wooded area, and we walked hand in hand along the path my mate and his beast had trodden. In the background, laughter, squeals, and shouts indicated the family were enjoying our wedding reception.
“It’s a wedding I’ll never forget.” I leaned my head on his shoulder.
“We can have another one.”
“Nah. One fake, one interrupted, and a third where I vomited are enough. Besides, our vows and the rings are perfect.” We shared a kiss.
When we reached a clearing far enough from the house so we couldn’t be seen, I sat on a tree stump, and my mate stripped off his clothes. It was almost dark, but there was just enough light for me to see.
Hunter had asked his beast if he could do this, and he replied he would try and that my scent was a little different.
Hunter hadn’t detected that, even though we were mated.
“You’ll have to ask your dad how he predicts pregnancies.”
Fur rippled over his arms and he fell on all fours. He padded over the ground, and I reached out and stroked him.
He lowered his head to my belly and inhaled. I did too because I wanted to participate, even though I couldn’t smell myself or detect a baby.
There were more sniffs from his wolf and the beast nudged my arm.
“What do you want me to do?” I stared into the wolf’s eyes. “Lift my arm? There’s no baby there.”
Hunter appeared at the forefront of his wolf’s gaze, letting me know it was okay. He was saying Dellie, it’s fine , I was sure of it.
Oh, humans always secreted sweat, no matter the weather. He wanted to sniff my sweat.
The wolf nuzzled my armpit, and I giggled. “That tickles.”
After he inhaled, he stepped back, and I was so anxious to hear what he discovered, I was sweating more than usual.
Hunter took his skin, and our eyes locked as they had done so many times since we met.
“We’re going to be dads.” He scooped me up and swung me around. “Shoot. I forgot about your tummy. I don’t want to make you sick.
But I was too excited to worry about whether I’d throw up again. “A baby, Hunter. We’re going to have a baby. I don’t know much about babies.”
“We have two nephews and one niece and another on the way.” Matt was pregnant again. “They’ll teach us.”
“Hunter, what’s the verdict?” Ranger’s loud voice rang through the trees.
“They know what we’re doing.”
“I hope they didn’t describe it in detail because Aunt Louisa is present.”
“I’m sure they didn’t. But do you want to share?” Hunter kissed me.
“Do we have a choice?”
“Always. My family are all in everyone’s business, but if I tell them to back off, they will.”
Though if we didn’t tell them, we wouldn’t have any peace until we did.
“Why not? I hope Aunt Louisa will be happy.”
That could go either way. She might be ecstatic to have a great-niece or nephew. Or the pregnancy would be a sign that Hunter and I were committed. Something she hadn’t been in favor of. But no matter her reaction, I refused to allow her to spoil our excitement.
“Yes!”
A loud cheer went up, and Hunter got dressed, and we wandered back to the party. There were hugs and kisses from everyone. Dad couldn’t contain his excitement. But it was Aunt Louisa I was focused on.
She asked how I could be certain without doing a test. I whispered that I just knew. Her reaction was more circumspect than Rudy’s—not surprising—but she didn’t say Hunter had ruined my life, so that was a plus.
I sat and nibbled on roasted potatoes and salmon while Hunter filled a plate with lamb and asparagus and tiny appetizers Uncle Arnie had made.
The kids had quietened. Two were asleep, while Lottie was watching a program on her tablet.
“We didn’t get to do the toasts.” Rudy grabbed two bottles of champagne from the ice buckets, and Uncle Arnie poured me a soda water with a splash of apple juice.
Rudy tapped his glass. “We’ve never had a real wedding in the family before.”
Aunt Louisa looked around. “None of you are married?”
“We didn’t have ceremonies,” Flint spoke up. “Ours were all very intimate occasions.”
“First-time proper ceremony,” Ranger added.
“First throw-up during a ceremony,” Uncle Arnie said, and he looked at me as he spoke. “Sorry, sweetheart.
Awww. Uncle Arnie was adorable. I gave him an extra-big hug.
“First rings that originated with paper clips.” That came from Rudy.
I slung an arm around my mate’s waist. “Our first pregnancy coincided with the first wedding.”
Hunter kissed my hand, the new ring, and my mating mark. “I love you, Dellie.”
“Love you forever and always.”
We all raised our glasses.
“Despite the puking, it was a good day,” I noted.
“Everyone help bring the leftovers inside.” Rudy was taking charge but shooed me away when I tried to help.
“Look at our little brother.” Ranger had his head close to Flint’s.
“Now that he's becoming a dad, I guess we can’t kick his ass anymore.” Flint raised his glass, but Rudy told them both to take platters into the kitchen.
Everyone left, with Rudy saying he’d be back in the morning to collect the chairs.
I yawned as we waved them off. Hunter arranged for a driver for Aunt Louisa, and while she hugged me, she air-kissed my mate. That was progress I supposed.
“I’m so tired, and I almost ruined this suit.” I studied myself in the bedroom mirror and brushed a hand over my flat tummy. “Hard to believe there’s a little one inside me.”
We had considered booking a hotel for tonight for our “honeymoon,” but I was glad we’d decided against it. The night you find out you’re going to be a dad is a night you should be at home.
I asked about the baby and if they’d have shifter traits. Hunter explained we wouldn’t know for years if they had a beast, but we might get hints. “Lottie for sure has a wolf inside her because of how agile she is and her excellent eyesight and hearing.”
“We have so much to look forward to, especially considering where we started.” I thought back to the day we met. The memory wasn’t as scary as it had been.
“Glad we’re past all that, and we’re not going back.”