Chapter 11
Chapter
Eleven
Pregnant.
They were pregnant. The test was positive in a very firm way.
Holy shit.
Xander looked up, meeting that stunned blue gaze, feeling his mouth trying to smile. “Wow.”
“Uh-huh.” Iago searched his eyes. “Hold me?”
“Forever.” He hadn’t meant to make the promise like that, but he didn’t want to take it back.
Xander held out his arms, and Iago walked right into them, leaning against his chest, head pushing into the space between his shoulder and neck. “I’m a little wigged out.”
Xander was too, but he was the alpha. It was his job to hold the line. “I’ve got you, baby. We can do this together. I know we can.”
“Of course we can. We’re smart dogs, but I didn’t think we were ready for this step yet.”
“I’ve known married couples who weren’t ready for this step, but I think we can do it. Of course, I have to deal with the ghosts in my house first.”
“Yes. You know they’re all waiting downstairs for news.” Iago rested hard against him.
“I can text, if you want, and we can stay up here, together.”
Iago nodded. “Do you mind?”
“Not at all.” He would take the heat. He could tell the guys to fuck right off if he had to, but he wouldn’t have to. He knew it.
Hey, Mason. We’re pregnant and freaked out. We’ll be down later ok?
heard
There was a huge cheer that sounded downstairs, and Iago started to laugh. “Oh, wow.”
“Apparently they’re making a party out of it.”
“Yep. I bet there’s pizza later.”
“Then they’d better get you bread sticks.” Iago was good with plain bread sticks rather than pizza right now.
“Mmhmm… with that really good garlic dipping sauce. Yum.” Iago held on tight. “We going to have a baby in the spring.”
“We are. I guess we’ll have to make a plan. But not today. Today we can sit with it. Celebrate some.”
“Yeah. I can’t believe…we’re going to be parents. Do you…do you want a family?” Iago always talked about being able to create a village, a big, extended family.
“I do.” Xander set their bowls aside once the soup was gone, then tugged him close. “I had to think about it some, I admit, but I do.”
“Okay, because I know how hard it is when people don’t love you. I can’t raise a baby like that.”
“Oh, love. No. No, we’re going to do this together.” That broke his heart, hearing that. Iago had been alone until Gent and Colton folded him in.
His child would never experience that.
Ever.
Xander hummed, rocking back and forth with him. “My folks are great. Seriously. I had a good childhood. You’ll love them.”
“I can’t wait to meet them.” Iago nodded. “They gave you a whole house. They must like you.”
“They must, huh? Though, granted, they didn’t want to get rid of the house because it’s been in the family forever, but they didn’t want to live here anymore.
The stairs were just too hard for them. I mean they’re not that old.
” Xander grinned wryly. “But Dad has arthritis in his knees from working like he did all those years.”
“Well, I love your house.”
“It’s great… without the ghosts.” He grinned at Iago, even if his lover wasn’t watching.
“I can see us having to confront those buttheads if they don’t back off.” Iago made this mutinous face. “I want to spend the night.”
Hell, Xander intended to have Iago move in as soon as it was safe.
So he guessed he needed to get with the program as far as the ghosts and cleaning up the mess in his house went. Honestly ghosts were shit as far as convenience was concerned.
He had way more sympathy for Bastian these days.
“I’ll work on it. If I can’t get them to stop being jerks, then I’ll call in Colton and the guys again. They said there was a lot of activity in the kitchen, but something tells me we need those blueprints.”
“Then we’ll find them.” Iago took his hand. “Together.”
Oh no. No. No possibly-scary-but-absolutely-one-hundred-percent-unstable ghosts around his pregnant omega.
No.
Way.
But he smiled and nodded. “We will. We’re a team.” Iago could work remotely from his laptop if he needed to so he could assist.
Iago squinted at him. “Are you just humoring me?”
“Possibly. But I really intend for you to work on this with me.”
“You know, just because I’m pregnant doesn’t mean I’m sick. You know that, right? I’m having our baby.” Iago blinked up at him. “Oh my God, we’re going to have a baby.” Tears began to form in his eyes. “Tell me that this isn’t a breakup thing. Just kind of reassure me that you’re cool.”
“No. Baby, no. No breaking up.” Xander squeezed Iago tight, kissing the top of his head. “And I’ll get over the fear that you’re going to get hurt. Right now I’m just freaking out.”
“You and me both, man.”
“But…” Xander stroked his cheekbone with one thumb. “But we’re together, and we’ll get to know where all these things fit, right? I mean, you’re gonna be working. I’m gonna be working. Moving in together, one assumes. We’re gonna have to figure out how to be together.”
Xander knew he was right. There were a lot of moving parts to this, and they were going to have to figure out how all the puzzle pieces clicked.
Iago nodded to him. “Yeah. Yeah, I hear you. Maybe you can stay for a while tonight?”
“I can. I will if you want.” Xander kissed his nose. “I got you, okay?”
“I have you too. I just…I just want to be with you for a little while.”
“Then I’ll stay as long as you want. I can always go talk to ghosts in the morning.”
Iago looked him over. “My clothes won’t fit you.”
“I bet Mason will let me borrow some.”
“I bet he will. He’s a nice man,” Iago winked at him. “Mostly.”
“He’s the right size. If we have to, you can distract him, and I’ll go in and grab clothes.”
“Oh, God, no. He has a system of clean, mostly clean, and toxic clothes. You’d never figure it out.”
“Can you make sure I get the really clean clothes, babe?” Xander didn’t want to smell like gross ghost hunter.
“I can.” Iago winked. “Let’s go talk to them, get you some clothes. Then we can come back and crash and watch a movie?”
They headed downstairs, because they knew the guys were waiting for them, wanting to congratulate them or commiserate with them, he guessed, depending on his mood. Mason was super-supportive no matter what. They cheered Iago on every time, which Xander loved.
“Hey!” Law popped up off the couch where he and Mason were watching something on the big screen. He rushed over to give Iago a hug. “It’s congratulations, right?”
“It is,” Iago said against Law’s chest.
Xander tried for a smile even though nerves were fluttering around in his stomach like moths.
Definitely weird moths circling a light, not butterflies.
“Yep, we’re totally down for congratulations,” Xander said.
“Do you guys mind if I spend the night? I know I could go back to my house really easily and grab some stuff, but Iago said you might be willing to lend me some clean nighttime clothes, Mason.”
“Absolutely.” Mason gave him a really evil grin.
Iago glared. “You’re going to give him clothes from the clean pile, Mason.”
“Of course.” Mason sobered. “I’m happy for you, bud.”
“Thanks.” Iago’s cheeks pinked. Xander got it. He was happy too. He was pretty sure. Scared as well. “It’s a little weird,” Iago went on.
Bastian moved right to Iago. “It is, but we have your back, huh? You’re not alone.”
“Thanks.” Iago took the hug, and Xander was glad to hear it, because Bastian knew what he was going through out of all of them.
Bastian squeezed Iago. “If you need to talk,” he whispered. “I’m right here.”
“Okay. Thank you.”
Mason had disappeared, and he came back then a stack of pants, T-shirt, towels, and some of the extra toiletries they always kept on hand for travel. “Here you go, Xander.”
“Thank you.” Xander smiled and nodded, glad for the offering. “I appreciate it. Hopefully we’ll be able to go home together soon.”
“Well, we’re in no rush to get rid of you guys,” Law said. “Especially Iago.”
Iago smacked him. “Law!”
“What? It’s true. You’re our favorite.”
“Aw.” That made Iago flush in a cute way.
Xander hooted. “But I can cook.”
“You so can. I love him for his soup.”
Oh.
Now that Xander could work with.
Xander had to give Iago a happy look knowing he probably looked schmoopy.
“Do you want some pizza?” Colton asked, and Iago barely shook his head.
“We had soup.” Xander wrapped an arm around Iago, there was no way he could protect him from the nausea, but he wanted to, anyway. “We just wanted to come say thanks for hanging out.”
“Of course. You two go celebrate. We’ll cheer you on down here.”
“Holler if you need us,” Iago told them.
Xander hoped they could just have a quiet night.
“And Xander is talking to ghosts tomorrow,” Iago added.
“Woo! We’ll be there with bells on.” That was Law, grinning from ear to ear at the idea of another hunt.
Colton nodded. “We should set up cameras, hmm?”
“Yep. We could go do that tonight.” Mason looked so hopeful.
Xander handed over his keys, not willing to fight the inevitable. “Be careful.”
“Oh, cool. Thanks, man.” Mason’s eyes lit up. “How fun.”
“Do not tear up my house.” Xander gave the guys a stern glare.
“We wouldn’t.” Gent smiled at Xander. “You’re one of ours, now.”
“Thanks.”
Xander flushed with pleasure, not able to hold on to his scowl as much as he might want to. Everyone wanted to be wanted. To fit in.
“Come on, babe. Let’s go back upstairs and watch a movie in bed,” Xander said, one arm full of stuff, the other around Iago.
“Sounds great. You know I’m ready to lie down.”
“I do know. I don’t want you to be so tired and worried and frustrated.”
“Aww you two are nauseating.” Law gave them a brotherly sort of grin.
“Shut up.” He and Iago said it as one person, and then they turned to climb the stairs together. He could hear the laughter rising up the stairs behind them.
“They’re good guys,” Xander said. “For all that I tease about not liking them.”
“I know, right? They really are.” Iago leaned on him, feeling relaxed against him now that Xander had told him they were not breaking up.
“Are you doing okay?” Xander rubbed a hand up and down Iago’s arm.
“I’m getting there. I’m still a little freaked out, but what am I supposed to do about that right now? I’ll just have to get used to the idea.”
“I hear you.” Xander knew they had a lot to do. They needed to get a hold of the birth center in Secret Springs and get an appointment. They needed to get on the research about his house. They really needed to find those blueprints.
“We’ve got this,” Xander told Iago. “It might take some time, but we’re really going to get this figured out.”
“I trust you.”
He loved how Iago sounded so certain. They’d had a bump in the road in the beginning because Xander had been unwilling and unprepared for a relationship, but now it was time.
“I’m glad. Come on, let’s go to bed, and I’ll hold you.” Xander changed with Iago, and they slipped into bed, trying so hard to be relaxed and ready for this.
Iago settled against Xander, and he slid one arm around Iago’s shoulders, holding him close.
“Are you mad at me?” Iago asked in a tiny voice.
“Babe. Baby.” Xander drew away just enough to meet his gaze. “No. Not one bit. We made a baby together. You and me.”
“We did. You and me, together.” Iago sniffled but relaxed into Xander’s chest.
“See? Exactly. So why would I be mad at you? Am I scrambling a little bit mentally? Sure. I wasn’t expecting this in my life right now.
But we got this, no matter what that looks like.
” Even if they didn’t end up married with two point five children and a picket fence, Xander wanted Iago to know he had his back.
He would never do to anybody what Colton’s family had done to Sebastian, leaving him alone to deal with having a child and trying to go through all of that and make it out unscathed on the other side.
Iago would have his help and support all the way through the process and, even if they didn’t stay together, he would be in that baby’s life.
Iago melted against him, heaving a huge sigh. “I have to admit that’s what I needed to hear.”
“And I’m not just blowing smoke up your ass, okay? I promise.”
“I’m going to hold you to it.” Iago pressed a kiss to his chest and then seemed to just slide right toward sleep.
Xander couldn’t blame him. It had been a tumultuous afternoon and evening. They could watch a movie later, but for now Xander would plan what he was going to say to the ghosts tomorrow, because that was going to be quite the conversation.