Chapter Eleven #2
“You don’t have to do anything on your own,” Chris quickly reassured him. “I’m here. You were right to call me.”
“I know.”
Chris pressed his lips together. “How are you feeling about the pregnancy? Is it something we can celebrate, or is it better not to?”
“Mackenzie and I are keeping the baby, so yes, we can celebrate, but maybe we should wait until after I talk to Dad. I don’t know if I’m going to want to celebrate anything when that’s over.”
“It’s going to be fine. If he accepted that I didn’t want to be his heir, he’s going to accept that he’s about to become a grandfather.”
“You think so?”
“I know so.” Chris squeezed Nico one last time before letting go. “He’s going to be shocked, but he loves you. If you’re happy, he’ll be happy for you.”
“It’s going to put a wrench in his plans for me.”
“Is it? Because he’s always known you were a carrier. He’s always known that one day, you’d have children, just like he knows that I will. I’m sure he planned for this.”
Mackenzie had said the same. Nico knew that it was true, but it didn’t really help.
“We should go downstairs before I decide to change my mind. It’s already taken me too long to tell Dad that I’m in a relationship with Mackenzie.
If I don’t do it now, I’m going to hide the pregnancy until I’m ready to give birth. ”
Chris snickered and gently patted Nico’s stomach. “I’m pretty sure Dad would notice something’s up before then.”
“You can hide a lot with oversized sweaters.”
“But can you hide a whole baby?”
Nico wouldn’t have to find out because he was about to talk to his father. He grabbed his brother’s hand and dragged him out of the bedroom, and when Chris squeezed his hand, Nico took a deep breath.
He could do this. Even in the worst-case scenario, he wouldn’t be alone.
If his father kicked him out of the house and the clowder, he’d go to Mackenzie.
He wasn’t sure he’d be allowed to stay in fox territory permanently, but if they weren’t, they could move to Northwood.
Hell, he was pretty sure that if things came to that, they’d be welcome to move in with the skunks.
There was no way Dean wouldn’t be willing to help.
One way or another, everything would be okay. Nico had to keep that in mind.
For once, their father wasn’t in his office. He was in the kitchen with their mom, which Nico hadn’t planned on. Still, he was going to have to tell her, too, eventually. He supposed he might as well do it now. He might need her support, anyway.
They both looked up when Chris and Nico walked in. Their mom smiled and opened her arms so Chris could hug her, and Chris did, but he didn’t go far from Nico. As soon as he was done, he came up to stand next to him, shoulder to shoulder.
“Oh, I know those faces,” their mother said.
“What are you talking about?” Chris asked.
She gestured at them. “That’s your we did something big and we’re about to tell you faces. What happened? Should I sit back down?”
Nico and Chris glanced at each other. Their mother groaned and grabbed her chair. “I should sit down, shouldn’t I? The last time I saw you like this, Chris told us about Jacob.” Her eyes widened, and she looked at Nico. “Is that what you’re going to tell us? That you’ve met someone?”
That would probably be the easiest way to start this. “I did,” Nico confirmed. “His name is Mackenzie, and he’s human. He’s related to Jerome.”
“The fox alpha?” Nico’s father asked.
“Yes. He’s the man who came in while you and I were leaving Jerome’s house that day. They’re cousins.”
“I see.”
What did he see? Nico didn’t know, but he wanted to find out. He felt like he was about to start screaming if his father didn’t give him anything. For now, he was just watching Nico, which was freaking Nico out.
“I’m so happy for you,” Nico’s mother said as she moved closer to hug him. “How long have the two of you been together?”
“A little while,” Nico said, not wanting to explain that they’d only been together a few weeks, yet they were already expecting a baby.
He suspected his parents would find out eventually anyway, but he wasn’t ready for the judgment yet.
“There’s something else,” he said before he could change his mind.
“What?” his father asked.
He knew. He had to know. Well, he probably knew that something was wrong, but he couldn’t know what it was. He was about to find out.
Nico squeezed his eyes shut. “I’m pregnant.”
It was like a bomb had detonated in the kitchen. Everyone was silent. Chris grabbed Nico’s hand and squeezed it, and Nico squeezed back, relieved. He opened his eyes only to find that his mother had a hand pressed against her mouth and her wide eyes were filling with tears.
“Sorry,” he said.
She shook her head. “What are you sorry about? You don’t have to be.”
“I swear we used protection. I don’t know what happened.”
His father snorted. “Oh, I have a pretty good idea of what happened.”
Nico’s mother turned to glare at him. “Don’t you dare.” She turned back to Nico. “Are you happy?”
“I think I am.” Nico hadn’t really allowed himself to think beyond needing to talk to his parents and all the problems that would bring, but he was happy.
It might be too fast for a lot of people, but he knew what he wanted.
If he’d had a choice, he’d have waited several more years before having children, but this was fine, too.
He was sure that it had happened for a reason.
He might not know what that reason was, but it didn’t matter.
His mother hugged him again. “You’ll be a wonderful father.”
“Thank you.” He wanted to cry, but he suspected that was only going to get worse once his father was done with him. There was no way out of it, though. “Dad?” he asked.
His father got up and came closer. Nico held his breath, wondering what was about to happen. He had his brother and his mother on his side, but what about his father? Was he disappointed? Probably.
Nico’s father put his hands on Nico’s shoulders and looked down at him. Nico had to resist the urge to squirm.
“Are you happy?” his father asked. “Really happy, or are you saying that because you don’t think there’s a way out?”
“I’m happy,” Nico confirmed. “It’s not what I expected, but it doesn’t mean I don’t want it. I know it’s going to be a lot to deal with, but I promise I won’t slack when it comes to the job. I’ll continue to work with you until I can’t, and I’ll get back to it as soon as I can after I give birth.”
Nico’s father shook his head. “I don’t need you to think about the job right now.
You’ll come back to it when you can. Family is the most important thing, Nico.
I realize that sometimes, I might not act like it, especially recently, but I love you and your brother, and all I’ve ever wanted was for the two of you to be happy.
If for you that means having a baby with a man I’ve never met, then so be it. ”
Nico snorted. “You’ll meet him.”
“I sure hope I will.” He pulled Nico into a quick hug, and Nico clung to him. He’d expected his father to be disappointed, and maybe he was, but that wasn’t important right now.
Everything wasn’t perfect, but Nico didn’t need it to be. He had Mackenzie and their baby, and now, he knew that he had his family’s support. That was all he needed.
Although it would be nice if Silas finally made his next move so they could deal with it and move on with their lives.
* * * *
I’M COMING OVER.
Mackenzie stared at the text he’d gotten from Nico a while ago.
That was all the text said, so Mackenzie had no idea how things had gone with Nico’s father.
Not knowing made him want to scream, but he told himself that if things had gone badly, Nico would’ve told him.
Instead, he was coming over, and they’d probably spend the evening together.
Hell, they might even be able to spend the night together for once.
Now that Nico’s parents knew about Mackenzie, they didn’t have to hide anymore.
Not from them, anyway. There were other people who should be aware of their relationship, like Jerome.
Mackenzie didn’t like that he’d lied to him, too, but it had been too risky to tell an alpha about Nico.
He could have decided to go straight to Nico’s father to let him know what was happening, and that wasn’t something they’d wanted to happen.
That had led to Nico sneaking in and out of fox territory, which in turn had led to Saul seeing him.
Mackenzie was glad all of that was over. He didn’t want to hide his relationship anymore, especially with the baby on the way. He was sure they’d have to deal with a lot of complications, but none of them would be from hiding their relationship anymore.
The second he heard a car stop in front of his house, he rushed to the front door.
Nico really wasn’t hiding anymore. Usually, he’d park further away, hiding his car in the bushes as much as he could.
Not that it had helped Saul not notice him coming and going.
They’d been stupid, hadn’t they? If they’d truly wanted to keep their relationship a secret, they should’ve been more careful.
They’d played with fire, and they’d been burned, but Mackenzie didn’t mind.
It had led to them being honest with people and being able to be together openly.
When he opened his front door, Nico was climbing out of his car. He grinned, and Mackenzie relaxed. Things had gone well.
“What did your father say?” he asked when Nico reached him.
Nico hugged him and clung to him. “That as long as I’m happy, he’s happy for me.”
“So everything’s fine?”
“Everything’s fine. He even said that I had to take care of myself and not obsess over work too much. I couldn’t believe it when I heard it.”
“Your father loves you.”
“I’ve always known that, but sometimes, I wondered if he loved the clowder more. I wouldn’t have blamed him. They’re his people.”