Chapter 22 Bryden
brYDEN
There was a screech from the shower, and I shot out of bed and raced into our tiny bathroom.
“What is it?” There was no space for an intruder and the water was off, and Roland didn’t appear to be burned.
“The stupid soap slipped out of my hand.”
“Oh.” I picked it up and handed it to my mate.
“We need to get shower gel with a pump so this doesn’t happen again.”
“I’ll put it on the list.”
I offered to wash my mate, but he said he could do it, so I made coffee for me and tea for him.
“Why is it so sunny today?” Roland ducked his head and glanced outside. “We need rain.”
Has our mate gotten over his dislike of raindrops? my beast asked.
He was getting better, but I wouldn’t say he liked it.
I put Roland’s irritation down to hormones and that he was lugging around a huge belly and complained daily about sweating and his feet swelling.
“I can turn on the hose and spray the cabin if it’d make you feel better.”
Roland flounced onto the bed, saying that wouldn’t do and fanned himself with a book.
I made tea, hoping it wasn’t too hot or too cold but that it was just right. My beast got annoyed with me because he hated any references to human fairy tales. Tiptoeing to the bed, I offered my mate his mug and counted the seconds while he took a sip.
“Thanks. This is just right.”
Oh no. Everyone needs to stop. My bear said he was going to nap because he didn’t want to hear about the three bears and the human child who trespassed in their house.
“I’m going to get breakfast and bring it back. Is there anything in particular you’d like?”
“Pancakes if they have them. And fruit. And toast and jam. Oh, and if there’s any hot chocolate, I’d like some, please.”
“Got it.” I tapped out the list on the phone before placing an extra cushion behind my mate’s back and skedaddled out the door.
Not wanting to be gone long, I ran to the dining hall but met Larkin and Otto who were also headed to breakfast.
“Roland not feeling well this morning?” Larkin asked.
“No, he’s fine. I’ve got his breakfast order on the phone.” I held up the device.
They both commented that my mate had a good appetite, and I nodded. I didn’t want to spill that Roland was having a hard time now that his pregnancy was drawing to a close, but I needed advice and they were omegas.
“Can I ask how you felt at the end of your pregnancy?”
“Tired and hot.”
“Cranky and annoyed at my mate for getting me pregnant.”
Well, at least Roland was following what seemed to be a pattern in the last stage of pregnancy.
“Is the water too hot or too cold?” Otto grinned.
“No, it’s the soap that’s the enemy. I have to buy shower gel.”
Larkin offered to give me some, as he bought his in bulk.
“Loud noises might irritate him.” Otto was scrolling on his phone. “That happened to me until Torin got me noise-cancelling headphones.”
We couldn’t afford any new technology, so I’d have to put cotton balls in his ears.
The pair helped me get everything that Roland asked for and placed it on a tray. Ebony, the zebra shifter, placed a flower on the tray. Larkin and Otto held in their laughter, and when Ebony left, they asked if my mate and Ebony were friends now.
“Calling them friends might be too much, but they're getting along sort of.”
Hoping I didn’t jostle the hot chocolate, I walked slowly to our cabin.
“Hey, hope you’re still hungry because I have loads of food for you.”
Roland was dozing, but he opened one eye and tossed a pillow at me which I dodged. “Don’t scare me like that. I thought you were a poacher.”
Oh shoot, I should have called out to my mate before I entered. “Sorry, my darling. I didn’t intend to frighten you.”
He harrumphed, and my bear was annoyed with me. But Roland beckoned me closer and peered at what I’d brought. He made me put more pillows behind him before tucking into breakfast.
“Awww, you brought me flowers?”
I had to fess up that it was his new bestie, Ebony.
“Oh, she’s quite nice. Not like her mate who is a real piece of work.” Roland put a piece of pancake in his mouth. “Why didn’t you get anything for yourself?” I’d forgotten but decided to have cereal which we had in the cupboard.
We ate in silence, but I’d forgotten napkins, so Roland had to make do with a roll of paper towels. He pushed away the last of the fruit and burst into tears. I kneeled beside the bed and dabbed at his cheeks with a paper towel, hoping I hadn’t forgotten anything else.
“I’ve been irritable and horrible with you today, and yesterday and the day before and probably tomorrow as well. What’s wrong with me?” he sobbed.
“Nothing. It’s pregnancy hormones. You’re discombobulated.”
I got a small grin out of him when I said that last word.
“You’re lugging around our child. Of course you’re going to be exhausted and fed up.”
“I can’t use the baby as an excuse for my shitty behavior.” He sniffed. “I love you. You’re my mate.”
“You can, darling. I can take it.” I showed him my muscles, and he giggled.
“Don’t make me laugh.”
Oops. “Sorry.” I moved the tray and climbed into bed with him. He put his head on my shoulder and wiped his tears on my shirt.
“The nine months of pregnancy are a wild ride.”
“But we’ll have a baby at the end.”
I told him Larkin was bringing over shower gel, and he asked why.
“Because the soap is slippery and you can’t pick it up.”
“Oh, okay.” My mate seemed to have forgotten the earlier incident with the soap.
We stayed where we were, and I read while Roland dozed. I had to go to work as we were short-staffed at the library—Evelyn was visiting her son—but Roland was already on paternity leave. I promised to bring him some new books at lunch time.
I was carrying a box of books with a variety of genres when I left the library.
I made sure to call out when I returned a few hours later, but the door was already open.
I was met with upturned chairs, a bed that’d been stripped, and a pile of trash near the table.
Roland was mopping the bathroom, and the baby's bedding that we’d bought from the secondhand shop was drying on the line outside.
“What’s going on? Are we moving?”
“No, but the cabin was so dirty. We can’t bring a newborn into such a filthy space.”
I’d cleaned a few days ago, and it was just the two of us, so the cabin didn’t need much upkeep.
“I can do that after work, darling. You should put up your feet.”
“I’m fine, and I’m the only one that knows how to do it properly.”
Larkin must have visited because there were two pump bottles of shower gel on the kitchen counter.
Roland said he wasn’t hungry, but I decided to get food for both of us. If he didn’t want it, I’d have it for dinner.
“Where are you going?” He rubbed his back as his big beautiful pregnant belly protruded in front.
“The dining hall.”
He flapped his hand. “I don’t have time to eat, and Otto’s coming over later, so can you get cake from the dining hall?”
When I returned, my mate had replaced the furniture, made the bed, and the crib bedding was on the mattress.
“The place looks amazing. Thanks for all your hard work.”
“I might have done too much.” He made a face, and I helped him onto the bed. He picked at the food I’d brought, and we were discussing names for the baby when Otto arrived. He had sandwiches and more muffins.
I left them to it but not before pointing out the cake.
I hoped that sharing stories with another omega who’d been pregnant would improve my mate’s mood.
And Otto had faced danger from his twin brother when he arrived at Stoney River.
He’d fought his twin in the river creek and killed him.
Perhaps he and my mate could share their experiences and bond.
Roland hadn’t made as many friends as I had, and that might be because while everyone was wowed by a unicorn, they were also wary of getting close to him.
As I wandered to the library, people greeted me, and a group of kids asked about story time.
I had become part of the Stoney River pack, but with Roland’s history, I worried that he didn’t feel the same.
But having a baby on pack land might cement his feelings.
Our little one would be part of the Stoney River pack from the moment they took their first breath.