37
Scarlett
T hank fuck I don’t feel like hurling my guts up anymore. The tiny dissolvable pill Kars gave me when I woke up twenty minutes ago is finally going into effect, but the four sets of anxious eyes I find on me when I finally open my own again do little to help the roiling in my stomach.
Especially when I remember what I have to tell them.
I’m pregnant. With a baby. One of them is the father.
Fucking shit.
I meet Caito’s eyes first, and I hate the turmoil and devastation I find swirling there.
Here he is, waiting anxiously for me to tell him what’s wrong so he can fix it.
I’d been a damn fool to believe that he’d turned his back on me forever.
I suppose that revealing this truth to him will really be the test to just how much of my crazy life he can handle before he’s truly ready to walk away.
“I want to start off by saying that I never should have walked away that day. I should have stayed so we could work things out.” I begin, tearing my gaze away because I need a fucking minute to take a breath so I don’t feel like I’m suffocating anymore under the intensity of their stares.
“I’m not good at this kind of thing. I don’t know the first damn thing about a healthy relationship, much less what it’s like being a part of a pack.
Not one that’s not dysfunctional, anyway. ”
Silence descends over the room for a few heartbeats before Lark speaks, shattering it. “No one is perfect, Dream girl. We’ve all made mistakes that led up to that day. I think I speak for the whole pack when I say that we are willing to work through all of that, as long as you are, too.”
I nod in agreement, still not able to drag my gaze up to look at any of them.
I pluck at a thread that’s loose on the blanket covering my lap, trying to come up with a way to just say it.
“I need to tell you all something, but you have to promise me not to freak out. If you can’t do that, then I don’t want to tell you. ”
Finally, I look up to meet Caito’s eyes again.
Then I drag my gaze around the room until I’ve met the other three’s eyes as well.
“Nothing you say now will change how I feel about you, love.” Apollo says first without much hesitation, and I bite my lip, wishing I could just take his word for it. I’m too damn damaged for that, though.
Wren nods next. “He’s right, Sweetheart.
You are pack. We should have done more to convince you of that sooner.
That is our oversight that we will gladly and quickly set right.
” My heart skips a beat when our gazes connect, and I see the sincerity there.
He’d looked so damn broken when he’d shoved his way in this room less than ten minutes ago.
Now, there is a hope swirling in the dark depths of his eyes that does a ton to lift my spirits.
“I made a mistake turning my back on you, mo chroí . That will never happen again. You are mine . Nothing will ever change that. Next time you want to walk away, I’ll make sure to bend you over my knee and show you exactly why I’ll never accept that.
” Caito’s vow is like a sucker punch to the gut.
It steals the breath right out of my lungs until it feels like I can’t breathe for a minute or two.
“I will gladly spend the rest of my days proving to you just how much you being ours means to me, Dream girl. You are everything . Your problems are our problems. I apologize for the entire pack if you felt like you couldn’t believe that.
” It’s Lark’s words, combined with all of the others, that makes the first tear slide down my cheek.
“I… went into the clinic because I haven’t been feeling good for a few days.
The nurse ran some tests, even though I didn’t think they were necessary.
I’m… I’m pregnant. I thought I might’ve had the flu, but apparently that was not the case.
I’m pregnant, and one of you is the father.
” I don’t want to beat around the bush anymore, so I just blurt it out, then I go back to holding my breath as I watch them process.
Apollo is the first to break. “Pregnant? Like… like with a baby? A human one?” I can’t help the snort that slips free with his stuttered response.
“I’m sorry,” Wren holds up a hand before I can say anything to Apollo.
He then scratches at his brow, but thankfully he just looks confused instead of repulsed or something else equally as potentially devastating.
“You’re pregnant? But you didn’t have a heat with us.
” He only voices the first logical thought I’d had when I’d been given the news the first time.
Right before I passed out.
“I think I need to sit down.” Lark mutters, and my attention snaps to him as he plops into a chair across the room, looking a tad bit green around the edges.
“Holy fuck. We’re going to be dads.” He then gets this far off look in his eyes, and I can’t help the nervous chuckle that slips free from me.
“Um, Kars might be able to explain better since he’s the doctor, but the nurse tried to explain it to me a little bit…
” I trail off, reaching up to run a hand over my hair that’s slicked back into a low ponytail.
I bet I look like shit, but the alphas either don’t seem to notice, or are choosing not to say anything about it.
“Apparently, pregnancy can happen for an omega outside of a heat cycle if the, uh, intercourse is between scent matches. It’s rare, but it can happen… ”
My gaze bounces between all four of them, each looking like they’re just trying to work through the news.
After another minute, Apollo also goes to sit in the chair next to Lark, looking a bit frazzled himself as he goes.
Caito is just staring at me, having gone statue-still.
I can see the gears whirling in his brain, but he hasn’t said anything just yet.
At least he doesn’t look like he’s ready to bolt.
“Listen, I have something else you should know. Part of the reason Harlan dropped me so quickly when they found their omega is because I was never able to… let’s just say that I was told that this wasn’t even a possibility for me, so I’m just as shocked as all of you.
” I shake my head, hating to have to talk about this, but they deserve to know.
“If I had known I could get pregnant, I would have used protection. I thought I was infertile. I promise that I’m not trying to trap any of you.
If you guys don’t want this, I’ll figure something-”
“Stop.” Caito finally speaks, and his voice is so sudden in the midst of my rambling that I jerk slightly in shock.
“I don’t care what those fucks say, I want this baby.
There will never be a time where I won’t want you pregnant with our babies, mo chroí .
Do you understand? This is the best news I’ve ever received in my entire life. ”
I suck in a sharp breath, and my chin begins to wobble when I try to fight back the sudden need to burst into tears. The second tear falls, and that’s when all four alphas are crowding around my bed, arms and hands reaching out to stroke me and chests rumbling with purrs to soothe me.
“Ah, shit. Don’t cry, Dream girl. We’ve been waiting an awfully long time for an omega just like you.
We are honored that you want to have our baby.
” Lark practically shoves Apollo out of the way so he can sit on the edge of my bed and pull me into his arms. I freaking melt as soon as I’m surrounded by his scent, along with the others.
The tension and anxiety literally bleeds out of me, all of my worries suddenly flying out the window.
Well, most of them, anyway.
There’s still the bit about Harlan knowing I have scent matched alphas.
One thing at a time, Scarlett.
“I don’t even know how far along I am or which one of you is the father.” I sniffle, snuggling into Lark’s chest for the added comfort. His purr vibrates through me, and I feel like I’m about to turn into a pile of omega goo right in his arms.
“He belongs to all of us, Sweetheart. It doesn’t matter to us. Besides, there will be plenty of time in the future for more babies.” Wren’s voice draws my attention, and I can’t help but hiccup out a laugh at that.
Thinking about the future used to terrify me. At this moment, it doesn’t seem all that bad, anymore.
A knock interrupts me before I can open my mouth to respond, and then Kars is stepping back into the room. He pauses when he sees the wall of alpha with me in the center of it all, and he arches a brow. “I take it she’s told you the good news? Congratulations.”
Caito’s attention zeroes in on the beta. “We’d like an ultrasound. Now . We want to make sure the baby is healthy.” He straightens to his full height, and I almost tell him to calm down, but then Wren joins him, both of them crossing their arms over their chests as if Kars will dare deny them this.
The beta sighs, but nods. Just then, another knock sounds on the door, and a nurse steps in, pushing a medium sized machine with a screen along with her. Kate also follows her inside, and Kars grumbles something under his breath about lack of space, but doesn’t voice the words out loud.
Caito narrows his eyes on Kate, but she glares right back in challenge.
“If Scar’s getting an ultrasound, I’m not missing it.
That’s my god baby in there.” The way she says that makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside, so I push aside my usually prickly nature and let it slide.
The idea of the one omega that welcomed me with open arms after I first moved here to start my new life being my baby’s god mom is suddenly very appealing to me.
I unfold myself from Lark, albeit a bit reluctantly, as the nurse comes over with the machine.
He steps away, pushing Apollo back so she has room to get it set up.
Nerves amp up again as soon as she turns to offer me a smile.
“If you’ll lay back for me and pull up your shirt and roll down your leggings. ”
All four alphas crowd on the opposite side of the bed, and the nurse adjusts the screen so it’s angled towards all of us. Kate reluctantly opts to stand beside Apollo at the end of the bed. I do as the nurse requested and lean back into the mound of pillows.
“Alright, this gel is going to be a little cold. I apologize in advance for that.” Anticipation roils through me, but thankfully I don’t feel like I need to puke as she squirts some clear gel on my bare stomach.
I jerk because she wasn’t kidding about it being cold, but then she’s pressing a wand attached to a cord on the machine against my gel slicked skin, and the screen lights up.
The entire room goes silent, everyone’s attention stuck on that little screen. The nurse moves the wand around a bit, working to get where she needs to be. “Ah. There.” She smiles without looking at me and points up at the screen, the wand in her hand pausing. “This here is your little bean.”
I squint, and then she taps her finger against the darker splotch on the screen.
I gasp when I see it jerk, and someone—I think Apollo—curses under his breath.
I reach out blindly for a hand, and I feel Caito slide his into mine and give it a squeeze.
I can feel some of his phantom emotions down the partial bond between us, but I’m too enraptured by the tiny bean jumping on the screen to look into them.
“You see that tiny flicker at the center? That’s the heartbeat.
” She points to the little blip on the screen, then she starts to tap some buttons with her free hand.
Suddenly, a sound echoes out into the stillness of the room.
A rapid thrumming thump that makes me think of what a humming bird’s wings must sound like.
“Measuring about six weeks three days with a bpm of 174.”
“Bpm?” Wren asks the question for me, and the nurse smiles as she moves the wand around again and presses some buttons.
“The heart. Beats per minute. If you believe in old wives tales, the closer to 170-180 bpm, the more likely it is to be a girl.”
“Holy fuck.” Apollo breathes, staring at the screen in utter awe. Lark makes a noise beside him like he’s in agreement.
“A baby… we’re having a baby…” I still can’t believe it, even though I can see the little bean jerking around on the screen. I can’t feel anything yet, but I am already getting excited for when I can feel it.
The possibilities are endless. With my alphas at my side, there isn’t anything we can’t overcome. Together. As a family.
Pack .