Chapter Nineteen

There was more to be said before we could move forward with our life together, but since we left Derek's place, something had changed in this omega. He had been tied up in the connection with his former alpha and feared any other would want to control him as well, but I hoped I'd put those concerns to rest.

"How are you doing, omega?" I asked as we drove down the highway toward Oliver Creek. "You okay?"

"Yes." He sounded surprised. "I am very fine. Amazing, isn't it? I was so worried about seeing Derek and what he might say or do. I mean, he put this baby in me, and it was the one thing he said he really wanted from me. Hoglets. Dozens of them. But when I show up and tell him this baby is his, he isn't interested anymore."

"Interesting, huh? I gather from the fact the omega is closer to delivery than you that he'd been fooling around while you were still together?"

"Must have been. Shouldn't that bother me at least a little?"

I shrugged, changing to the fast lane. "I don't think there's a ‘should' about emotions. You feel what you feel, but I am interested to hear what happened that a person as sensitive and caring as you are not bothered. You must have been pushed far."

"Would you mind if we drove past the house you put the offer on? I need to see something happy before I delve into the biggest mistake of my life."

"Absolutely." I hated hearing the sadness in his voice. "And I don't think you need to think of your time with Derek that way. It sounds as if you learned what you wanted and what you didn't, even if it did take you a little bit of time to realize what you wanted was me."

He snorted. "That's true."

"And in all seriousness, that baby inside you is the good part of that time. Especially since he has given up his rights. I can't wait to be a daddy, did you know that?"

He nodded. "You're going to be so good at it. I only hope I don't totally screw up."

"You are going to rock it."

A buzz came from Cicek's pocket, and he pulled out his phone and groaned. "We have to go by the healer's instead of the house. He had a cancellation and asked if we could come a day early."

"Sure." I flipped on my signal to change lanes. "That will be a happy thing, too. We get to hear the baby's heart, don't we?"

He brightened. "That's right." He patted his bump. "You hear that, baby? We're going to listen to you, so get ready to thump your best."

I chuckled, partly at his cuteness but also because he'd gone from sad to cheerful so quickly. "Quinn might even be willing to do an ultrasound if we ask nicely."

"Do you think so?" He typed into his phone then looked up and beamed at me. "He said yes. Let's go see our baby."

"Our baby sounds very nice."

"Oh, they're a gem. Always kicking their daddy, and I swear they have gas."

We arrived a few minutes later and were ushered into the exam room right away. "Thank you guys for coming today. My mate wants to spend the day together tomorrow, and after the cancellation today, we were able to squeeze everyone in either today or day after tomorrow."

"No worries." I helped my mate up onto the table, the familiar crinkle of paper the same as any healer's office I'd ever been to. "And Cicek said you are going to do an ultrasound?"

"Sure. He has reported no problems, but we know our daddies love to get a peek at their little ones. Did you want to know the sex?"

We looked at each other then back at the healer. "I think we want to be surprised," my mate said. "If that's all right."

"Of course. Now lie back and push up your shirt."

He obeyed and, while I watched, the healer squeezed some gel onto my omega's stomach. "Not too cold, right? The warmer has been acting up."

"No, it's fine." He smiled up at me. "Ready to see them?"

I took his hand and lifted it to my lips to kiss. "I've waited for this all my life."

As we watched in silence, Quinn moved the device over his belly then smiled. "Here they are." He pointed out various features, omitting information we didn't want yet. Or maybe we did want it, but we had decided to wait, to be surprised. "Looks like everything is as it should be for this hoglet."

A hedgehog. For just a moment, I'd forgotten that this baby couldn't be a bear, but I didn't care. The tiny thing moved around inside my omega, growing every day until it was ready to join us in the big world.

"Quinn, I have a question."

"Sure." He set down the device and flicked off the screen. "What did you want to know?"

"Everything I'm reading says I have to limit coffee to one tiny one a day. Even as a shifter?"

"I'd prefer you had none, but one won't hurt. Like everything else, moderation."

"One is less than moderation," he growled, accepting the wet wipes to clean off his stomach. "Next thing you'll be saying is not to put any sugar in it."

"Well, now that you mention it, sugar isn't the best fuel for baby."

"You're lucky I love you," my omega said to his stomach. "So much."

And I loved them both more than I'd ever dreamed I could love anyone. "How about shifting, Quinn? Is it okay if he does that?"

"A hedgehog? Sure. As long as he feels up to it, go for it. They're among the lucky ones."

"It's something!" Cicek gave me a small smile. "Can we go now? Out where you took me the first time?"

"Of course, omega." I pressed a kiss to his forehead.

"And then tacos." At the truck conveniently close to the area we went to run. Sneaky omega.