Chapter 9

Chapter

Nine

H is morning sickness was never going to end.

Humbug sat on the floor of the bathroom with his laptop and his phone, trying not to cry. Today when he’d opened the milk to make a dough for his sweet rolls, it had spoiled.

And he couldn’t get that smell out of his nose, so he just kept tossing up his frosted sugar cookies.

“Gavin? Honey? Where are you?”

Crap. He hadn’t expected Bax back until lunch. He’d gone off to deliver a big piece of art to the city.

“I’m in the bathroom, babe,” he called. “Just on the floor.”

He heard the thud of Bax’s big feet, and he appeared just seconds later, staring into the little room. “Why are you on the floor?”

“The milk was spoiled.” Tears welled up in his eyes, and he sighed because hormones.

“Babe? I’m starting to worry about you. You’ve been throwing up for what? Two months?”

“About.”

“Okay, come on. I’m taking you to urgent care.”

“Nope.” He shook his head. “You can’t do that.”

Bax’s dark eyebrows went almost up to his hairline. “Why not?”

“Because it’s not something they can fix. In fact, down here, it might be something that lands me in a research facility.” He put his hand on his belly as it roiled. He gagged, and Bax sprinted out of the bathroom, returning with his ever-present tube of saltines.

“You need to get something in there. It will help.”

“Ugh.” He nodded, though, and grabbed a couple of crackers.

Bax waited for him to settle, watching him chew. Then his expressive brows snapped together. “Explain what you mean.”

“I’m not sick, really, Bax.”

“Bullshit, you’ve been sick. Violently.” Bax reached out to grab his hand. He toyed with Gavin’s fingers, watching him.

“I’ve had morning sickness.” He let that drop, watching Bax’s face.

The scowl deepened, and then Bax started laughing. “Oh, come on, babe. Be real.”

“I am. Male omega elves can bear children just like females can. You’re an alpha, so you never have to worry about it.”

“You really believe—” Bax stare at him, that gray gaze sharp. “Babe, I love you, but you’re crazy as a bedbug.”

Humbug blinked rapidly. Then he smiled, feeling like the sun had broken overhead, warm and right. “You love me?”

Bax’s cheeks flamed. “Well, I mean, yeah. I want you to stick around.”

“Good. I want to be here too.” He beamed. “Wow. But I really am pregnant. I took a test.”

“You did?”

“Yeah. I ordered it from Amazon.” He sighed. “I would offer to show you but—” He brightened. “I have another one. Just in case the first one was a dud. Sometimes they are.”

“A dud.” Bax so didn’t believe him. Not a bit. And why would he? Humans didn’t know about the ways of elves and other magical creatures where the males could bear children. Like the reindeer…

“Yep. Want to watch me pee on it?”

“Um…”

“It’s okay. I know you don’t believe me. But you’ll only believe it if you see it. So I’ll let you open the test and we’ll do it together.”

“Unholy curiosity makes me say yes.” Bax chuckled, but he still looked a little wild around the eyes.

“Okay, cool. The test is under the sink.”

He was going to make Bax do all the work of opening the sealed box and getting out the test. He wasn’t going to give Bax a reason to doubt the results even a little.

Bax nodded, his movements jerky, and grabbed out the box, seeming surprised it was actually there. Because why else would it be there unless Humbug had put it under the sink, right? So one of his points was already proven.

Bax opened the box while Gavin watched, then opened the safety-sealed pouch. “Okay, so this one was definitely still sealed.” Bax handed it to him, reading the instructions.

“Yep. Okay, babe. Ready?” He could pee a little, he thought.

“Uh-huh.” Bax watched him like a hawk, which was a little weird. It took a sec to get over the self-consciousness, but then he was able to pee on the test. He set it aside where Bax could keep an eye on it before washing his hands. Then he sat back on the floor and had another cracker.

“How long?”

He knew Bax had read the leaflet. “Two minutes.”

“Okay.” Still frowning, Bax reached out to touch his cheek. “I’m sorry you feel so sucky, love.”

Hey, he was progressing from honey to love, as well as I love you. That was so hot.

“Me too. But you make it better.”

“Yeah?”

“Of course. You’re my mate.” He grabbed Bax’s hand and held on.

“Mate.” Bax nodded, the movement slow and deliberate. “I—why does that sound so right?”

“Because you’re an alpha. You’re all growly and possessive.” He grinned, raising their hands and kissing Bax’s fingers.

“Hmm.” Bax looked down at the test, his eyes widening. “It says pregnant.”

“Yep. And you can’t accuse me of pouring stolen lady pee on it.”

Bax hooted with laughter. “Stolen lady pee. God.”

“I know you were thinking it,” he teased.

“But—how? I mean, I know you’re a man.”

“I’m an omega elf, Bax. I have the parts to bear children.” He shrugged. “We’re like, throwbacks to the land of summer.”

“The what?”

“Well, that means the fae. Fairies. But in Scandinavian lore, we’re elves, and we’re associated with craftsmanship. I make toys and bake. You play with fire to create amazing stuff. But physically, that makes us a bit of magic.”

“Magic.” Bax shook his head. “Okay, but if I’m a changeling, how did I escape notice from my pediatrician?”

“That same magic. You never get sick, right? And the school had a record of all your shots.”

“I thought my mom was an anti-vaxxer.”

“She probably is.” Humbug grinned. “That’s why it worked for you to be given to her. And since your changeling mirror was sickly and suddenly you weren’t, your mom wasn’t going to jinx it by jabbing you with needles.”

“Yeah.” Bax looked stunned. “I mean, that makes a crazy kind of sense.”

“Right? And then you knotted me. If you could knot me and I got preggers, we’re truly mates. Just like that old coal shoveler Santa said.” He climbed to his feet. “I think the saltines have worked.”

“What else do you have to do today?” Bax asked, gathering up stuff to toss in the trash.

“I have to make a cookie order. And I was going to make some pastry, but now there’s no milk. It wasn’t an order, though, so I’ll make something else for us.”

“So can we go snuggle while I ponder all this?”

“Tinsel, yes. Of course we can.” That had gone far better than he’d expected, actually. He just hoped it stayed that way when he started to show.